Clayton Fiscus
Yes, you recognized the handsome visage of Clayton Fiscus, the Montana legislator who’s been sponsoring creationist legislation. We wrote about his attempt this year in Montana Creationism: New Bill for 2015, and its well-deserved demise in Montana’s 2015 Creationism Bill — Dead.
Why do we bring it up again? It’s because of a letter we found in the Great Falls Tribune of Great Falls, Montana, titled Intelligent design, evolution can share a classroom. There’s a comments feature, but you need to click on an icon below the newspaper’s headline to find it.
The newspaper says the letter-writer “is a freshman at Cascade High School and a member of the Tribune’s Teen Panel.” From her picture, she seems like a sweet child, so of course we won’t use her name. This is the second letter we’ve seen in what appears to be a series. The first was Teaching intelligent design not a smart choice, written by a sophomore at Great Falls High.
Excerpts from the pro-creationism letter will be enhanced with our Curmudgeonly commentary and some bold font for emphasis. Here we go!
How does one draw a line in the sand between religion and science? Clayton Fiscus, a new Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives, claimed that there doesn’t have to be one. He has put forth a bill that would force public schools to teach intelligent design, or the belief that a supreme being created the universe, along with the traditional evolutionary theory.
No doubt about it, Fiscus is a great man. Then she says:
No one was present at the conception of the universe, no matter what kind of birth it was. Therefore, we cannot discredit any theories about the beginning of the universe.
Hey, that’s great. The Steady State theory is back in business! So is the theory that the universe was hatched from an egg of the Cosmic Duck. Let’s read on:
As a Christian, it is very important to me to be able to learn about how the Bible fits in with scientific theory. I was fortunate enough to attend Foothills, a school that taught me more about this and encouraged me to carry out my own research. Through this endeavor, I was able to discover that one doesn’t have to leave science in the dust to be a believer.
That’s not the name of her high school, so we don’t know what it was. But it sounds like a great institution. She continues:
In fact, when you examine Genesis and compare it to some of the scientific theories in place, especially the Big Bang Theory, it fits very well. The Bible says that God created the world from nothing, and the Big Bang theory says that all matter was created from a single point.
Yes, they’re very similar. Here’s more:
However, the Big Bang theory has some gaps. There is no explanation for where the matter that condensed into a single point came from initially, and the gravity involved defies the laws of physics. The idea of an intelligent God who created our universe fills in these gaps very well.
O m’god! She doesn’t reject an “explanation” because it’s just a God of the gaps story — that’s why she accepts it! Moving along:
While some may argue that Sunday school is the appropriate place to learn about intelligent design and creationism, they’re not taking into account the people who either do not have access to or don’t feel as if they can attend Sunday school. For example, atheist or intolerant parents may never give their children the chance to learn about God, or the children in question may never have considered religion before.
Teaching intelligent design in schools may help these children to understand that there is more than one theory about the beginning of the universe, and the Big Bang theory is just that — a theory — as intelligent design is.
Your Curmudgeon is too tactful to say anything about that. We’ll also ignore her discussion of the meaning of separation of church and state. After all, she’s still a child. Here’s our final excerpt, from her last paragraph:
It’s vital that we encourage different theories about creation, as well as different ways of looking at the world.
We can’t imagine why the Great Falls Tribune is publishing a letter like this. The girl may grow up to find it a continuing source of embarrassment. On the other hand, she might regard it as her finest moment. One never knows.
Copyright © 2015. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
For example, atheist or intolerant parents may never give their children the chance to learn about God, or the children in question may never have considered religion before.
“atheist or intolerant parents”? That’s a little too much I think, and I recommend she should look in the mirror regarding the notion of intolerance.
I think she wrote a very fine letter explaining the purpose of teaching Intelligent Design in a science class. It will give children “the chance to learn about God”.
When she gets older, she’ll learn that one must lie about that, and about ID in general. But for now, she’s still innocent.
“I was fortunate enough to attend Foothills”
I’m guessing she attended Foothills Christian in Great Falls. It’s website states (my emphasis added),
Check for cameras, dearie. Check for cameras.
And where’s the explanation as to where that intelligent God came from?
Oh, that’s right: there isn’t one, and there doesn’t have to be, because God has always existed.
Well, why can’t the universe have always existed? I know that’s not what most versions of the Big Bang envision, but if you’re going to challenge that theory, why not apply Occam’s razor and avoid throwing in a mysterious prior uncaused cause?
But that would mean abandoning the God hypothesis, and creationists would rather apply that razor to their own throats (or ours) than do that.
@Eric Lipps
What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Time after time a creationist complains about how evolution suffers from a fatal flaw, when creationism obviously has the same “flaw”.
It’s vital that we encourage different theories about creation, as well as different ways of looking at the world.
Sweetie, I agree absolutely that students should take a course in philosophy and comparative religion. But your parents would never allow a teacher to fill your head with false gods, even though they’re sure you can judge the “scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses” of scientific theories.
Hey Clayton knows lots about the Crustacean Geologic Period.
He’s referred to it in the Montana State Senate for crying out loud.
Unfair criticism of a deep thinker here Diogenes. Big meanie.