In His Image

That resulted in a lawsuit, backed by parents who see the label as an intrusion of religious thought into public life.

And both sides are lining up their arguments anew as the case goes before a federal appeals court this week.

Here's my not-so-humble opinion on the subject:

Biblical Creation is not science.

It cannot be broken down into hypotheses. It cannot be tested, repeatedly and independently, to achieve matching results. Thus, it does not meet the criteria for scientific analysis. It does not belong in a science curriculum.

Advocates of both Creation and Intelligent Design are also fond of saying that Evolution is a theory, not a fact. Unfortunately, this suggests that no theory can be proven if there is the least question about its conclusions.

Hang on to your desks, folks. Gravity's going to stop working any moment now.

Some Creationists insist that the Earth is only several thousand years old, based on their own observations and interpretations of the Bible. The answer, apparently, for the discrepancies of fossils and geologic evidence to the contrary, is that God Created it that way.

So the Earth is just a big movie set? Perhaps that's what Shakespeare was getting at when he wrote, "All the world's a stage ..."

And if I believe God does nothing without a purpose, what was the purpose of planting fake dinosaur bones in the dirt? A test of faith? What kind of test of faith requires God to lie to us?

What the real issue is, of course, is human pride. Devout Christians don't want to be descended from primates because of the implication that God is a monkey.

1. What if this were true? Does it make Creation any less sacred? Does it shake your faith to its roots and topple it over?

2. Why do we presume our physical form is the aspect referred to when the Bible speaks of, "... in His Image?" Is man the form molded out of the dust of the ground, or is he the spark of life which God breathed into him? Or is the phrase indicative of other qualities beyond physical appearance?

Frankly, from my perspective, the concept of evolution reflects God's Wisdom. He created a dynamic world, not a static one, and in giving man the gift of adapting to that world - not solely through means of tools, but through change over time - He truly gave us dominion/stewardship over it.

There are no contradictions. The only controversy is one forged of human frailty.

And there's certainly no cause for a warning label.

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