LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY britzkrieg)

New Scientist reports:

A deep rift has opened within the Catholic church over the theory of evolution and its compatibility with the Christian faith.

The Vatican’s chief astronomer, George Coyne, has rebuffed controversial comments made by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn in The New York Times on 7 July that evolution is incompatible with a belief in God.

Full Article

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

An excellent Op-Ed column from the NYT:

Design for Confusion
By PAUL KRUGMAN

I'd like to nominate Irving Kristol, the neoconservative former editor of The Public Interest, as the father of "intelligent design." No, he didn't play any role in developing the doctrine. But he is the father of the political strategy that lies behind the intelligent design movement - a strategy that has been used with great success by the economic right and has now been adopted by the religious right.

Back in 1978 Mr. Kristol urged corporations to make "philanthropic contributions to scholars and institutions who are likely to advocate preservation of a strong private sector." That was delicately worded, but the clear implication was that corporations that didn't like the results of academic research, however valid, should support people willing to say something more to their liking.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

An avid evolutionist takes potshots at the extremists on both sides of the creationism vs. evolutionist argument. Subscription or day pass required.