Evolution versus Creationism by Brig Klyce

Evolution versus Creationism What'sNEW

A modern imagination predisposed to a belief in science... will generally find that neither creation nor evolution overcomes its profound conviction of ignorance. — Jacques Barzun, 1964 (0)

The big bang theory presents an interesting meeting place for modern science and established western religion. Both groups seem happy to agree that the universe originated out of nothing in an explosion at a definite time very long ago. A few scientists may go on to assert that no further explanation of the universe is necessary, because before the big bang there was no time, so there was no "before the big bang." Stephen Hawking likens the problem to "What's north of the North Pole?" In western religious philosophy the big bang implies the existence of a creator outside of physical existence to launch the whole thing. Pope Pius XII stated so on 22 November 1951, early in the development of the theory (1). Either way, as long as the conversation keeps to the near side of the big bang, the theory holds nothing for science and religion to disagree about (2).

The same kind of truce has helped, to a lesser degree, the Darwinian paradigm for evolution and the origin of life on Earth. The theory says life originates out of nonliving chemicals and evolves to higher levels of organization simply by following mechanistic laws. Western religions say yes, and every mechanism has a creator. But here the truce has been uneasy. October 22, 1996, in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II (right) acknowledged the significance of the mainstream theory of evolution. But his overall tone was cautious. And that evolution was now "more than just a hypothesis," as he was widely reported to have said (3,4), is possibly a mistranslation (5) of "more than one hypothesis" (6). In any case, the Pope went on to say, "Rather than the theory of evolution, we should speak of several theories of evolution."

While evolution is now accepted as a fact by science and is becoming accepted by the Catholic Church, the mechanism underlying its most important aspect, macroevolutionary progress, is not clearly established. Even science acknowledges that the mechanism depends on very long streaks of luck. The evidence for it is thin, a working model has not been demonstrated, and consensus within science has not been reached.

This weakness presents a welcome opening to some practioners of western religions (where consensus has also not been reached.) Many religious thinkers believe that the creator's role has been unduly diminished by modern science. They believe that if science's mechanism for evolutionary progress and the origin of life doesn't work, a leading role for the creator is restored. This sentiment provides the primary motivation behind creationism or "creation science." While any science with a hidden agenda is suspect, nevertheless, valid scientific research and writing is occasionally done by advocates of creationism. And if scientific answers are scarce, creationists nonetheless ask some important questions about evolutionary progress and the origin of life.

Science can tolerate being unsure about some things. But science cannot entertain the notion that there are phenomena in the everyday natural world that require supernatural intervention. That requirement would emasculate science. Yet that requirement is precisely what creationists, by definition, want to establish. Darwinism responds to this challenge with scientific excommunication — "It's not science." This reaction often causes Darwinists to dismiss too hastily the valid scientific points creationists raise against aspects of Darwinism. In this way Darwinism behaves much like a religion with its own cherished, unquestionable beliefs. And so, for explaining evolution and the origin of life on Earth, a holy war is being waged. (The warlike fervor is evident, for example, on the Internet newsgroup "talk.origins" (8). Manners improved only slightly when the newsgroup became moderated in 1997.)
There is no third position!
George Wald was a distinguished biochemist at Harvard who shared the 1967 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine. The attitude expressed in his 1954 article, "The Origin of Life" (9), hinders scientific imagination, but it is widespread —
Modern biologists, having reviewed with satisfaction the downfall of spontaneous generation hypothesis, yet unwilling to accept the alternative belief in special creation, are left with nothing.

A Third Alternative

If biology had followed Pasteur's paradigm instead of Darwin's, and if Cosmic Ancestry were the prevailing theory today, the mechanical theory of nature would be sufficient to account for apparent evolutionary progress and the origin of life on Earth. There would be no need for supernatural intervention. But neither science nor religion seems interested in Cosmic Ancestry as an alternative. Most biologists are so committed to Darwinism that they treat any radical alternative as unscientific. And creationists are quite pleased if the scientific alternative is mandated to be Darwinism. A gridlock has been reached.

In one important respect Cosmic Ancestry is fundamentally different from both Darwinism and the prevailing western religions. Both hold that life arises and evolves from simpler beginnings. Darwinism purports to explain this process with material causes; religions do so with supernatural causes. In Cosmic Ancestry life neither arises nor evolves to more highly organized forms from simpler beginnings. With only material causes, it just doesn't work. But life can, with only material causes, descend from prior life at least as highly evolved as itself. Thus in Cosmic Ancestry life only descends.

As for where this life comes from "in the first place," the question may be misguided. Science cannot answer every question. For example, why is there anything instead of nothing at all? The existence of the physical world, with or without a beginning, is a phenomenon that science cannot reduce. We are suggesting that life is a phenomenon of equal magnitude that science cannot reduce (9.5).

In science God never emerges from behind a curtain and performs an act of supernatural intervention. This principle is maintained if life has no beginning. We think this conclusion is the scientific one. From a religious perspective, conversely, life that comes from eternity is an unassailable miracle.

flowers

Evolution or Development?

The word evolution originally meant "opening" or "unfolding," as when a bud becomes a flower. A faithful English paraphrase for "evolve" is "turn out." After Darwin, however, evolution came to mean the process whereby prokaryotes ultimately became people. Yet Darwin admonished himself, "Never use the words higher or lower" (10). And he scrupulously avoided all variants of the word "evolution" in his Origin of Species, until the very last sentence.

Today, science wants to remove any hint of progress from the meaning of "evolution." In biology now, the technical meaning of "evolution" is simply "change" (11). The process whereby a seed becomes a flowering plant, or an embryo becomes an adult, is now called development. Development appears to entail progress, because the embryo acquires new organs, systems, tissues and features as it develops. But the genetic programs for these new properties were present in genes that the embryo already contained from its beginning as a single cell. Today's "development" has replaced the original "evolution." And today's "evolution" ignores the obvious progress that occurs when prokaryotes eventually turn into people.

In the following several pages we will question whether evolutionary progress in a closed system is possible. If it isn't, as we conclude, life's past must be eternal, and evolutionary progress is actually evolution in its original sense, development, on a grand scale (12).

What'sNEW

On the creation-evolution debate, I foresee continued conflict. Both sides will continue to lie, cheat and steal to make their points — David Raup, 1997 (13)

"Scopes monkey trial, in context," by Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, Science, 06 Dec 2024: a review of
Keeping the Faith, by Brenda Wineapple, Random House, 2024.
15 Apr 2024: The public acceptance of evolution remains a contentious issue in the United States.
West Virginia opens the door to teaching intelligent design, by Jeffrey Mervis, Science, 18 Mar 2024.
04 Dec 2023: New NCSE Director continues gridlock.
25 Aug 2023: "God and the New Biology" - a book review.
12 Jun 2023: Owen Gingerich dies.
Scientists in India protest move to drop Darwinian evolution from textbooks, by Athar Parvaiz, Science, 28 Apr 2023.
29 Apr 2023: Can cosmic ancestry and ID find common ground?
27 Apr 2023: Yeast use autonomous transposons to accomplish horizontal gene transfer....
By Design: Behe, Lennox, and Meyer on the Evidence for a Creator, Hoover Institution interview recorded in Fiesole, Italy, 15 Oct 2022. "Where does the code come from? ...the information-selection mechanism lacks the creative power.... We have to broaden the question of how Science is defined." Lots of provocative ideas here, but aparently no awareness that the origin of life or of a new genetic program is a naked assumption of an unobserved phenomenon.
...Evolution now accepted by majority of Americans by Morgan Sherburne, University of Michigan, 20 Aug 2020. ...national samples of U.S. adults were asked to agree or disagree with this statement: "Human beings, as we know them today, developed [!] from earlier species of animals."
...Instructors need to address compatibility of religion, science while teaching evolution by Randy Weiler, Middle Tennessee State University (+Newswise), 24 Nov 2020. This study measures the acceptance of micro-, macro-, and human evolution, each sepapately.
Brig Klyce, "Some Things Are Simply Given" [pdf | docx], Cosmic Genetic Evolution, NC Wickramasinghe, EJ Steele, eds., "Advances in Genetics," Oct 2020.
20 Jun 2020: Darwinism versus Creationism ...the 2019 Survey of American Science Teachers.
10 Aug 2019: Darwin's Doubt by Stephen C. Meyer [book review].
Famed Yale computer science professor quits believing Darwin's theories by Jennifer Kabbany, The College Fix, 30 Jul 2019.
15 Apr 2019: our comments after Michael Behe is interviewed on Youtube.
02 Mar 2019: Darwin Devolves, by biochemist Michael Behe
Teaching genetics prior to teaching evolution improves evolution understanding but not acceptance by Rebecca Mead, Momna Hejmadi and Laurence D. Hurst, doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2002255, PLoS, 23 May 2017.
NASA, Jesus & Templeton? by Suzan Mazur, Huffpost Science, 03 Jun 2016.
28 Apr 2016: ...Suggestions that something is missing from [darwinism] ...play into the hands of creationists....
Miller reviews Dover model of standing up for science, Brown University (+Newswise), 13 Feb 2016.
The Big Bang and God: An Astrotheology by Theodore Walker Jr. and Chandra Wickramasinghe, ISBN:978-1-137-55242-6, Palgrave MacMillan, 2015.
David M. Raup (1933–2015) by Douglas H. Erwin, doi:10.1038/524036a, p 36 v 524, Nature, 6 Aug 2015.
David M. Raup, Who Transformed Field of Paleontology, Dies at 82 by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, 15 Jul 2015.
1 Jun 2015: Science Under Attack!
8 May 2015: email from Ken Jopp touches on "evolution or development."
10 Jul 2014: "The Third Way" website: quotation and link
12-25 Jun 2013: correspondence with Michael Behe illuminates some differences between ID and CA.
10 Feb 2013: Thomas Nagel questions the adequacy of neo-darwinan evolution [book review].
9 Dec 2012: The well-established molecular details of horizontal transfer in the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance are difficult to reconcile with neo-Darwinism — James A. Shapiro.
Soo Bin Park, "South Korea surrenders to creationist demands" [html], doi:10.1038/486014a, p14 v485, Nature, 7 Jun 2012.
Russell Garwood, "Reach out to defend evolution" [html], doi:10.1038/485281a, p281 v485, Nature, 17 May 2012.
David Berlinski, The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions [author's promo], paperback edition, Basic Books, Sep 2009.
11 Apr 2012: Tennessee has passed a law that allows high school science classes to consider problems with the theory of evolution....
David Albert, "On the Origin of Everything" (review of A Universe from Nothing, by Lawrence M. Krauss), [link], p20-21, Sunday Book Review, The New York Times, 25 Mar 2012. "Where, for starters, are the laws of quantum mechanics themselves supposed to have come from?"
ERV vs Steve Kern, a debate between a creationist and a darwinist, ScienceBlogs LLC, 13 Mar 2012.
When It Comes to Accepting Evolution, Gut Feelings Trump Facts, Ohio State University, 19 Jan 2012.
12 Oct 2011: Panspermia might reconcile creationism and neo-Darwinism according to a paper available online today.
4 Jul 2011: A chemist has announced an Origin-Of-Life prize of 50,000 dollars.
A Scientific Consensus: Darwinism is Dead by Paul Benedict, Nolan Chart LLC, 2 Jul 2011.
Steven Novella on Michelle Bachmann and Teaching Evolution by Michael Egnor, Evolution News, 20 Jun 2011. "Directed panspermia is Intelligent Design."
19 Jun 2011: ...Two powerful competitors frequently end up locked in a stable, mutually beneficial dance....
29 Apr 2011: An analysis of long-running evolution experiments has been done by biochemist Michael Behe.
Bill Allowing Teachers to Challenge Evolution Passes Tennessee House by Sara Reardon, ScienceInsider, 7 Apr 2011.
Michael B. Berkman and Eric Plutzer, "Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom" [summary], doi:10.1126/science.1198902, p404-405 v331, Science, 28 Jan 2011. "What of the majority of teachers, 'the cautious 60%,' who are neither strong advocates for evolutionary biology nor explicit endorsers of nonscientific alternatives?" Also see commentary: Biology teachers often dismiss evolution, posted by Adam Mann on Nature.com, 27 Jan 2011.
In the heavens, science. But on earth..., posted by Emma Marris on Nature.com, 13 Dec 2010.
Michael Yarus, Life from an RNA World: The Ancestor Within, Harvard University Press, 15 Apr 2010. Nothing can be older than the first singularity of the universe.... This is an important fact (p 38).
New intelligent design centre launches in Britain, posted by Ewen Callaway on Nature.com, 24 Sep 2010.
John C. Avise, "Footprints of nonsentient design inside the human genome" [abstract], doi:10.1073/pnas.0914609107, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, online 5 May 2010. "Baroque Design: Gratuitous Genome Complexities...."
12 Apr 2010: Stan Franklin forwards Michael Ruse's book review and we reply.
4 Jan 2010: ...Often the majority of people surveyed... believe that evolution is not well supported by evidence — NCSE
Where religious belief and disbelief meet in the brain, by Mark Wheeler, UCLA Newsroom, 30 Sep 2009.
14 Sep 2009: If we didn't know about life we wouldn't believe it — Richard Dawkins.
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, "Authors Scramble to Make Textbooks Conform to Texas Science Standards" [summary], doi:10.1126/science.324_1385, p 1385 v 324, Science, 12 Jun 2009.
5 Jun 2009: The enemy has become more diverse, says anthropologist Eugenie Scott.
Texas School Board Set to Vote on Challenge to Evolution, by Stephanie Simon, The Wall Street Journal, 23 Mar 2009.
World Conference of Science Journalists 2009 is the subject of correspondence with Sallie Robins, 1 Mar 2009.
Andrew Curry, "Creationist Beliefs Persist in Europe" [summary], doi:10.1126/science.323.5918.1159, p 1159 v 323, Science, 27 Feb 2009.
David Cyranoski, "Hong Kong evolution curriculum row" [html], doi:10.1038/4571067a, p 1067 v 457, Nature, online 25 Feb 2009.
Darwin: a Not-So-Happy 200th Birthday, Newswise.com, 5 Feb 2009.
Louisiana Creates: New Pro-Intelligent Design Rules for Teachers by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, ScienceInsider, 16 Jan 2009.
Salman Hameed, "Bracing for Islamic Creationism" [summary], doi:10.1126/science.1163672, p 1637-1638 v 322, Science, 12 Dec 2008.
John Bohannon, "Vatican Science Conference Offers an Ambiguous Message" [summary], doi:10.1126/science.322.5904.1038, p 1038 v 322, Science, 14 Nov 2008.
4 Nov 2008: Only a Theory, by Kenneth R. Miller
"Creation and classrooms" [html], doi:10.1038/455431b, p 431-432 v 455, Nature, 25 Sep 2008.
20 Sep 2008: Woodstock of evolution?
Science lessons should tackle creationism and intelligent design by Michael Reiss, Guardian News, 11 Sep 2008.
7 Jul 2008: The Design Matrix: A Consilience of Clues — book review.
22 Apr 2008: Richard Dawkins endorses panspermia in a movie about Intelligent Design (ID).
Creationist act passes another hurdle in the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee, Nature.com, 9 Apr 2008.
Larry Klaes replies with a pointer to his article on science and faith, 17 Dec, and Gabriel Manzotti comments, 20 Dec 2007.
8 Oct 2007: Cosmology may look like a science, but it isn't a science — James Gunn
18 Jun 2007: In The Edge of Evolution, Michael Behe makes even stronger claims....
An Exercise in Contempt, a thoughtful negative review of Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion, by Richard Kirk, The American Spectator, 8 Dec 2006.
23 Nov 2006: ...There are theories that we would and/or should take seriously... but that are excluded....
Almut Graebsch and Quirin Schiermeier, "Anti-evolutionists raise their profile in Europe" [text], doi:10.1038/444406a, p 406-407...; also, "Q&A Peter Korevaar" [interview] by Schiermeier, doi:10.1038/444407a, p 407 v 444, Nature, 23 Nov 2006.
Intelligent Thought: Science Versus the Intelligent Design Movement, edited by John Brockman, Vintage Books, 272 pages, 2006.
Constance Holden, "Court Revives Georgia Sticker Case" [summary], doi:10.1126/science.312.5778.1292b, p 1292 v 312, Science, 2 Jun 2006.
1 Jun 2006: Another Intelligent Design Theory is the way Skeptic Magazine categorizes panspermia.
Burt Humburg and Ed Brayton, "The Dover Decision," p 44-50; and Richard Dawkins, "The Illusion of Design," p 51-53; and David Brin, "The Other Intelligent Design Theories" (mentions panspermia), p 60-63, v 12 n 2, Skeptic, 2006.
27 Apr 2006: Darwinian fundamentalism, according to Daniel C Dennett.
Edward W. Lempinen, "Education, Religion, and Science Come Together at Evolution Event" [link], p 1878 v 311, Science, 31 Mar 2006.
8 Apr 2006: Irreducible complexity solved!
Hannah Hoag, "Doubts over evolution block funding by Canadian agency" [text], p 720-721 v 440, Nature, 6 Apr (online 4 Apr) 2006. "...The committee felt there was inadequate 'justification for the assumption in the proposal that the theory of evolution, and not intelligent-design theory, was correct.'" Canadian gridlock!
Dover 'Intelligent Design' Decision Topic of Evolution Forum Set for May 17, Newswise, 30 Mar 2006.
Blog: Flock of Dodos — Kendall Powell travels to Kansas City for the first public screening and discussion of a controversial film about the intelligent design debate, 3 Feb 2006.
16 Feb 2006: Ohio biology students must not analyze evolution.
Jefrey Mervis, "Judge Jones Defines Science— And Why Intelligent Design Isn't," p 34 v 311, Science, 6 Jan 2006.
21 Dec 2005: US District Court rules: ID is not science.
Ken Jopp suggests that CA and ID are "operationally ...indistinguishable." Not so, 18 Dec 2005.
God as big bang, by Rabbi David Nelson, Science & Theology News, 25 Nov 2005. "The big-bang metaphor allows us to maintain intellectual integrity by accepting the general consensus of contemporary scientific cosmology while also maintaining a sense of God as creator."
Hubert P. Yockey's daughter Cynthia replies, 17 Nov 2005.
Taking the ID debate out of pundits’ playbooks, by Owen Gingerich, Science & Theology News, 8 Nov 2005. "Science will not collapse if some practitioners are convinced that occasionally there has been creative input in the long chain of being."
Evolution suffers Kansas setback, BBCNews, 9 Nov 2005.
'Intelligent Design' Trial Wraps Up, by Constance Holden, ScienceNow, 7 Nov 2005.
Mike Weiss, "Court battle over teaching of evolution Intelligent design theory at center of Pennsylvania trial" [text], San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Nov 2005.
19 Oct 2005: Michael Behe testified in favor of Intelligent Design in a lawsuit about the high school science curriculum in Dover, Pennsylvania.
Laurie Goodstein, "Evolution Lawsuit Opens in Pennsylvania" [text], The New York Times, 27 Sep 2005.
AAS Statement on the Teaching of Evolution, The American Astronomical Society, adopted 20 Sep 2005.
31 Aug 2005: Americans think public schools should teach creationism alongside evolution.
4 Aug 2005: President Bush backs the teaching of Intelligent Design in US high schools.
Intelligent discussion: Local scientists, doctors and professors talk about 'intelligent design', by Scott LaFee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jun 2005.
...A Third Alternative, an essay by Brig Klyce and Chandra Wickramasinghe, is now available in gif image format, 6 Jun 2005.
Martin Enserink, "Is Holland Becoming the Kansas of Europe?" [summary], p 1394 v 308, Science 3 Jun 2005.
H. Allen Orr, "Devolution: Why intelligent design isn't," p 40-52, The New Yorker, 30 May 2005.
"Dealing with design," p 1053 v 434, Nature, 28 Apr 2005. "Scientists know that natural selection can explain the awe-inspiring complexities of organisms...."
24 Apr 2005: Information Theory, Evolution and the Origin of Life, by Hubert Yockey
Scientists Gear Up to Battle Intelligent Design, by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, ScienceNow, 22 Apr 2005.
It’s Only a Theory: American Attitudes about Evolution (pdf), by Edna DeVore, abstract of lecture at NAI Conference, 12 Apr 2005.
Donald Kennedy, "Twilight for the Enlightenment?" [summary], p 165 v 308, Science 8 Apr 2005.
Brig Klyce, "Dear Dr. Dawkins" [doc], an open letter to Richard Dawkins rephrasing a 1997 challenge from creationists, 4 Jan 2005.
21 Feb 2005: Only 13% of adults in the US fully accept the theory of evolution.
Cornelia Dean, "Evolution Takes a Back Seat in U.S. Classes" [text], The New York Times, 1 Feb 2005.
John A. Moore, From Genesis to Genetics: The Case of Evolution and Creationism [publisher's promo], University of California Press, 2002.
10 Dec 2004: Evolution versus creationism was the topic on CNN last week.
17 Nov 2004: Other theories of evolution?!
12 Nov 2004: Was Darwin Wrong? — National Geographic.
26 Oct 2004: A discussion of the Intelligent Design movement.
26 Sep 2004: An article promoting Intelligent Design.
National Center for Science Education: Defending the Teaching of Evolution in the Public Schools (added 17 June 2004).
1 June 2004: Darwinism, Design, and Public Education (book review).
18 Feb 2004: Big bang revised again?
Intelligent Design: The New 'Big Tent' for Evolution's Critics, by Terry Devitt, University of Wisconsin, 16 Feb 2004.
Sharon Begley, "Evolution Critics Come Under Fire for Flaws in 'Intelligent Design'," p B1, The Wall Street Journal, 13 Feb 2004.
Andrew Jacobs, "Georgia Takes on 'Evolution'" [text], The New York Times, 29 Jan 2004.
Eugenie C. Scott and Glenn Branch, "Evolution: what's wrong with 'teaching the controversy'," p 499-502 v 18 n 10 Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 10 Oct 2003.
2003, September 14: The theological implications of life elsewhere....
2003, June 20: correspondence with creationist author Lee M. Spetner.
Michael Ruse, "Is Evolution a Secular Religion?" [summary], p 1523-1524 v 299 Science, 7 Mar 2003.
Nick Madigan, "Professor's Snub of Creationists Prompts U.S. Inquiry" [text], The New York Times, 3 Feb 2003.
Associated Press, "Ohio Strengthens the teaching of Evolution" [text], The New York Times, 12 Dec 2002.
2002, November 11: The Emergence of Life on Earth, by Iris Fry [book review].
Intelligent Design Creationism and its Critics, Robert T. Pennock, editor, MIT Press, 2001; US$45.00 paperback (805 pages) ISBN 0 262 66124 1; reviewed on BioMedNet by Ernan McMullin, Endeavour 2002, 26:118-119.
Kate Zernike, "Georgia School Board Requires Balance of Evolution and Bible" [text], The New York Times, 23 Aug 2002.
Intelligent Design?: a special report reprinted from Natural History magazine, April 2002.
Michael A. Fletcher, "Teaching Alternative To Evolution Backed" [text], Washington Post, 29 May 2002.
Creation scientists answer back, BBC News, 10 May 2002.
2002, April 27: Could the universe have always existed?
Francis X. Clines, "Ohio Board Hears Debate on an Alternative to Darwinism" [text], The New York Times, 12 Mar 2002.
Michael Shermer, "The Gradual Illumination of the Mind" [text], Scientific American, Feb 2002. Gridlock is reinforced.
Assembly debates life's origins, by Jennine Zeleznik, Dayton Daily News (Ohio), 25 Jan 2002. 'School board member Michael Cochran is in favor of teaching the theory of "intelligent design," ...along with evolution.'
Stephanie Simon, "T. Rex Meets Biblical Text at Museum" [text], Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec 2001. "Polls consistently show that just 10% of Americans believe in evolution unaided by external force. In contrast, 45% accept the biblical account that God created man within the last 10,000 years."
2001, August 22: "Panspermia / San Diego," an email exchange with Sam Kounaves concerning creationism, panspermia and Lee Spetner.
Darwin hits back, by Roger Downey, Seattle Weekly, 14 June 2001. "On Sept. 24, the Public Broadcast System will kick off a seven-part, 8-hour mega-series bravely titled Evolution."
Rebuttal to William A. Dembski's Posting..., by Thomas D. Schneider, 6 June 2001.
Chet Raymo, "Two different paths to enlightenment" (review of Life Is a Miracle, by Wendell Berry), The Boston Globe, 5 June 2001.
Helge Kragh, Cosmology and Controversy, Princeton University Press, 1996. This book contains much historical insight about the relationship between the big bang and the Catholic Church.
James Glanz, "Evolutionists Battle New Theory on Creation" [text], The New York Times, 8 April 2001.
...Seminar on Evolution and Creation, course syllabus with excellent links from Cal State University, Fullerton.
Eugene Russo, "Fighting Darwin's Battles," The Scientist, 19 March 2001
2001, March 12: Nature features astrobiology.
John W. Fountain, "Kansas Puts Evolution Back Into Public Schools" [text], The New York Times, 15 February 2001.
William Dembski fired from Baylor's Intelligent Design center, by Tony Carnes, Christianity Today, 4 December 2000.
Fred Heeren, "The Lynching of Bill Dembski," The American Spectator, November 2000.
2000, November 23: Monad to Man, by Michael Ruse, about evolutionary progress.
Lawrence S. Lerner, "Good and bad science in US schools," p 287-290 v 407 Nature, 21 September 2000.
Niles Eldredge, The Triumph of Evolution and the Failure of Creationism, W.H. Freeman and Company, 2000.
David Miles, "Scopes trial re-enacted in Kansas amid debate over teaching origin theories," Associated Press, 13 July 2000.
2000, July 6: Creationism versus Darwinism at the Federal level.
Debora MacKenzie, "Creation science is far from extinct...," New Scientist, 22 April 2000.
James Glanz, "Survey Finds Support Is Strong For Teaching 2 Origin Theories," The New York Times, 11 March 2000: "...According to a new national survey.... As for evolution, almost half the respondents agreed that the theory 'is far from being proven scientifically.'"
2000, January 29: A respondent provides background for "...more than just a hypothesis."
2000, January 14: Tower of Babel, by Robert T. Pennock (book review).
1999, December 26: Intelligent Design, by William A. Dembski (book review).
A Roundtable on Nature's Destiny, v37 n2, Origins & Design, winter 1999. If there isn’t a materialistic alternative to Darwinism, and if Darwinism is false, then materialism is in real trouble — Phillip Johnson.
New Mexico May Cut Creationism, ABCNews.com, 8 October 1999.
1999, August 12: Kansas drops evolution.
Barry Williams, "Creationist Deception Exposed," v 18 n 3 The Sceptic, September 1998. Richard Dawkins claims he was tricked into a videotaped interview by creationists. Also see a Response from Gillian Brown, the producer of the videotape [posted by Williams with comments], and The "Information Challenge", by Richard Dawkins. Gridlock continues.

References

If science and religion are so broadly similar,... they should at some time clearly converge — John Moore (14)

0. Jacques Barzun, Science: The Glorious Entertainment, Harper and Row, 1964. p 104.
1. Pope Pius XII, "Un Ora," p 31-43 v 44, Acta Apostolicae Sedis—Commentarium Officiale, 1952.
2. See for example Jim Holt, Science Resurrects God, p A10 The Wall Street Journal, December 24, 1997.
3. John Tagliabue, "Pope Supports Darwin" The New York Times. 25 Oct 1996.
4. Gregg Easterbrook, "Science and God: A Warming Trend?" p 890-893 Science v 277. 15 August 1997.
5. Mark Brumley, "Evolution and the Pope," Catholic Dossier, 2 January 1997. Reposted on IntelligentProject.net, n.d.
6. Pope John Paul II, Magisterium Is Concerned with Question of Evolution For It Involves Conception of Man, Message to Pontifical Academy of Sciences, October 22, 1996, posted by the Catholic Information Network. Also on Eternal Word Television Network with a postscript, "Note on translation".
7. See for example Mark I. Vuletic, "Frequently Encountered Criticisms in Evolution vs. Creationism: Revised and Expanded" [link has died].
8. The Talk Origins Archive, with a large FAQ and links to many other sites related to evolution versus creationism.
9. George Wald, "The Origin of Life," Scientific American, 1954; reprinted in A Treasury of Science, Fourth Revised Edition, Harlow Shapley et al., eds., Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1958. p 309.
9.5. Brig Klyce, "Some Things Are Simply Given" [pdf | docx], Cosmic Genetic Evolution, NC Wickramasinghe, EJ Steele, eds., "Advances in Genetics," Oct 2020.
10. Ernst Mayr, Toward a New Philosophy of Biology, Harvard University Press, 1988. p 251.
11. Simon Conway Morris, "The navigation of biological hyperspace," p 149-152 v 2 n 2, International Journal of Astrobiology, 2003.
12. For more about the difference between evolution and development, see Is Sustained Macroevolutionary Progress Possible?, this website.
13. Dr. David Raup, interview with Steve Brusatte, "Dino Land," Jan 1997.
14. John A. Moore, From Genesis to Genetics: The Case of Evolution and Creationism [publisher's promo], University of California Press, 2002, p 204.
15. Martin Rees, "Our greatest quest," p 30-34, NewScientist, 12 Jul 2003.

Related Websites

Opinions are most strongly polarised when evidence is minimal — Martin Rees (15)

Access Research Network and its quarterly publication, Origins and Design
Evolution vs. Creationism: The Saladin-Gish II Debate, 1988 [this link has died].
National Center for Science Education, "A nonprofit, tax-exempt membership organization working to defend the teaching of evolution against sectarian religious attack."
Five Major Misconceptions about Evolution from Talk.origins.
The Origin-of-Life Prize [this link has died].