National Center for Science Education & Evolution

The charge that evolution “is in danger of being banished from our schools” is a lie—a lie being perpetrated for the sole purpose of attempting to raise money.
By Wayne Jackson | Christian Courier

No narration available

Recently I received a form letter (dated November, 1998) from Eugenie C. Scott, executive director for the National Center For Science Education, Inc. This militant, anti-religion organization is underwritten by some of the most rabid skeptics in America. Prominent names, such as F.J. Ayala, Niles Eldredge, Stephen J. Gould, and Donald Johanson, are connected with the movement.

The letter was co-signed by Ms. Scott’s associate, Molleen Matsumura. It made a desperate plea for money. Why? Because, as these co-conspirators so dramatically assert: “one of the organizing principles of science, evolution, is in danger of being banished from our schools.”

Is there no integrity left in the world of academia?

Listen to what these darlings of Darwin have to say.

Our job at the National Center of Science Education is to try to keep evolution in the schools and keep out creation “science” and other religious views masquerading as science.

Note the distinction that is drawn between “evolution,” which purportedly is real science, and the concept of “creation,” which merely masquerades as science.

This is total propaganda with no substance at all. Consider the following.

No view, dealing strictly with the concept of origins (which is beyond the purview of empirical investigation) can be classified as “science.” Science is based upon observation, experimentation, etc. From the nature of the case, that which cannot be examined and tested cannot be called “science” legitimately.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the testimony of Dr. Francisco J. Ayala (University of California, Irvine), a supporter of the NCSE, whose name is listed on their letterhead:

A hypothesis is empirical or scientific only if it can be tested by experience. . . . A hypothesis or theory which cannot be, at least in principle, falsified by empirical observations and experiments does not belong to the realm of science (1974, 700; emphasis added).

Evolution, therefore, is not science!

Many skeptics have conceded that the ideology of “evolution” is very much a faith matter. Dr. Robert Jastrow, professor of astronomy and geology at Columbia University (an agnostic), in discussing the evolutionary view of the spontaneous origin of life on earth has said this:

The [evolutionary view of life’s origin] is also an act of faith. The act of faith consists in assuming that the scientific view of the origin of life is correct, without having concrete evidence to support that belief (1977, 52; emphasis added).

Dr. Louis More of Princeton wrote: “The more one studies paleontology, the more certain one becomes that evolution is based upon faith alone” (1925, 160; emphasis added).

Away, then, with this arrogant drivel that evolution is “science,” while belief in creation is just “superstition.” Here is an interesting question: why is it considered “religious” dogma to teach there was a “creation” (which implies a Creator), and yet it is viewed as “science” to assert there was not a “creation” or a “Creator.” If one is a religious view, then why isn’t the other—merely in a negative format? Does logical consistency meaning nothing to these people?

In the second place, the claim that evolution “is in danger of being banished from our schools” is pure bunk. Likely there is scarcely a school in this nation, that is a part of our federally-funded educational system, that does not teach, to a significant degree, the theory of evolution. This atheistic ideology absolutely dominates the thinking of the leaders of the educational community.

As I write this piece, I have before me a copy of SCIENCE: Framework Addendum for California Public Schools – Kindergarten and Grades One Through Twelve, published under the direction of the California State Board of Education. It provides the guidelines for teaching science in California schools. It is saturated with evolutionary dogma from start to finish!

The charge, therefore, that evolution “is in danger of being banished from our schools” is a lie—a lie being perpetrated for the sole purpose of attempting to raise money. At the same time, those who believe in the concept of divine creation are being portrayed as ignorant bumpkins who are undermining the educational process in our nation.

It is time for those who endorse the biblical record of humanity’s genesis to fight back. We must prepare ourselves to intelligently meet the arguments of skeptics. We must fortify the faith of our children. We must support those who are qualified to lead the battle.

Let us rise to the task.

Sources
  • Ayala, Francisco J. 1974. American Scientist, Nov/Dec.
  • Jastrow, Robert. 1977. Until the Sun Dies. New York, NY: Warner Books.
  • More, Louis. 1925. The Dogma of Evolution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.