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Welcome to ARN-Announce
by Dennis Wagner

Number Nine, November 20, 2000

ARN-Announce is the on-line announcement and information service of Access Research Network. ARN generates announcements to the current ARN Announce list as information becomes available. You have received this message because your email address was submitted to this list. Subscription and Unsubscription information is at the end of this message.

IN THIS ARN-ANNOUNCE:

A FEW NOTES ABOUT ARN-ANNOUNCE

This is the ninth issue of ARN-Announce. It describes many of the upcoming events and new articles, books, videos and other resources on Intelligent Design. Please forward this message to several of your friends and colleagues to let them know about the resources available at Access Research Network (www.arn.org). Back issues of ARN-Announce can be found at www.arn.org/announce.htm

A SPECIAL DONATION OFFER FOR FRIENDS OF ARN

Glory of Creation by Thomas Kinkade

Can You Tell Me Anything About Evolution? by Colin Patterson

This has been a pivotal year at Access Research Network and in the Wagner and Wolter family households. Last March I retired from my high-paying, high-tech job at the ripe old age of 46 to devote myself to the task of transforming ARN from a 25 year-old hobby to a real organization and my full-time work. At about the same time I was joined by retired oil geologist Elton Wolter, and his wife Mary (who are at least hundreds of days younger than I am). The three of us committed to volunteering our time for the remainder of the year to the task of taking ARN to the next level with the goal of becoming paid staff members of ARN by January 2001.

The Wolters have taken on the Office Management tasks, filling arnproducts, and responding to mail, email, and phone calls. They have also represented ARN at many conferences this summer and hosted ARN book tables at some. If you were there I hope you had a chance to stop by and meet them. I hope you also benefited from the improved customer service they have been able to provide.

Elton and Mary have focused on the logistic end of the business allowing me to focus on the strategic end of the business. I have been busy finding and developing new ARN products, enhancing our Web site with important new features like the discussion forum, writing the ARN Announcements, and writing proposals for exciting new ARN projects. I have enjoyed every minute of it, especially as the Intelligent Design movement continues to engage our culture in meaningful ways. My three teenage sons however, are convinced Dad has lost his marbles. There isnt a week that goes by that I dont get asked by one of them when Im going to come to my senses and get a real job (they must assume I sit home all day watching soap operas and eating bon bons!)

So here comes the donation pitch. We cant take ARN to the next level without your help. Our revenues come from product sales, subscriptions to our Origins & Design journal, grants, and individual donations. Currently we only have a handful of folks supporting the work at ARN with donations. We need to increase that area of support and we have a special offer for those Friends of ARN that would like to support us in that way. We have two new exciting products that we will be adding to our catalog next year, and we would like to send one or both to you in response to your tax-deductible donation to ARN (we are calling this our sneak-preview for Friends of ARN). For those who contribute $25 or more we would like to send a beautiful book of art, nature and poetry by Thomas Kinkade called Glory of Creation. For those who contribute $100 or more, or who commit to a monthly support pledge of any amount, we would like to send an audio cassette and transcript of Colin Pattersons historic 1981 presentation at the American Museum of Natural History that we have titled Can You Tell Me Anything About Evolution? For those who would like to donate online and request your product(s) immediately go to http://www.arn.org/arnproducts/donation.htm.

You may also mail in your donation check to the address at the bottom of this email and request your product(s) or call us toll-free at (888) 259-7102 to leave a message or credit card donation. For those who want to know more about why I am excited about these two new products, read on.

Glory of Creation A book of art, nature, and poetry by Thomas Kinkade
(for donations of $25 or more)

Most of the resources at Access Research Network are popular and academic works on biology, cosmology and related science topics that are intended to help us examine the central question "did life arise by chance events and natural processes or is there any indication that our world may have been designed for life?"

Sometimes in this pursuit we get lost in the details and forget the big picture. Sometimes we have to let our soul speak to us as well as our mind. This book by world-renown artist Thomas Kinkade offers us such a moment.

From within the velvety stillness of an ancient forest, through the refreshing flow of icy mountain streams, to the vibrant exuberance of budding meadows--a pattern of unmatched beauty and design emerges in the natural wonders captured in Thomas Kinkade paintings. Kinkades awe-inspiring paintings speak to all who will listen, illuminating the call of peace and order found in natures soliloquy. Selections of classic literature, poetry, and insightful quotes from Helen Keller, George Eliot, Job, John Keats, Psalms, Ralph Waldo Emerson and others, combine to elevate the soul beyond the confines of concrete to a fresh experience of the glory of creation.

This book makes a great coffee table conversation piece, a wonderful meditative resource, and a great gift for a friend or loved one, regardless of their interest in the world of science.

Can You Tell Me Anything About Evolution? by Colin Patterson
November 1981 Presentation at the American Museum of Natural History
Audio Tape and Annotated Transcript
(for donations of $100 or more or a monthly support pledge)

What would happen if you awoke one morning and suddenly realized that you no longer accepted the scientific theory on which, thus far, you had based your lifes work? This is precisely the experience paleontologist Colin Patterson conveyed to the Systematics Discussion Group nearly twenty years ago in his now famous presentation.

On November 5, 1981, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Colin Patterson gave a presentation entitled "Evolutionism and Creationism" to the Systematics Discussion Group. The presentation was taped, and an unauthorized (bootleg) transcript was made. Now, 19 years later, Access Research Network has obtained the original audio tape of Pattersons historical presentation. After several months of careful work, in consultation with a witness to the 1981 presentation, ARN is releasing to the public the original audio tape, and an edited transcription of the tape. The transcript includes a large amount of previously unreleased material, notably the 40-minute question-and-answer period, where Patterson interacts with evolutionary biologists such as Niles Eldredge, Keith Stewart Thomson, Stanley Salthe, and James Farris. The transcript also includes an historical introduction by Paul Nelson, biographical footnotes and literature citations.

Here are a few of Pattersons famous comments that you can now listen to and read in their full context:

"But its true that for the last eighteen months or so, Ive been kicking around non-evolutionary or even anti-evolutionary ideas."

"Now, one of the reasons I started taking this anti-evolutionary view, well, lets call it non-evolutionary, was last year I had a sudden realization. For over twenty years I had thought that I was working on evolution in some way. One morning I woke up, and something had happened in the night, and it struck me that I had been working on this stuff for twenty years, and there was not one thing I knew about it. That was quite a shock, to learn that one can be so misled for so long."

"So either there is something wrong with me, or there was something wrong with evolutionary theory. Naturally I know theres nothing wrong with me. So for the last few weeks, Ive tried putting a simple question to various people and groups of people. The question is this: Can you tell me anything you know about evolution, any one thing, any one thing that you think is true?"

"Well, Im not interested in the controversy over teaching in high school, and if any militant creationists have come here looking for political ammunition, I hope theyll be disappointed."

"I shall take the text of my sermon from this book, Gillespies Charles Darwin and the Problem of Creation....He takes it for granted that a rationalist view of nature has replaced an irrational one, and of course, I myself took that view, up until about eighteen months ago. And then I woke up and I realized that all my life I had been duped into taking evolutionism as revealed truth in some way."

"Well, were back to the question Ive been putting to people, Is there one thing you can tell me about evolution? And the absence of an answer seems to suggest that it is true, evolution does not convey any knowledge, or if so, I havent yet heard it."

"Now I think many people in this room would acknowledge that during the last few years, if you had thought about it at all, youve experienced a shift from evolution as knowledge to evolution as faith. I know thats true of me, and I think its true of a good many of you in here."

"So thats my first theme. That evolution and creationism seem to be showing remarkable parallels. They are increasingly hard to tell apart. And the second theme is that evolution not only conveys no knowledge, but seems somehow to convey anti-knowledge, apparent knowledge which is actually harmful to systematics."

No longer do you have to depend on incomplete transcripts or bootleg tapes. Now you can experience the full impact of listening to the complete original recording of this amazing talk with the assistance of a well-annotated transcript that required hundreds of hours to compile and transcribe. And this entire product has been carefully reviewed by one of the original witnesses of the event who assisted us in identifying the speakers during the lively discussion session that followed the talk, material which has never before been available and reveals the full impact of Pattersons presentation on his peers.

To donate online and request your ARN product preview go to: http://www.arn.org/arnproducts/donation.htm

You may also mail in your donation check to the address at the bottom of this email and request your product or call us toll-free at (888) 259-7102 to leave a message or credit card donation. If you would like to talk to us further about these products or supporting ARN financially, email me at dwagner@arn.org or leave us a message at the number above and we will get back to you right away.

Thank you for your part in making the work at ARN possible.

ON-LINE ORDERING AVAILABLE FOR ARN PRODUCTS
All of the ARN products can be ordered through our web catalog store with secure credit card ordering. Read a detailed description of each product and add as many copies as you would like to the electronic shopping cart. When you have finished, select the type of shipping (Priority for faster delivery, or Book Rate for lowest cost) and send the order. If you provide your email address, you will receive an email receipt of your order within minutes. Place your order today at: www.arn.org/arnproducts/catalog.htm. If you have any problems or questions, or would rather place your order by phone, call our toll free number at 1-888-259-7102 and Elton or Mary will be happy to assist you.

DO YOUR SHOPPING ON-LINE AND HELP SUPPORT ARN
ARN has partnered with GreaterGood.com which matches non-profit organizations with commercial retailers for a special program, allowing a portion of your purchase to benefit an organization of your choice. When you enter the GreaterGood.com shopping mall through the ARN link below, 5-15% of your purchase automatically goes to Access Research Network (as indicated on the top of each web page while you are shopping). And the best part is that you still get the same low price you would if you went directly to the retailers web site. Now you can do your holiday shopping, birthday shopping and everyday shopping from the comfort of your home and support ARN at the same time. And you can shop at your favorite stores such as Amazon, JCPenny, Priceline, Starbucks and over 100 more: Start shopping today at http://www.greatergood.com/partner/arn.

ARN-ANNOUNCE IS PRODUCED BY ACCESS RESEARCH NETWORK

ARN-Announce is written by Dennis Wagner (dwagner@arn.org)

Access Research Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing accessible information on science, technology and society issues from an intelligent design perspective.

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