Cecilia et.al.,
I agree with Stephen. Nice post. Thanks.
We have to deal with religious censorship issues all around, even in art
museums. It is a sign of the times and our current political environment.
We recently had protestors outside our museum and attending some of our
events because of the politically charged(and admittedly biased)
perspective of a show we have up right now. Needless to say their
objections are not based upon the artwork itself. We tried not to engage
too much of the argument, since we knew there was nothing we could say or
do to placate them without undermining our professional integrity.
Homeschooling is huge in Kansas. Partly because of the distances involved
in getting to school, as well as the occasional disagreement with the way
the children are taugh. The majority are faith based objections. Kansas,
like many other states, is losing a large percentage of its young
population to faith-based automation. I would be highly surprised if any of
our homeschool teachers were quite as progressive as the one Stephen knows.
All the Cal-Tech grads around here work for Boeing and Raytheon.
I find discussions like this and the one involving ID and the "e" word
(really it is ok to say evolution) interesting because they involve so many
of the things I love to learn. I enjoy knowing as much as possible about
science and the current state of knowledge, but I also enjoy understanding
the spiritual perspectives of all sorts of people, even the ones that
frustrate me. It has always seemed to me that I am improved by every bit of
knowledge and experience I can acquire, and I have never understood why
some choose to deny themselves such knowledge and understanding, no matter
what their motivation.
My most recent foray was into the realm of geocentrism. There is a small
but apparently growing(much like ID) contingent of individuals absolutely
convinced that the sun revolves around the earth, in addition to the rest
of the universe. No, really, stop laughing. Apparently this logically
prevents humanity from ever having placed men or machines on any other body
in our system. It has something to do with the aether flowing between the
earth and the moon, but I have not grasped that yet. ABOSOLUTELY
FASCINATING!
Thanks also again to Indigo for her calm and considered perspective.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Cecelia
Ottenweller
<ce_ottenweller@Y To
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Sent by: Museum cc
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<[log in to unmask] Subject
SE.LSOFT.COM> Re: religion vs. evolution vs.
natural selection vs. babies found
under cabbage plants vs. the stork,
02/01/2005 05:15 ...!
PM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
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<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
Tim and all -
I've really enjoyed the debate on this. I'm a little wowed by the number of
responses - I guess
this is what one gets when one doesn't check email in a few days!
I've taken the time, however, to read most of the responses on this one
since it's near and dear
to my heart. I've a relative who is homeschooling their children and making
sure they get the
"right" science of creationism. It just curls Auntie Ce's hair...
But, Tim - I hate to say this - the subject really is something for us to
talk about. I know it's
taking up a lot of electrons - as a museum educator, though, I've bumped
into this issue before
and know I will again if I stay in the field.
We had several homeschool groups come to our museum for science enrichment
curriculum. I had to be
very careful to teach biology without using the "e" word. I hate to say it
- but if you were to
walk around my former place of employment - you would not find the "e" word
hardly anywhere, and
it was a natural science museum. In the past, the administration just
avoided it and the
controversy. I've actually been confronted by patrons who took issue with
my planetarium show
discussing the mesopotamium belief (I think it was mesopotamia - it's been
a while) that the
Pegasus constellation was actually the doorway to heaven, and that souls
traveled the milky way
before entering. The woman, a young mother of the three little boys who
accompanied her, upbraided
me because I didn't follow it with "But of course everyone knows the only
way to heaven is with
the Blood of Jesus, Christ". Wowsers.
I'm a loud and brassy member of the "Christian Left" who chooses to use her
brains. The Bible is
largely symbolic. I find great wisdom there and elsewhere. It is not
science, nor does it need to
be. But there's a real - a very real - movement by the Christian Right to
make the stories in the
Bible double as science and are attempting to enforce their beliefs on
everyone. And from personal
experience, I can attest to their using political clout to change the way
public institutions like
museums address the question through fear of attack.
Don't fear for the guy at the Smithsonian - I'm sure some creationist group
has just adopted him
into their fold and made him one of their upper level researchers and
spokesmen. There's nothing
like a martyr to get attention...
Cecelia Ottenweller
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