A Concerned Student

The following is a complaint received by the Student Guild that supports our group. The sender not only signed the letter anonymously but took the time to set up an anonymous email account to send it. For context the email is addressed to our Guild liaison Jessica, and the university has a firm policy of not affiliating with any religious or political group. Thankfully while one of our aims as stated in our constitution is to stimulate meaningful dialogue among religious and nonreligious students of all faiths and beliefs, we as a group have no religious or political affiliation whatsoever. We welcome people of all backgrounds, nationalities, denominations, faiths, fashions and whatever else tends to divide people to join our group or just attend a presentation or meeting if you choose.

Like Baruch Spinoza before me

I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.

This has been, and will continue to be the central motivation for me doing what I do in this regard.

The article in question can be read here

http://gussf.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/summary-of-intelligent-design-lecture-with-thomas-e-woodward/

and I’ll leave it to you to judge the validity of this response.

Dear Jessica,

In the latest edition of the Student Guild Magazine there is an article written by the Skeptics Society on the recent lecture given on Intelligent Design. Being aware of the Student Guild’s policy regarding religious affiliation I find it very troubling that you would condone such a piece. The denouncement of a faith or religious perspective is no different from advocating any unsupported belief.

The writer states on multiple occasions that the Griffith Christian Students sponsored the event and later, refers to “the power of propaganda” by the sponsors. Religions require faith, and whilst evolutionary theories are supported by substantial evidence, at some point there is a requirement to believe that the evidence is sufficient for it to be correct, faith if you will.

Whilst I am not prepared to enter into a discussion as to whether Intelligent Design is a truly religious concept, I would merely ask that you ask yourself whether, were I to start a club advocating (or denouncing) that “something with intelligence” created life as we know it, would pass the requirements for Guild affiliation.

I have had concerns for some time that the Skeptics society is merely a club dedicated to advocating the religious perspective of nontheisim. I would appreciate your comments to the contrary. In the alternative, I fail to see how the Guild can continue to support and fund such a group.

Kind Regards,

A Concerned Student.