Essay:ID textbook chapter challenge

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Win the intelligent design textbook challenge!

Tired of your high school biology book? Wish it had a chapter on intelligent design? Here's your chance! Write a chapter for a biology textbook on intelligent design, and earn the respect of the world!

It's simple. Submit your chapter below, and we'll judge it.

Rules:[edit]

  1. It must be at least 50 pages in length. If there is to be a significant amount of content, one should be able to reach this length.
  2. It must be at the high school level or higher.[1]
  3. There can be no reference to evolution.[2]
  4. There must be presented evidence, more than "it is designed because it looks like it's designed."
  5. The evidence must be biological in nature.[3]

Known, disqualified texts[edit]

  • Of Pandas and People: Too elementary
  • Intelligent Design, exploring an alternative theory[4] A noble entry, but (A) it's too short, (B) it mentions evolution, and (C) it aggravates Poe's Law in the extreme. "Chapter 1: Conclusions", indeed!
  • Explore Evolution[5] as endorsed by the Discovery Institute[6] Alas, not eligible because evolution is in the title!![7]
  • SCIENCE Order & Reality[8]: A little pre-ID, this one is more CS anyway. Middle school level general science text. Chapter 10.4 is titled "Evolution: A Retreat From Science". QED.
  • The Design of Life:[9][10] Read an excerpt![11] Mentions evolution.
  • Biology for Christian Schools[12] - has to be disqualified because it says, "Christians must disregard [scientific hypotheses or theories] that contradict the Bible."[13] ID (or creationism) must be compatible with science.

Unexplored texts[edit]

  • Biology: A Search for Order in Complexity, Student Text (Second Edition) Grades 10-12[14][15]
  • God's Design for Life: The World of Plants[16]
  • Biology: God's Living Creation[13][17] - suspect as God is specified and the ID'ers are phobic about that.
  • The Intelligent Design Coloring Book[18] Hmmm.... a coloring book

Second Place Prize[edit]

Authentic Amish woodburning computer! (Can be modified to burn coal.)

Entries[edit]

References and notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Sorry, Of Pandas and People doesn't count.
  2. ↑ The rationale here is that every time a book on ID comes out, at least half of it is spent on trying to "bring down" evolution. ID should be able to stand on its own. Thousands of textbook chapters have been written about evolution without mention of ID or creationism; there should be no reason to compare ID to evolution. Even ID proponents agree with this statement, as indicated here.
  3. ↑ Paleontological and statistical evidence certainly is encouraged, but cosmological, theological, and social "Darwinism" arguments are to be discluded. If ID is to be a biological theory presented in a biology classroom, then the evidence should stand alone as such in a biological setting. Certainly one would expect an evolution class to focus on biology and not cosmology.
  4. ↑ http://www.thedirk.com/id.htm
  5. ↑ http://exploreevolution.com/index.php
  6. ↑ http://www.discovery.org/a/4096
  7. ↑ For an extensive review of Explore Evolution, see here.
  8. ↑ Second Edition, 1993, 1980 Pensacola Christian College. Printed 2001.
  9. ↑ http://www.thedesignoflife.net/
  10. ↑ The 5-star ratings on Amazon are fascinating: "Please pay no attention to the 1 star reviews - they are just cheap shots by clueless liars who have obviously not bought or read the book." http://www.amazon.com/Design-Life-Discovering-Intelligence-Biological/product-reviews/0980021308/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_5?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFiveStar
  11. ↑ http://www.overwhelmingevidence.com/id/design-of-life/ChapterOne.pdf
  12. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Christian-Schools-William-Pinkston/dp/0890845565
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 http://ncseweb.org/news/interim-victory-in-california-creationism-case
  14. ↑ http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=367929&event=1016CLPSBF%7C1104135%7C66044
  15. ↑ YEC friendly! http://www.homeschoolfcgs.com/product_info.php/cPath/14/products_id/928615?osCsid=82ba213639fb0734ba3c180d829b2caa
  16. ↑ http://www.americas-future.com/gods-design-for-life-the-world-plants-p-865.html?osCsid=39ad91dacd6dace9a4afd34a898ee45a
  17. ↑ Biology: God's Living Creation
  18. ↑ http://www.intelligentdesigncoloringbook.com/
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