The Creation vs Evolution Controversy

No Apologies
by Christie Storm
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Weekend, page B4-B5
April 12, 2008

As co-founder of the apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham often draws scorn from scientists for his views on creation.

After all, he unequivocally states that the earth was created thousands, not billions, of years ago. That dinosaurs and man existed harmoniously together. And that methods used to date the earth and fossils are flawed. Such statements don’t exactly endear him to scientists.

Ham’s goal is to challenge the church and the secular world.

“We challenge the church to stand on God’s word in Genesis and make a statement to the culture that God’s word is true,” Ham said. “And challenge the secular world that the history of the world according to the big-bang theory and evolution as taught in public schools is not true. The Bible’s account is true.”

Ham might be scoffed at by the science world, but he’s something of a superstar to creationists. He’s a high profile spokesman of sorts, proclaiming the inerrancy of the Genesis account of creation through Answers in Genesis and the ministry’s Creation Museum in Peteresburg, Ky.

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Here’s a link to Ken Ham’s blog about the conference mentioned in the Arkansas newspaper.

by Kevin Mayhood
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), page B4
November 15, 2007

Atheists at one extreme and Christians promoting intelligent design at the other are ignoring evidence that supports evolution and the presence of God, says a scientist who helped map the DNA of humans.

“ DNA is a language, it is how God spoke life into you and me,” Francis Collins told two audiences yesterday.

Collins, author of The Language of God, is an atheist turned believer, a physician and genetics expert who is director of the National Human Genome Institute. He told several hundred students at Ohio State University and another audience of hundreds at COSI that religion and science actually support each other.

At COSI, Collins was part of a panel discussion called “ The Intersection of Faith & Evolution: A Civil Dialogue.” Collins was largely supported by the other panelists: two more scientists and a religious historian and teacher.

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Ed Kagin, mentioned later in this article (first printed in the June 27 Chicago Tribune) , was the original organizer of the Rally for Reason protest at the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum opening on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007. We say “original” because the left-wing Defending the Constitution organization (DefCon) made a sudden appearance at the last minute (dressed as carpetbaggers) and hijacked Kagin’s protest as their own. DefCon arrived with money, but little in the way of boots on the ground. In the days leading up to the protest, Kagin had boasted of thousands of atheists, freethinkers, humanists and even *GASP* a Christian attending the rally! (United Church of Christ Pastor Mendle Adams — long time opponent of God’s Word the Creation Museum.) Despite all the hype and $upport of DefCon, only about a hundred protestors showed up…

And, for those not familiar with the term “carpetbagger”, Wikipedia gives a nice definition:

“Carpetbaggers” was coined from the carpet bags used as inexpensive luggage. It was originally a derogatory term, suggesting an exploiter who does not plan to stay. Although the term is still an insult in common usage, in histories and reference works it is now used without derogatory intent. Since 1900 the term has also been used to describe outsiders attempting to gain political office or economic advantage, especially in areas (thematically or geographically) to which they previously had no connection.

CP

They don’t have a prayer
by Ron Grossman
National Post (Canada), page A3
03 Jul 2007

At the same time youngsters at Bible camps across the nation are reciting “Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep,” children at Camp Quest are climbing into their bunks confident there is no one out there to hear those prayers.

Proudly proclaiming the motto “Beyond Belief,” Camp Quest bills itself as America’s first sleep-away summer camp for atheists. Founded in 1996, it has inspired four similar camps across the nation for children whose parents are either opposed or indifferent to religion.

Much of what goes on here amid the cornfields of southwestern Ohio is little different from any other camp. Campers canoe, practise archery skills, and go on nature hikes.

They also engage in some unusual rainy-day discussions of philosophical issues. Children who barely come up to an adult’s waist toss around terms like “circular logic.” And those nature hikes focus on the beauty of evolution, unaided by any unseen hand.

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by Paul Gorman, Science reporter
The Press (New Zealand)
20 Jun 2007

Evolution teachers are being told to confront creationism in the classroom and make sure students understand what sets science apart from other subjects.

At the Evolution 2007 conference in Christchurch yesterday, Dr Elizabeth Elle, of Simon Fraser University in Canada, outlined how teachers of evolutionary biology at all levels should deal with resistance from students.

While most of that resistance would come from those with strong religious beliefs, some just had ‘‘misconceptions of the world’’, she said.

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Miami University (Ohio) Professor Nicholas P. Money (mycology) is presenting the above lecture this Tuesday afternoon, March 27, at 5 pm in Alumni Hall 001, on the Oxford, Ohio campus. Sponsored by the Miami University Department of Comparative Religion and the Comparative Religion Student Association the meeting is free and will include a Q&A.

From the announcement:

Join us for a presentation by Dr. Nicholas Money, Professor of Botany at Miami University. He will be addressing why religious groups such as Answers in Genesis® and the majority of scientists view the theory of evolution so differently as a force within society. There will be time for discussion following the lecture.

Here’s the poster advertising this lecture:

While the topic description seems reasonable enough, the title, and especially the poster, suggest this will be a rather inflammatory talk! A reviewer on Amazon describes Money as:

…the Steven Jay Gould of mycology, the Richard Dawkins of the fungi, …

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