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Evolution and the Myth of Creationism: A Basic Guide to the Facts in the Evolution Debate

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My son passed this book on to me when he was in a Catholic University. It was part of required reading in a Biology class, along with a copy of a book by Morris advocating the other viewpoint. Morris's book pretty much said, "the Bible says blah blah, blah, therefore, science is wrong." Berra's superb book began in the preface with a scathing indictment of the agenda behind Scientific Creationism - that agenda being enforcement of religious views on our educational system. In the process, Creationists misinterpret science wherever they like in order to make it fit the Bible.

As applied to Scientific Creationism, "Scientific" is a misnomer. In order to qualify as science, first , data is gathered. A "Hypothesis" based on the data is formulated. The hypothesis is tested and results are published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The hypothesis, if it passes muster so far, is subjected to retesting by other scientists with verification of the results. The hypothesis describes "how" a process works, but says nothing about "why." A "Theory" may eventually be developed which explains "why", and has a stronger meaning in science than the usual dictionary definition. To become a theory indicates general acceptance by the scientific community, may be the end result of decades or even centuries of groundwork, and is always susceptible to modification or even rejection if new data demands it. This is the scientific method that helped to bring us out of the Dark Ages. Any theory that is not subjected to these procedures does not belong in science class.

Research for Scientific Creationism consists of careful perusal of the scientific literature, hoping to isolate quotes, ideas, or disagreements amongst scientists which can then be misinterpreted to support Creationist arguments. This is not hypothesis testing. There is no testing in Creationism, but then religion is supposed to be about faith, whereas science is about evidence.

Berra gives us several chapters outlining the very basics of evolution. Starting on page 126, he lists 16 assertions that Creationists hang their hat on, which are contradictory to basic sciences in geology, physics, biology, or chemistry. These are given in only a sentence or two, and Berra's rebuttals are almost as brief. He has a chapter about the politics of this sad situation, all in very blunt prose, not mincing words.

Fortunately, Scientific Creationism's assertions are easily dealt with and you don't have to be a serious scholar to be convinced. Unfortunately, about the time Berra wrote this great little book, a new tactic arose called Intelligent Design. Briefly, the most liberal brand of the ID movement accepts a 4.5 billion year old earth and most of evolution, as the way God created man...however, at some unspecified crossroads in evolution, an unidentified "designer" intervened. This "had to be" because certain aspects of biochemistry/the eye/the flagellum are "irreducibly complex."

The spectrum of ID belief runs the gamut of belief from close to Scientific Creationism to close to complete belief in all of evolution, beginnings of life from primordial sludge and the Big Bang. For the more liberal versions, there are perhaps 5 times as many who would vote for the concept to be taught alongside evolution in high school as there were for Scientific Creationism. This is sort of OK with a lot of the more conservative IDers because it gives them a "wedge" of entry. Later on, the agenda can be broadened to exclude "materialistic and sinful" theories such as evolution from the curriculum altogether. Willingness to obtain by legislation, judicial decree, or the sword that which cannot be obtained by evangelism has a long history within our species.

Back to the book, it is excellent. It is without peer for its day, due to its brevity & clarity, but it needs an update. I urge Dr. Berra to write an up to date version, edited to satisfy some of the complaints in these reviews, and to give the major portion of the book over to rebuttal of Intelligent Design. The chameleon has undergone a transformation and needs to be slapped back down again.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in creationism and evolution. As the book succinctly states, there is no debate about the validity of evolution-- just a sad indictment on the scientific education of the average American. Creationists never claim to use science as the basis of their argument, because science isn't the basis of their argument, the inerrancy of the Bible is. The framework of the debate, therefore, has nothing to do with the facts.

This book is written for the non-scientist, and its brief length and heavy illustrations (fascinating ones) make it at times feel like a long article from a nature magazine. I read it in one sitting, and thought it ably covered the facts of evolution. The author makes no excuse for the fact that the fossil record is incomplete, and that much still needs to be learned about evolution. This book, for instance, was written before the recent discovery of a hominid skull in central Africa, which has lead paleontologists to believe that human life may not have originated along the Rift Valley, as previously believed. But, such additional discoveries hardly add credence to creationist claims; there is no significant discovery that has negated evolutionary theory. The facts have shifted, but never the theory.

It is important to note, as the author does, that the majority of Christians don't deny evolution-- the Pope, for instance, says it's fine for Catholics to believe in evolution, as long as they believe that God inserted the immortal soul into humans at some point. Such adaptablility is refreshing -- and it would seem necessary.

I purchased this book two weeks ago. This is a very interesting book which outlines the scientific method step by step. The book also discounts the arguments presented by creationists. Dr. Berra's book is very insightful and shows the logical progression/evolution of all life on the planet earth.

I bought this book for my sister back when she was in Junior High in 1994 because I wanted her to have the best introduction into the Evolution debate. I explained to her that in a science classroom she should expect to be taught science and science only. None of this anti-science, anti-reason, creationist propaganda that some teachers try to pass for SCIENCE. I explained that if she was interested in the creationist view of the origin of life on Earth she should attend sunday school - she never chose to do so. That's because there is something irrevocable about HARD EVIDENCE - it cannot be denied. To do so is to be willfully blind. Tim Berra eloquently explains and shows the reader why science is called that. Why anything that does not apply the SCIENTIFIC METHOD is NOT science.

Evolution and The Myth of Creationism explains its three related purposes: 1. To explain evolution to people who are genuinely confused by the claims of creationists, who try to pass fundamentalist christian beliefs as science. 2. Provide useful ammunition to the high school biology teacher or school board member who finds him or herself under attack by creationists. 3. To be a useful supplemental text for introductory college-level classes in biology, zoology, botany, or anthropology.

Tim Berra further explains that his book is blunt and to the point because "...scientists have, for too long, treated too lightly on the creationists, and have thereby fostered the impression that the creationists have a legitimate scientific voice. It is time for candor and clarity."

I would like to point out that in many instances, the fundamentalists pull quotes and distort them for their own purposes. To familiarize yourself with such tactics turn to the last section in the book - "Science, religion, politics, law and education." Here you'll read about a number of landmark cases and trials that show you that REASON does triumph. When you finish the book you'll understand that we may be living in the 21 st Century, but what we are going through is no different than what Christopher Columbus went through when the earth was thought to be flat.

Dr. Berra's book presents the facts of evolution in a way that anyone can understand. He has made it fun, informative and extremely interesting. Dr. Berra clearly demonstrates that "scientific creationism" has no scientific merit and does not belong in our public schools. I believe that just about anyone would be well advised to read this book!

This is a great book, written in a straightforward style, that presents the scientific data supporting evolution, and then presents with equal clarity the various attempts by religious fanatics to oppose evolution on supposedly scientific grounds. By making each side of the argument clear, Berra makes it easy for the reader to see the difference between argument based on evidence, and argument based on a desire simply to oppose a theory that some find unpleasant. Even people with a strong education in biology may sometimes find themselves taken by surprise by various carefully crafted arguments that creationists have devised, and so it is really useful for everyone to see exactly what the most commonly dredged-up creatinist arguments are. Since many of these creationist arguments are based on incorrect or out of context information, one really needs to know about them in advance in order to be able to adequately respond to them.

So, this book is extremely useful for anyone concerned about the idea of special interest groups trying to force their religious agenda onto the public education system, and I therefore recommend it not just to scientists, but to everyone!

Several books published in the 1980s critiqued "creation-science," a movement of religious fundamentalists who maintain that science confirms a very literal, narrow interpretation of the Bible, and who aim to influence public school curricula. The Supreme Court struck down on such attempts in 1987, which is why I wonder what Berra had in mind by publishing this book in 1990. What audience was he aiming to persuade? My impression from reading the book is that he assumes the reader to be a near-scientific illiterate, for he gets heavily caught up in conveying very basic information on evolution, biology, and the history of Darwinism, all of which can be found in most textbooks. For instance, on the first page of Chapter 1, he writes: "When you walk into your bedroom and flick the light switch and nothing happens, what do you do next? Chances are, you will turn the switch on and off a few times. Even though you are not conscious of doing so, you have formed a *hypothesis*...." (asterisks indicate bold print). Sounds to me more like a documentary for high school students than a serious critique.

Berra is so caught up in overwhelming the reader with basic scientific facts, he doesn't pay enough attention to the logical reasoning that is so crucial to a polemic on any topic. For example, most critiques of creationism address the old criticism that the theory of natural selection is based on circular reasoning and that therefore explains nothing. Far from refuting this criticism, Berra's definition of natural selection unwittingly confirms it: "The creativity of natural selection involves the retention and subsequent stepwise refinement of variations that yield improved *fitness*. Fitness in the Darwinian sense means reproductive fitness--leaving at least enough offspring to spread or sustain the species in nature indefinitely" (p. 68). That statement amounts to little more than saying that organisms which leave more offspring will be more successful; hence, "the survivors survive," as critics of Darwinism often quip. This tells us nothing about what kinds of features are likely to spread through a population, let alone what sort of long-term evolution is ever likely to occur as a result of natural selection. By Berra's definition, genetic drift (the phenomenon of new features spreading through a population at random) is a form of natural selection. Where is the evidence for the ambitious proposition that natural selection possesses immense "creativity"? I've examined the literature on Darwinism and creationism thoroughly and have never seen a satisfactory answer to that question, although I have read more than a half dozen books providing a more persuasive defense of Darwin's theory than this inadequate, outdated treatise.

While the book gives a clear overview of basic evolutionary theory, the chapter on creationism seems artificial. If you are looking for indepth explanations of evolution, look elsewhere. If you are looking for solid arguments against creationist dogma, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an introduction to evolution, this book may do the trick. The glossery is pretty good.

I have read extensively on evolution and believe this book to be excellent for a lay person like myself. The many illustrations help to understand a very complex subject. Berra also gives a very brief history of the creationists and their insidious techniques for promoting themselves and weakening science education. This book has an extensive list for further reading in both evolution and creationism, as well as a very useful glossary of technical terms. The chapter on the rise of humans was exceptionally well-written. In this same chapter he introduces the subject of the molecular clock and DNA hybridization. These techniques in the last several years (after Berra's book was published) have revealed much about our human ancestral tree. This has given me a greater appreciation for how God chose to create through the process of evolution. I would highly recommend The Extraordinary Story of Human Origins by Piero and Alberto Angela on the subject of human ancestry.

Although now more than a decade and a half old "Evolution and the Myth of Creationism" by Ohio State University zoology professor Tim M. Berra is still a useful introduction to the basic facts of evolution. Written for a general audience and at a level understandable to high schoolers, it presents a useful overview of the evolution/creationism dispute. Berra's goals are simple: to present the scientific case for evolution to the "open minded reader who does not understand the technical issues of evolution but would like to, who sees everywhere the signs of bitter philosophical and educational debate; but does not know what to make of it, or who to believe" (p. ix). With an emphasis on brevity, only 144 pages of text and some really excellent illustrations, Berra presents the scientific pursuit of the origins of humanity, in the process offering compact explanations of population genetics, the fossil record, case histories of bacteria drug resistance and sickle-cell anemia, the Big Bang and the evolution of the universe, and a very useful summary of current views on the human evolutionary experience.

Berra is an unrelenting evolutionist, insisting that from a scientific perspective there is no debate between evolution and creationism, or as it is called in its current incarnation "intelligent design." Evolution, he comments, has the self-correcting underpinning of the scientific method and is accepted by virtually all who seriously study the subject. Creationism is a faith statement not based on any scientific evidence whatsoever and not testable through the scientific method. Berra notes that only a tiny minority of the Americans accept the creationism argument, and that many with deeply-held religious conceptions find no conflict between science and religion. "Creationists, for the most part," he insists, "are fundamentalist Christians whose central premise is a literal interpretation of the Bible and a belief in its inerrancy" (p. viii). In spite of their small numbers creationists are vocal, domineering, and political savvy at getting their belief system into far too many science curricula. They have asserted, although it is a fundamentally flawed belief, that there is a scientific controversy and that both sides should be taught in science classes. Recently, U.S. President George W. Bush made this assertion; never mind that there is no legitimate controversy, a fact that any reader of this book will come to appreciate fully.

I read this book so that I could more readily answer questions about the origins of the universe and life in the universe in my capacity as a curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. We have received an increasing number of questions about intelligent design from visitors to the museum, and the scientific arguments for the "Big Bang," the expanding universe, and the possibilities of life beyond Earth have received sustained criticism from those who embrace intelligent design. While there is some information on this subject in "Evolution and the Myth of Creationism" the focus of this book is on natural history, the fossil record, dinosaurs, and human evolution. It is a useful introduction to this material, although a little outdated now, but for questions of cosmology readers will want to review other works such as "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality" (2004) and "The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory" (2003), both by Brian Greene or "The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design" (2005) by Leonard Susskind.