| Refuting Evolution: Foreword & Introduction |
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Refuting EvolutionA handbook for students, parents, and teachers countering the latest arguments for evolutionForeword by Ken HamI vividly recall a seminar where a young lady, who appeared quite distressed, came up and blurted out ‘I’m angry.’ ‘At me?’ I replied, wondering what sort of tense situation was going to occur now. ‘No, not at you—at my teachers and college professors.’ ‘And why is that?’ I asked. This lady went on to say something like this: ‘Why didn’t they tell me about all this evidence that contradicts evolution? How come they taught me ideas that were discarded, even by evolutionists, years ago? Why didn’t they let me consider the evidence put forward by creationists? The way I conduct my life is very dependent on my beliefs about origins. Why haven’t I been allowed to hear all this information—isn’t that what education is all about?’ I must admit that when I was a teacher in the public school system in Australia, I was frustrated by the fact that many of the text books contained evolutionary teaching that had been discarded years ago by evolutionists themselves. It was also disheartening to find that most teachers seemed to just regurgitate to the students what they had been taught at school and college, and yet many of these ideas were outdated and no longer held by leading scientists. As I talked with these teachers about this situation, I found most had not had the opportunity to read any of the latest findings. There was no system in place to update teachers on the latest research. Also, probably because of economics, textbooks seemed to take years to catch up with current theories. As a result of this sad state of affairs, generations of students continue to be indoctrinated in outdated evolutionary theories, not even understanding that such teachings are continually modified and discarded in the real world. Thus, students and teachers alike are indoctrinated to believe evolution is fact, when in reality it is a belief system based on ever-changing concepts. In recent times in the USA, the prestigious National Academy of Sciences made available to public schools and other institutions a book that supposedly presents the latest information on evolution. This publication is presented very professionally and certainly looks as if it might contain irrefutable evidence for evolution. It is designed to persuade and assist teachers to further indoctrinate their students in favor of evolution, with specific advice on countering anti-evolutionist students. A creationist scientist, Dr Jonathan Sarfati, thoroughly investigated the claims of this book. Not only were some of these typically outdated and discarded ideas still presented as fact, but at the very least one could say that some of the information was quite misleading. There is also a very subtle attack throughout the book on those who hold to the Christian faith. A highly qualified scientist, the author also has a formidable and unusually wide-ranging grasp of many other fields of knowledge. I challenge professors, teachers, and students to not only read this book and consider the claims Dr Sarfati has made, but to check out the documentation for themselves. If they do this, I believe they too may become ‘angry’ at the way information is being presented to the public in such a lopsided manner. In my opinion, this new publication is one of the most up-to-date critiques of modern evolutionary theory, one that has been so well researched and documented it will challenge the most ardent evolutionist. Please consider all the information carefully—after all, what you believe about where you came from affects your whole world view. This is an important topic indeed. Introduction
However, it’s hard to believe that ‘many students receive little or no exposure’ to evolution. The whole secular education system in America (and most other countries around the world) is underpinned by evolution. After reviewing a number of biology textbooks in the secular school system, we find they are all blatantly pro-evolution. It’s also hard to believe that evolution is an ‘essential concept’ in biology, because most ‘key aspects of living things’ were discovered by creationists. For example, Louis Pasteur discovered that many diseases were caused by germs and showed that life comes only from life, Gregor Mendel discovered genetics, and Carolus Linnaeus developed the modern classification system, to name but a few creationist pioneers of modern biology [see The Creationist Basis for Modern Science]. Also, many highly qualified biological scientists of the present day do not accept evolution—their work is not affected in the slightest by whether or not fish really did turn into philosophers . Refuting Evolution seeks to redress the lopsided pro-evolutionary way in which origins are taught. The NAS guidebook, which is compiled by many leading evolutionists, obviously contains the most up-to-date and major arguments for evolution. Thus, this critique of it addresses current evolutionary theory as taught in colleges, public schools, and as broadcast by the media. Refuting Evolution responds to many of the arguments in Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science so that a general critique of evolution can be made available to challenge educators, students, and parents. At the same time, Refuting Evolution gives as much positive information as space permits to defend the creationist position. Thus, it provides a good summary of the arguments against evolution and for creation. It should stimulate much discussion and help students and teachers to think more critically about origins. By downloading this material, you agree to the following terms with respect to the use of the requested material: CMI grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to print or download one (1) copy of the copyrighted work. The copyrighted work will be used for non-commercial, personal purposes only. You may not prepare, manufacture, copy, use, promote, distribute, or sell a derivative work of the copyrighted work without the express approval of Creation Ministries International Ltd. Approval must be expressed and in writing, and failure to respond shall not be deemed approval. All rights in the copyrighted work not specifically granted to you are reserved by CMI. All such reserved rights may be exercised by CMI. This Agreement, and all interpretations thereof, shall be deemed to be in accordance with the law of the state of Queensland, Australia. Any dispute arising out of this Agreement shall be resolved in accordance with Queensland law and the courts of Queensland shall be deemed to be those of proper jurisdiction and venue. (Available in Spanish) |
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The
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has recently published an educator’s guidebook
entitled Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science. It has been
made available to educators throughout America to encourage teachers to incorporate
more evolution in their classes and basically teach particles-to-people evolution
as a fact. The guidebook states its purpose in the preface: