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Behold, the Dreaded Information Table

Info Table 1.jpg

Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute.

I thought you might want to see just what has top officials at the United Methodist Church running scared. Above is a photo of the dreaded Discovery Institute information table from which the UMC hierarchy felt bound to protect attendees at the upcoming General Conference. There you see our colleague Donald McLaughlin, a United Methodist himself, manning the table at a recent event and chatting with passerby as they wait to have a book signed by Stephen Meyer.

From a different angle:

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And here for a double threat is Dr. Meyer signing a copy of Darwin’s Doubt. This is the book table as distinct from the information table:

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What’s so scary? World Magazine’s Dick Peterson reports that the United Methodist Church refused to respond to a request for an explanation. Of course we know what they’ve said already, and none of it makes much sense. However, World quotes Discovery Institute’s John West and Michael Flannery, another United Methodist.

“It seems to me that you are applying your vetting standard simply to exclude an idea you apparently dislike, not to fairly apply the standards you espouse,” John West, Discovery Institute’s vice president, wrote in a letter to the UMC.

West notes the irony that a denomination with the slogan “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” would reject Discovery’s application solely on the basis that it supports intelligent design. The denomination’s slogan should be “Closed Hearts, Closed Minds, Closed Doors,” he said.

“Preventing United Methodist leaders from even hearing about intelligent design isn’t open-minded. It’s intolerant and exclusionary,” West said.

Michael Flannery, a university professor and Discovery Institute fellow, said he was “disheartened and appalled” that officials representing his denomination would try to stop discussion before it starts.

“[They] certainly don’t speak for me or for many other United Methodists in the pews,” Flannery said.

Why do we care? First, because we’re interested in reaching thoughtful adults of all faiths or none. Perhaps more importantly because censorship begets more censorship. Allowed to stand, one seemingly small attempt to silence discussion on a vital issue is an encouragement to other censors.

On the flipside, free speech and critical thought are an incitement to more free speech and more critical thought. That, I think, is the threat posed by our humble information table.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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