This origins issue just starting to get traction in Australia, as people watch nervously what is happening in the (much more religiously-inclined) USA. The content of a school’s science curriculum has rarely been the subject of public discussion, however talk of Intelligent Design (ID) theory as an alternative theory to (neo-Darwinian) Evolution theory has attracted a certain amount of attention.
The (then) federal Education Minister, Dr. Brendan Nelson, made headlines last year (2005) when he appeared to advocate giving ID an airing in the classroom.
This Wednesday night at 8:30pm (8th February 2006), the Dateline program on SBS has picked up on this controversy and is giving it an airing. Details of the program here:
http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/
The program will also be repeated on Thursday at 1PM.
It just so happens that I have also organised a public meeting for this Sunday night at 7PM, so the synchronicity machine is working overtime! Jonathan Sarfati Ph.D., a leading Creationist author, will be the guest speaker.
The public meeting will comprise two 1-hour presentations from Jon, with a 15-minute interval between sessions for refreshments. The topics to be covered in these presentations are:
• Design, Deluge and Dilemma
• The Most-Asked Questions – Answered
Any Chess-Chatters who are interested in hearing Jon's presentation should drop me an email or a PM so that I can reserve you a seat as an "honoured guest"! The venue only holds ~220 people and we are unsure how many will be in attendance ... so a reserved seat might be a good choice.
Venue:
Croydon Christian Church
2 / 34 Research Drive
South Croydon VIC 3136
(map to venue and further details at www.ourchurch.org.au)