The DI Runs, Not Walks, Away From El Tejon

Our favorite biologist lawyer Casey Luskin at the Discovery Institute counseled the school district in El Tejon yesterday on their impedeing lawsuit against teaching intelligent design in a philosophy class.

In this press release, which was his recollection of his remarks to the school board, he suggested that they cancel the course no less than four times. Why such fear?

From what I can tell, this course was originally formulated as if it would promote young earth or Biblical creationism as scientific fact. Although I understand that the course has since been reformulated to remove the creationist material, a course description was sent out to students around December 1st which described this course as promoting young earth or Biblical creationism as scientific fact. This is very concerning because courts have made it clear—specifically the U.S. Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard—that young earth creationism is unconstitutional to teach as fact in public schools.

Intelligent design is very different from young earth creationism. We at the Discovery Institute believe that intelligent design is constitutional to teach as a science.

Ahh… Having ID play on the same court as young earth creationism surely wouldn’t do. They’re totally different after all. And if there’s any chance of overturning that mean old judge in Dover, you’ll have to have at least a chance that next time around you can convince someone that the designer need not be God at all.

But if you do not cancel this course, and if you let this lawsuit go forward, you are going to lose and there will be a dangerous legal precedent set which could threaten the teaching of intelligent design on the national level. Such a decision would also threaten the scientific research of many scientists who support intelligent design.

Well Casey, that “dangerous legal precedent” just got set in Dover. It’ll get set again in Ohio too. As long as you guys keep trying to support a coup d’etat on science by introducing metaphysical ideas into public classrooms, you ought to get chased out of town with your tail between your legs.

And as far as threatening the research of those many scientists? For the 20 some odd years that intelligent design “theory” has been around, no one has stopped anyone from “doing science.” Your as free in the next 20 years as you were in the last to come up with a scientific theory that overthrows evolution and causes a paradigm shift in the scientific landscape.

I’m not holding my breath.