The Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) decision not to require students to believe macro evolution generated enormous press coverage. Most of what I have read has been uninformed and untrue. The typical claim is that the debate is one of "science vs religion," evolution being science. If evolution were defined as mutations and adaptation, it would be science. But the conviction that fish sired lizards, or "ape-like" creatures sired man, has not one shred of scientific evidence.

Karl Popper, the world's most revered philosopher of science stated emphatically, "It is important to note that evolution is not science... it is a metaphysical research program." Michael Ruse, the philosopher of science most responsible for the evolutionism victory in the Arkansas "Creation Trial," recently stated "Evolution is a religion and always has been." Thus the two leading (evolutionist) philosophers in the last 50 years stated flatly that evolution is religion. Furthermore, every scientist knows all scientific theories are tentative.

The standards the board rejected, largely from the National Academy of Science (a tiny group - 72% atheist), treated all theories as tentative but evolution, and would have required students to believe they descended from pond scum, evolution created everything in the cosmos and science can be done only if you "understand" evolution. Or the students could lie on the tests, or flunk.

Evolutionist mythology destroyed Germany, the communist block and has undermined US social fabric possibly beyond repair.

The Kansas School Board never promoted creation or religion. They succinctly stated four obvious truths: science is tentative, it should not be taught dogmatically, students should not be required to believe theories, evidence and logic unfavorable to popular theories should not be censored from students. Because fish to lizard and billions of years have no solid scientific evidence, the KSBE said (essentially), "You can teach these ideas if you wish, but we will not require students believe them."

My conviction is that KSBE enemies and media got one thing right, this is a battle between science and religion. Most people believe evolutionism by faith. The KSBE decision promoted science.

Tom Willis is President of the Creation Science Association for Mid-America, www.csama.org