DEFEATING DARWINISM by PHILLIP E. JOHNSON

4.0 of 5.0

 

The bottom line: A plain language, common-sense approach that places a wedge between Darwinian macroevolution and science.  

 

 

Defeating Darwinism accomplishes exactly what it aims to do: give a “high-school education in how to think about evolution.” And how does the author persuade the reader to think? That there is absolutely nothing venomous about science, but there are some catastrophic problems with Darwin’s theory of macroevolution by natural selection. Hence, without using overly technical language or referring to advanced concepts, the author succeeds in placing “a wedge” in the log of “scientific materialism.”

What I enjoyed most about Defeating Darwinism is that it takes a step back from the often-heated debates between creationists and evolutionists. For proper orientation, it clarifies terms and equips you to detect deceptive arguments that are often made. The book also looks at the external factors persuading the Darwinian worldview. What the reader is left with is a better understanding of the creationist-evolutionist debate in general, as well as the presupposed scientific truth claims of Darwinism that are in fact quite unscientific. Examples include the philosophical assumption of Darwinism that all of reality can be explained by natural explanations (Where’s the proof for that?) and faith in an idea that cannot be tested (no one lives long enough to see monkeys turn into humans). Even in those cases where proof is offered (e.g. The Beak of the Finch) for evolution, Johnson reveals that such is evidence against an argument that no one is making. The bulk of the scientific critique happens in the chapter called, “A Real Education in Evolution” where the author highlights the deficiencies of the fossil record and shines a light on the evolutionist’s worst fear: describing the specific mechanism of evolution, the supposed cause of all of the diversity in nature.

This book is a very quick and easy read; in fact, it moves along like a warm friend talking you through things over coffee in your living room. The main argument of the text ends before page 100. The final two chapters (“Modernism” and “Stepping of the Reservation”), respectively, describe the cultural developments in the 20th century that have shaped the modernist worldview and how creationists can approach Darwinism in the midst of a culture that can be hostile to the Bible.

I highly recommend Defeating Darwinism to anyone who would like to explore the objections to Darwinism without drowning in technical gobbledygook.

Indeed, this book will equip you to “defeat Darwinism” by learning the truth best—that is, by learning the objections to that truth. I think anyone with a genuine interest in objective Truth (with a capital ‘T’) will derive value from this worthwhile selection from Phillip E. Johnson.

 

Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal

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