Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Faith, reason can co-exist, professor says
HARRISBURG, Pa. - An expert witness who has sharply criticized the teaching of the "intelligent design" theory of life's origins testified yesterday that faith and reason are compatible.
Brown University biologist Kenneth Miller returned to the stand for the second day of a landmark trial to determine whether a school district should require students to hear about intelligent design.
The theory implies that life on Earth was the product of an unidentified intelligent force, and Darwin's theory of natural selection cannot fully explain the origin of life or the emergence of highly complex life.
Miller, who testified on Monday that intelligent design was not accepted by scientists, was asked by a school attorney whether faith and reason are compatible.
"I believe not only that they are compatible but that they are complimentary," said Miller, who earlier told the court he was a practicing Roman Catholic.
Miller, whose cross-examination was to resume Tuesday morning, said the policy undermines scientific education by raising false doubts about evolutionary theory.
"It's the first movement to try to drive a wedge between students and the scientific process," he said.
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