A book that offers an effective argument against the pseudoscience of intelligent design from an unusual point of view.
A primer on biblical and scientific theories of the creation of the universe.
Robinson has a unique vantage point on the controversy regarding the origin of life: he once taught science at a school in Norris, Tennessee, just 70 miles from where another teacher, John Scopes, was fined by a court in 1925 for teaching the theory of evolution. When students asked Robinson about the topic, he had to avoid saying anything that might violate Tennessee’s anti-evolution law, which was enacted in 1925 and only repealed in 1967. In that state, the controversy is still very much alive—a newer law, for example, allows teachers to debate creationism and evolution side by side in a science classroom. In this extended essay, Robinson provides a useful overview of the “current evidence pertaining to both ways that could have been used in Creation” so that members of the current generation of American youth “might decide for themselves.” He presents the biblical evidence for creationism—the first chapter of Genesis, he says, “should be appropriately recognized for...providing answers that have satisfied the concerns of millions of people”—alongside the science of natural laws that underlies evolution. He notes that the Big Bang theory, which postulates that the universe originated with a cosmic explosion of extremely compact matter, “fails to address the fundamental question: Where did all of the compact matter come from?” Overall, the author should be commended for the clarity of his explanations. However, he says little to advance the debate in any particular way. Readers may find his included “background of essay,” “The Evolution of Anti-Evolution in Public School Science Classes,” more enlightening. In 2005, a federal judge ruled that the theory of intelligent design was a religious belief, similar to creationism, so it couldn’t be taught in public schools as being science-based. Robinson engagingly argues that intelligent-design advocates have attempted to undermine that ruling by invoking academic freedom. The “crusade to ‘protect’ teachers from reprisal for expressing their opinion or engaging in the study, debate or discussion of Intelligent Design in public school classes,” he writes, “is a contrived fallacy.”
A book that offers an effective argument against the pseudoscience of intelligent design from an unusual point of view.Pub Date: March 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-0578118611
Page Count: 110
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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