Author: Barry Arrington

Thank you very much to Bob OH for pointing me to a transcript of the Behe literature bluff at the Dover trial.  I have read the transcript in detail, and I now believe the Dover defendants’ lawyers should have made objections that they did not make.  Here are quotes from the Behe examination followed by Read More…

I was going to post this in Gil’s “Literature Bluffing” thread, but it got too long, so I am putting it in this post. Let me preface this comment by stating that I have not reviewed the transcript of the Dover trial in detail, and I am basing what I am about to say on Read More…

I am reading Douglas Futuyma’s Evolution, which, like his previous textbook Evolutionary Biology, will probably become the standard college text on evolution. On pages 48 and 49 Futuyma lists the “proofs” of evolution. I find the list interesting not so much for what it includes but for what it excludes – transitions in the fossil Read More…

“Just so story” is a phrase one hears often in the origins debate. Etymologically, the phrase is traced to a series of children’s stories by Rudyard Kipling in which he gave comical accounts of how various animals acquired their peculiar traits, including “How the Camel got his Hump,” “How the Rhinoceros got his Skin,” and Read More…

I thought GilDodgen’s June 10 post about the odds of writing a simple computer program by chance was very interesting. It put me in mind of the old “infinite monkey theory.” You know the one: “If infinite monkeys were typing on infinite typewriters, sooner or later they would type out the complete works of the Read More…

No paleontologists reported finding any transitional forms today – yet another stunning confirmation of the theory of punctuated equilibrium. Seriously, I hope some of our Darwinists friends who post comments on this site can help me understand how evolutionary theorists deal with their cognitive dissonance when they consider the issue of gradualism and the general Read More…

This reply is too long to put in the comments section to the previous post, so I am making a new post. Frank writes: “There is an important difference between believing things to be true a priori and having faith.” BarryA replies: It depends on what you mean by “faith.” The first entry in the Read More…

Good news Haeckel lovers and everyone else who is fascinated by morbid 19th century charlatans. We all know Ernst Haeckel’s ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny/ embryonic recapitulation/doctored drawings. But one of his lesser known contributions to literature is a book called The History of Creation (this is the short title; the long title is set forth below), Read More…

“Quote Mining” is a pejorative term used to refer to the practice of compiling quotations, often from one’s opponents. As anyone who has studied evolution for any length of time knows, one need not quote ID proponents or creationists for authority against evolution or Darwinism. The Darwinists themselves can be quoted for practically every proposition Read More…

Check our George Will’s column today, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will1.asp, where he recounts the “global cooling” hysteria of the early 70’s. Here’s a quote: “While worrying about Montana’s receding glaciers, [Montana Governor] Schweitzer, who is 50, should also worry about the fact that when he was 20 he was told to be worried, very worried, about global cooling.

This just in. My morning paper reports that LPGA pro Natalie Gulbis has an extra vertebra in her back that enables her to bring her club so far around she has her back to the target. The random mutation that led to Ms. Galbis’ extra vertebra apparently confers a golfing advantage on her, which in Read More…

This is a letter I sent to First Things today. Dear Editors of First Things: Robert T. Miller argues that Judge Jones’ decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District was correct even though Miller admits that Intelligent Design (ID) is not religion (Darwin in Dover, PA, April 2006). Miller’s conclusion is plainly a non Read More…

In my prior post I said (actually, as one commenter pointed out, I meant to say), ID gives us reason to hope for freedom from Darwinism and its implications with respect to objective morality. One commenter asked what ID has to do with establishing an objective basis for morality. The answer, of course, is nothing. Read More…

My name is Barry Arrington. I am an attorney in Denver, Colorado specializing in complex litigation and constitutional law. My passion is defending constitutional liberties, especially those guaranteed by the First Amendment. I am also very interested in Darwinism’s connection to the law. How, you might ask, is a theory of biological origins connected to Read More…