Aish HaTorah On Creationism

Aish HaTorah's Rabbi Yakov Salomon has made a short flash video on creationism in the classroom.  His basic thesis is as follows:

1. "Evolutionists" only allow one way of teaching – Darwinian evolution.
2. "Creationists" are flexible – teach evolution and other opinions like creationism side-by-side.
3. "Evolutionists" hold creationism in the classroom is unconstitutional.
4. "Benjamin Franklin" wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights …" (He actually garbles the quote. See the video.) "Is the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional?" Rabbi Salomon asks.

Of course, Rabbi Salomon is very poorly informed (or he's lying – take your pick). In order:

1. Scientists will allow any scientific, peer-reviewed theory to be taught as science.
2. Creationism and Intellegent Design are not peer-reviewed because they are not science.
3. Scientists hold Creationism is a religious teaching and not science, and therefore cannot be taught as science. (It could be taught in a compararative religion class, though.)
4. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, not Benjamin Franklin. The Declaration is not now, nor was it at the time of its signing, science, and no one is attempting to have it taught in the classroom as such.

Stupidity and deceit seem to be dominating the outreach business in this post-Rabbi Slifkin ban era.

Comments

[Kevin]

It should also be noted that the Declaration is generally not recognized as being a law.

[Show Me The Monkey!]

Point 4 is actually a good one. Anything self-evident should be accepted as true. Even if not Science, it is a basic concept in Philosophy that should taught. For example, that the world actually exists and isn't simply a figment of our imagination is a Philosophical concept that underlies all of Science. Without it Science wouldn't make much sense. Would yoy say schools can't teach it because it is a Philosophical concept?

[Shmarya]

No. I would say you don't understand my post. Try reading it again.

[Show Me The Monkey!]

I understand. I Dis-agree. Science and Philosphy our two sub-categories of Truth. Anything that all the founders of the nation regarded as self-evident could be taught in school.

Did you send Aish your comments? Let them know they picked the wrong Founding Father.

[Show Me The Monkey!]

I saw the Monkey! King Kong is Big!

[?]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism

[Nachum]

Monkey: All right! Teach it as philosophy!!

[OneTopJob6]

The schmucks at Aish disgusted me ever since they allied with the Christian fundies during the Terri Schiavo fiasco. I'm sure they know which side of their bread is buttered on.

[David N. Friedman]

Good grief. What is the objection here? It is not much of a flash video. He said, "wasn't it B. Franklin who said..." the answer is no, it was Jefferson--so what, he made a silly error.

The rest of it is fine. His last point is to say the obvious that our nation has erred and it is crazy to say that any reference to God must be banned.

Whoever wrote the lead posting is wrong on all counts. Schools and pro-Darwin mavens ban any criticism of Darwin and they hold a pointed anti-religious bias. I favor NO religious discussion in the science classroom. Design is not religion and it is not creationism. The Bible or any part of any religion is not part of any document penned by proponents of ID. This is why ID is opposed by many Christian Creationists.

Many of the scientists involved in the ID movement have authored peer-reviewed material. Science has become politically charged and this is the opposite of what science is supposed to be about.

The mini-video is plainly correct in arguing that it is surely an offense that the views held by most Americans are banned from the classroom and to add to the insult, since this is a political move and not a scientific one, the fact that many other conservative political ideas are also rarely spoken and suppressed in schools is sure proof that this is correct and politics rules, not science.

Contrary to what is stated, it is the ID crowd that is lobbying for letting the facts dictate the conclusions.

[Shmarya]

The "ID crowd" has no peer reviewed science to support it. Therefore, ID should ***NOT*** be taught as science.

As for Rabbi Salomon, it is a stupid mistake from a less-than top notch rabbi. That no one over in Aish land caught this mistake says volumes about the quality of Aish outreach today.

[Random Guy]

Benjamin Franklin does deserve credit for being part of the committee of five members who drafted the Declaration of Independence. True, Jefferson did most of the work, but Franklin did write it with him.

[Yoel]

Creationism can and should be taught in the classroom; perhaps in a course on 'history of philosophy' or a sociology class on religious communities. This video seems to be engaging in politically motivated obscurantism. I simply do not see creationism being treated unfairly, or being suppressed.