School Board Members Say Intelligent Design Introduced as Alternative to Evolution

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School Board Members Say Intelligent Design Introduced as Alternative to Evolution

The Christian Post, Nov. 3, 2005

Members of a school board embroiled in a federal court struggle with parents over the legality of introducing intelligent design into the curriculum testified that they included a mention of the theory in a science class so that students could be exposed to alternatives to evolutionary theory.

Board members who testified in what is scheduled to be the last week of the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case in Pennsylvania, included board president Sheila Harkins who said on Wednesday that for students, "design" in the curriculum was "another way to make them think," according to the Associated Press.

Earlier in the week, Alan Bonsell, who has been at the center of the controversy for allegedly having discussed creationism at various points prior to the introduction of the new school policy introducing intelligent design, stated that his intention was for teachers to mention the concept, and not to teach it, according to AP.

The intelligent design concept states that some aspects of nature are so complex that they could not have developed on their own, and that their complexity points to an intelligent designer. Proponents defend the theory against charges of being creationist religion in disguise by saying that intelligent design draws only from what is observable in nature, and that its conclusions are based on empirical evidence. They also note that the theory does not draw from the Bible and its Genesis account of creation.

In her testimony Harkins acknowledged that she had made her decision to approve the intelligent design by doing Internet research and by a brief reading of an intelligent design textbook called Of Pandas and People which the school district used as a reference book in a high school library.

The controversy began in October of 2004, when the school board approved a statement to be read at the start of a ninth grade biology class, which said that evolutionary theory was "not a fact," that the theory contained "gaps," that there were other competing theories such as intelligent design, and that students could learn more about it by reading a textbook it in the school's library.

Parents have sued the school board, claiming that intelligent design is a religious concept that has no place in science classes.

Testimony so far has included scientists both for and against the theory, as well as school board members, and parents with differing views on the policy.

On Wednesday, board member Harkins explained that in creating the statement, she felt that it should specify which other theories competed with evolution theory.

"If you're going to say 'other theories,' then you need to have an example of what 'other theories' is," she said.

In drawing up the statement to be read, Bonsell, who testified on Monday, expressed that he was aware that some science teachers feared that they could be sued over the new policy but said his goal was "to try to bring something together that everyone could agree on, if that was possible," he said, according to AP.

Also on Monday, Bonsell testified that he had received a check for $850 to pay for intelligent design textbooks from fellow board member William Buckingham. Buckingham said in court last week that he collected donations for Of Pandas and People during a Sunday Service at his church, according to AP.

However, this contradicted testimony that Bonsell gave during a deposition leading up to the case. Bonsell had denied knowing anyone, besides his father who had been involved in donating copies of the textbook to the district, according to the Daily Record.

Bonsell was given a chance to explain the discrepancy before the judge on Monday and said he had misspoken.

"I was extremely nervous to say the least and honestly tried to do my best and answer as truthfully as I could," Bonsell said according to AP.

The school board is being defended by the Thomas More Law Center, a Christian law firm. The plaintiffs are being represented by a team of lawyers put together by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Americans for the Separation of Church and State.

The trial has taken nearly six weeks, beginning in late September. It is expected to end on Friday.

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