Creationists Ready for Court Battle
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
It looks like the Institute for Creation Research is ready to wage a David vs Goliath battle in Texas to win the right to grant graduate Master of Science degrees, much like it did in California.
Last week, the Institute filed a petition with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board demanding that the board reverse its April decision to deny the Institute the ability to issue Master of Science degrees in Texas. The ICR is claiming “viewpoint discrimination” and that the board’s decision was unconstitutional.
An Institute press release says the petition paves the way for a lawsuit against the education board in state or federal court.
After the vote in April, Dr. Henry Morris, president of the Institute, told the Observer that the Institute might take its case all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. “We were denied the right to operate in California and we went through a lengthy and onerous court case before we won,” he said. “It’s an option that we will consider in Texas if we are denied.”
The coordinating board has 180 days to hear the case. Institute spokesman Lawrence Ford told the Houston Chronicle that the ICR’s appeal described the board’s ruling as “academic (and religious) bigotry masquerading as Texas Education Code enforcement.”
The ICR teaches that the earth was created in a week and that the planet is 6,000 years old. The Institute would like to grant degrees to science teachers who would teach in private schools.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:29 am
What a fraud. The degree should be limited to a degree in divinity. Their views are religious views, not science. To claim otherwise is a fraud.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:56 am
ICR has done some amazing work in the field of Geology, these have some great scientist
June 5th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
guy dawkins said:
“ICR has done some amazing work in the field of Geology, (sic) these (sic) have some great scientist (sic) (sic)”
Grammar and punctuation aside, “guy”, and assuming your comment is not snarky spoof, how about enlightening me with the BEST example you can come up with of “amazing work” by ICR in the “field of Geology.”
June 5th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I love the great state of Texas, where I have lived my entire life. All of the religious lunatics in this state are making me sick, though. This is a total sham! Haven’t any of these people taken a real science class? Keep religion out of our schools! I want my kids learning about real science, not what your church thinks ought to be science. I thought this was the 21st century, not the dark ages.
And guy - keep on posting. Assuming your post wasn’t a joke, you expose the creationist lobby for what they are: unintelligent, and totally unfamiliar with the basic tenets of science.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
If creationists are now considered scientists, I see no reason not to call astrolgers astronomers and alchemists chemists.
If creationists want to call evolution a “theory,” fine, although that begs the question as to what they think the definition of a scientific theory is. But why do they not also consider Genesis a theory? If evolution is “unproven” as they claim, what is the basis for their assumption that Genesis has been proved?
And what will be their policy toward students who reject creationism? Will they flunk the class until they “get it right” i.e. become good little robotic Christians? (Or maybe they’ll be burned at the stake).