Theology Thursdays

Yikes!

From the SJ-R Bernard Schoenburg Column
Thursday, October 20, 2005

Brady: God, Bible ‘critically important’ in schools

When state Sen. BILL BRADY had a clergyman say a prayer to begin his announcement of candidacy for governor in Springfield in July, that was a hint that the Bloomington Republican is not shy about religion.

Oh, boy, here we go.

That was made even more crystal clear in a radio interview this week. JIM LEACH, WMAY-AM news director and a talk show host, asked Brady on the air if it would be OK for public schools to teach “intelligent design” as a theory in science class.

They talked about a definition of terms, and Brady said he saw intelligent design as “in other words, teaching the Bible.”

It's not a theory. Just for the record. It's religion masquerading as science.

“I think we should teach the Bible in our schools,” Brady said. “One of the basic, fundamental voids we have in our school system is bringing God into the system.”

Dear Senator Brady,

You may integrate
church and state
when I can start taxing the collection plate.
What indeed shall be the rate?
Eight and a half sure sounds great!

Sincerely,
Drone 1047


...That ended the telephone interview with Leach, but I contacted Brady later to get more on what seemed a pretty strong view.

He said any teaching about the Bible “should be left up to local school board, but I don’t think there should be a prohibition against them teaching the historical significance of the Bible or any religion. …”

“I believe in school prayer. I believe in the Pledge of Allegiance. I believe there ought to be the freedom for local school boards to make those decisions...

Ha! Ha! Did you get whiplash changing direction that fast?

“I don’t know if it’s science,” he added. “It’s certainly history.”

Damn straight.

...Another candidate for the GOP nomination for governor, JIM OBERWEIS of Aurora, also talked about intelligent design on WMAY-AM this week, on the PAMELA FURR show.

I can't believe they used the words "intelligent" and "Jim Oberweis" in the same sentence.

...“I believe in a God, and in creation, but there’s nothing inconsistent in my mind between believing in creation, and at the same time believing in evolution,” Oberweis said...Oberweis told me later that there is “very strong evidence” of evolution, “but there’s nothing inconsistent between evolution and a creator or a God, in my opinion.”

To quote Harvard professor Steven Pinker, "Many people who accept evolution still feel that a belief in god is necessary to give life meaning and to justify morality. But that is exactly backwards. In practice, religion has given us stonings, inquisitions and 9/11. Morality comes from a commitment to treat others as we wish to be treated, which follows from the realization that none of us is the sole occupant of the universe. Like physical evolution, it does not require a white-coated technician in the sky."

The article goes on to talk about that other GOP candidate for Illinois' top job, Steve Rauschenberger...

“Steve is a big believer in local control of schools,” Proft said, “So certainly, there would be and should be deference paid to parents first and teachers and local school board members in terms of curricula.”

He said children should be exposed to as many credible theories as possible about human history, and “what specific class it’s taught in is less relevant than exposure.” He said discussion of various views could help people understand the thoughts of Christians, Jews and others.

“Steve’s opinion is you should always err on the side of expanding the marketplace of ideas,” Proft said.

Ha! ha! ha! ha! I did hear he was running on the Hypocrite Party ticket this time...

As for prayer in school, Proft said of Rauschenberger, “I’m sure that he is open for a moment of silent prayer.”

I hope so, after all, he's the guy who wants concealed carry for teachers!




That's it for this week! Tune in for next week's installment of Theology Thursday when we visit the Planet of the Apes for some wallnuts, MSNBC sets phasers on Armageddon, and we catch up on some old friends while God-Blogging.