Courier Journal Letters to the Editor 27 February 2005

An 'affront to the truth'

Puleeze! With all of the things we have to be embarrassed about, it was entirely unnecessary for you to headline the coming of William Dembski to Louisville. Your quote of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr., without immediate qualification, saying that Dembski is "one of the most skilled philosophers of science in this generation" was a brief affront to the truth. Dembski is a scientist like Elmer Fudd is a hunter.

People of faith have no need for scientific confirmation -- faith being belief that requires no physical proof. At the same time, science is indifferent to matters of faith, it being concerned only with the physical "what" and "how" of matters, with no interest in the metaphysical "why." Dembski is one of that group that insists on mixing science and religion, which weakens both.

Deliver us from those Victorian Age thinkers who insist that all that is not fully explainable now must be supernatural. And smite their calculators for they are an insult both to Thee and to mathematical methods of statistical analysis. And protect the wascally wabbits. Amen.

BILL HOLT

Louisville 40220

'Scientifically illiterate'

The bad news is that William Dembski, a clever creationist, is coming to town. The good news is at least he landed a job where he belongs, at a Bible school instead of a real university.

But the real story should have been "American public fails to distinguish fact from fiction." The November 2004 Gallup Poll found that 35 percent of Americans believe that the theory of evolution is not supported by evidence, and 45 percent believe that humans were created in their present form by God about 10,000 years ago. This ignorance is an appalling indictment of the failure of science education.

Why are so many U.S citizens scientifically illiterate? First, religious fundamentalists constantly agitate to insert anti-evolution propaganda in textbooks and school curricula. Second, teachers practice self-censorship. Cornelia Dean, writing in the Feb. 5 New York Times, documented that teachers fail to teach evolution in order to avoid the wrath of anti-evolution zealots. The battle to keep religion out of our public schools is never-ending.

The struggle is, of course, much broader than the evolution controversy. This is a battle for the meaning of truth. Fundamentalism teaches that truth is determined by faith and the power of belief. The result has been creationism, inquisitions and holy wars -- from the Crusades to the attacks on 9/11. Science teaches that truth is determined by the power of observable evidence. The result has been electricity, space exploration and cures for disease.

Which truth to fight for? It doesn't seem difficult.

SUSANNAH WOODCOCK

Louisville 40207

'Faith-based theory'

William Dembski says his work at the proposed Center for Science and Theology will be an opportunity to "engage the culture and reclaim it for Christ" (Feb. 20 Courier-Journal). This statement makes clear that the theory of Intelligent Design, a new name for creationism, is a comfortable, unscientific way of thinking.

A scientific theory, such as the germ theory of disease or the theory of evolution, is based on observation, logic and endless testing of hypotheses. It is always open to being proven wrong, and it can be modified as new evidence is discovered.

Not so, Intelligent Design. This faith-based theory has the answer before the question is asked. Those who hold this view can't admit the possibility that both of the two creation stories in Genesis are myth.

Considering earthquakes, tsunamis, geographical extremes of heat and cold, diseases and all the other kinds of misery humans and living things are heir to, it appears more likely that our world was cobbled together by a committee rather than an intelligent, or compassionate, designer.

MARJORIE BIXLER

Louisville 40243

'Schism instead of faith'

A central characteristic of organized religion is schism. Judaism split with Christianity in a disagreement over the status of Jesus Christ; within Christianity the split dates from the 16th Century, when Protestants broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. Protestantism has fractured into multiple components, as evidenced by numerous denominations. The Muslim faith's centuries-old split is illustrated by the Shia and Sunni sects. Now Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has decided to do its part in promoting schism by hiring William Dembski.

According to the article, Dembski, raised in the Catholic Church, experienced a conversion that led him to evangelical Protestantism and, subsequently, to an advanced study of mathematics, philosophy and theology. For the past few years, he has devoted his energy to an argument that undermines Darwin's theory of evolution and promotes a form of creationism known as Intelligent Design. This argument is all about mind control and nothing about faith.

A universal declaration of faith, whatever one's religious preference, is concisely and beautifully stated by the Jewish prophet Micah when, in answer to the question, "Lord, what would thou have us do?" he said, "To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God."

So long as we allow institutions, such as Southern Seminary, to think for us, we may expect emphasis on schism instead of faith.

JOHN WILBORN

Louisville 40242