At this point, the idea of somebody publishing an attack on Charles Darwin isn’t exactly surprising. The 19th-century naturalist, and the man behind the theory of evolution, has never been a particularly popular figure among conservative Christians, and, these days, the anti-Darwin movement is a cottage industry. In the last year, which marked the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the publication of "The Origin of the Species," the man was even subjected to the peculiar indignity of an assault by former "Growing Pains" star Kirk Cameron.

But unlike most of these attacks, "What Darwin Got Wrong," a new book by Jerry Fodor, a professor of philosophy and cognitive sciences at Rutgers University, and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, a professor of cognitive science at the University of Arizona, comes not from the religious right, but from two atheist academics with -- surprise -- a nuanced argument about the shortcomings of Darwin’s theories. Their book details (in very technical language) how recent discoveries in genetics have thrown into question many of our perceived truths about natural selection, and why these have the potential to undermine much of what we know about evolution and biology.

MILITARY SHOULD SCRAP "JESUS CODE" RIFLE SIGHTS: "PROPAGANDA COUP FOR TALIBAN, OSAMA" SAY ATHEISTS

An Atheist public policy group said today that rifle sights marked with a secret "Jesus Bible Code" may provide Islamic extremists with a powerful propaganda tool and egregiously and dangerously violate the separation of church and state.

According to a report on ABC News, a Michigan-based company, Trijicon, has a $600 million contract to provide U.S. forces with 800,000 of the rifle sights which are being used in Afghanistan and Iraq. The sights are marked with citations from the Bible, including one that declares that Jesus is "the light of the world."

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said that he fears Islamic terrorists may take full advantage of "a major blunder that seriously risks efforts to reach out to people in Muslim countries threatened by groups like the Taliban and al-Qaeda."

"Part of the U.S. message abroad should emphasize the core American value of secular government and respect for individual religious liberty -- and instead the U.S. military is promoting Christianity, literally with the barrel of a gun. We call on President Barack Obama to repudiate this effort immediately."

Kathleen Johnson, Vice President and Military Director for American Atheists, said that the religious inscriptions "clearly violate the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution, as well as armed forces regulations against promoting sectarian religion."

"We are not going to enjoy much success in trying to achieve 'nation building' and self-sufficiency for democratic governments in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan if our troops are seen as modern-day 'Crusaders' out to impose Christian fundamentalism," said Johnson. She urged the Pentagon and Congress to open an immediate inquiry into how Trijicon won the lucrative contract and if military brass were aware of the Biblical citations on the gun sights.

"These rifle sights should be phased out of use as quickly as possible," added Johnson. "The mission of the U.S. military cannot include proselytizing for Christianity or any other religion."

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc. PO BOX 158 Cranford, NJ 07016 Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402
atheists.org

House Bill 1651, introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives on January 13, 2010, and not yet referred to a committee, is apparently the second antievolution bill of 2010. The bill would, if enacted, call on state and local education administrators to "endeavor to create an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that encourages students to explore scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills, and respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinion about controversial issues, including biological and chemical evolution" and to "endeavor to assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies." "Toward this end," the bill continues, "teachers shall be permitted to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of the theory of biological and hypotheses of chemical evolution."

Here we go again. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the California Science Center, an organization affiliated with the Smithsonian, is facing a lawsuit from a group called the American Freedom Alliance. The group planned to rent the Center's IMAX theater in order to show a movie called "Darwin's Dilemma," which attacks the theory of evolution and promotes intelligent design. When the anti-evolution, pro-ID Discovery Institute stepped in, the Center used a clause in the contract to cancel the showing, attracting suits from both groups.

The AFA's vision statement says that it "aims to build a national alliance of people of faith," and the group apparently decided to use the public controversy over evolution as a way to do that. The film it chose features several Discovery Institute fellows, and was produced by a company that lists the DI as a "research link," along with an organization, the Access Research Network, that has Discovery fellows on its board

A Gallup poll of Americans' attitudes towards religion released on Christmas Eve found significant recent increases in those responding either that they have no religious preference, that religion is not very important in their lives, or that they believe religion "is largely old-fashioned or out of date."

Only 78% of Americans now identify as Christian, while 22% describe their religious preference as either "other" or "none."

Most of these changes have occurred since 2000 and represent the first significant shift since a sharp decline in religious adherence during the 1970s. Over the last nine years, the number with no religious preference has grown from a level of around 8% to 13%. The number for whom religion is not very important has climbed from just over 10% to 19%. And the number who believe religion is out of date and has no answers for today's problems has jumped from slightly more than 20% to 29%.