Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul in Science and Inquiry

Jan 31, 2009 Max Maxwell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 50-book-challenge-2009-failed-48, evolution

You've probably heard the joke about how you know the world's going through a strange time when the best golfer is black and the best rapper is white, but what about when the best defender of evolution, and harshest critic of intelligent design, is Roman Catholic? Even PZ Myers, the "fifth horseman of the apocalypse," had to concede as much:

Miller is a fine writer who sharply addresses the details of the arguments about intelligent design creationism. When tackling old chestnuts such as the 'onl

You've probably heard the joke about how you know the world's going through a strange time when the best golfer is black and the best rapper is white, but what about when the best defender of evolution, and harshest critic of intelligent design, is Roman Catholic? Even PZ Myers, the "fifth horseman of the apocalypse," had to concede as much:

Miller is a fine writer who sharply addresses the details of the arguments about intelligent design creationism. When tackling old chestnuts such as the 'only a theory' complaint, or Michael Behe's argument for a maximum limit for the number of genetic mutations, or William Dembski's rehash of William Paley's watchmaker argument for complexity, Miller discusses the contemporary biological explanations while refuting the errors.

Indeed, Michael Behe is not so much the villain of the book, which centers on the 2005 Dover evolution trials, as he is its comic relief; I'm willing to wager that never has the major proponent of one side of a debate in science been portrayed as being so comprehensively lost and stupid by his counterpart on the other side. He's left with no leg to stand on, his ideas and claims shown comprehsively in a court of law to be founded on...

(drumroll)

...absolutely nothing! Wow! It's like the incredible dissapearing evidence or something.

I won't do Miller's writing a disservice by rehashing his arguments here, suffice to say that you should read the book. He takes every ID-approved argument and sends it to the cleaners, most notably irreducible complexity, whether of blood clotting, bacterial rotifers, or mousetraps.

Of course, any scientist, be it Myers, Richard Dawkins (who was beaten in the race to get to use this book's title for his forthcoming book, and opted instead for The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution ; don't miss it), Carl Zimmer, Neil Shubin, or anyone of their ilk, could do that, and do it well. What Miller does as a religious scientist is show that evolution and God aren't necessarily at odds, and that, in fact, a proper understanding of the natural world and how it works is entrenched within the Christian tradition as envisioned by Augustine. Again, I'm not going to rehash, but the book is actually quite convincing. I'm not sure that most readers would realize what a feat this is. Most attempts at reconciliation of faith and science end in tears, or, worse, laughs. Miller's ends only in careful contemplation of issues that, otherwise, many readers would have closed their mind to long ago.

In short, Miller's book can be described with that oh-so-rare combination of adjectives: good and timely. That he has co-written many textbooks currently in use in high schools across the United States is, to me (and I hope even to forerunners of the "New Atheists") a glimmer of hope. ...more

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Aug 29, 2010 Steve Van Slyke rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle, evolution, read-again, skepticism, science

At first I wasn’t sure if I was reading a book in favor of Intelligent Design or opposed to it. The author described the clever tactics and word-smithed pronouncements of the ID movement in such a way that I found myself thinking, “Dude, don’t say that! They’ll quote you out of context.!” But I soon realized that his strategy was to both shock the reader into realizing how serious and insidious the ID movement is, and at the same time portray ID at it’s best just prior to tearing it apart brick ...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Amanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: pop-sci

This book is a great summary of the ID movement and everything that is wrong with it. Miller is an entertaining and passionate writer who still manages to present both sides of the debate quite impartially and then uses the evidence to reach a conclusion. A must read for anyone concerned about scientific education.

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