Before I moved the Loom to this address earlier this year, I got a fair amount of comments on my blogs about evolution from creationists. (See this entry, for example.) They fell off after the move, but now they’re back in fine form. Today we are joined by Kevin Anderson, editor-in-chief of the Creation Research Society Quarterly.
Here’s a little background: last week I wrote here about stumbling across a radio show put out by the Institute of Creation Research. It claimed that recent research on the human genome supports Young Earth creationism. Dr. Anderson spoke on the program about how sickle-cell anemia and lactose tolerance, and other genetic changes in human populations have nothing to do with evolution but are just the result of original sin.
Dr. Anderson’s outfit is not shy about how life began. Here I quote from their “statement of belief”:
1. The Bible is the written Word of God, and because it is inspired throughout, all its assertions are historically and scientifically true in the original autographs. To the student of nature this means that the account of origins in Genesis is a factual presentation of simple historical truths.
2. All basic types of living things, including man, were made by direct creative acts of God during the Creation Week described in Genesis. Whatever biological changes have occurred since Creation Week have accomplished only changes within the original created kinds.
3. The great flood described in Genesis, commonly referred to as the Noachian Flood, was an historic event worldwide in its extent and effect.
Are we clear?
The radio show I caught was perfectly consonant with this belief. In my post, I pointed out some of the many errors and misleading statements in the show, including some made by Dr. Anderson. Well, today he has left a comment on the blog that’s a doozy.
Check it out, and check out my response in the comment thread. I’ll be curious to see where this goes…
Update: 8/1 9:50 am: I appreciate the comments that are already coming in–as always, interesting stuff. Rather than splitting comments between two posts and dispersing the conversation, could people leave all their comments on the original post? Thanks.
Originally published September 1, 2006. Copyright 2006 Carl Zimmer.