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If a science center can't decide whether or not to show a film that 
is about, or refers to evolution, something seems to be amiss. If 
your pedagogy is to be dictated by your funders, or your Senator, 
then I believe you have a credibility problem brewing. If in giving 
ground you are altering your mission, I believe you misrepresent what 
you are. I respect the right of creationists, fundamentalists and 
scientists to have the views they have whether or not I personally 
believe them, but  I don't expect them to alter their generally held 
truths to appeal to certain audiences.

Don Stidsen
MIT Museum


>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>Clifford-
>
>     Maybe what we need is an exhibit on the inquisition.  Or throw in book
>burnings, too.
>
>                                                 Ed
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Clifford Wagner" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 8:25 AM
>Subject: Re: IMAX and evolution
>
>
>>  ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>>  Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>institutions.
>>
>****************************************************************************
>*
>>
>>  From:   [log in to unmask]
>>  Subject: Re: IMAX and evolution
>>  Date: March 23, 2005 10:49:28 AM EST
>>  To:   [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>  Anybody remember some guy called Galileo and his struggles when the
>>  science he discovered clashed with the bible?
>>
>>
>>  Jared Diamond in his latest book, "Collapse" gives a great definition
>>  of Science:  "Science is the acquisition of reliable knowledge about
>>  our world."
>>
>>  Well, Galileo had reliable knowledge.  Even the Catholic church now
>>  thinks so:
>>  One of the first steps of John Paul's papacy, which began in 1978, was
>>  to begin procedures leading to the rehabilitation in 1992 of Galileo,
>>  the Italian astronomer persecuted by the Church for teaching that the
>>  Earth revolved around the sun.
>>
>>  The Inquisition condemned Galileo in 1633 because his teachings
>>  clashed with the Bible, which read: "God fixed the earth upon its
>>  foundation, not to be moved forever." Galileo was rehabilitated after
>>  359 years.
>>
>>  Evolution is reliable knowledge.  Scientists don't make this stuff up
>>  to fit preconceived ideas.  It comes from studying all the evidence and
>>  figuring out what fits the facts.   My personal opinion  is that those
>>  of us who believe in God can look at evolution and say Wow! that's how
>>  s/he did it!
>>
>>  Here is a great web resource for Science and Evolution.
>>  http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/evolution/index.shtml
>>
>>  Their take on this  is probably the best route for science centers to
>>  take:  science is science and religion is religion.
>>
>>  Science can never prove or disprove there is a God, but science can say
>>  this is the way our world is, whether or not there is a God behind it.
>>
>>  The other fact that gets mentioned  with complaints about evolution is
>>  the age of our world.   The layers, counting back from present trees,
>>  to layers of dirt and ice to layers of rock laid down, are proof, as
>>  much as science ever has proof, that the Earth and it's biological
>>  world are as old as biologists and geologists say; hundreds of millions
>>  of years for life and five or so billions of years for the planet.
>>  It's the interpretation of the layers that makes sense; we see in our
>>  recent past layers of tree rings and ice, laid down on the yearly cycle
>>  of seasons, match up to the recent layers in stone and get a scientific
>>  idea how to interpret the stone evidence in terms of time.
>>  Irrefutable.  Stick up for it.  It is reliable knowledge about our
>>  world.
>  >
>>  Those who let their religious beliefs deny or try to alter the facts of
>>  science to fit those beliefs make science no longer reliable.  Guess
>>  what?  It stops being science.
>>  If you give creationism equal billing with evolution please remove the
>>  word science from your name, because you are no longer about science.
>>
>>  Peter Anderson is right.  We have to stand on our principals.
>>
>>  We need to write a position statement that we can post for our visitors
>>  to see, most especially for the Science Centers in the most religious
>>  communities, based on Science is Science and Religion is Religion with
>>  a positive tone.  I'm not a good writer.  Anyone want to do a first
>>  pass to post for feedback and tuning so we all have it as a tool?
>>
>>
>>  Clifford Wagner
>>
>>
>>  On Mar 23, 2005, at 3:18 AM, Peter A. Anderson wrote:
>>
>>  > ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
>>  > Centers
>>  > Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>>  > institutions.
>>  > ***********************************************************************
>>  > ******
>>  >
>>  > Charlie,
>>  >
>>  > If we can't stand on principal on important items because of our
>>  > financial
>>  > support system, surely, we need to work to change  that support system
>>  > so that we can stand on the principles.
>>  >
>>  > Being fanatically principled is unproductive indeed; we must roll with
>>  > the
>>  > punches to a degree, but there comes a time .......
>>  >
>>  > Regards,  Peter Anderson
>>  >
>>  > ***********************************************************************
>>  > More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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>>
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