Judge Jones

Today I'm going to have the privilege of hearing Judge Jones speak--the judge who defended the integrity of science classrooms against intelligent design proponents in the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision.  It occurs to me to reflect on why it's so important for people to embrace evolution.  So--some possibilities.

1. What's really important is the separation of church and state, which is threatened by the intrusion of religion (under ID camouflage) into science classrooms.
2. It's important because evolution is not only true, but a significant and wide-ranging truth.  People can't hope to know every truth, but ought to know the Big Truths.
3. It's important not simply because evolution is a Big Truth, but because it's pivotal to understanding ourselves and our place on earth.  Understanding evolution corrects a false and dangerous sense of human exceptionalism.
4. What's important is the rational scientific outlook that lies behind embracing evolution.  If you resist evolution, it must because of a more deep-seated irrationality that's got to lead to many other misjudgments on matters of public significance.
5. Accepting evolution is important as a stepping stone to abandoning religion and adopting a fully rational, secular stance toward matters of public significance.

I'm leaning toward 1, 3, and 4.  More later...