The Counter-Creationism Handbook

by Mark Isaak

Book Overview

Those opposed to the teaching of evolution often make well-rehearsed claims about the science that sound powerful and convincing. And many people who support the teaching of evolution--students, teachers, parents, administrators--do not have the background to respond. They know that scientists have thoroughly dismantled these arguments, but they don't have a handy way of responding to these attacks. The Counter-Creationism Handbook is...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520249267
• ISBN13: 9780520249264
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

An interesting resource on creationism versus evolution

This is an interesting resource regarding the creationism-evolution "debate." It might usefully be read in conjunction with Eugenie Scott's "Evolution vs. Creationism," which provides quotations from major works from each sphere, to allow readers to compare arguments. This book has a perspective: it contends that standard arguments by creationists and intelligent design advocates are off the mark. I would doubt that creationists/intelligent design advocates would even read this. However, it might be worthwhile, to engage substantive discussion. Champions of Darwinism will find this a good piece of work, a source of many counterarguments to contentions by creationists. However, this might be best of all for those who are uncertain, confused, have not thought about the issues involved. The book's structure is quite straightforward. The author, Mark Isaac, organizes his book along a number of thematic lines (e.g., Philosophy and Theology, Biology, Geology, Physics and Mathematics, Other Creationism). He notes assertions from advocates of creationism/intelligent design. Then, he engaged in a demolition project. For the most part, his comments are not emotionally charged and are worded fairly neutrally. He says (Page xxiii): "The book replies to more than 400 of the most common claims that creationists make. Each creationist claim comes with a brief rebuttal showing faults with and, often, counterevidence against the claim." Let's take a look at a few examples, to give a sense about this volume. Page 9: "Fairness demands that evolution and creation be given equal time." His response? That's an erroneous equation. Evolution is a scientific approach; creationism has no scientific grounding (in its research or methodology). Page 18: "Evolution is only a theory." Duh! A theory is a terrific thing. Those who make this assertion simply do not understand science. A theory is special, because it helps to explain facts. Only a theory? Only someone innocent of an understanding of science would assert that. Page 191: "The second law of thermodynamics prohibits evolution." I have read this assertion many times. It's a head scratcher to me. And Isaak points out that this statement is simply inaccurate--and creationists often make statements that violate the second law. Page 242(Young-Earth Creationist statement): "Man and dinosaurs coexisted." Isaak notes that this is simply incorrect. Moreover, for this to be true, we would have to trash theories and findings from multiple scientific disciplines, such as paleontology, chemistry, physics. Anyhow, this is an interesting volume, laying out what the disputes are (although not exhaustive, I am sure) and what science says. Of course, if someone does not believe in the scientific method, his points will not be taken seriously. Whatever one's views, this is a useful volume in directly addressing key points in the "debate."

A VERY WELL WRITTEN AND VALUABLE RESOURCE.

This is a subject that has absolutely fascinated me since I was a small boy, which was many, many years ago. First, just for the sake of background before I write a brief review, it needs to be known just what I am and what I am not. I am not a theologian and I am not a scientist. I am a Christian (admittedly, probably not a good one by many standards, but hey, I try) and I am a strong believer in evolution, ergo, Darwinism. Part of my fascination with this subject is the problem that many have with the concept of Christianity v/s evolution. I have never for the life of me been able to fathom where there is a problem in this area, nor why there should be in this day and age. I avoid arguments and even discussions in this area with most people as I have found that the creationist among us can and do become quite heated, some, almost to the point of being physically aggressive and can say some pretty nasty things. This, again, is part of my fascination with this subject. How can a discussion bring out so many supposedly non Christian characteristics in an otherwise rational individual? I also cannot stand to hurt peoples feelings and find attacking any religious beliefs quite distasteful. That being said.... I do like this book! The author has taken all the standard arguments, and some not so standard, used by the creationists and answered them one by one. Not to be cruel, but he, the author, has actually shredded these arguments, although in a civilized and gentlemanly way. So often, when I drop my guard and do get into a discussion on this subject, I simply do not know what to answer the creationist simply as I am not trained in that area, and unlike many of them, have not memorized well rehearsed party lines, i.e. dogma. This book has allowed me access to the answer to many of these arguments, and settled many questions I have in my own mind. The author not only answers the arguments, line by line, but has given thousands of references so that an individual such as myself can check source documents and not just rely on the say so of one individual. This I appreciate. The author has also pointed out, as I have always felt, that there really need not be a conflict in the mind of the evolutionist and his or her Christianity. The author has effectively used the Bible right along with scientific documents to prove the case for evolution. Now I do have to agree with another reviewer here in that if you indeed are a creationist, this book is bound to make you quite uncomfortable, unless of course, you stick with the dogma of days gone by and refuse to read the book with an open mind and not bother to check out the source documents. This work is quite readable, quite understandable, not too technical and actually quite sensitive to all concerned. I was impressed that there was no blatant name calling. Perhaps the creationist could take a hint from this work and create a work such as this one, based on sound science and truth,

The Ultimate Puchline to Creationist Jokes

There's an old joke about a new visitor to a neighborhood Irish bar. The newcomer listens as one of the regulars shouts out a number and all the others burst into laughter. Soon, another patron shouts out a number with more ensuing laughter. The newcomer asks the bartender what's going on. The bartender replies, "Everybody has come here for so long that we tell the same jokes over the years. We know the jokes so well we have a number for each joke. Instead of telling the whole joke, we just shout out a number." The newcomers nods and waits a few minutes. Then he shouts, "42!" All the regulars glare at him and mutter into their beer. "What happened?" he asked the bartender. The bartender replies, "You can't tell an Irish joke with a Scottish accent!" Creationism is one long running joke broken into a whole series of objections to evolution. Mark Isaak has undertaken the Herculean task of categorizing each creationist objection as its own joke and assigning each its own number. Isaak has analyzed the creationist claims and broken them down into subcategories of philosophy, biology, geology, paleontology, astronomy and physics. Now, instead of wasting time describing any creationist objection, you can just shout out its number. After assigning the number, Mark Issak then delivers the punchline. The book is set out in a carefully cross indexed and well-documented format intended as a reference book for educators, public speakers and any person interested in countering creationist arguments. Anyone familiar with Isaak's Talk.Origins site will read any creationist literature and nod knowingly, thinking "there is argument CA201 ("Evolution is just a Theory") again!" Just as the jokes are known by number, the creationist arguments have been rebutted so thoroughly and so many times, that they really can be reduced to numbers. This book is a valuable resource to anybody who teaches evolution, writes about it or speaks about it. It is a great resource to consult when responding to any creationist argument. When I do so, I also refer to the argument by its "Isaak number." This does two things. First, it demonstrates to the truly uninformed and disinterested individual that scientists really have thought about all of the objections to evolution. Second, it demonstrates that many creationists are really dishonest at heart. The creationist arguments span so many fields of science and philosophy that it is impossible to be an expert in each. Furthermore, there may many versionsof creationism. The Counter-Creationism handbook serves as a common reference manual for those fields outside an individual educator's areas of expertise and also addresses each version of creationism from young earth creationism to intelligent design, on its own terms. It is a joy to be able to find so much information on so many subjects in one volume. Some creationist arguments are so well refuted that merely making the argument is evidence of dishonesty.

Interesting, wide-ranging, well documented

This book presents hundreds of common, creationist arguments, each one followed by a brief counter-argument or series of counter-arguments showing why the creationist argument is wrong or illogical. The book includes arguments in philosophy, theology, epistemology, abiogenesis, genetics, molecular biology, anatomy, cognition, behavior, botany, embryology, systematics, transitional fossils, macroevolution, geology -- including plate tectonics -- cosmology, physics, mathematics, Biblical creationism, flood geology, intelligent design -- including Dembski`s complex specified information and Behe`s irreducible complexity -- and other topics. I thought this was a very good introduction to an extremely broad array of the most common creationist arguments. Although each individual argument gets only a brief discussion, the author compensated for that understandable brevity by including a list of suggested readings, many of which are available on the internet, on virtually every topic. I did have a couple of minor complaints. Notwithstanding the obvious need for brevity, the author could have spent a little more time on some points. For example, merely stating that oxygen levels increased prior to the Cambrian Explosion might not mean very much to the audience this book is aimed at. It probably would have been worthwhile to have added one extra sentence explaining that increased oxygen levels just prior to the Cambrian may have contributed to animals' ability to develop the hard body parts that just happen to be found in the fossil record at that very time. Also, the two entries for Lake Baikal appear to conflict with each other. It's possible that the apparent conflict could be resolved, but it sure isn't obvious from the book itself. Also, some very simple but effective counter-arguments are left out. For example, the creationist "appearance of age" argument is simply unscientific, because there is no conceivable way to test it; and the creationist "design is obvious" argument is obviously nonsensical, because even obvious things can be wrong, such as our home planet being "obviously" flat and "obviously" stationary. Finally, there was one obvious error: even if design can allegedly be detected only in living things, that still does not imply that non-living things were not designed. Saying something is not detectable is not the same as saying it doesn't exist. The author should have left that one counter-argument out, which would have given him room for an extra sentence on why oxygen was an important factor in the Cambrian Explosion! In a book of this scope, those complaints are pretty trivial and hardly detract from the book's value. One last point: given the book's focus on science-related issues, it's understandable that there is next to nothing in the book about the serious constitutional problems facing creationists of all types, including the so-called "intelligent design" creationists. For anyone who wants to learn mor

excellent resource

The rise of creationism and ID in the US, and to a degree other societies, is alarming to say the least. People seem to want to believe in things that thay can understand with a minimum of rational thought, and Creationism certainly fits the bill in that regard. Part of the problem with common or garden creationists is that they know almost nothing about biology or science and are very vocal in their ignorance. They can throw out a dozen half-truths, urban myths and sheer nonsense very rapidly. This book provides an excellent index of the more commonly used creationist statements, and provides rebuttal, explanation and references. The topics cover geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy, with a dip into philosophy and theology. I am a biologist by training and can handle most of the nonsense that impinges on my field of expertise, but once creationists start throwing out canards about sciences outside my direct sphere, this book helps point me in the right direction for rebuttal. It has joined my library and is now a well thumbed tome, which I resort to frequently in the apparently never-ending battle against fear and ignorance.