I noticed this while perusing news sites today:A federal judge has ruled the University of California can deny course credit to Christian high school graduates who have been taught with textbooks that reject evolution and declare the Bible infallible, the San FranciscoChronicle reported.
U.S. District Judge James Otero of Los Angeles ruled Friday that the school's review committees did not discriminate against Christians because of religious viewpoints when it denied credit to those taught with certain religious textbooks, but instead made a legitimate claim that the texts failed to teach critical thinking and omitted important science and history topics.
I have to say that I agree with the sentiment of this judge. I do not support an approach to Christian education that turns its back to anything that threatens a Christian worldview. I agree with the judge's emphasis on critical thinking skills. The highest form of education is not as much about content as it is about process. In other words, its not the information that is central but the ability to manage information. What educational service are we doing for our fellow Christians when we attempt to avoid and ignore all things that challenge our faith? This is a position of weakness! It is as though we expect to lose if an equal hearing is given to all points of view. David Lewis used to oft say, "Truth needs no defense." I apply that maxim to this context to say, we have nothing to fear from Darwinian theorists or any other proponent of a philosophy or theory that conflicts with our faith.
Historically, conservative Christians have been prone to the adoption of an "anti-intellectual" mindset. I am convinced that this attitude has much more to do with fear, a completely unnecessary fear, than some pure desire to protect the faith. The faith is not dependent on our protection!
Feel free to disagree--- I would appreciate your thoughts.
For the entire news article -> FoxNews
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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1 comments:
There are many issues related to faith that seem to have dual paths to understanding. For example: I can take for face value the fact that families thrive under a biblical marraige or I can research the numerous problems of the modern family and the myriad related social ills and come to the samce conclusion that families thrive best with a loving mother and father. And that any variation can range from less than optimum to downright destructive. In this case, evidence works to confirm faith. I find a similar principle when looking at the basis of evolution. I can believe that God created everything or I can look at the nuances and intricacies of the natural world and ultimately come to that same conclusion. Unfortunately, evolution is more of a philosphical quest as to who ultimately is in control of planet earth. Because the philosophical stakes are so high on both sides of this argument, a mere examination of facts is usually skewed to reflect a desired outcome, rather than coming to a logical conclusion. Unfortunately, the origin of earth/life and the family are two major spiritual battlefields and faith is needed for both.
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