c. 2008 Religion News Service

Scientists call evolution and faith compatible, but separate

(RNS) A top panel of U.S. scientists has published a new book asserting that belief in the theory of evolution and religious faith “can be fully compatible,” and that creationism has no place in science classes.

The 88-page “Science, Evolution, and Creationism,” produced by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, is an updated version of two previous books supporting evolution scholarship.

The 2008 version is different, according to the 15-person committee that designed it, because it is aimed at clergy and school board members and discusses the role of faith in human knowledge.

“Science and religion address separate aspects of human experience,” the book says. “Many scientists have written eloquently about how their scientific studies of biological evolution have enhanced rather than lessened their religious faith. And many religious people and denominations accept scientific evidence for evolution.”

Many Americans, however, don’t accept that evidence, including Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

University of Michigan professor Gilbert Omenn, one of the book’s authors, said he would “worry that a president who didn’t believe in evolution arguments” would also, for instance, disregard evidence that smoking cigarettes is unhealthy. “This is a way of leading our country to ruin,” Omenn told reporters.

Believers in intelligent design, or its evolutionary predecessor, creationism, assert that the world’s complex forms of life are inexplicable without reference to a divine author.

But evidence for evolution and natural selection abound, from DNA research to fossil records, the scientists say in the new book. “Scientists no longer question the basic facts of evolution as a process,” the book reads.

“Teaching non-scientific (such as creationism) in science class will only confuse students about the processes, nature, and the limits of science,” according to the book.

_ Daniel Burke

Police say church fires set by pair of Satanists

LADONIA, Ala. (RNS) An intruder did more than torch the pulpit and scorch the sanctuary ceiling at Woodland Baptist Church on Friday (Jan. 4). He scattered frozen treats, pickles and popcorn kernels, left a trail of syrup, stole a VCR and a DVD player and gutted a beanbag chair.

The intruder also left a red-letter message on a wall in the room where children learn scriptural lessons on Sundays.

“Teach children to worship Satan,” the message states, an upside-down pentagram alongside it.

East Alabama authorities believe they now have the man behind that message in custody. He and a friend, described as Satan worshipers, have been arrested in connection with arsons and vandalism at the church and two other nearby churches. Satanic graffiti was found at a fourth church.

The two arrested were Geoffrey Parquette and James Clark, both 21 and residents of Smiths Station. Parquette was charged under state laws with second-degree arson, third-degree burglary and criminal mischief. Clark was charged with second-degree arson and burglary. Items stolen from the churches, including crosses, robes and documents, were found in the men’s homes, authorities said.

“Their motive was `the devil made me do it,”’ said Jim Cavanaugh, regional director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

At Greater Bethelpore Baptist Church in Smiths Station _ now a fire-gutted ruin _ one member agreed.

“They don’t believe in God, they don’t believe in nothing, they really don’t even believe in themselves,” said Earnest Coleman, who was cleaning up the fire site. “They’re gonna have to give an account of what they’ve done.”

The two men, arrested Sunday (Jan. 6) on a tip, pleaded not guilty on their initial appearance in court Monday. Neither had retained an attorney. Both remained in custody. Bond was set at $200,000 for Parquette. No bond was set for Clark.

The three church arsons in rural east Alabama took place over four days, beginning Jan. 1, and spawned a investigative task force of federal, state and local authorities.

The arrests of Parquette and Clark came less than two years after another string of deliberately set fires at nine rural Alabama churches led to a major federal-state investigation and the arrest of three Birmingham college students.

_ Tom Gordon and Stan Diel

New Jersey apologizes for its role in slavery

TRENTON, N.J. (RNS) The New Jersey Legislature on Monday (Jan. 7) approved a resolution expressing “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery from Colonial times to the Civil War.

The resolution passed the Assembly on a vote of 59-8 and the Senate 29-2.

“This apology is not for deceased slaves. The apology is for their descendants,” said Assemblyman William D. Payne, a Democrat who sponsored the resolution. “An apology for the ages, for all mankind. Critics say this is too late and meaningless. Making a stand for society is never a waste of time.”

Assemblyman Richard Merkt, a Republican, said New Jersey citizens played no role in slavery and the state should not apologize.

New Jersey’s slave population peaked at 12,422 in 1800, according to research conducted by the University of Virginia. The only Northern state with more was New York, which had an estimated 20,613 that same year. In 1804, New Jersey became the last Northern state to approve slavery’s gradual abolition.

New Jersey joins Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Maryland as states that have issued apologies. Similar bills are pending in Massachusetts, New York and Arkansas.

Report says German Muslims must be better integrated

COLOGNE, Germany (RNS) Muslims in Germany could become a potential recruitment pool for Islamic terrorists if they are not better integrated into society, according to a recent report by the country’s Ministry of the Interior.

The report, based on a survey of 1,750 Muslims by the Institute of Criminology at the University of Hamburg, looks at a host of issues surrounding the 3.3 million Muslims who live in Germany.

The survey found that almost 39 percent of German Muslims believe violence is justified if their religion is threatened by the “Western world.” About 44 percent of the respondents also said they would enter eternal paradise if they were to die defending Islam.

The findings reveal a “serious potential for Islamic radicalization” in Germany, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.

Despite those concerns, the survey also showed that more than 90 percent of German Muslims said they would not resort to violence against non-Muslims. And 80 percent reject the idea of suicide bombings, with 8.7 percent calling such attacks cowardly and hurtful to Islam.

The report also examines Muslim attitudes toward democracy and perceived discrimination. It found that 57 percent said they have rarely or never been guests in a home of a non-Muslim German family; 38 percent said they either never speak German or only rarely speak it with their friends.

“Third-generation young Muslims living in Germany are considered foreigners,” Werner Schiffauer, a professor of anthropology at the European University Viadrina, in Frankurt-Oder, told Frankfurter Rundschau. “They feel like Germans, but they are still marginalized.”

_ Ian Wilhelm

Quote of the Day: Bill Garcia of Manalapan, N.J.

(RNS) “I liked that he had religious values that matched mine … and when I started telling people about him, it was like converting someone or sharing the gospel with them.”

_ Bill Garcia, a self-described “Huckabeezer” and supporter of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, on his efforts to start a group of Christian Huckabee supporters near his home in Manalapan, N.J. Garcia was quoted by The New York Times.

KRE/LF END RNS