Freaking Out About Christoph Schönborn

Cornelia Dean, in a "news" article in the July 9, 2005, New York Times, makes much of Christoph Schönborn's recent Op-Ed piece in that same paper. She reports on extreme reactions from from various quarters:

But scientists and science teachers reacted with confusion, dismay and even anger. Some said they feared the cardinal's sentiments would cause religious scientists to question their faiths.

Oh my! Oh my! We must do something to protect the fragile faith of those "religious scientists" who are so weak in their faith. Come on, this is condescending drivel. I would love a quote or reference to a specific "religious scientist" who confirms that her faith has been weakened by this essay.

And now for some really breaking news from Cornelia:

Darwinian evolution is the foundation of modern biology. While researchers may debate details of how the mechanism of evolution plays out, there is no credible scientific challenge to the underlying theory.

This is the New York Times informing us of "all the news that's fit to print." News? Cornelia Dean and the Times, with these dogmatic statements of personal opinion, show that they belong in the Darwinian Fundamentalism Hall of Fame. You can say that most mainstream biologists believe this, but how do you even prove what is the "foundation of modern biology"? Excuse me, is that a factual statement? (And what does that even mean, in fact?) Stating personal belief as fact is a hallmark of dogmatism and fundamentalism.

As to the second sentence, she ignores the many scientists and non-scientists who think that there is credible evidence that challenges the underlying theory of macroevolution. Why is Dean so eager to present this point of view as fact and pretend that there is no other scientific point of view? This is obscurantism pure and simple and the Times should be ashamed of it.