Religion & Law

The Associated Press is reporting that the Florida Board of Education may append the phrase "scientific theory of" to "evolution" and all other scientific theories mentioned in the new standards. As I pointed out, this is something of a Brer Rabbit solution, since the standards do a good job of also laying out the difference between what a scientific theory is and what the vernacular sense of "theory" is.

John Stemberger, president and general counsel of something called the Florida Family Policy Council, seems to be going for it, saying "That sounds like it's a significant step in the right direction."

However, Kim Kendall, an activist from St. Augustine, smells a rat: "To me it says exactly the same thing." Why, yes it does, doesn't it? But her intelligence returns to her prior low standards in the next breath: "Just allow in the other scientific data, not creationism, not intelligent design." The only problem being that there is no "other scientific data." All you've got is the same old stale objections from creationism that intelligent design has slapped a coat of cheap paint on.

And so it goes ...
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