UNESCO To Rebuild Mystery Babylon
April 26, 2006
The United Nations has plans to make ancient Babylon a tourist attraction. This International Herald Tribune article will be of interest to Biblical historians. …and maybe to prophecy buffs.
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Ararat Anomaly Photo Released
March 11, 2006
To follow up on an old story, a satellite photo of the so-called “Ararat Anomaly” has been released (see 08/23/2001 entry). The photo taken by the Quickbird 2 satellite shows what is most likely a rock ridge. Some hunters for Noah’s Ark were eager to see high-resolution photos of this area; others thought whatever it […]
Epitaph: Dr. Henry M. Morris, Jr. (1918-2006)
February 25, 2006
The man considered the “father of the modern creationist movement,” a prolific author, scientist and founder of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), died Saturday night at age 87 after a series of small strokes. An announcement at Answers in Genesis said his mind was sharp till shortly before the end. Dr. Henry […]
Liberal Pastors Rally to Defend Darwin on “Evolution Sunday”
February 11, 2006
Imagine this scene at a local church in your community: Our text for this morning’s sermon is taken from Origin of Species, chapter 15: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet […]
Science Seeks Integrity After Scandals
February 5, 2006
The Hwang scandal (01/09/2006) has prompted a good deal of international soul searching about scientific ethics. (Now, it appears that Hwang also corrupted officials with monetary gifts; see New Scientist). Some journals are preaching ethics like an old time revival is in session. This raises an interesting question: what is the source of ethics? […]
Ruse Gives Dennett Poor Grade on Evolution of Religion Book
February 2, 2006
Daniel Dennett is one of those Darwinists not shy about getting in the face of religious people, particularly Christians. Philosopher and pro-Darwinist historian Michael Ruse, on the other hand, has spent enough time around theologically-inclined people to give them a more sympathetic hearing. Ruse has regularly appeared on panels and in debates with leaders of […]
How to Overcome Student Objections to Evolution
December 21, 2005
Biology teachers face increasing difficulty from students coming into class with bad feelings about evolution (11/30/2005, 08/30/2005). Many pro-evolution teachers will be attracted to methods that have a demonstrable track record of relieving tensions and facilitating the process of getting students to accept Darwin’s theory. David Sloan Wilson (Binghamton U, NY) has just the thing. […]
Creation-Evolution Controversy in the News
December 16, 2005
Darwin, Genesis, Paul Mirecki, disclaimer stickers, Kansas and intelligent design continue to be searchable keywords in news reporting about science education. Mirecki’s got a fight on his hands: The embattled U of Kansas prof who was going to ridicule intelligent design (ID) in a religion class till his inflammatory email surfaced (11/29/2005), and who later […]
Instant Geology and Undersea Activity
December 9, 2005
We’re accustomed to thinking of geological processes as slow and gradual, except for volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides, but some recent stories are surprising for the speed and extent of active processes. Run: The Earth Is Splitting Apart: Geologists were amazed to find a rift in the Afar desert east of Ethiopia opening up 8 meters […]
Welcome to the Religion Department; I Am Your Evil Atheist Professor
November 29, 2005
The religion professor who organized a class at U of Kansas called “Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies” (see 11/21/2005) was caught red-handed expressing his real intentions. According to Knight-Ridder stories in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Macon.com, an email from Paul Mirecki became public in which he had said, “The […]
The Rhetoric of Mockery
November 21, 2005
Some recent stories illustrate that human rhetoric has evolved from sophistry to philosophy – then back again. (In ancient Greece, sophistry was criticized of being nothing more than the art of making your opponent look foolish. Socrates, among others, questioned the value of such exercises and tried to elevate rhetoric to higher purposes.) The rise […]
Bible History News
November 11, 2005
Three stories of interest to historians of the Holy Land were reported recently: A Is for Aleph: A stone abecedary, or alphabet tablet, has been unearthed in the hill country south of Jerusalem. It is dated to the 10th century BC, the time of David and Solomon. See MSNBC News for a summary. The New […]
Pope Affirms Intelligent Design
November 10, 2005
Just when pro-Darwinists were parlaying one bishop against another on the Catholic position on evolution (see the UK Times Online for an op-ed piece with some historical context), the Pope made it clear: he expects the faithful to embrace intelligent design. The Discovery Institute was pleased that Pope Benedict XVI used the phrase “intelligent project” […]
Creation-Evolution Contest in Grand Canyon: New York Times Prints Eyewitness Report
October 6, 2005
New York Times reporter Jodi Wilgoren explored “parallel universes” along the Colorado River this summer (here for multimedia version). She rode a raft with a creationist group led by Tom Vail for several days, then rode with another party led by evolutionist Eugenie Scott. Her experiences with these two groups illustrated the stark contrast between […]
Tulsa Zoo Tolerates Religion – Except the Bible Kind
July 16, 2005
It’s OK to praise the Hindu god Ganesha and preach pantheism at the Tulsa zoo, but not to mention Genesis. The zoo board reversed itself after first agreeing to permit an exhibit of the biblical creation account, reported Agape Press. Christian supporters argued that the zoo “already features religious symbols in other displays, including a […]