Posted on 09/20/2005 7:02:45 AM PDT by Right Wing Professor
ITHACA, N.Y. - Lenore Durkee, a retired biology professor, was volunteering as a docent at the Museum of the Earth here when she was confronted by a group of seven or eight people, creationists eager to challenge the museum exhibitions on evolution.
They peppered Dr. Durkee with questions about everything from techniques for dating fossils to the second law of thermodynamics, their queries coming so thick and fast that she found it hard to reply.
After about 45 minutes, "I told them I needed to take a break," she recalled. "My mouth was dry."
That encounter and others like it provided the impetus for a training session here in August. Dr. Durkee and scores of other volunteers and staff members from the museum and elsewhere crowded into a meeting room to hear advice from the museum director, Warren D. Allmon, on ways to deal with visitors who reject settled precepts of science on religious grounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Patrick: you're going to have to add an extension to the humor wing of your gallery of regrettable posts. Maybe a couple of double-wides.
Then do your discussion, questioning, challenging, and refuting in appropriate fora - which would not include mobbing a volunteer docent at a museum. If I paid a fee to have a docent take me around a museum exhibit, and some mob of jerks began harassing her and keeping her from doing her job - which is presenting the museum's exhibits to visitors - I would go to a security guard and report them. And that goes for environmental wackos, Marxists, PETArds, creationist holy rollers and anyone else.
Can't handle the idea that a scientist could believe in God, or actually be a believing Christian, huh? Lol ....
Male platypi are also venomous. On other oddity about them, I guess.
Religious quacks no doubt.
Huh? Where is religion taught as "observation, evidence, and testing of hypotheses"? I'd like to go to that church.
It also relies on a lot of speculation and there are uncertainties and controversies that often never get mention in the mainstream media that cloud the line between knowing and speculating
Well, of course this is true. Haven't you ever "kicked around" an idea or two with your buddies before coming to a conclusion? It's what science is all about.
But in practice, there is a whole lot of speculation, guessing, assumptions, and, well, dogma.
I don't quite understand how you can lump "speculation, guessing, assumptions" in with "dogma"...but it's your brain.
As for me, I must go now to finish reviewing for a godless psychology exam. Y'all have fun!
On = one.
That is an appropriate forum for that behavior. The man came to a college event to speak and presumably take questions - am I correct? Are you suggesting the only questions allowed should be pro-creationist/ID? Now, a docent in a museum is not there to defend an entire belief system/theory/point of view. She's there to show people around the museum. Do you not see the difference?
I took special note that the main opponent of Summers was a biologist.
i believe your original question was not directed to me.
i agree, those that speak against the Christian faith (to any level, including origin) generally do so from a different pulpit than those who attempt to defend it.
read Foxe's Book of Martyrs and it is evident that has been the case since the beginning of Christianity.
(i'm not giving my viewpoint, just stating a fact)
According to Robin Williams, God was stoned.
Why not?
Another "scientist" speaking against the facts?
Or perhaps you have facts that otherwise back up your assertion?
"Male platypi are also venomous. On other oddity about them, I guess."
Yup. They have a spur on their rear legs that can inject venom. The spur is reminiscent of a rooster's spur, but with a venom gland. Nasty business, and very unmammalian in nature.
A very odd group of animals, the monotremes. Fascinating. I got hooked on them when I first read about them at age 10.
It's almost as big as my seashell collection. Y'seen it? I keep it at the shore.<<
Keep your mitts of of Sally's merchandise!
DK
Assumptions, assumption. FYI, I am a scientist, believe in God and theistic evolution - in other words, I believe God started it all with the Big Bang, rather than having to step in from time to time and correct mistakes He made.
What they did was comparable to visiting a "learn about Christianity" forum and asking lots of critical questions.
Questioning a museum worker is not sacrilege, and they didn't throw crap.
You people are really unbalanced.
So it's your way or the highway, then, huh? If you eventually win your creationist debate, will you then start a campaign to shut down all Christian churches that believe differently for yours? I can't wait to see that happen. < / sarc>
Beautiful, yes?
Why doesn't that snowflake feel the need to reproduce? Why is it that 4 specific molecules decided that it would be fun to organize themselves in various sequences forming a double helix and then be moved to split and copy themselves?
Why only those 4 molecules, out of the entire universe (as we know it). There are billions of molecules. Surely some others would like to get in on the game?
Can evidence be scientific? It seems to me that evidence is evidence. It is the method that is scientific.
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