Monkey Bill In Tennessee Schools

Totally serious. Was trying to make it clearer.

religion and the south both bring it upon themselves

What the *** is the Constitution of the United States?

I have to admit back when I believed in this stuff, I honestly wouldn't have been able to recognize what was so wrong with this bill.

It wasn't until I started thinking for myself without the constraints of religion that I am able to see how dangerous and damaging bills like this are.

Same, but you can rest assured in knowing that if this bill was passed when I was a student that I would have flipped a ***if a teacher taught us anything but the Christianized religion in school.

Exactly.

This bill is meant strictly to promote christian theories. They have no intention of allowing the creation myths of other religions to be talked about.

Something that nobody was intended to read apparently.

The Constitution is never considered by law makers for anything, until they are trying to get an existing law or decision overturned.

They don't give an *** about it when trying to promote their own agendas.

God! People sooo serious! LOL!

Love you, Sect!

It still proves that being religious does not default one into avoiding scientific research. I for one, am thrilled at finding out more about "how". Religion should stay in it's place, as a hypothesis to "why". The two can coexist. The two can compliment one another. They are not mutually exclusive.

We are not on different sides.

PS> Last sentence was not directed at you in any way X. Has a generic tone to it.

I agree. The problem is that this phenomenon isn't an issue of religion it's an issue related to established paradigms. You see this same thing in the scientific community when established paradigms are challenged. For example, when researchers first proved that ulcers are actually caused by bacteria rather than stress the medical community pushed back for years. Then of course there is the the political correctness paradigm that currently taints scientist. Professors and researchers lose their jobs, funding, etc all the time for the "crime" of advancing reasonable empirically testable hypothesis that don't fit the current politically correct paradigm.

Sure, allocate religion to something completely meaningless and pretend it has meaning.

Tide goes in, tides goes out~

Aside from your blatant oxymoron, I have no idea what you are trying to say.

I wouldn't go that far, as for most of the history of the Christian religion in particular saying you don't believe could get you killed for heresy, tools of survival etc. Regardless of what they "claimed" to be.

I never said that historically they have existed well together. I only said that they are capable of doing so.

Yes, but what happens when your research leads you to a conclusion that is in opposition to your beliefs?

Do you reject the evidence by sticking your head in the sand? Or, do you attempt to reshape your religion to account for new facts?

If you do the latter then you are accepting that part of your beliefs were wrong, & when you realize that part of a belief structure that is meant to be infallible isnt accurate the entire structure begins to fail.

I'm not really taking one side or the other here but it always makes me lol a little when people come in here and talk about how their side is the only side lol... it's like we're free but you're stupid for choosing your way of life! Choose the way YOU want to live and only YOU even if its wrong... but let ME choose how the kids should be educated because my way is the right way!!! I'm sure people on both sides must feel that way but I'm also pretty sure who ever is saying must feel that they are right too lol...

Personally I don't see why you guys waste your time bashing on religion... Education should revolve around on maintaining/improving our understanding of the world around us regardless of whether God exists or not... We understand the world in a certain way and our lives are based on that... We should further our knowledge based along that line so that we can better understand and improve society. So on my on I do agree that science should be taught based on what we know and understand rather than what we believe it to be. Also, for those of you that take the bible literally and talk about oh is the world 3,000 or 3 billion years old... cmon... you know the bible isn't to be taken literally unless your a fanatic that is...

God and Science don't have to be polar opposites and don't have to hinder each other and in fact many embrace both... I find it interesting how many of you have said your experience with religion has indoctrinated you or held you in some kind of invisible grip holding you back from acheiving your goals... I think the time you waste bashing something instead of fixing something is the real concern... I was brought up in a religious household and never felt like I was imprisoned or made to feel like I was any less of a person for it... maybe we just had very different experiences I guess...

tldr... stop wasting your time whining and bashing and do something productive... or at least have a productive conversation.

Completely understandable, if anything we have discovered thus far would force me to change my beliefs. I understand completely what you're saying, though. A fundamental difference in evidence and theory would cause the theory to either be invalid or have to evolve.

1st & 2nd paragraphs are contradictory of each other.

Not really...

Edit: the not taking sides part is for the bashing on either side not the what should you teach in schools...

Beautifully spoken.

I do have to point out something you spoke on that cracks me up.

Many people against Christian religion bash the Bible for being "stories" then turn around and argue that Christianity is invalid because the earth isn't 6,000 years old. If they are indeed stories, as opposition has established, how are we getting so hung up on the "literal" application of the Bible to every day life?

I think it is possible for religion and science to co-exist if religious people read the Bible as figurative instead of literal. There's too many things that are factually wrong in the Bible for it to go that way with a literal reading. (Examples are the age of the earth, the center of the universe, the creation of man and animals vs. evolution, that sort of thing.) But if the Bible was taken not as literal truth but as a collection of fables, it could be possible.

The problem with taking the Bible as a collection of fables is that there are going to have be be lines drawn then on what, if anything, is true about it. Aesop had wonderful fables too, but we don't count them as God-spoken truth. It would become a sticky situation for a theist, I think.

Then again, that's just my opinion. Since I'm not a theist, I could be thinking about it all wrong.

But do keep in mind that if we regard the Bible as a collection of fables, then teaching them in a science class remains just as ridiculous as taking it literally and teaching that in science class. Science goes in science class. Fables, myths, and other ancient literature goes in literature or mythology classes.

It's never been a matter of who is right and who is wrong. It's simply about making sure that one's personal faith doesn't infringe on the rights of others in a ridiculously written blanket law. You don't have to be an atheist to realize how ridiculous this law is and understanding that government and law alike should be secular.

I didn't bother to read the story, but you are right. It isn't an argument as to whom is right. It was purposely designed in American law that the faction of religion be separate and unable to control the secular governing body of America. The two are to leave one another to their own devices and not meddle or prod in either direction.

According to the outrage, this was a very law that the Constitution was meant to protect against.

Does that go both ways?

I'm going off the assumption that you hold christian beliefs, so correct me if I am wrong.

We know that evolution is real & that man didn't pop out of the ground.

We know that the earth & universe are much older than a literal interpretation of the bible would suggest.

We know that the core stories of the christian faith are replicas of older stories from different cultures.

We have not found any verifiable evidence of any supernatural beings that the bible suggests exist.

Do you take the bible literally or do you think it is meant to be interpreted?

I don't see how the continued use and spread of illogical thought is supposed to co-exist with with logical thought.

but that's just me.

Now this was beautifully written.

It's probably not just you lol... but there are others who don't see it that way and feel differently...

Since religious views and faith are inter-personal lifestyle choices, I really don't see how law or policy can affect one's lifestyle choice negatively. Too many that cry foul on this supposed war against religion are the very people that had intentions of indoctrinating their beliefs or lifestyle choices upon others. So I suppose it is a war, those that say you can't do that, and those who believe they can.