Christian physicians & dentists tout intelligent design as pro-science

[Bluebear]

To: National Desk

Contact: Margie Shealy of the Christian Medical Association, 423-844-1047, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Criticizing a "Scientific Inquisition" aimed at squelching debate over exclusively teaching the theory of evolution, the Christian Medical Association (www.cmda.org) today called for fair and open consideration of the scientific merits of intelligent design theory.

Dr. David Stevens, Executive Director of the 17,000-member CMA, noted, "It's hard to reconcile the scientific principles of freedom of exploration, testing hypotheses and evaluating evidence with the tyrannical rhetoric coming from some scientific elites who want to squelch the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolutionary theory."

As an example, Dr. Stevens cited a recent editorial in this month's New England Journal of Medicine entitled "Faith Healers and Physicians--Teaching Pseudoscience by Mandate," by deputy editor Robert S. Schwartz, M.D. In the editorial, Schwartz compared a religious leader, who expressed opposition to the theory of evolution, to the Russian tyrant Joseph Stalin. He also warned that "acquiescing to this anti-science movement would have far-reaching consequences for the development of future generations of physicians, for the likelihood of discovering new therapies, and for understanding health and disease."

Dr. Stevens rejoined, "Dr. Schwartz's betrayal of his ignorance of the history of science suggests that maybe instead of debating teaching intelligent design, we should be debating teaching history in medical school. Some of the greatest pioneers of science saw God's fingerprints in the natural order they investigated. Scientists like Copernicus, Kepler, Boyle, Paré, Ambriose and Newton produced tremendous scientific breakthroughs as a result of and consistent with their religious faith and belief in the God who ordered the universe.

"Instead of an open and systematic consideration of the evidence, a small but powerful scientific elite have launched the equivalent of a "Scientific Inquisition" against any scientist who dares to break ranks to consider the claims of intelligent design. Besides persecuting any scientist who dares consider the evidence for intelligent design, the ruling elite would also excommunicate any scientist who sees God behind that design."

CMA Associate Executive Director Dr. Gene Rudd added, "Physicians who treat patients don't labor under a false dichotomy of faith and science. In a survey of 1,044 doctors nationwide, 76 percent said they believe in God, 59 percent said they believe in some sort of afterlife, and 55 percent said their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine. Despites Dr. Schwartz's efforts to deny a transcendent influence in our world and in our lives, the majority of his readers do not agree with him."

To schedule an interview please contact Margie Shealy at [phone] or by e-mail: [email protected].

http://www.earnedmedia.org/cma1018.htm

[grannylib]

1. Physicians and DENTISTS??? We are supposed to listen to fundie

DENTISTS now as arbiters of science vs/and religion?
Nothing against dentists, but gees, isn't that grasping at ghosts of straws?

[Bluebear]

2. Open wide and swallow that creation story! :)

[grannylib]

5. *lol* good one! Although I prefer rinse and SPIT...

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

4. Yes, but what do the chiropractors say?

:evilgrin:

[sniffa]

7. you're a rabid anti-dentite

[tocqueville]

3. more empty rethoric and martyr syndrome

show me single fossil with a carving "made in heaven" and I'll turn to be a believer...

what we want are PROOFS.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. "Scientific Inquisition" ?

Boy do they have a perscution complex.

[Zenlitened]

8. Do bibles these days come with a coupon for a free lobotomy?

These religion-sotted taliban-wanabees just cannot be considered sane, healthy functioning people.

And they LIE. They just lie, lie, lie.

A "ruling elite" has launched an "inquisition" (irony meter goes off the scale) while refusing to "consider the evidence for ID."

Yeah, right. That's exactly what's going on.

Or... perhaps... the scant evidence and infantile hypotheses peddled as ID have been considered, rebutted with logic and facts, and discarded appropriately.

Sick, sick, damaged people.

[BrewerJohn]

9. Oh for FSM's sake, "Dr." Rudd

CMA Associate Executive Director Dr. Gene Rudd added, "Physicians who treat patients don't labor under a false dichotomy of faith and science.

Haven't pro-science advocates been saying all these years that there is no such false dichotomy?

Have any kind of faith you want. Have as much of it as you want. But if you seek to have the tenets of your faith accepted as science to be taught in schools, your proposed teaching material has to meet the standards that science has set up for itself. That's all, but apparently it's too much to ask for these gits.

Can just one of them show me the purported evidence for "intelligent design"? (Clue: carping, ill-informed sniping at various details of established theory does not count as evidence.) Does the stuff they tout suggest any relevant experiments that could be done to test it? Does it point in any direction that could lead to fruitful future research? No? Well, just how is it science, then?

Supposedly these people have gone to school and absorbed enough factual material to function as physicians. But they seem to have missed picking up some important conceptual material.