Challenges intelligent design

I read with interest Sylvie Belmond's article on the debate over biology textbooks in Ventura County schools. One of the standard tactics of creationists and "intelligent design" advocates has been to accuse modern biology of being "atheistic."

Ron Matthews adopts this tactic, stating that "atheism is also a faith, yet school districts are basing their curriculum on that principle." Oh, really?

Does Ventura County, or any other school district in this country for that matter, place in its curriculum a requirement to teach atheism? Can Mr. Matthews point to any public school in the country that teaches the nonexistence of God?

Of course not. If any public school teacher were to make such a statement in class, the school district would be fair game for a lawsuit. Mr. Matthews surely knows this. Since Mr. Matthews characterizes himself as "a devout Christian" he should perhaps recall the biblical injunction against bearing false witness.

The truth is that thoughtful and spiritual people, including biologist Ken Miller and the late Pope John Paul II, have seen no conflict between modern evolution theory and religious belief. John Karasek Alexandria, VA