The Questioning Librarian

While sometimes the struggle against the pseudoscientific tripe that is creationism seems never-ending, those of us on the side of science and reason occasionally get a win. This we have done in the past week; in yet another slap against creationism, the British government announced that "free schools", (local schools, often religious in nature but funded by the government and usually exempt from the educational curriculum of Britain), often called "faith schools" will lose funding if they attempt to teach creationism as science. Make no mistake, this is a victory for science. While Great Britain has traditionally ranked very high in public acceptance of evolution, the spread of these "faith schools" has led to a growing fear that this will be used to spread the religious doctrine of creationism. I am very grateful to Richard Dawkins and David Attenborough for spearheading this effort , making sure that Britain doesn't slide back from knowing and under...

An acquaintance and I engaged in polite conversation some time ago, discussing the nature of historical evidence and sources, and the discussion happened to go on to the evidence for the historical existence of Jesus. Both of us being students of history, we know how important sources are; sources are what we base the study of history upon. The acquaintance offered to loan me Josh McDowell's Evidence for the Historical Jesus: A Compelling Case for His Life and His Claims . I was reluctant to do so, but being polite I agreed to borrow and read it. The name of McDowell was familiar to me before the fact, but I admit that I didn't know much about him or his work. Now having read the book from beginning to end, paying close attention to the nature of the argument and the sources McDowell uses, I can say without a doubt that this is the finest piece of pseudoscholarship I have encountered since it was my misfortune to read Lee Stobel's The Case for a Creator . The numerous pro...