Bush: Students Should Learn About Creationism, Inteligent Design

Don't accuse President Bush of being one-sided when it comes to the question of who created the earth. In recent remarks, Mr. Bush has encouraged school districts to incorporate both sides of the debate regarding the development of humanity: creationism, the belief that God created the earth in six days, and Inteligent Design, the idea that an unseen force has been guiding our development.

Some schools consider replacing math classes with 'Deometry,' the study of how God created points, lines, curves and surfaces

By Cole Walters

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ODESSA, TX-- Don't accuse President Bush of being one-sided when it comes to the debate over who created the earth. In recent remarks, Mr. Bush has encouraged school districts to incorporate both sides of the debate regarding the development of humanity: creationism, the belief that God created the earth in six days, and Inteligent Design, the idea that an unseen force has been guiding our development.

Teachers here in Odessa are praising what they call the President's 'evenhandedness,' noting that they plan to introduce the 'both sides' curriculum later this fall. "The plan is to expose students to all aspects of the debate," says 6th grade teacher Cindy Rostern, who says that she hasn't made up her mind over precisely how the universe was created but will, "just as soon as the science is in."

Six days of hard work or just a really intelligent creator?
For the two sides of this hard-fought debate, the stakes couldn't be higher. On one side are believers in the so-called Genesis creation account, in which God is alleged to have created the universe in just six days, stopping to rest on the seventh before drowning most of his creations in the Great Flood. According to recent polls, more than 60% of Americans believe that the Genesis account is "literally true."

A less popular explanation holds that the universe was created by a really inteligent creator who worked in concert with controversial British naturalist Charles Darwin to oversee the evolution of most species as we know them. While this theory, known as Intelligent Design, currently has a smaller market share than creationism, most Americans agree with President Bush that both creationism and Inteligent Design should be taught in schools.

The great dinosaur debate
Teachers who plan to jump on the President's suggestion that they teach both sides say that they're anticipating a fiercely competitive showdown as the two explanations of the universe go head to head. One key battleground: the dinosaur debate. Creationists maintain that man and dinosaur once lived side by side, a view popular with children who have flocked to see such megaplex hits in recent years as Dinosaur and Jurassic Park II. Analysts say that the Inteligent Design explanation of dinosaurs, that God created them only to let them die out, is likely to be less popular among grade school students.

Praise for a new textbook
The exploration of two probable explanations for the universe's creation isn't the only big news in the Odessa school system these days. Beginning this fall, the high school here will add an elective course on the Bible to the curriculum, giving students the opportunity to explore the Scriptural basis of the US Constitution, introducing never-before-seen evidence that the sun once stood still for two days and proving once and for all that the Great Flood really happened.

Next semester: Deometry
The Odessa school system is also considering replacing its current high school math curriculum with a new approach that emphasizes God's role in the study of quantity, structure, change and space. One likely course offering: Deometry, in which students of the field once known as geometry (from geo meaning earth and metro meaning measure) accept as their starting point that God created the earth, before embarking on their study of lines, points and circles. Educators are reportedly also debating the best way to incorporate the role of the Creator into other high school classes, including home economics, gym and drivers ed. 

Which account of human existence do you support? Talk back to Cole Walters at [email protected]. 

Comments

[Elisabeth Crowley]

WHy does belief in a higher power have to be hinged on the ramblings of idiots? I am frightened that smart people will wholey turn away from any reliance on a higher power to avoid being bunched together with thick headed fools who insist upon foisting their non knowledge on everyone. You need not be stupid and hard headed to know God, in fact the opposite is more likely to reveal the way.

[Michele Price]

The opinions on this site are very hilarious and overall true in some funny aspect!! I am a college student and I am doing a presentation on Intelligent Design, Just wanted you folks to know the class will have something to laugh about in regards to all the comments posted on this site!! this site would discuss inteligent Design with the least inteligent person in the United States of America our great "c' average president George W. Bush!!!!!

[mitza]

focking unbelievable how people choose to ignore scientific facts only to prove that they are right and impose their narrow relligious believes over the others ,a great procent of wich being kids.monsters, and i'm being kind

[marcio walter machado]

I have just read ur site and I'm thinking about using it with my students in order to discuss God and Evolution, as I've found very interesting stuff here. Nevertheless, I must tell you that some things do not match with the creationist ideas. When you say that creationism is the belief "in which God is alleged to have created the universe in just six days" you are failing to take into account linguistical aspects, as many detractors of this version of life's beginning do. The word "day" doesn't mean the period of 24 hours as we understand it nowadays, it actually means "period of time"; for an Hebrew there could even be "days" of weeks. Therefore, according to Moses, God's created the world in six periods of time, not in six periods of a twenty four-hour day. Also, it's wrong to say that "creationism support man and dinossaur lived together", the Bible makes no reference to the existence of those animals, and the book of genesis only says God created the mammals, birds etc., animals that were in the "arch of Noah", a story that's known all over the world, and among every ancient people, even the Australian Aborigenes. So, I suggest u revise ur text, bcoz, in spite of it being very interesting, there are points to be rethought.

by the way.. I support God created the world in six periods of times, starting in a Big Bang after he had said "let there be light", just as the book of genesis says in it's original and nasa has just delivered on their site. wanna know more? just get in touch :)

[marcio walter machado]

I have just read ur site and I'm thinking about using it with my students in order to discuss God and Evolution, as I've found very interesting stuff here. Nevertheless, I must tell you that some things do not match with the creationist ideas. When you say that creationism is the belief "in which God is alleged to have created the universe in just six days" you are failing to take into account linguistical aspects, as many detractors of this version of life's beginning do. The word "day" doesn't mean the period of 24 hours as we understand it nowadays, it actually means "period of time"; for an Hebrew there could even be "days" of weeks. Therefore, according to Moses, God's created the world in six periods of time, not in six periods of a twenty four-hour day. Also, it's wrong to say that "creationism support man and dinossaur lived together", the Bible makes no reference to the existence of those animals, and the book of genesis only says God created the mammals, birds etc., animals that were in the "arch of Noah", a story that's known all over the world, and among every ancient people, even the Australian Aborigenes. So, I suggest u revise ur text, bcoz, in spite of it being very interesting, there are points to be rethought.

by the way.. I support God created the world in six periods of times, starting in a Big Bang after he had said "let there be light", just as the book of genesis says in it's original and nasa has just delivered on their site. wanna know more? just get in touch :)

[Anon]

Learn to SPELL intelligent!!!! Holy hell.

[sami]

am totally against inteligent design tobe taught in schools.it will corrupt the students` mind and they will emerse in dillemas

[Babak]

Why are americans so afraid of letting god into their filthy lives. Their little brains of course cannot digest most of the so called science shit.

[tr]

you have to be kidding me, the belief in god is losing its luster to logic and understanding so what does the christian society do. basicially make up naother story place the same being in the story and call him the unseen hand guiding all things. sounds like a refrain to a song in church. and while we make up stories and cover up past statments theres real life going on....we'll neverk now who or what created the universe so lets just work with the time that is given to us.

[William]

Fuck you all the bible says Genisis 1:1 In the beginning He created the heavans and the earth

[Connor]

Jesus Christ wtf is up with this intelligent design crap...no sooner than do most of us get over all that creationist shite than these religious nuts have to dream up another round of self gloryifying nonsense...i refuse to believe that 60% of American's could be stupid enough to believe in creationism, which leads me to read your article satirically...and i therefore share your sentiments regarding both Bush's and his christian supporters' stupidity...c'mon people learn something and stop taking comfort in some 5000 year old man's ramblings...

[Ed Scott]

Well done! Now I am proud to be an American.

or..are you really a Brit.

Thank you for a good laugh and a great "site"

Ed

[Michael S Fitzpatrick]

Anyone who sites "Barney" as a good and credible source has got some issues.

[asdf]

privet is rossii

[Captain Video]

"If it is satire, it's too poorly done to be recognized as such."

The very best satire is parody of dogmatic positions held by ideologues that has just enough elements of plausibility that a lot of people are fooled into thinking it is for real, and one has to be intellectually alert to get it. By that test this site is perhaps the best parody site on the Internet.

Johnaton Swift would approve.

[Sure]

To You who believe in God...
know that non man can enter His kingdom... only if He lets it!
It means that not all of us can understand His words and thoughts.
Even if they´ll se miracles done in the name of Christ with they own eyes...
Some just can´t believe... and never will!
And To You non believers...
Just read one vers - 1 Corinth. 1:19
If You´r lucky enough to own a Bible!

And hat of for Bush! God bless the mans mind and soul!

[Jedediah]

Terre, Gawd will smite you for that comment.

[George Ruwisch]

Man.... well, at least it's only three more years right? I think I can sustain a drinking binge that long. The last five were nothing! <3republicans<3 heh... boo

[pedantmann]

Would someone throw Terre Z. down there a nudge and a wink, jeebus a little oh-slay are we? Poor greesey p., I know it sucks that this site displays comments "backwards", good gag even if you did forget to proofread. ; )

[Arne Saknussemm]

Is it only me and a bunch of catastrophists who see how the USA is turning into an integrist state? Is this the full extent of it, or are we going to see our own version of coranic schools and unashamed censorship in the name of someone’s god? Please somebody show me some comparably large tendencies going the other way, so I can find some balance(or hope) in these times.

[greeseyparrot]

Two! damnit! oops, now I too am going to hell, thanks alot!

[greeseyparrot]

To the author, and a couple of you respondents, intelligent, with to ells, as in the hell to which you are all headed if you continue to be participants in this mocking of our good and Godly president!

[Jason Rurup]

If we are going to keep with the standards of 'No Child Left Behind', I suggest we make understanding what God did for each of the six days it took to build this earth the first six questions of the test. The South shall rise again!

[Jason Rurup]

We can finally remove minority opinions from this debate and get some real answers! I love it when those fact spewing unbelievers get pushed aside. Way to go W!

[Terre Zenith]

"...a really inteligent creator who worked in concert with controversial British naturalist Charles Darwin to oversee the evolution"?

Please tell me this site is intended as satire. You can't really be serious, can you? If it is satire, it's too poorly done to be recognized as such. If it's meant to be serious, you folks need your heads examined. Get Real.