I am an ASA member, employed as an engineer, but having a continued
interest in origins issues, and how they are taught in public and
Christian schools.
It seems to me that the statement stresses that the scientific
enterprise can go awry, and operate from philosophic perspectives
rather than scientific method. Quite true. But it is very unclear just
what Acme Academy thinks about the overall value of the scientific
method as a way of arriving at truth. On one hand, I am alarmed
by how much Final Authority you give science in this statement; but
I think you specifically mean "literal" creationist positions:
>Many of the positions held by Christians are positions taken on
>faith in the Word of God. These positions will not be presented as
>proven scientific fact until they are proven so by the proper,
>unbiased use of the scientific method.
But on the other hand, acceptance of the phenomenon of natural selection
on a micro-level appears to be the outer limits of what you will acknowledge
as legit from the secular community on origins:
>the scientific method has consistently shown that
>there are observable changes within similar classifications of living
>things over time -- changes that appear to permit these organisms to
>survive longer. . . However, to extrapolate from these small changes . . .
So I don't have a clue as to whether radiocarbon dating and fundamental
geology are likely to be generally accepted at Acme as legitimate tools,
or whether I will be taught that God put those bones in the ground to
test our faith.
If I were considering Acme for my child, I would keep looking for a
Christian school which more wholeheartedly endorses science.
-- Gary
/****
* Gary W. Thorburn
* email address: gthorburn@xyplex.com
****/