As eloquent and timely a defense of science as I’ve ever read. Hard to argue with this:
At a time when Americans are threatened by an enemy that rejects science and reason, and demands respect for dogmas entailing violence, persecution, and tyranny, nothing more deserves our attention than nourishing respect for reason.
The “Intelligent Design” charlatans have already been thoroughly routed in any scientific sense. What’s fun here is to see how he finds them hoisting themselves by their own petards when they use postmodernist arguments to support their so-called “theory” – since postmodernism is demonstrably incompatible with Christianity.
His conclusion:
The debate over evolution and creationism has raged for a long time, and will continue to do so. The science behind evolution is overwhelming and only continues to grow, but those who insist that evolution is false will continue to resist its promulgation in schools. The appeal to Postmodernism represents the most recent — and so far, the most desperate — attempt on the part of creationists to support their claim that the teaching of valid, empirically-tested, experimentally-confirmed science in government schools is somehow a violation of the Constitution. When shorn of its sophisticated-sounding language, however, this argument is beneath serious consideration. It essentially holds that truth is meaningless; that all ways of knowing — whether it be the scientist’s empirically tested, experimentally confirmed, well-documented theory, or the mumbo-jumbo of mystics, psychics, and shamans — are equally valid myths; and that government has no right to base its policies on solid evidence rather than supernatural conjurations. This argument has no support in epistemology, history, law, or common sense. It should simply not be heard again.
I can, and do, respect religious people. I can’t, and won’t, respect the dishonest. Those who confound science and religion by claiming that ID is science or, just as bad, that science is religion, are not honest. And when they try to be bullies it can lead to stories with very funny punchlines. If a religion can’t tolerate facts, (or those who aren’t members of it) maybe it’s not much of a religion.
