Now What Do We Do With Kansas? Tuesday, December 20, 2005

U.S. Dictrict Judge John Jones struck down the movement to teach Intelligent Design in Pennsylvania classrooms, calling it

the result of activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on intelligent design, who in combination drove the board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy.
— Judge John Jones as quoted by CNN

In a strongly-worded 139-page statement, he called the decision made by the Dover area's school board decision that would require high school teachers to teach Intelligent Design (ID) alongside evolution "breathtaking inanity". You can read some highlights of the ruling here.

I, for one, want to applaud this incisive and uncompromising decision. Finally, someone who is cutting to the heart of the matter. Intelligent Design is a religious agenda, regardless of how it is sold. What scientific theory supposes some inexplicable intelligence behind a natural phenomenon? And Jones' paper makes it clear in no uncertain terms.

First, Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory:

We have concluded that it is not (science), and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents.

Second, any scientific claims made by the proponents of ID are simply ways of dressing up their conservative Christian agenda.

We find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board's real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom.

And third, that to permit this sort of blurring of the definition of science in the classroom does an immense disservice to the public.

The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID policy.

Now, what do we do with Kansas?