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That Their Words May Be Used Against Them

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By quoting directly what evolutionists have to say about their own insurmontable problems, this book illustrates the complete absurdity of Darwinian evolution in all its forms. This book should be required reading in every public school in America.

This book was not neccessarily designed to be read cover to cover. It can be. Believe me, I know! I couldn't put it down, but then, I'm strange like that. Most people will probably use this book like a reference guide, to point them in the right direction for further research, or as a quick reference for refuting the fact statements that evolutionists will often throw out in leiu of actual evidence. Over all, it was a worthwhile read, and I will use it for years to come. However, my one complaint is that the references are a bit dated in places. To be truly powerful, this book has to be on the cutting edge of science, and while some references are very modern, some are forty or more years old. This is probably out of Dr. Morris's control, since moments of candid honesty from a leading evolutionist are rare.

You clowns who keep crying 'quote-mining, quote-mining' should really get ahold of yourselves; you look foolish. This book is simply a collection of observations (or, horror of horrors, QUOTES!!!) that have appeared in the professional literature concerning the various fields of evolutionary study.

Morris makes no pretense of trying to pass off the many sincere evolutionists he quotes as doubting the theory; they don't. He simply points out what the popular press and the scientific establishment would rather you not know: that there are profound areas of fundamental disagreement within the scientific establishment (i.e. among materialist-minded scientists) on the subject of evolution. Sure, some of these figures are 'outcasts' in the scientific community (e.g. Halton Arp), and some are/were not (Sir Fred Hoyle). This, unfortunately for the hand-wringing clowns here, has no bearing on their qualifications. Instead, it has everything to do with their being independent, refusing to toe the party line, and following the evidence where ever it may lead.

Atheist astronomer Halton Arp (quoted in the book) was unjustly hounded out of his job and ended up moving to Germany to breathe the air of academic freedom. Why? He dared to point out observational evidence that contradicted the popular `Big Bang' theory of the universe. And he refused to shut up about it (his books are fascinating).
Sir Fred Hoyle (also quoted in the book), who never really was an `outcast', was also a devout atheist. Despite this, he had the intellectual honesty to point out that the theory of evolution is ridiculous and unsupported by science. He was also a leading opponent of the `Big Bang'.
Both of these men (and many more in the book) have/had the courage to ask honest questions about current scientific orthodoxy. Many of their questions and challenges have yet to be answered.

Recently, Dr. Richard Sternberg (not quoted in the book) of the Smithsonian Institute was smeared and lied about (thanks, in part, to the NCSE), and pressured to leave his post because he allowed the publishing of a paper (on Intelligent Design) that questioned the validity of evolutionary theory. The paper passed proper peer-review and everything; no matter, the heretic must be burned!

Simply put, these people will not tolerate freedom of thought or dissent from the faith IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE (as opposed to a professional forum - and many times, not even there). And they certainly don't want the common-folk reading these heretical ideas, no matter how well-grounded in observation they happen to be.

While the scientific establishment and the press always present a united front to the public, this is mere illusion. Evolutionary theory and thought are far from monolithic. This is an `open secret'; many (not all) of these differences are on full display in the professional literature. One of the few things ALL of them have in common is a deep faith that, in the words of Carl Sagan, `The cosmos is all there is, ever was, or ever will be' (i.e. there is no God). If this is so, something like evolution MUST be true.

Many evolutionists are so averse to discussion of observations and facts that they fight like hell to prevent the problems with the theory from even being discussed in public schools. This is despite the fact that such discussion takes place in the professional literature. Eugenie Scott of the NCSE has even said that to do so would only sow doubt and confusion about evolution in the minds of students. We can't have that, now can we? But alas, I forget myself. Surely such doubts arising in a students mind are an unconstitutional violation of the 'separation of church and state'!

As Morris says in the forward, the more he studied evolutionary literature, the more he became convinced that evolution is about faith, not evidence. That faith is on full display in these pages. This book is valuable for the 'peek behind the curtain' it provides. It also exposes the many, and there are many, areas of critical weakness in evolutionary theory.

This is a useful chronicle of honest questions and frank admissions about, even blunt criticisms of, evolution posed by evolutionists themselves. This makes it an excellent reference work.

That's what all whining about 'quote mining' is about.

Henry Morris's book is intended as a resource for evolution denialists who want to find quotes which seem to show scientists attacking the theory of evolution. I could review this book AS science, and point out the myriad ways in which G.G. Simpson and others are quoted out of context in a way which distorts their meaning, but why bother? Anyone who seriously considers purchasing this book KNOWS that it will be a compendium of out-of-context quotations, and will buy it anyway.

So the question is: will this book work for you if you are an evolution denialist looking for quote mines to puff up something which you've written? Sadly, the book is not even good for THIS ignoble purpose.

For example, let's say you borrow G.G. Simpson's quote about how the fossil record does not show any trace of orthogenesis. While you're patting yourself on the back thinking that you've found a paleontologist who is damning the fossil record, anyone with any knowledge about the history of biology is mocking you. Why? Because orthogenesis is an ANTI-Darwinian theory of how organisms have evolved. Simpson is saying that the fossil record rejects, not Darwinism, but Eimer-ism and Cope-ism. (And if you don't know who Eimer and Cope are, believe me, there's good reason.)

Or let's say you borrow one of the Goldschmidt quotes in the book (as Jonathan Wells did for his Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism). Unfortunately, Goldschmidt, though an evolutionist, was an anti-Darwinian evolutionist.

Furthermore, the title of this book suggests that the quotes in it come from evolutionists. Many of them, however, do not. Tons of quotes from Michael Denton's book "Evolution: A Theory in Crisis" appear, for example.

If you are writing for an audience of ignoramuses and don't have time to read any actual books, on EITHER side, about evolutionary biology, this hunk of garbage might see you through. If anyone in your audience has even a smattering of knowledge about either biology or the history of science, however, you will be laughed out of the room.

In short, this book is not worth the paper it's printed on--even if you ignore the fact that it is, in effect, a compendium of out-of-context quotations whose intended purpose is to gull ignorant people into rejecting a theory which they do not understand in the first place.

Before I even heard of this book, I was reading the quotes of various evolutionary "scientists". And I took them "in context". It made no difference to what they were saying. So many times, it is a matter of simply not wanting there to be a God (that implies a Judge). Some outright admit that this is the case, such as Aldous Huxley. The quotes are so out in the open and plain that "context" isn't an issue. Getting the meaning of the words of these "scientists" is not a matter of splitting hairs and interpreting in the light of context, but rather simply reading what they openly say.

I have used these quotes many times when talking to evolutionists. The reaction is either "that's not what he meant" or "that isn't his field of expertise" or even "that person isn't a good scientist because he doesn't really believe in evolution".

I wouldn't expect the rank and file follower of evolution to have a change of mind because of it. But, if you want this book for your own edification, that is great! And by all means use it as a resource to help others understand what many evolutionary authorities say about the theory.

This book won't appeal to anybody, except those who want it to be true. It is obvious quote mining. (Check out Talk Origins for a discussion on how quote mining is used, especially in this book) If you need to lie in order to believe something, it is not much of a belief, in my opinion.

It seems Morris does get quite a bit of slander from readers outside of Christianity. This book is one example. But listen real closely to what I am about to tell you -- uncoverted people cannot understand the things of God -- it is only by God that we as children of God can understand the things of God - so it is natural for unconverted "Christians" and non-Christians to slap Morris' work across the face. His work is very good and many of his books have helped me in my studies. Do not listen to the evolutionists who deny creationism not knowing that evolutionism has no scientific proof (as quoted by many evolutionary scientists) but be encouraged by Morris' work.

Quotations taken out of context, edited to fit their meaning, taken from personal letters that are difficult to verify, or taken from minority opinions in the scientific field is what you can expect from this book. Why not save yourself the money and make up quotes yourself?

The blatant quote mining, and removal from context to change meaning of quotes this book is rife with shows only the desire to lie. Anyone who reads it as anything other than a work of fiction is seriously misled. Look the quotes up yourself, and read the entire context yourself. You will be surprised at the audacity of the author's intent to mislead.

This book contains only quotes, plus very short forwards, to each section. It does not include any commentary on the quotes. None. How can one claim that they are taken out of context? There is no context, only quotes alone. The book consists of quotes only plus the source! Nothing else. All quotes are from journals or books, and none are from personnel letters. Thus claims such as "Quotations taken out of context, edited to fit their meaning, taken from personal letters that are difficult to verify, or taken from minority opinions in the scientific field is what you can expect from this book" are irresponsible as is the claim that this book is "blatant quote mining, and removal from context to change meaning of quotes this book is rife with shows only the desire to lie. Anyone who reads it as anything other than a work of fiction is seriously misled... You will be surprised at the audacity of the author's intent to mislead". It is clear that neither of these reviewers read or even looked at the book they reviewed. Such conduct is one reason why I have become very distrustful of those who oppose Darwin Skeptics. This behavior is very unethical. Conversely the following is good advice: "Look the quotes up yourself, and read the entire context yourself". I did this with many of the quotes and concluded the quote context supported what I assumed was Dr. Morris's position although one can only assume this as, again, this book contains only quotes.