By Thad Holcombe

Guest columnist, University Daily Kansas, March 6, 2000

Holcombe is the campus pastor for the ECM. This statement was developed by the ECM board (Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Church of the Brethren, and the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker)).

There is ongoing dialogue and debate at the University of Kansas regarding evolution. This is how it should be.

The University of Kansas Ecumenical Christian Ministries board represents diversity within the Christian faith. The board members are people from many denominations, professions and places in a spiritual walk, united by acceptance of the message and ministry of Jesus Christ.

We differ theologically and politically on many issues, but we put aside those differences on any occasion where such differences may impede our objective of serving, teaching and learning at the University. It is in this spirit that we respond to the recent Kansas State Board of Education decision concerning the teaching of evolution, Big Bang theory and other scientific principles dealing with the origins and progression of our universe.

We are first and foremost a Christian organization that strives to understand its own faith and to be Christ´s representatives to students, faculty and staff at the University. Our faith and commitment to Christ compel us to work for a just society free from oppression from the state, the church or any other organization. We believe Christ´s message to be inclusive and based on principles of compassion and love for women and men as sisters and brothers in our time on Earth. As such, we affirm the basic rights of all people in our society, particularly those who find themselves in the minority. We believe that the Bill of Rights provides basic individual protections that cannot be taken by any majority.

The specific right central to this issue is the right to practice religious beliefs without interference from the government. This includes the right to an education that is not unduly influenced by any religious system. We unanimously oppose the decision of the Board of Education. This decision offends us as a Christian community. Factual analysis leads us to the conclusion that this decision represents a frontal attack on the teaching of modern scientific principles in the state of Kansas.

Although rhetorically inclusive, the only intent of this decision is the removal of accepted scientific principles from Kansas educational standards. The decision to de-emphasize is based solely on a perceived threat to one religious viewpoint, not on any properly conducted and peer-reviewed scientific process. Science curriculum must be based on scientific principles, not religious dogma. Most particularly, it should not be modified for the sole purpose of consistency with one highly sectarian interpretation of the Genesis story, particularly when that interpretation claims literal truth. God and Christ do not fit in that box.

Any changes to Kansas educational practices must be based on national and international scientific standards. Most troubling to us is the statement implicit in the debate that young people must choose between scientific inquiry and Christianity (or any other religious tradition) &emdash; that somehow understanding the physics of light refraction through water or the biology of disease diminishes the beauty of a rainbow or the miracle of a medical procedure. Interpretation in the physical and metaphysical worlds should not be intertwined.

Defining causality and characterization in the physical world is the role of science. Providing meaning and purpose is the role of religion. For the practicing scientist and the layperson, each day is an adventure in discovering the beauties in the universe. Each day is an opportunity to see a Creator God revealed in the intricacies of the functioning of ourselves, our societies, our planet, solar system and universe. There is poetry in mathematics, music and science, and joy in understanding our world.

The secular tragedy in this debate is the denial of such joys to young people in our state who are just beginning their great journeys of discovery. The Christian tragedy is the use of Christ´s message to implicitly exile young people whose gifts lie in scientific inquiry. All this is in the name of one selfish attempt to make ourselves the center of God´s creation. We should not forget the lesson of Galileo, whose heresy was to suggest that the earth was not the center of creation.