I don’t think that evangelicals are “stupid”. In fact, many are quite brilliant. For example, Francis Collins is the former Director of NIH’s Human Genome Project.

At the same time there is a very serious effort by many to resolve the apparent conflict between Science and Scripture by assuming that the former is an intentional distortion by Scientists (involved in a wanton Satanic plot) while the latter must be read as a LITERAL record of human and Earth’s history. Some of that “brilliance” is involved in the complex and convoluted way they use their intelligence to lead other people, some with less capability to see through their arguments, to their way of thinking.

For example, Michael Behe was a middling cell biologist who had a few papers on (I think) the sodium pump of one species of bacteria. He then became the “boy wonder” of the neo-Creationist Intelligent Design movement with his book “Darwin’s Black Box”. He bought out most of his teaching and research duties and went on tours to churches and Creationist events across the nation. He’s now very, very wealthy, something he would have never achieved as a cell biologist at Tulane. Is he merely an opportunist? I don’t like to disparage the depth of anyones belief systems, but he has frequently presented different positions in different contexts.

Behe quietly admits he accepts “descent with modification” (i.e. evolution, though he won’t use those words, and avoids the topic – focussing most of his criticism on “Darwinian gradual evolution”). And drawing upon evidence from cell biology is perhaps the most limited. Cell biologists use a handful of “model organisms” for their research. Of course there will be vast structural differences between those “model systems”. It’s as if anatomists only had one species each of bacteria, sponges, reptiles and humans to study. There would very little evidence of “evolutionary intermediates” and huge gaps. One would have to invoke miracles to get across those gaps. Fortunately anatomists know about thousands of living species in the branching array of life. Even more they can see evolutionary intermediates in the fossil record. And why that should upset anyone interested in the tremendous reach and “constancy” of the natural forces of a Creator beats me. Scripture can be metaphorical (after all Jesus used parables to explain concepts to those who were unable to understand more complex “theological terminology”(the mustard tree analogy, sheep-shepherd, etc.)

I found an interesting pair of sites that your daughter might be interested in. They’re about a Francis Collins initative to reach out to evangelicals about science and evolution.

Francis Collins Responds on the Congruence of Evolution and Faith

Biologos Initiative

And weren’t the typical mortality curves of “young, unhealthy and elderly” confounded in the 1918 pandemic. In fact there was an additional peak of people in their late teens and 20’s. These were the very people that one might expect from a transmission by demobilized forces returning to their homelands. Younger single men who are anxious to celebrate their “freedom” with similarly aged young women. And, of course, there might have been a time lag before the men returned back from bases or decommissioning centers in urban areas to their homes.

I’m more puzzled by the second return of the disease.

The Public Health community suggested this change because people were thinking that they were going to get flu from eating pork products. By using it’s technical name it removes that stigma. It’s the same thing with using HIV rather than something like the “Gay Disease”. When a term gets in the way of understanding the most likely means of transmission (rather than the original source of the infection) it’s better to change the term.

The main folks that I hear complaining about changing the term are the right wing blogs…implying there is some sort of scandal. Maybe you could inform me about what it is?

I thought I was strong enough to resist jumping in here to speculate on the relative IQ’s of ANYONE in texas but I have been swayed back to my roots by facts…

The base-line for this article seems to presume that FACTS actually matter to anyone in the south – especially texas…. The church (any organized version – you pick) or the Klan disputes ALL facts that aren’t in line with their current thread of beliefs. It matters not that ‘outsiders’ keep producing proof that the opposite of what has been told to them from on high at a gathering is truth because all else from ‘outside influence’ be damned…

This is lazy. thoughtless stereotyping of the sort that concurrently infers such hatred that ‘all blacks are lazy’ and ‘all liberals are effete, limp-wristed, spineless latte drinkers.’

My daughter, who lives in Texas, and who graduated cum laude, and who now has a Master’s in biology, is a conservation biologist who has testified before an education committee of the Texas Legislature against introducing creationism into the school curriculum.

She’s also a committed Christian who loves God and prays faithfully. My two grand-children go to a church-based private school in Texas where no such non-scientific theories about how mankind came to be are taught.

Of course, such folks are in the minority in Texas, but so were the people for whom MLK ultimately gave his life for in an attempt to fight against such easy stereotyping.

This how cults are started and continue to thrive…just keep your wits about you…

I’m trying, but you are making it difficult. However, I forgive you for not knowing or acknowledging – or, worse, not indicating any curiosity about – the larger truths out there.

Just like the folks you are condemning.

Actually 17…since there was one death confirmed in the US.

I thought we were talking about Mexico…where the rate was according to the WHO site there were 397 confirmed cases and 16 deaths (4% mortality). In fact the number of confirmed cases went up significantly because of genetic testing results. Yesterday the WHO site reported 156 and 9 deaths (5.75%) for Mexico.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/200…..index.html

My understanding is that death rates for seasonal flu are about 1/10th those numbers.

But the non-reporting plays both ways. People might be missed in the initial stages of a viral infection or misdiagnosed as having or dying from something else. That under-reporting would first occur at the outbreak center. As the concern about the illness picks up pace people in areas without the infection might report having flu.

Outside of Mexico the “confirmed” rate is 1/261 (0.4%). That IS right in line with seasonal flu mortality rates.

We won’t teach you science, but we can and will torture you! I don’t think there is anything in the bible that says you have to educate people appropriately, but I know you are not suppose to LIE.

Christianity at its’ finest.

What “Christianity” are you referring to?

Oh, “…you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free…” seems to infer that education is paramount to a full life. Last time I checked, Christ said that. Not that I expect the religion haters to acknowledge that…

Sigh. The panic-mongering flu cheerleaders must be very depressed by this.

If they had any integrity, they’d be ashamed for calling non-panic-mongers “anti-science”. I realize that’s too much to expect, of course.

If you go to the World Health Organization, you get very different numbers.

2 May 2009 — The situation continues to evolve. As of 18:00 GMT+1, 2 May 2009, 16 countries have officially reported 658 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 397 confirmed human cases of infection, including 16 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States Government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (51), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany (6), Israel (3), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (15).

From WHO Page on Swine Flu/A H1N1

So, that’s 16 confirmed deaths so far, out of 658 confirmed cases. Not 101 out of 400.

Even that figure is way too high, judging by seasonal flu. Most likely the vast majority of cases are going completely undiagnosed. As with seasonal flu.