Product Description
How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away from science, seeking other explanations with which they are more comfortable. In the book, Science, Evolution, and Creationism, a group of experts assembled by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine explain the fundamental methods of science, document the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution, and evaluate the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism, including "intelligent design." The book explores the many fascinating inquiries being pursued that put the science of evolution to work in preventing and treating human disease, developing new agricultural products, and fostering industrial innovations. The book also presents the scientific and legal reasons for not teaching creationist ideas in public school science classes. Mindful of school board battles and recent court decisions, Science, Evolution, and Creationism shows that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world rather than as frameworks that are in conflict with each other and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. For educators, students, teachers, community leaders, legislators, policy makers, and parents who seek to understand the basis of evolutionary science, this publication will be an essential resource.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 23 reviews)

Load of bull by K. Evans

1 Stars
September 11, 2009
I read this book just to see what "the other side" was saying. There is plenty of scientific, proven evidence to support Creationism....you just have to look in the right places (Answers in Genesis is one of them). Plenty of former evolution-supporting scientists have come out in favor of Creationism, stating that it makes a lot more since than believing that complex human beings evolved from apes. HELLO? Don't waste your time reading this book.

Excellent brief coverage of the most important points by T. Brown (CA)

5 Stars
August 03, 2009
Excellent brief coverage of the most important points. There is no inherent controversy between a view of evolution through systematic empirical observation and scientific experimentation on the one hand and on the other subjective, intuitive religious views that aren't subject to critical scrutiny. You can have beliefs based on one, the other, or both but what is important is that you know the difference between knowledge based on one versus the other. Religion allows things unseen: magic and spirits and the supernatural--anything goes. Science does not.

Good overview by Tim Beazley (San Diego, CA United States)

4 Stars
June 26, 2009
"Science, Evolution, and Creationism" is a really, really brief overview -- about 30 pages, if you don't count the illustrations -- of the dispute between evolution and creationism. As SEC explains: 1. Evolution is a controversial topic in education, but generally not in science. Although there are unresolved questions about specific details of evolution, there are no serious doubts about evolution's central claims. 2. The education controversy is primarily the result of religious opposition, not scientific opposition. 3. One of the key differences between religious beliefs and scientific theories is that scientific theories are testable. Evolution, for example, makes numerous testable claims which have already been confirmed as accurate countless thousands of times, but religious beliefs generally involve supernatural beings which by their very nature cannot be tested. 4. Many of the creationists' "scientific" arguments are merely negative arguments against evolution, not positive arguments for creationist claims. Those negative arguments are generally illogical, because they are based on a false dichotomy. 5. It is simply false for IDC-proponents to claim that evolution is not compatible with Christianity. In reality, millions of Christians find evolution to be entirely compatible with their religious beliefs. (Also, standard evolutionary theory is taught at dozens of Christian universities, like Baylor (Baptist), SMU (Methodist), Whitworth College (Presbyterian), Brigham Young (Mormon), and Catholic universities, like Georgetown, Notre Dame, Loyola, Gonzaga, Boston College, St. Joe's, University of Dallas, etc.) 6. There is substantial evidence for all of the major concepts in evolutionary theory. SEC briefly discusses a tiny portion of that evidence, including some transitional fossils like Tiktaalik, bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics, and anatomical and DNA similarities in related species. 7. In public primary and secondary schools, advocating creationism in any form, young-earth or intelligent design, violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause regarding the separation of church and state. The above are all good points, but SEC has the same problem that you'll find in any overview; namely, no issue is dealt with in any real depth. But as an overview, SEC works very well. In particular, since the main opposition to evolution education is religiously motivated, SEC's discussion of religion is very worthwhile and very persuasive. (See #5, above.) I also liked that SEC at least mentions the false dichotomy issue, but I wish it had been explained in a bit more detail, because it is such a key part of so many creationist arguments. (Two major court decisions, McLean v. Arkansas and Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Board, also commented on the creationists' reliance on false dichotomies.) SEC could have explained in just a few paragraphs why false dichotomies are such a major problem for creationist arguments, and it would have been well worthwhile. (See my review of "What's Darwin Got To Do With It" for a very simple explanation. It's one of my first Amazon reviews. You can find it on the next to last page of the list of my reviews.) I also wish that SEC had mentioned the statistical arguments that are another staple of creationist rhetoric and explained why they carry virtually no weight whatsoever. (Generally, creationists' statistical arguments are based on completely speculative, if not obviously invalid, starting assumptions. It's the old "garbage in, garbage out" problem. Creationists can attach numbers to garbage if they want, but it's still garbage.) SEC is updated every few years. Maybe the creationists' silliness with statistics can be addressed in the next update. In short, if you're pretty new to the subject, SEC would be an easy way to at least get started on identifying some of the main issues in the controversy; but be advised, it's not an in-depth discussion. SEC is also available on the web, so you don't even have to buy it. Sorry, Amazon ;-)

Incompetence at the National Academy of Sciences by Robert B. Johnson (Maryland)

1 Stars
March 17, 2009
I am astounded to read words of praise for this propagandistic screed, a book that fails to meet even the logical standards expected of a high school sophomore's term paper. The authors from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) admit in their book that they do not have a "plausible hypothesis" for the origin of life. They write on page 22, "Constructing a plausible hypothesis of life's origins will require that many questions be answered." And yet, on page 51 and elsewhere, they refer to evolution as a "fact." Further, they produce no evidence for the alleged evolution of the sexes because they have none. Yet on page 39, they write of the "overwhelming evidence that evolution has taken place." And further still, out of the two million or so species alive on this planet, the NAS cannot pick a single one (an anchovy, a polar bear, a bluebird, a pine tree, or anything else) and identify, with evidence, the species from which it allegedly evolved. And yet they write on page 14 of their book that the theory of evolution "is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny." When the NAS writers cannot explain how and why things happen in nature, which is throughout the book, they call upon their do-all, be-all, and end-all cover-up for their ignorance, "natural selection." They define it in three contradictory ways - as the "driving force" of evolution, as a "process," and as an outcome ("reproductive success"). Natural "selection" is not a scientific principle at all, but rather NAS's overworked and ill-applied FIGURE OF SPEECH. The "driving force" behind evolution turns out to be nothing more than contrived rhetoric. Without any actual evidence for evolution, the NAS writers are forced to rely upon philosophy and empty seduction. To the discerning reader, their deceptions and illogic are patently obvious. They include repetitive false affirmations, disguised tautologies, authoritative obfuscations, and slapping 'sciency' lipstick all over their no-evidence pig. I have written in detail about this charade of charades and scam of scams in my book Sowing Atheism: The National Academy of Sciences' Sinister Scheme to Teach Our Children They're Descended from Reptiles. The writers of the NAS book, members of that organization's hierarchy, demonstrate for all to see, that they are not capable of presenting their case clearly, logically, or honestly. Given their position in our society, that is extremely frightening. - Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr.

The Blind Leading the Blind..... by Chris Todd Davidson (Meridian, MS United States)

1 Stars
March 14, 2009
Reading this book is more like a blind man leading a blind man over a cliff. Instead of providing opposing views and allowing room for debate as education tells us we need to arrive at a right conclusion, they just merely construct straw men and knock them down to support their views. The utter lack of transitional life forms in the fossil record plus the multiple vague statements that speak in generally vague terms about the origin of life and the "evolutionary" theory is expounded as fact when it is merely a theory. And evolution is a theory without a bit of support in the fossil record or in the practical logic of a study of life.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Scientists Confront Creationism: Intelligent Design and Beyond by Laurie R. Godfrey (Editor), Andrew J. Petto (Editor) From leading scientists, lawyers, and educators—a decisive rebuttal to those who undermine science in the name of religion. In a time when creationist textbooks continue to appear in classrooms and the president of the United States encourages educators to “teach both sides” of the argument, Scientists Confront Creationism presents an accessible defense of evolution and a blueprint to save...
	Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction by Eugenie C. Scott (Author) More than eighty years after the Scopes trial, the debate over teaching evolution continues in spite of the emptiness of the creationist positions. This accessible resource, now completely revised and updated, provides an essential introduction to the ongoing dispute's many facets--the scientific evidence for evolution, the legal and educational basis for its teaching, and the various religious points of view--as well as a concise history of the evolution-creationism controversy. This second...
	Asking and Listening: Ethnography As Personal Adaptation by Paul Bohannan (Author), Dirk van der Elst (Author) Giving readers the capacity to include ethnography in their own experience! Asking and Listening is the first book to trace the changing ways in which human beings have learned to look at "the Others Beyond the Gate" with their strange languages and stranger customs. Not a history of ethnography so much as a chronicle of its uses and potentials, Asking and Listening examines the premises of ethnography and concerns itself with a wide range of issues such as ethnocentrism and the morass of...
	The Counter-Creationism Handbook by Mark Isaak (Author) Those opposed to the teaching of evolution often make well-rehearsed claims about the science that sound powerful and convincing. And many people who support the teaching of evolution--students, teachers, parents, administrators--do not have the background to respond. They know that scientists have thoroughly dismantled these arguments, but they don't have a handy way of responding to these attacks. The Counter-Creationism Handbook is a one-stop resource for addressing over 400 of the most...
	Anthropology Essentials by Michael V. Angrosino (Author) Discusses human evolution and development, human adaptation to the environment, culture, society, the individual, social organization, social stratification and transaction, symbolic expressions, and anthropology and the future.