by Phillip E. Johnson



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In his own era, Darwin's most formidable opponents were fossil experts,
not clergymen. Even today, according to the author, the fossil record, far
from conclusive, does not support the presumed existence of intermediate
links between species. A law teacher at UC-Berkeley, Johnson deems
unpersuasive the alleged proofs for Darwin's assertion that natural
selection can produce new species. He also argues that recent molecular
studies of DNA fail to confirm the existence of common ancestors for
different species. Doubting the smooth line of transitional steps between
apes and humans sketched by neo-Darwinists, he cites evidence for "rapid
branching," i.e., mysterious leaps which presumably produced the human
mind and spirit from animal materials. This evidence, to Johnson, suggests
that "the putative hominid species" may not have contained our ancestors
after all. This cogent, succinct inquiry cuts like a knife through
neo-Darwinist assumptions.

From Library Journal
Dissecting the writings of Gould, Futuyama, Darwin, and Dawkins with a
trenchant sword, law professor Johnson uses an attorney's reasoning to
scrutinize the scientists' logic in defining the theory of evolution.
Contending that science has distorted research rules to exclude Divine
Creation in explaining the diversity of life, Johnson challenges the
tenets of natural selection and the evolutionary evidence from fossils and
genetic and molecular sources. In the closing chapters, he deals with
Darwinism in education and in religion, stating that the evolutionary
theory is protected for its "indispensable ideological role in the war
against fundamentalism." While the book presents a skewed view of the
scientific process, occasionally losing all pretense of objectivity, it
may be of value to lay readers seeking a creationist perspective on
evolution.

Product Details

Paperback: 220 pages
Publisher: InterVarsity Press; 2nd edition (November 1, 1993)
ISBN: 0830813241