Discovery Institute's Blog, page 98

January 26, 2016

On United Methodist Anti-Intelligent Design Ban, Here's Some Good News

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Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute.

On the United Methodist Church and its ban on intelligent design, we have so far presented primarily reporting that should disappoint thoughtful members of that church. But here's some good news for a change -- an influential United Methodist who "gets it":

The UMC's 2016 General Conference takes place this May in Portland, Oregon, where Discovery Institute, a think-tank that advoca...
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Published on January 26, 2016 18:16

If John Wesley Showed Up at the United Methodist General Conference, Would They Ban Him Too?

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Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute.

We have spent some time reporting and analyzing on the move by the United Methodist Church to block Discovery Institute as an exhibitor at the upcoming General Conference, down the road in Portland, Oregon. Today, John West notes the irony that, when it comes to hearing fresh perspectives on evidence for design in nature, polling data shows that even atheists are more tolerant than...

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Published on January 26, 2016 11:08

Dennis Prager Was Right: Atheists Are More Open-Minded on ID than Some United Methodist Officials

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Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute.

When I was being interviewed last week on Dennis Prager's radio show, Dennis commented that he thought atheists would be more open-minded than United Methodist officials about allowing Discovery Institute to sponsor an information table at the UMC's General Conference. It turns out Prager was right.

We've broken down by religious orientation the results of the national survey we co...

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Published on January 26, 2016 05:37

Denton's Evolution: Still a Theory in Crisis, a Fresh and Powerful Challenge to Darwinism, Is Out!

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Today Discovery Institute Press releases Evolution: Still a Theory in Crisis, biologist Michael Denton's powerful sequel to his groundbreaking Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. In the new book, Denton shows how the scientific advances of the past three decades have not only vindicated his original thesis, but suggest that the time has come for a radically different understanding of biology.

Denton Evolution.jpgDenton continues to argue for the insufficiency of neo-Darwinism to explain the great divides between th...

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Published on January 26, 2016 02:54

January 25, 2016

The Immune System: The Body's First Responders

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Editor's note: Physicians have a special place among the thinkers who have elaborated the argument for intelligent design. Perhaps that's because, more than evolutionary biologists, they are familiar with the challenges of maintaining a functioning complex system, the human body. With that in mind, Evolution News is delighted to offer this series, "The Designed Body." For the complete series, see here. Dr. Glicksman practices palliative medicine for a hospice organization.

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In the last two a...

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Published on January 25, 2016 15:59

National Center for Science Education Misrepresents Oklahoma Academic Freedom Bill

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Why make an argument when a good ad hominem will do? That seems to be the mantra of our friends over at the National Center for Selling Evolution Science Education (NCSE). Last week they reported that a bill introduced in the Oklahoma state legislature was "the second anti-science bill in the Oklahoma legislature for 2016."

The proposed law, Oklahoma House Bill 3045, is officially called the Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act (SEAFA). It states:

The Oklahoma Legislature finds tha...

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Published on January 25, 2016 14:55

Normalizing Elder Couple Joint Suicides

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People keep pretending that assisted suicide and euthanasia are about terminal illness. That's a clear ploy to get people to accept the premise that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering.

After that, logic will take over. Once a population begins to accept the overarching premise, the limitations such as terminal illness melt away. Sometimes, it doesn't even have to wait that long. In Belgium, elderly married couples can receive joint euthanasia -- even if one or both aren't ser...

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Published on January 25, 2016 12:45

For Protesting Ban on Intelligent Design, Does a United Methodist Bishop Think We're "Bastards"?

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Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute.

Regular readers of Evolution News are likely aware that the United Methodist Church has banned Discovery Institute and intelligent design from the church's upcoming General Conference. Last week, John West reported here on a response from Bishop Michael Coyner of Indiana to the many emails he, among other UMC officials, had received from the public, protesting the ban.

That was bad...

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Published on January 25, 2016 12:04

New Poll: Most Americans Turn Thumbs Down on United Methodist Ban on Intelligent Design

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Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute.

According to a new poll released today, a super-majority of Americans oppose the decision of United Methodist Church (UMC) officials to ban the pro-intelligent design Discovery Institute from sponsoring an information table at the UMC's upcoming General Conference in May. An even greater majority believes that the UMC's ban contradicts its stated commitment to "open hearts, open mi...

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Published on January 25, 2016 00:33

January 24, 2016

Are Tardigrades "a Head" of Arthropods?

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"Water bears" (phylum Tardigrada) are fascinating little creatures. Only about half a millimeter long, they look like aliens when magnified (see this BBC photo). They act like them, too; they are some of the toughest animals on Earth or in outer space. According to Wikipedia:

Tardigrades are notable for being perhaps the most durable of known organisms; they are able to survive extreme conditions that would be rapidly fatal to nearly all other known life forms. They can withstand temperature...

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Published on January 24, 2016 02:54

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