{"id":644,"date":"2010-12-10T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-10T11:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution\/"},"modified":"2010-12-10T11:41:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-10T11:41:00","slug":"swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html","title":{"rendered":"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The victory of authentic<\/a> science<\/a> education<\/a> in Louisiana<\/a> is being reported<\/a> widely<\/a>. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at what the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education\u00a0<\/span>president and lone dissenting voter Dale Bayard had to say<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I am an open-minded person, and I challenge anybody to come and tell me \u2014 and I\u2019ve asked a couple of educators that are friends of mine \u2014 can you do me a favor and tell me, can you swear on a stack of Bibles there\u2019s no other refutable data that provides an objective other approach to Darwin\u2019s theory?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maybe Bayard\u2019s friends would not swear on a stack of Bibles because they were familiar with Jesus\u2019 teaching about not swearing (in Matthew 5:34<\/a> \u2013 which, I will mention explicitly for the benefit of Bayard, is in the Bible<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Or maybe they realized that \u201crefutable data\u201d doesn\u2019t seem to mean anything. Or perhaps they realized that on the best attempt to make sense of this convoluted sentence, the appropriate answer is that there isn\u2019t refutable<\/em> data, evidence and arguments, but rather there is data, evidence and arguments that have resisted every attempt to refute them<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Or maybe they assumed that Bayard was talking about something \u201cother\u201d than the evidence that is widely known and studied by biologists \u2013 after all, he does say \u201cother\u201d twice. <\/p>\n

What I will say is that Zach Kopplin<\/a>, a Louisiana high school student, seems to understand the relevant science better than the president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education \u2013 and is also able to articulate his message more clearly. And so while the decision of the rest of the school board gives us hope for the present, and students like Zach give us hope for the future of science education in Louisiana as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at what the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education\u00a0president and lone dissenting voter Dale Bayard had to say: I am an open-minded person, and I challenge anybody to come and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-10T11:41:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/7622297540113836091-3159779689318228325?l=exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html\",\"name\":\"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-10T11:41:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-10T11:41:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution","description":"The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution","og_description":"The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2010-12-10T11:41:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/7622297540113836091-3159779689318228325?l=exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html","name":"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-12-10T11:41:00+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-10T11:41:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"The victory of authentic science education in Louisiana is being reported widely. It seemed to me worth taking the time nevertheless to look closely at","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2010\/12\/swearing-on-a-stack-of-bibles-in-favor-of-darwin-and-evolution.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Swearing on a Stack of Bibles in Favor of Darwin and Evolution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}