Theists: If you had to pick just one, what part or action of the human body would you say is the best example of something that had to have been designed by a perfect intelligence, for which evolution does not provide a satisfactory explanation?

Atheists: If you had to pick just one, what part or action of the human body would you say is the best example of something that a perfect intelligence wouldn’t have designed, but which evolution explains well?

I’ve never understood why men like Kent and Hovind, who are at the extreme end of the creationist insanity spectrum, seem to want to prove that dragons existed. Bad enough that Hovind wants us to believe that the T-Rex breathed fire, but now Kent wants us to believe that the dinosaurs had flaming noses.

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An Indiana Senate panel has approved a bill that would allow creationism to be taught in Indiana’s public schools.

The Times of Munster reported that the Republican-controlled Senate Education Committee voted 8-2 Wednesday to send the legislation to the full Senate despite pleas from scientists and religious leaders to keep religion out of science classrooms.

The bill allows schools to authorize “the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life” and specifically mentions “creation science” as one such theory. Creationism is the belief that the Earth and its creatures were created by a deity.

Purdue University professor of chemistry John Staver told the panel evolution is the only theory of life’s origins that relies on scientific investigations. He says creationism “is unquestionably a statement of a specific religion.”

From the Guardian website:

“Leading scientists and naturalists, including Professor Richard Dawkins and Sir David Attenborough, are claiming a victory over the creationist movement after the government ratified measures that will bar anti-evolution groups from teaching creationism in science classes.”

The measure is not a complete ban, but it confirms that UKgov will not fund any free school that teaches any theory of origin except Darwinian evolution in science classrooms.

“Several creationist groups have expressed an interest in opening schools in towns and cities across England, including Bedford, Barnsley, Sheffield and Nottingham. Critics say they seek to promote creationism, or the doctrine of “intelligent design”, as a scientific theory rather than as a myth or metaphor.”

Well, if they want to do that now then they need to pay for it themselves.

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Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

38 percent said human beings developed over millions of years with God guiding the process and another 12 percent said that development happened without God having any part of the process. Another 38 percent agreed with the statement “God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago.”

Did humans live at the same time as the dinosaurs? Three in ten Texas voters agree with that statement; 41 percent disagree, and 30 percent don’t know.

Also here’s some evidence that Texas Democrats are smarter than Republicans:

Democrats (28 percent) are less likely than Republicans (47 percent) to think that humans have always existed in their present form and more likely (21 percent to 7 percent) to think humans have developed over millions of years without God’s guidance. Republicans are less likely to believe that humans developed from earlier species of animals; 26 percent agree, while 60 percent disagree. Among Democrats in the survey, 46 percent agree that humans evolved from earlier species; 42 percent disagree. Perry’s voters were most hostile to this premise — 67 percent disagree.

Looks like there’s a good part of Texas that needs to be told about the last couple centuries of scientific enlightenment.