Proponents of ideas such as Intelligent Design seem to assume that if you're Christian, then it's a foregone conclusion that you also would support ID, bible classes and prayer in school, and an expanded role of religion in the public arena.
My attitude is that I'll teach my kids morals and religious belief on my own timetable, thank you. There are good reasons why schools and churches should have separate functions, and it's not because of some "separation of church and state" argument. It's because that belief and religious teachings are a deeply personal matter. And it's impossible to teach those things in a larger social groups such as a school.
There are a thousand flavors of religious belief, each with slightly different ideas of what is the "true" meaning of faith. There are hundreds of churches in my community, and they exist because it is impossible to come to a consensus which satisfies everyone.
Forget Christian vs. Jew or Catholic. Southern Baptists can't decide on common ways to pray and believe and that group is probably as rigidly dogmatic as anyone.
So why do we think that we can somehow decide on a common way to teach our children values and morality?
I have a lot of problems with Intelligent Design, but the biggest one is the moral arguement. If you believe in strict creationism and you think it should be taught in your local school, then be honest enough to make that arguement. Lobby your school board, the voters and the courts. Make your best case and see if you win the day.
But ID supporters don't do that, because they know they are not in the majority. Even amongst their ranks, they can't decide precisely what ID argues and what should be taught. In their heart of hearts, they really want to say they are creationists, and that moral dishonesty ultimately dooms their arguement.
There is this feeling among many social conservatives that a strong religious belief automatically excludes science. That somehow believing in a higher being means that any attempt to explain the unknown with science is somehow morally flawed.
But in the early days of science, it was common for someone to be both a scientist and a believer. To see the world in scientific terms doesn't exclude God, it's an argument for a higher being. To see the majesty and complexity of the world only reinforces that power of a God who gives us both the world and the ability to explore it.
Science brings us closer to God, and if supporters of Intelligent Design don't see that, then they are the ones roaming in the darkness.
Rick Ellis
http://allyourtv.com/...