How about this as a reconciliation,

Let's teach both, objectively, and let bright intelligent kids ( you know, our future leaders ) decide what to believe. There is a lot of belief necessary for science too.

Thus, it would be reasonable for a child to hear:

Children, today we are going to talk about the Universe. As you know, there are many theories about the universe and how it came to be.

One set of opinions, developed through several recent centuries of scientific experimentation, conjectures that the universe started as a very small object, perhaps the size of a head of a pin. Then, for some reason, this pinhead-sized object began expanding -- very quickly at first -- to the universe you see today. There are many theories which describe how galaxies, stars, and planetary systems are formed. There are many theories -- some which do require the Big Bang, as we have all heard it called, and some which do not. An example of one that does not is steady-state theory.

A second set of theories, perhaps several thousand years old, indicate that the universe was created by God. The usual reference for this is the Bible, which says that God created the universe, planets, people, animals, and everything in about 6 days. There are many theories -- some say that this all happened about 6 to 8 thousand years ago, and some which say this could have happened much longer ago than that.

At this time, class, many people are working on each theory. This a highly visible battle for the minds and hearts of future generations. For your assignment, I'd like you to write a 2 page paper on diversity, taking into account both systems. Your papers should emphasize why tolerating diversity is important (in light of a lot of unknowns), and suggest a way that there could be a reconciliation between these 2 theories. A portion of your thesis should discuss the potential outcome if either group is not treated fairly, explaining what you see as the risks to society, and integrity.






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: DJ on 2002-08-24 11:04 ]</font>