> While John Wiester didn't say here that he was speaking for the ASA,
>that will certainly be the
>impression that most readers will get, and the account gives no indication that
>he tried to avoid that result. The fact that he is a member of the science
>education committee gives him no more authority to speak for the organization
>than any other has. Even the way in which ASA's position is described, with
>the term "ideology", is misleading. An honest report would have pointed out
>that many ASA members thought that the previous Kansas standards which omitted
>the big bang and evolution were absurd.
> This kind of thing gives the ASA a bad name in the scientific community
>and among theologically literate Christians. Many people in both communities
>(which of course overlap) already think of the ASA as an organization which is
>suspicious of evolution. If we really are to be neutral on evolution then
>members have the obligation to try to avoid having their own views represented
>as those of the organization.
I have repeatedly had to do fire brigade action on behalf of the ASA for
just such reports. The ASA is immediately suspect in many academic
quarters, and it requires a constant effort to inform them that the ASA is
a diverse organization with a significant range of scientific expertise and
theological views.
Keith
Keith B. Miller
Department of Geology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
kbmill@ksu.edu
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/
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