Then God…0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

Children seem to have an innate fascination with dinosaurs. I know this from my days as a book editor. Children's books on, about or illustrated with pictures of dinosaurs are instant sales stars. I know the appeal of dinosaurs firsthand now by way of my eight-year-old son. Christopher will spend hours at a clip delving

The Idea of Freedom0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

Science or Religion?0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

In the often cited—but rarely understood—historical case of Galileo, a court was called on to address scientific questions about the nature of the universe. Unsurprisingly, the outcome of that proceeding was a disastrous affirmation of the orthodoxy current at the time. Courtrooms have never been a good forum for addressing questions of science or religion,

Protect Religious Rhetoric?0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

Deeply held religious faith permeates every sphere of life. Spiritual people cannot segregate their religious belief from their mundane, daily life. A robust understanding of religious liberty would not require that they try to do so. As has been discovered by a teacher in British Columbia, when one's religious beliefs contradict secular values, full participation

Intelligent Reasoning0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

When a federal court ruled unconstitutional the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board policy promoting "intelligent design" in the science classroom, it also noted the limits of its decision. The court explicitly refrained from taking a position on the validity of the religious belief that a supernatural force played a role in creation. It also made plain

Gallileo in Reverse0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

When Pennsylvania Judge John Jones wrote his opinion that "ID [intelligent design] is not science" in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (December 20, 2005), all sides of the argument grabbed his words for their cause. To those keen to maintain the "scientific integrity" of the evolutionary argument, this was indeed good

Freedom of Speech in Democracies0

• May/June 2006
• May 1, 2006

Since the republican form of government presupposes freedom of speech as axiomatic, does it really need a defense? Logically speaking, it would not. Yet, throughout our country, pub