Customer Reviews

Deception by Design: The Intelligent Design Movement in America

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Evolutionary biology, since its inception in the 19th Century, more than any other branch of science, has been serious called into question by hardline fundamentalist Christians... but not for scientific reasons, but for religious reasons. In the early part of the 20th century, there was the famous Scopes trial, and in the latter half of the 20th century, the 'Scientific Creationism' movement was a further manifestation of the fundamentalist battle against Evolution. And even now, in the beginning of the 21st Century, the next generation of fundamentalists are yet again trying to inject their religious teachings into school curricula through "Intelligent Design".

As Mr. Flank describes in great detail in this book, the motivation behind all of this isn't in the least bit scientific, but is instead a political movement with the ultimate goal of transforming the United States into a theocratic state. As anyone who has been following the news in the past few years, and reading websites such as Theocracy Watch, the rise of Dominionist Christianity is not the fantasy of "conspiracy theorists", and is a very real threat to the US (and beyond).

Lenny also provides details of court proceedings where time and time again the Creationists were struck under the provisions of the First Amendment of the Constitution. And best of all, he provides the complete text of the "Wedge Document", which was leaked from the Dicovery Institute (a Creationist think tank) and outlines the Dominionist strategy of using Intelligent Design as a wedge to inject literalist Biblical teachings into public schools and ultimately undermine the separation of Church and State.

This book also provides a bit of the scientific background of evolution to help the reader along with understanding some of the basic concepts, as well as the basic concepts of Creationism/Intelligent Design, as well as details on why the latter is not science and does not belong in publicly funded school systems.

Well researched and referenced, this book is essential reading for everyone dedicated to fighting the ignorance and superstition that is Creationism. Mr. Flank devastates the shallow, specious, anti-scientific arguments used by the thinly-veiled so-called Creation "Scientists" as they attempt to use America's science classrooms to advance their narrow brand of Christian Fundamentalism.

Mr. Flank does not rely on credentials or degrees for validation - his work stands on it's own; accurate, factual, and written in a captivating style that reminds me a bit of the late great Isaac Asimov. He presents excellent summaries of the Scientific Method and the therapsid-mammal evolutionary transition. I am a bit disappointed that he did not include his web essays on radioisotope dating ([...]), but I presume that space in the book was limited.

Although the book's informal format does not include footnotes, there is an extensive "Sources and Reading List", along with a reprint of the infamous "Wedge" document.

Lenny Flank is something of a personality in the online anti-creation campaign, and not undeservedly. Whilst his book does address and debunk (again) the standard creationist arguments against Darwinism, its real achievement is in providing a meaningful socio-historical context to the creation-evolution 'debate' in the US. I am a UK citizen, but even on this side of the Atlantic, a lazy media seeking to be demonstrably 'impartial' is happy to give airtime to the anti-scientific fundamentalists that would foist on us their discredited account of the history of the Earth. The lunacy has to stop and Flank does a fine job in setting the stage for the backlash. As part of the current wave of rational, nu-enlightenment thinkers that includes Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens, Flank is a bulldog that deserves wider recognition, not just for this volume, but also for his sterling work as captain of the DebunkCreation Yahoo Groups community. Recommended reading for all that fear the encroachment of the religious right, everywhere in the world.

This book goes well beyond the line of rational objective discussion. It reminds me of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic pamphlet that purports to describe an evil Hebrew plot to achieve world domination. This book is one of the most well known and discussed examples of forgery and numerous investigations have proven it to be a hoax. A difference is Flank's book makes the same claim viz that Christians want to achieve a dictatorship of America, but it purports of be factual. Typical is Flank's claim that "the ID/ creationists (along with the rest of their Religious Right companions) represent, in their attempts to re-mold (sic) all of American society in accordance with their own narrow sectarian beliefs, the greatest single threat to freedom and democracy in the United States today" (page 78). Flank concludes that the goal of ID and their creationist supporters is nothing less than "a theocratic police state" with Christians in firm control (page 58). None of his irresponsible rhetoric is supported by documentation or references of any kind. To know what the ID supporters, and even the putative Religious Right, "members" believe requires scientific study, such as interviewing a representative sample. Studies that have done this find ID supporters include a wide variety of religions and political persuasions. In my experience, many are Catholic as are most all of my family, and no small number are classical liberals. Flank takes a few select quotes from people like Jerry Falwell and imputes them to a large group of people, many of which may or may not agree with the quote. The book has no index and nor any footnotes nor even references aside from a short list of readings. I wanted to check information that I have never heard of before, such as the almost surely incorrect claim that "almost half of the states" had passed laws that made it illegal to teach evolution (page 22) but no sources were given. I cannot think of one state that ever passed a law that made it illegal to teach evolution. Even the infamous Butler act in Tennessee only made it illegal to teach that mankind evolved from a lower form of life. A reason , as Stephen J. Gould wrote in his well documented article in Natural History, was due to Bryan's concern with racism. See Stephen Jay Gould, "William Jennings Bryan's Last Campaign," in Nebraska History 77 (Fall/Winter 1996), also in Stephen J. Gould, editor, Bully for Brontosaurus, chapter 28, pages 416-431 (Penguin, New York, 1991). I checked the publisher of this book, and sure enough Red and Black Books is a far leftist publisher that publishes books in support of Marxism. One, also by Lenny Flank, Jr., is titled "Contradictions of Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxian Economics" and claims to be "A beginner's guide to Marxist economics, from the beginnings of capitalism within the feudalist system, to its modern incarnation as corporate monopoly." Somehow one who openly defends a system that was responsible for several hundred million deaths in my mind lacks credibility. See the 912 page book "The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression" edited by several well known scholars and published by Harvard University Press (1999). A used copy is available from Amazon.com for 20 dollars. The authors have taken advantage of the opened KGB archives to track down the details of hundreds of repressions and atrocities committed by the Soviet Communists in the name of their ideology. I tried to find out about the background of Flank and, although he is well known in anti-creationist, anti-Intelligent Design, and anti-religious circles as a ambitious charter, educationally all I could find is that he has an associated degree in English from a Community College.