After a crusading religious group (click here) showed up at the Gilbert, Arizona school board meeting with three Republican state senators to complain about the presence of a mention of abortion in an honors biology text book, the board voted to get rid of that material. It was determined that the most efficient way to remove the offending material is to literally remove it - as in, tear the whole page out of the book....
The biology book authored by Campbell is a highly esteemed biology text. I still have my college edition of Campbell. Friends that are university professors still have their Campbell biology book. Any young adult seeking a place in a university that are taking Advanced Placement of Biology would be a leg up if they have a Campbell Biology text. These Advanced Placement courses in Biology prepare their students, not for revolution against the church, but, for medical school. I have a university biology degree among two other degrees and a variety of non-matriculated courses and Campbell is the stalwart of biology.
Biology is biology and no is going to change it. The AP Campbell text is accommodating the fact these young people are primarily looking to Med School. The text on abortion is not about advocacy, it is about the world as it exists. This entire focus on this text is nonsense. It is moronity and prejudice.
That said there is this "Jim Inhofe" thing that appears to be a concern. Not. Everyone involved with moving the climate crisis to RESOLVE and not as a promotion for Democratic politics has been here before. Jim Inhofe is a hack.
"God is still up there."
October 29, 2014 was a historic day in the world. Does anyone remember why?
Daniel Berger reported:
Pope Francis made a significant rhetorical break (click here) with Catholic tradition Monday by declaring that the theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real, and remarking that God is not “a magician with a magic wand.”
“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” the pope said at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, during a plenary meeting dedicated to evolving concepts of nature....
Inhofe can take up the argument with Pope Francis not the climate community.
Pope Francis is not that radical within the circle of authority in the Roman Catholic Church either.
I am a fortunate individual I guess whom's family has visiting priests within their social circles. My family have been devoted Catholic members for all their lives. After my Father, Thomas, passed away my Mother said to look into his personal effects to decide what to do with them. She was unable to even peak into his chest of drawers to look at his clothing at that point.
I ran across his wallet. The money and all the other credit cards and what not didn't impress me as my father had complete control of his finances. But, what did impress me was a small prayer card. It was a daily prayer to the virgin in the form of "The Mother of Smiles." Finding that prayer card took me by surprise. I had always known my father as devoted to his faith, but, other than church did I ever see him pray.
The prayer card, and I may have mentioned this before, was about how to keep the family happy in their hearts day to day. The card was old and tattered, obviously had been around awhile. I grew to know him better through that discovery.
My father was as much interested in science as I was. It was a part of our relationship. Biology became a focus in my life at an early age. Whenever the topic came up regarding pollution, cancer, the state of nature and ultimately the planet he was supportive of all my views as long as they were mired deeply in facts. My parents never stated biology was left up to the Bible or God. Biology was real, measurable and a part of God's world.
Students in Arizona that have grown up similar in focus to me with a religion guiding some of their values in life are going to need the truth when they attend their chosen university. The truth is what Campbell is all about. There is nothing wrong with teaching abortion in a biology class, it is part of life for the human condition and any future med student is going to need that point of reference.
Growing up with faith and science balanced in my life made me unafraid. I could ask questions about life and the world without worrying about the answers, it all made sense. Never once did anything I learned in a public school system ever cause me to hate the church. I attended university in the south. I learned from Campbell in a university classroom. There is plenty of room in any one person's personality and knowledge for both religious belief and science.
The Arizona law should be dismantled by taking it to the courts. It is based in prejudice and stupidity and lack of understanding of how the world works.
Oh and Inhofe. He is a zealot that will ultimately answer to God. The only thing I hope is that he doesn't take the entire human race with him when he faces his maker.
Inhofe can take up the argument with Pope Francis not the climate community.
Pope Francis is not that radical within the circle of authority in the Roman Catholic Church either.
I am a fortunate individual I guess whom's family has visiting priests within their social circles. My family have been devoted Catholic members for all their lives. After my Father, Thomas, passed away my Mother said to look into his personal effects to decide what to do with them. She was unable to even peak into his chest of drawers to look at his clothing at that point.
I ran across his wallet. The money and all the other credit cards and what not didn't impress me as my father had complete control of his finances. But, what did impress me was a small prayer card. It was a daily prayer to the virgin in the form of "The Mother of Smiles." Finding that prayer card took me by surprise. I had always known my father as devoted to his faith, but, other than church did I ever see him pray.
The prayer card, and I may have mentioned this before, was about how to keep the family happy in their hearts day to day. The card was old and tattered, obviously had been around awhile. I grew to know him better through that discovery.
My father was as much interested in science as I was. It was a part of our relationship. Biology became a focus in my life at an early age. Whenever the topic came up regarding pollution, cancer, the state of nature and ultimately the planet he was supportive of all my views as long as they were mired deeply in facts. My parents never stated biology was left up to the Bible or God. Biology was real, measurable and a part of God's world.
Students in Arizona that have grown up similar in focus to me with a religion guiding some of their values in life are going to need the truth when they attend their chosen university. The truth is what Campbell is all about. There is nothing wrong with teaching abortion in a biology class, it is part of life for the human condition and any future med student is going to need that point of reference.
Growing up with faith and science balanced in my life made me unafraid. I could ask questions about life and the world without worrying about the answers, it all made sense. Never once did anything I learned in a public school system ever cause me to hate the church. I attended university in the south. I learned from Campbell in a university classroom. There is plenty of room in any one person's personality and knowledge for both religious belief and science.
The Arizona law should be dismantled by taking it to the courts. It is based in prejudice and stupidity and lack of understanding of how the world works.
Oh and Inhofe. He is a zealot that will ultimately answer to God. The only thing I hope is that he doesn't take the entire human race with him when he faces his maker.
