Creationism Book Reviews
Another Case Not Made: A Critique of Lee Strobel’s The Case for a Creator (2005) by Paul Doland
In this chapter-by-chapter critique of Lee Strobel’s The Case for a Creator, Paul Doland comments on the general direction of the book before analyzing Strobel’s interviews with his various experts on specific topics. Topics include the origin of life, evolution, the relationship between science and religion, the origin of the universe, the alleged fine-tuning of the universe, whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, intelligent design, information theory, the origin and nature of consciousness, and whether consciousness can survive the death of the brain. Particularly noteworthy is Strobel’s silence when his experts make conflicting claims (e.g., Wells and Dembski on evolution).
Bad Science, Worse Philosophy: The Quackery and Logic-Chopping of David Foster’s The Philosophical Scientists (Book Review) (1998) [ Index ] by Richard Carrier
Lengthy critique of David Foster’s creationist book The Philosophical Scientists. Many different sciences are discussed, especially physics, thermodynamics, biology, and evolution by natural selection.
Response to Massimo Pigliucci’s Review of The Design Inference (1999) by Mark Vuletic
Vuletic replies to Pigliucci’s review. He writes, “Pigliucci’s ‘review’ reads for the most part like an extended diatribe against the intelligent design (i.e. creationist) movement.” Note: Pigliucci has revised his review since Vuletic published his reply.
A Critique of Michael Denton’s Evolution: A Theory in Crisis (1995) by Mark I. Vuletic
Review pointing out some, but not all, of the errors in Denton’s book.
How to Misuse Darwin and (Almost) Get Away With It (1999) (Off Site) by Massimo Pigliucci
A review of E. Caudill’s Darwinian Myths.
Not a Very Big Bang About Genesis (2001) (Off Site) by Mark Perakh
This article critically discusses three books by Gerald L. Schroeder, books which have gained a substantial popularity and have often been acclaimed as very successful clarifications of how to reconcile biblical stories with scientific data: Big Bang and Genesis : The discovery of the harmony between modern science and the Bible, The Science of God : The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom, and The Hidden Face of God : How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth.
Preaching that Anti-Evolution Propaganda (1999) (Off Site) by Tommy Huxley
A review of Hank Hanegraaff’s The FACE that Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution.
Review of Dean L. Overman’s “A Case Against Accident and Self-Organization” (1999) by Graham Oppy
“The book is well-organised and mostly easy to read; moreover, the book clearly demonstrates that Overman is thoroughly acquainted with popular presentations of recent work in a variety of scientific fields. But the crucial question is whether it makes a clear, compelling, and well-argued case for the conclusions which Overman wishes to defend. I shall claim in this review that the book fails on all three counts.”
Review of Michael Ruse’s Can a Darwinian be a Christian? (2001) by Keith Parsons
Philosopher of science and zoologist Michael Ruse answers the question posed in the title his book Can a Darwinian be a Christian? in the affirmative. Ruse argues that a conflict only arises from a literal reading of Genesis. If Christianity actually depended upon such a literal reading, Ruse concedes, the resulting conflict with science would simply be all the worse for Christianity; but, pace Alvin Plantinga, Christianity does not depend upon such antiquated literalism. Although Ruse thinks that conflict can be avoided by merely adopting methodological naturalism without conflating it with the metaphysical variety, Parsons has his doubts, particularly when it comes to the issue of design. Parsons notes, for instance, that a loving Creator could’ve done much better than create us through a process that depends upon the vast waste, pain, and ugliness of natural selection, and that apparent design has increasingly given way to naturalistic explanations in biology–forcing theists to look for other gaps for God to fill.
Review of Jonathan Wells’ Icons of Evolution (Off Site) by Alan D. Gishlick
In Icons of Evolution, Jonathan Wells, who along with well-known Intelligent Design proponents Michael J. Behe and William A. Dembski is a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture, makes the claim in his book that textbooks present a systematic pattern of misinformation about the evidence for evolution. Gishlick, a postdoctoral scholar, analyzes those claims and concludes that “the scholarship of Icons of Evolution is substandard and its conclusions unsupported.”
Science, Religion, and All That Jazz (1998) (Off Site) by Massimo Pigliucci
A review of Edward J. Larson’s Summer for the Gods. “The author’s objectivity, while commendable, is also appropriate, for the purpose of the book is not to resolve a scientific dispute (that has been settled long ago), but to present a historical explication of the case in its proper social context. This he achieves in a work that is scholarly, extremely well-documented, and an engrossing narrative accessible to a general audience.”