Officials at Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce recently barred the Christian student fellowship on campus from screening The Passion, citing an unwritten school policy against R-rated movies. But now comes word that IRCC approved a screening of the R-rated documentary film, Welcome to Sarajevo, at a college-sponsored event last year.

Dr. Johnny Moore, IRCC's Vice President for Student Affairs, claims the other film was allowed since it was used in an instructional setting. "Presentations in the classroom have been handled differently from student clubs and activities," he says.

Moore has also defended the decision not to allow the biblically-based Gibson film by arguing that the school's unofficial ban on R-rated movies is to protect underage students attending the college under its dual-enrollment program with local high schools. However, the college has in the past hosted a live performance on campus that included an obscene dramatic reading -- one which involved a character simulating sex with an image of Christ.

Last week, the town of Dover became the first school district in the nation to officially inform students of the theory of "intelligent design" as an alternative to Darwin's theory of evolution. With the exception of about 15 students who opted out, the rest of the community's 170 ninth-grade biology students were read a four-paragraph statement that referred to evolution as a theory, not a fact. And while Darwin's theory continues to be tested, said the statement, "intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view."

This all occurred despite a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the constitutionality of Dover's science policy. The ACLU, which describes intelligent design as "an inherently religious argument or assertion made in opposition to the scientific theory of evolution," had announced they would not seek a court order to block the statement from being read to the students. Dick Thompson is president and chief counsel of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center, which is representing the Dover school district. He believes the ACLU and the science community are afraid that "a divine foot will be in the door" and, as a result, their "atheistic agenda" will collapse.

...The Thomas More attorney calls it "ironic" that the ACLU, after working diligently to prevent the suppression of Darwin's theory in the historic Scopes trial, is now "doing everything it can to suppress any effort to challenge it."