In the News

On the Web site Ignatius.com Benjamin Wiker (Ph.D., Vanderbilt), lecturer in theology and science at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio is interviewed. He is also a senior fellow of Discovery Institute in Seattle, Washington. His work has been published in First Things, National Catholic Register, Crisis, Catholic World Report and the New Oxford Review. He is the author of Moral Darwinism, Architects of the Culture of Death, and the recently published A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature, published by InterVarsity Press and co-authored with Jonathan Witt.

Carl E. Olson, editor of IgnatiusInsight.com, spoke with Dr. Wiker about his new book, science, religion, evolution, intelligent design, and the meaning of meaning.

James Randerson of the Guardian reports that the government will write to schools telling them that controversial packs, including DVDs and written materials promoting intelligent design, should not be used in lessons. The packets were sent to every school in the country by the privately-funded group Truth in Science. The Guardian revealed that 59 schools had told Truth in Science the materials were a "useful classroom resource".

Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrats' science spokesman, said that he feared that some teachers would use the packs to promote intelligent design as a belief or that it would be presented as a valid scientific theory.

Darwin Strikes Back by Thomas Woodward

What started as a debate among scientists has become a full-scale public battle. In this sequel to his award-winning Doubts about Darwin, Thomas Woodward traces the struggle that has emerged as the two sides wrestle with questions of the origin of life. Woodward answers these questions and more:

* Who are the key players on each side, and what contributions have they made?
* How has the debate developed, and where is it headed in the future?
* What conclusions can we draw about our origins based on the scientific evidence?

Woodward examines three major design theorists: Michael Behe, Jonathan Wells, and William Dembski, as well as their most notable critics including biologist Kenneth Miller, philosopher Niall Shanks, educator Eugenie Scott, and Richard Dawkins. Woodward, once a staunch supporter of Darwinian evolution himself, finds that critics of intelligent design often offer flawed arguments.

For a longer review on the book check out Don Cicchetti's blog.

Endorsements:

"Lucid, thorough, and brisk as the morning news, Darwin Strikes Back traces the launch of the Intelligent Design Movement and the response it has elicited. Woodward shows how ID challenges the interpretation of intelligent display without intelligent agency and calls for an alternative assessment of scientific data. While providing a valuable resource for the seasoned observer, this book should be especially appealing to students and newcomers to the debate wishing to be rapidly brought up to speed."
--Leo R. Zacharski, professor of medicine, Dartmouth Medical School

"In their attempt to return fire in the debate against Intelligent Design, the Darwinists are mostly shooting blanks. Tom Woodward does a masterful job of dissecting weak polemic and showing how the Darwinian establishment has resorted to proof by confident assertion, genetic fallacies, and ad homonym tactics rather than genuinely engaging the arguments and evidence that ID theorists have mustered. Woodward predicts correctly that such tactics will not ultimately prevail."
--Stephen C. Meyer, director, Center for Science and Culture Discovery Institute

"In Darwin Strikes Back Tom Woodward chronicles the recent acrimonious history of ID and its antagonists. Woodward is an insider who tells an engaging story that will clarify both the nature and the source of current sharp debate surrounding this issue."
--Kenneth Petzinger, professor of physics, College of William and Mary

"In Darwin Strikes Back, Woodward presents a clear, accurate, and intriguing account of Intelligent Design, its history, the arguments in its favor, the counterarguments by the Darwinists, and the responses by the ID theorists. This is an important book for anyone who wants a clear picture of the ID/evolution debate."
--Russell W. Carlson, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; executive technical director of the complex carbohydrate research center, University of Georgia

"Darwin Strikes Back tells the thrilling story of how the Darwinian establishment has summoned all its power to crush the frightening challenge of the Intelligent Design Movement, and how the rebels are not only surviving but gaining new strength as we respond to the onslaught. Highly recommended."
--Phillip E. Johnson, emeritus professor of law, University of California, Berkeley; author, Darwin on Trial

"Taking the reader behind the headlines, Thomas Woodward--the premier historian of the Intelligent Design Movement--analyzes crucial developments of the past decade."
--Michael J. Behe, department of biology, Lehigh University

"The controversy over Darwinism and Intelligent Design signals a major scientific and social revolution. Everyone who wants to understand it should read this timely and well-written book."
--Jonathan Wells, author, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design