News to Note, May 11, 2013

1. Wind, Not Water, May Have Built the Martian Mount Sharp

A new analysis of photos of Mount Sharp taken from Curiosity’s vantage point suggests that water was not involved in the origin of the bulk of Mount Sharp.

2. Are Those Who Question Evolution Creating a Missing Link in Pennsylvania Schools?

By questioning carefully, discerning students may learn that evolutionary claims really don’t hold water.

3. Evolution—The Least Important Topic in Medicine

Could physicians be better doctors if they applied evolution to their practice of medicine?

4. What Color Were Dinosaurs?

Dinosaur skin sample may yield the secret of its color, but anything about the creature’s age?

5. Should Military Personnel Who Proselytize Face Court-Martial?

Pentagon consults with activist who wants Christian military personnel prosecuted for sedition.

And Don’t Miss . . .

• We are now in the season when many homeschool parents are choosing next year’s curricula. Christianity Today’s recent article “A New Creation Story: Why do more homeschoolers want evolution in their textbooks?” may lead some homeschoolers to question how they should approach topics like biological evolution, big bang cosmology, and the age of Earth. Do modern homeschooling parents need to adopt “a new creation story” to ensure their children’s success? Not at all. Christians need to use textbooks that begin with the fact that God’s Word is the yardstick by which all the ideas of man—even scientific interpretations of what we observe in nature—should be based. A well-taught child will understand that the observable facts of science actually support the biblical accounts of creation and the global Flood. The claim of some Christian academics that children should be simply presented with “all viewpoints” and encouraged to choose is dangerous. This approach will not help them learn to discern, because presentations of “all viewpoints” typically do not distinguish between the worldview-based claims of evolutionists and the observable facts of experimental science. Now, children should be exposed to other views (like theistic evolution) because they are so prominent in society, but they should also be shown why they are wrong. Read more about this issue in yesterday’s article.