Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America [Hardcover]

Larry A. Witham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195150457 | ISBN-13: 978-0195150452 | Publication Date: November 7, 2002

The conflict between creationists and evolutionists has raged ever since the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859. And yet, even as generations of Americans have fought and re-fought the same battles, the contours of the debate have in recent years shifted dramatically.
Tracking the dizzying rhetorical heights and opportunistic political lows of this controversy, Larry Witham travels to America's churches, schools, universities, museums, and government agencies to present creationists and evolutionists in their own unfiltered voices. We meet leading creationists and proponents of Intelligent Design such as Michael Behe; evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins; and theistic scientists who describe how they reconcile God and Nature.
Today, Biblical literalism is tempered by the Intelligent Design movement, which finds evidence of God's presence in nature's patterns. The once-dominant "young earth" school has been replaced by a creationism that conscripts the language of science to advance the creationist cause. Meanwhile, evolutionary scientists hesitate to point out gaps in their theories for fear that such self-scrutiny could serve as fodder for anti-evolution propaganda.
In an age marked both by a rising religious tide and daily scientific breakthroughs, Where Darwin Meets the Bible provides the standard account of this lasting conflict.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Washington Times reporter Witham digs into the evolution-creation debate in contemporary America in this balanced and well-documented work of investigative journalism. Drawing upon more than 200 interviews with prominent scientists and theologians, the author charts the history of a debate that has been aggressively waged in the arena of public opinion, but with modest attention to facts. Both camps are divided across a full spectrum of dissent, and the waters are further muddied by relativist attitudes among the educated public that call into question the validity of scientific progress. Witham explores the points of political contact where evolution and creation clash, such as in public schools and colleges, the political arena and the shrines to each respectively, the churches and natural history museums. His analysis of press coverage from the Scopes trial in 1925 to the antievolutionary vote of the Kansas state school board in 1999 reveals that science-and with it the facts-typically takes a back seat in public debates to politics and emotionality. The details of the news, Witham writes, get swamped by the "meaning" of the news, which becomes framed, to cite one of his sources, within the drama of "intolerance." The author looks toward a future where the Christian right is less rural and more suburban and educated, while the Darwinist view is by no means assured of dominance. Witham's impeccable reportage, his erudite analysis and his ability to synthesize complex and nuanced strains of thought all make this book an invaluable roadmap of the evolution-creation controversy in America.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Drawing on his personal interviewing and impressive research, journalist Witham examines the contentious battles over the origin of life forms on this planet between creationists and evolutionists in the United States. Stressing the conflicting ideas of biblical fundamentalism, religious creationism, intelligent design, and theistic evolution, Witham's comprehensive survey covers major trials, controversial textbooks, federal funding, museum displays, university educators, and conceptual issues ranging from cosmic teleology to emerging complexity. Witham focuses on the key players in this ongoing debate, e.g., religious creationists Phillip E. Johnson and Henry M. Morris, and materialist evolutionists Richard Dawkins and Ernst Mayr. Yet lacking is a chapter on the overwhelming empirical evidence for biological evolution and the great antiquity of our own species. Furthermore, Witham does not reveal what truths biblical and creationist viewpoints contain. Fortunately, understanding organic evolution in terms of science, reason, and open inquiry is advancing despite resistance from some religious quarters. This engaging, challenging, and informative volume is suitable for large academic and public libraries.
H. James Birx, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195150457
• ISBN-13: 978-0195150452
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,406,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy successor to Numbers, February 24, 2003

By 

Mark I. Vuletic (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America (Hardcover)

Witham's historical and sociological report on the current status of creationism in the United States mostly takes up where Ronald Numbers' THE CREATIONISTS leaves off. Readers will find much information about the new creationist movement that took off in the 1990s, but will also be exposed to the great diversity of thought within the ranks of the creationists and within those of religious scientists (most of whom are also evolutionists) more generally. There is precious little critical analysis in this book, so those who want answers in the creationism vs. evolution controversy will need to look elsewhere (for instance, to Robert T. Pennock's TOWER OF BABEL and Kenneth R. Miller's FINDING DARWIN'S GOD), but anyone interested in getting a broad overview of the modern interaction (or lack thereof) between evolutionary biology and religion will appreciate Witham's work very much.

19 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breakthrough Book, December 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America (Hardcover)

All indications are that the creation-evolution controversy will continue to heat up as time goes on. Now that Ohio science standards encourage science teachers to include information critical of neoDarwinism when covering evolution, a need exits for more information about the controversy. This book could not have come at a better time. It is also an area I have much interest in. My field is evolutionary biology, and I have become more and more aware of new research that has raised major questions about the orthodox interpretation of neoDarwinism. For this reason the creation-evolution issue is of much interest to me and many others. Actually, I have been researching this topic for over 30 years now and, in my judgment, this book is without question one of the most important works about the creation-evolution ever published (even better than Ron Number's book). Most books and articles on this topic show clear emotional hostility toward one side or the other, and repeat the same incorrect misconceptions almost without end. This book is an honest attempt to look at the whole issue from the eyes of each side and it succeeded very well. The author has done his homework (the 200 interviews and 40 pages of notes, for example, show this). I detected not one major error and only a few very minor errors (unusual in a book on this topic). Witham does a great job covering the different competing schools of Darwinism and briefly summarizing their differences. Witham also clearly shows that, in spite of the almost universal pernicious labeling, the views on this controversy do not form a dichotomy, but exist on a continuum. I predict that his book will become the standard text in this area and will be referred to as a breakthrough work in the future.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Look to this Book for History -- Not Answers, July 19, 2006

By 

B. Breen "Canuckster1127" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America (Paperback)

Creationism and Evolution have been at loggerheads ever since Darwin's Origin of Species exploded onto the scene in 1859.

Particularly within the United States (which is the prescribed scope of this work,) the contest has been integrated within the political and social weave, especially in terms of education and public policy. Far from diminishing, the battle continues to rage and now the additional wrinkle of Intelligent Design is realigning and redefining the battle.

Witham does a remarkably good job of identifying the major players within the debate and the significant events. He remains remarkably neutral in terms of evaluating the validity of the arguments themselves, and sticks to providing a framework that any reasonable person from either camp, should be able to work through and come away with a better understanding of the issues and how they developed.

This is no small feat given the emotional depth that this argument plums on both sides.

Corallaries exist in terms of defining the arguments on both sides and the interested reader should be able to benefit from the bibliography what they are and where those sources can be found.

If you're approaching this issue in depth for the first time, or even if you already have taken a firm position, you should find this book valuable. You will come away with a better understanding of the history of the conflict and maybe even a better appreciation and understanding of both sides of the argument, if you can maintain enough independence to see it.