Creation Science and Intelligent Design :: essays research papers

There continue to be numerous efforts to introduce creationism in US classrooms. One strategy is to declare that evolution is a religion, and therefore it should not be taught in the classroom either, or that if evolution is a religion, then surely creationism as well can be taught in the classroom.[1] In the 1980's Phillip E. Johnson began reading the scientific literature on evolution. This led to the writing of Darwin on Trial, which examined the evidence for evolution from religious point of view and challenged the assumption that the only reasonable explanation for the origin of species must be a naturalistic one, though science is defined by searching for natural explanations for phenomena. This book, and his subsequent efforts to encourage and coordinate creationists with more credentials was the start of the "Intelligent Design" movement. Intelligent design asserts that there is evidence that life was created by an "intelligent designer" (mainly that the physical properties of an object are so complex that they must have been "designed"). Proponents claim that ID takes "all available facts" into account rather than just those available through naturalism. Opponents assert that ID is a pseudoscience because its claims cannot be tested by experiment (see falsifiable) and do n ot propose any new hypotheses. Many proponents of the ID movement support requiring that it be taught in the public schools. For example, the Discovery Institute and Phillip E. Johnson, support the policy of "Teach the Controversy", which entails presenting to students evidence for and against evolution, and then encouraging students to evaluate that evidence themselves. While many proponents of ID believe that it should be taught in schools, other creationists believe that legislation is not appropriate. Answers in Genesis has said: "AiG is not a lobby group, and we oppose legislation for compulsion of creation teaching ... why would we want an atheist forced to teach creation and give a distorted view? But we would like legal protection for teachers who present scientific arguments against the sacred cow of evolution such as staged pictures of peppered moths and forged embryo diagrams ..."[2] Opponents point out that there is no scientific controversy, but only a political and religious one, therefore "teaching the controversy" would only be appropriate in a social studies, religion, or philosophy class. Many, such as Richard Dawkins, compare teaching intelligent design in schools to teaching flat earthism, since the scientific consensus regarding these issues is identical.

A Comparative Biography of Jesus in The Qur’an & The Bible

Jesus has been divinized a significant person in both Islam and Christianity.The Qur’an and the Bible, as the main sources of the information about Jesus respectively in Islam and Christianity, has contained the biographical narrations of Jesus, covering his life and death. Both similarities and differences can be found in the Qur’an and the Bible about the narrations of Jesus’ life. This essay will provide a comparative biography of this noble Messenger of God in the Qur’an and the Bible. ·Ã‚  Ã‚   In both the Qur’an and the Bible, Jesus is narrated as having had an extraordinary birth. The extraordinariness of the birth of Jesus can be mainly reflected from his biological mother being a virgin. Muslims and Christians both believe that a chaste, virgin woman called Mary miraculously gave birth to the male baby, Jesus before marrying her fiancà ©, Joseph.Evidence can be found in the Qur’an and the Bible about the startling birth of Jesus. As the Qur’an says, â€Å"she (Mary) said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me.’ (Qur’an 3: 47) Similarly, Christians also believe that when Mary was married to a man called Joseph, while she was a virgin. According to the narration in the Bible, Joseph â€Å"kept her virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.† (Bible: Matthew 1:25) ·Ã‚  Ã‚   Both Muslims and Christians believe Jesus is a Messenger of God. According to Qur’an, belief in the Messengership of Jesus is one fundamental criterion to judge the true identity of a Muslim.As it is narrated with respect to the Messengership in the Quran, â€Å"the Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other mortals do).† (Qur’an 5:75). Most Christians believe in the Divinity of Jesus and consider him as the second member of the Triune God, the Son of the first part of the Triune God, who assigned by God to perform certain holy mission.As it is narrated in the Bible, â€Å"and now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretches out thy hand to heal, and sign and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.† (Bible: Acts 4: 30).However, coexisting with the aforementioned similarities are some divergences of Muslims and Christians’ beliefs in term of the biography of Jesus in the Qur’an and the Bible. Two most representative ones are whether or not Jesus was the son of God as well as the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Historical Deviant Sexual Behaviors Free Essay Example, 2250 words

A number of these deviant sexual behaviors do not cause harm to the victim but are rather just a source of nuisance. Even so, deviant sexual behaviors have been associated with negative impact on the health status, psychological functioning and interpersonal functioning of victims (McAnulty Burnette, 2006). Behaviors such as prostitution risk the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and other infections (WHO, 2005). The affected victims could be affected psychologically, causing anxiety and fears. The victims could also find it difficult to relate with other people, especially those resembling their perpetrators. It has also been observed that some deviant sexual behaviors propagate deviant behaviors and fantasies. Williams et al. (2009) give the example of pornography which promotes aggression and rape tendencies among men. Such tendencies lead to sex crimes which could lead to prosecution in a court of law. A majority of these acts are also criminal in various countries and could as such land the perpetrators to jail. Even though largely considered to be negative, these behaviors could also deter perpetrators from engaging in harmful crimes. Specifically, nuisance sexual behaviors with no harm to the victim give the perpetrators satisfaction without resorting to alternative harmful behaviors (Mahmut, Homewood, Stevenson, 2008). We will write a custom essay sample on Historical Deviant Sexual Behaviors or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Heterosexuals are so because of their behaviors and attitudes towards people of the opposite sex.