Evolution a religion per D.W. (Dumb Witt)

More on evolution
Over the years I have listened to the passionate debate between two religions. The debate between God’s creationist and Darwin’s evolutionist. One side believes in creative intelligent design and the other believes in an accident of chaos.The creationist believes that we are a moral, spiritual being of God’s creation and more than just another “animal.”The evolutionist believes that there is no God and man evolved from animals or is just a “little smarter animal.” Some teach creationism to their children, but all our children are taught the contradicting evolutionary theory as fact in our schools. Well, the debate should be over because current archaeology has shown that the evolutionist dinosaur timeline is wrong, making the whole evolutionary theory wrong. The conclusive evidence is well laid out in the book “Secrets of the Ica Stones and Nazca Lines” by Dennis Swift. I know this book may help some out of the pit of evolutionism, but probably most will continue in their ignorance because they cannot deal with the reality that there is a God.We all choose where we place our faith, but should our children continue to be taught the false religion of evolution in our schools?
D.W. MillerP.O. Box 190

Beth a Scientist and Faithful

Too broad a brush
In response to D.W. Miller’s letter June 13, which attacks scientists as godless people, I say: don’t paint us all with the same brush, sir! In my many years as a scientist, I have taught junior high, high school, and college. I have taught biology, chemistry, and physics. When I taught biology, I taught evolution as part of it. And I am a church-going woman with unshakable faith in God. So don’t paint us all with the same brush. A good scientist knows that we don’t know everything. A good scientist is filled with wonder at the beauty and intricacy of the world. Personally, when I see the beauty and intricacy of the world, I am filled with awe and praise for The Maker.
Beth Murphy104 Elmwood Lane

Mr Wise Silly per Mary

William Wise, it is obvious to me and should be obvious to anyone reading your rant in Friday’s IR Your Turn, that there should be an emphasis on “retired” by your name. Where on earth are you getting your information. Please tell me exactly what school health teacher is telling their students to “bath together, use body massage, read and watching erotic material together?” Sir you are full of bologna. Parents should be teaching abstinence in their homes; too bad it isn’t happening in all homes. It is the job of health educators to provide all information to their students. It is a FACT that a majority of teenagers are engaging in sexual behaviors and are you suggesting that we should turn the other way while saying ... please save sex until marriage? That mentality and practice has led to higher STD rates and higher pregnancy rates, which in turn will inevitably lead to more abortions. I say parents should do their jobs at home and health teachers should provide our youth with the knowledge they NEED in the real world. And retired physicians should do a better job of gathering their facts before they write to their local newspaper.
Mary VanderMars, East Helena

Good Job Mary!

Two good letters back to back today

Theocracy? No wayIn response to Michael Fasbender’s letter to Reader’s Alley of May, 24, addressing censorship and asking “ who’s afraid of God.” I’d like to remind him of this: In theocratically ruled nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the former Taliban of Afghanistan, etc., it is MANDITORY that school students study and memorize the Koran. Their laws are religious based and punishments include stoning, cutting off of hands, executions by beheadings, etc. I, sir, do not want to live in a theocracy — are you sure you do? Please be thankful you can enjoy your religion freely in your home and your church, with your family and friends. I realize you love your religion, and your God, but you are on a slippery slope of asking for a Christian theocracy (remember they have an Islamic theocracy). We live in a free country with many peoples of many beliefs. But more to the point, science belongs in science class and religion belongs in home and church — let’s keep it that way. And don’t forget, it’s all been fine so far with over 90 percent of Americans believing in God — it doesn’t sound like anyone is “afraid of God” to me.Janine Hunt5295 Hidden Valley Drive

Evolution primerTo answer Jim Standaert’s letter of June 1:Evolution is the process by which new species develop from older species. Generally, a species is a related group of organisms which are able to reproduce only with their own kind. (There’s more to it than that, but I have only 200 words.)Some mechanisms of evolution are:— Natural selection. Some traits may help an organism survive better than others. If those traits are passed on, they may become prevalent.— Sexual selection. Peahens prefer flashier peacocks. Flashier peacocks prevailed.— Genetic drift. Not all genes are expressed in any given population. If, say, a fire kills half a population, those genes will be removed from the gene pool.— Geographical isolation. A population may become isolated from its parent population, and adapt to the new environment.— Mutation. Most mutations are harmful, but some are helpful.Speciation has been observed in living populations. DNA and fossils prove it’s happened before.Biologists admit they don’t know everything. Creationists say they do know everything, so we shouldn’t try to learn more. They mix miracles, junk science and balderdash to fill the gaps. That’s why it shouldn’t be taught in science classes—except as an example of how not to do science.Adam Laceky649 N. Ewing

Dr. Wise AGAIN

Liberals are off base on abstinence
By William Wise - Your Turn - 06/08/07
Last month the IR printed an editorial by Tom Teepen in which he castigated President Bush for foolishly spending millions of dollars uselessly on Abstinence Education.Teepen went on to point out in unnamed “studies” that Abstinence Education had failed.First, in 1995 Congress passed Title V funding for Abstinence Education. The bill was signed by President Clinton. It provided 50 million dollars over a five year period which becomes 10 million a year and actually amounted to $1.33 per student. Not what one could consider a large amount. It had been renewed and even increased over the years until now. Speaker Pelosi is trying to stop all Abstinence Ed. funding at this time. Governor Schweitzer blocked all abstinence education in Montana shortly after taking office. This is because of great pressure from the pro abortionists (Planned Parenthood), NARAL and NOW and Focus on Kids who had applied great political and financial pressure on the Democrats. The National Education Association (the teachers union) has long promoted gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender education in our public schools grades K-12. This is wildly supported by our equally liberal and pro homosexual Office of Public Instruction going back to the reign of Nancy Keenan. In 2002, the government spent 653 million on contraceptive programs for teens and 144 million was spent on abstinence education. When all the comprehensive sex ed, contraception, condom and planned parenthood monies the government spends is taken into account it is more like 10 dollars for liberal sex programs as compared to one dollar spent on abstinence programs.In reality, comprehensive sex education is nothing more than “safe sex” programs wrapped in a label. They spend little time on abstinence and the overwhelming focus is on encouraging teens to have sex and use condoms. Basically, they are saying it is OK for teens to have sex as long as they use condoms. Their curriculum includes “eroticizing condom use with your partner,” “think up sexual fantasy using condoms” and “hide a condom on your body and ask your partner to find it,” etc. The curriculum of Focus on Kids includes ways of being close, as bathing together, body massage, reading and watching erotic (pornographic) material together.Parents overwhelmingly support the values and messages of true abstinence education. Polls have shown that up to 91 percent of parents want teens to be taught that sex should wait till marriage. The same 91 percent want schools to teach that teens be expected to abstain during high school years. In schools where abstinence education has been taught, STD’s and pregnancy rates have dropped. This is just another case wherein the liberals completely ignore the vast majority of voters to inject their destructive “morals” into our lives at the expense of our otherwise great society.William D. Wise of 10 Wallace Road in Clancy is a retired physician.

Must be dumb, per Dan

EvolutionI guess I must be as dumb as the primordial slime that life is suppose to have come from. I had not noticed the heated debate that is going on about evolution or the attempts by the scientist to dismiss anyone that would question their theories and try to stop any debate. I watched a movie on Showtime Monday night about this subject and some of the history that they brought up was that the religious men of the past tried to stop at all cost the advancement of science. It looks to me that the scientists of today are trying to do the same to the people with the intelligent design theory. Just like evolution it is still a theory but the evolutionists have their egos so out of whack that they are as blind as the men of the past. These scientists walk around thinking they are right and everyone that dares to question them is wrong, gee doesn’t that sound familiar.Give the people paying for the education both sides and let them come up with their own conclusions. P.S. yes this also is meant for the religious side.Dan Butkay1635 Poplar

Yes, Dan you are dumb. Scientific theory is not supposed to be decided on by public opinion.