News and Opinion

Further to my post on 14 February about 'Darwin and the Bishops' I'm glad to say that the Archbishop of Canterbury has now entered the fray by making a pronouncement against teaching creationism in schools: It was reported in the guardian He says: "I think creationism is ... a kind of category mistake, as if the Bible were a theory like other theories ... if creationism is presented as a stark alternative theory alongside other theories I think there's just been a jarring of categories ... My worry is creationism can end up reducing the doctrine of creation rather than enhancing it." Personally I think he should direct his guns more in this direction, against the anti-science evangelicals, rather than concentrating on the homosexual question, which can only lead to worse divisions in his church. It seems that Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has also opposed teaching of creationism, as reported in the telegraph However, from what others have said who were p...

Creationism in the Curriculum? Jacqui Smith, schools minister, indicated last week that pupils should be allowed to consider creationism and intelligent design in science lessons. Now the Times Educational Supplement reports that creationism is to be included in the GCSE Biology module: http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2202842 See also the debate in their 'staffroom'. It was even mentioned in The Sun:"Can you Adam and Eve it?" http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006110502,00.html There was more detail in the Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2078747,00.html "OCR, one of the three main exam boards in England, said that the syllabus was intended to make students aware of scientific controversy." John Noel, OCR's science qualifications manager, told TES: "It is simply looking at one particular example of how scientific interpretation changes over time. The history of scientific ideas not only has a legitimate place in scien...

Why's life hell at Guantanamo? Brief background to this. I operate on a different sleep cycle than most people. 3am - 11am suits me fine. I also write for a US-based publication (nothing to do with secularism) so as part of everday departmental banter I made a joke that actually my late arrival and late departures fit better with the really interesting stuff I do (i.e. not my PhD). The response was that I should move over there, but that I'd get to immigration and end up in Guantanamo due to my left-wing views. My response was loosely lines 6 and 8. 6 was fine, but 8 got me a warning not to push it further. Red rag to a bull - I can openly slag off the Bible, but mention the Qu'ran and I'm going to offend someone (we have one Sudanese guy in the department who is Muslim, but, and I'm sad to admit this, I actually checked he wasn't about before opening my mouth). Anyway, what should we do about this hypocrisy? Well, I hope this gives someone a giggle. Why's l...

Was the BNP behind the Jerry Springer Protests? Correspondents on the NSS Yahoo Group 'secular newsline' have spotted that the placards displayed by the main group of demonstrators on the first night in Leicester were the same as those used by a new group calling themselves the 'Christian Council of Britain'. The following links seem to establish that this group is an offshoot of the British National Party. http://www.bnp.org.uk/news_detail.php?newsId=732 "The first day of the Free Speech trial got underway in Leeds with a tough talking judge warning anti BNP protestors and a tremendous show of support for the two defendants, Nick Griffin and Mark Collett. Contrary to the lies put out by the BBC this afternoon, about 300 (double the number the BBC claimed) pro-free speech supporters from the BNP, Civil Liberty and the Christian Council of Britain held a peaceful and orderly demonstration outside Leeds Crown Court. A short prayer service was conducted by a represent...