E v C: The Resource Guide to What They Are Talking AboutWe all have our opinions regarding evolution versus creationism, but do you really have an informed knowledge base about "the other side" of the fence? When we see the debates here on the internet, we often refer to higher sources to back up our perspective- some are scientific, others religious- even still some are a mix of both. To better understand all sides of the issue, one must educate themselves with the finer points of each argument.Many people email me for resources and articles, so I decided on Darwin Day 2008 to start posting resources to help everyone and their quest for answers. If you have a great resource you would like added to the list, post a comment or email me and I will include it: contact me here at savagesciencerocks@yahoo.comYou can also hear me weekly on the Savage Science Radio Show only on Jackalope Radio 105FM where there is not just science education and news, but we feature scifi/horror/fantasy radio broadcasts and interviews with authors, inventors, scientists, humanitarians and all manner of progressive minds to stimulate your consciousness and expand your worldview...you can find it here at Jackalope Radio 105FM. We have live streaming from your internet (or if you are in the Kansas City, MO area, you can check out the CBS affiliates for local FM broadcasts) every Wednesday at 8PM CST...if you miss a show be sure to check the Jackalope Archives.
"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."~Epictetus
- Usenet - talk.origins - Evolution versus creationism (sometimes hot!).
- talk.origins Archive Home Page Hypertext (HTML) access to archive of Usenet newsgroup "talk.origins," which covers evolution and the debate with creationism. The newsgroup and archive are not balanced between the science of evolution and the religious viewpoint conveyed by so-called "scientific creationism." It does address the problems, from the scientific perspective, of many common, and often repeated, assertions by creationists. Warning: The prose within some of the FAQ files may offend certain religious sensibilities; accordingly, reader discretion is advised. Selected links from this home page are given explicitly below:
- Searchable Index of the talk.origins Archive Enter keywords on the form to help locate FAQ files and references to published articles and books.
- Navigate the FAQ Archive Click here to interactively browse the talk.origins FAQs.
- The talk.origins Welcome FAQ (Andy Peters) This file should give you some good insight into what talk.origins is all about.
- Introduction to Evolutionary Biology (Chris Colby) Excellent introduction to subject. Read this first.
- Evolution Echo Jargon File (Wesley R. Elsberry) Glossary of terms you are likely to encounter on talk.origins
- Must-Read FAQs (selected links are given below; click the Must-Read FAQs hyperlink to see what else is there)
- What is Evolution? by Laurence Moran
- Book of Genesis (King James Version) The ultimate source for creationist materials and methods. If you want to understand where the creationist is coming from, read this book as literally as possible.
- Refutations of Creationist Arguments: The Meritt FAQs (Jim Meritt) The Meritt FAQ files are perhaps the first comprehensive look at creationist arguments to be posted in talk.origins. They have been coalesced into this one single file, allowing for easy topic searches.
- Five Major Misconceptions about Evolution (Mark Isaak) A big reason creationist arguments against evolution are so effective is that major misconceptions about the topic abound. This article clears up five of the most important misconceptions about evolution.
- Evolution has never been observed.
- Evolution violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
- There are no transitional fossils.
- The theory of evolution says that life originated, and evolution proceeds, by random chance.
- Evolution is only a theory; it hasn't been proved.
- Frequently Asked But Never Answered Questions (FABNAQ) (Tom Scharle) A list of questions that creationists never seem to want to answer. (That doesn't stop the evolutionists from asking them, though.)
- Transitional Fossils FAQ (Kathleen Hunt) A large, but by no means complete, list of transitional fossils that are known. This file counters the common creationist claim that there are no intermediates in the fossil record.
- Fossil Images Andrew MacRae has contributed a large number of fossil images to the archive. Click here to check them out.
- A Keyword-Indexed Origins Bibliography (Martin Leipzig and Wesley R. Elsberry) This huge bibliography (15044 entries) is categorized and indexed by keywords. Check here if you need to find a reference to anything origins-related.
- Book Recommendations for the talk.origins Reader (Chris Stassen) Short review of a number of books relevant to the creation/evolution debate. It includes creationist books, works critical of creationism and books written about the 1981 Arkansas Trial. This article was originally intended to be something of a 'reading list' -- a prerequisite for effective talk.origins participation.
- Creation/Evolution Organizations and Periodicals (Chris Stassen) An overview of eight organizations (six of them representing young-earth creationism) relevant to the creation/evolution debate. Included are brief reviews and membership/subscription information for the periodicals published by each organization.
- Abiogenesis (Andrew Ellington) A look at the arguments for and against abiogenesis—the generation of living from lifeless matter.
- Institute for Creation Research A "Christ Focused Creation Ministry" located near San Diego
- Includes the Museum of Creation and Earth History (which I visited in January 1997. This museum has been reviewed recently in Scientific American ("Science vs. Antiscience" Sci. Am., Jan. 1997, pp. 96-98). Another print review appeared in Skeptic ("A Trip to the Institute for Creation Research Museum of Creation and Earth History," by Tom McIver; Skeptic vol. 4, no. 1, 1996. p.32). For an online account of a tour (with limited commentary), see A Visit to the ICR Museum by Steven Linke.
- Creation Research Society located in St. Joseph, MO
- Creation Science home page A creationist club (group of Christians) in New Jersey
- Evolution -- produced by WGBH in Boston; see online resources incl. topical essays and video animations; 8 hours of broadcast program are available on VHS or DVD from WGBH online store at the site linked here; so is an educational VHS videocassette (not available on DVD) and a teachers' guide. See below for companion book on this Evolution series by Carl Zimmer.
- See also Monkey Trial episode of American Experience series that aired 2/17/2002 on PBS.
(Yes, by clicking below, you can download each entire book! I suggest you start such a download and then press stop , so you can read just the beginning. If you want the whole book, go to the library. Certainly do not print out any of these in entirety.)
- by Richard Dawkins (see unofficial page about him)
- The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design (reissue edition), Norton, 1996
- River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life, (with Lalla Ward, illustrator), Basic Books, 1996
- Climbing Mount Improbable, Norton, 1996
- See Chapters 4 and 5 on evolution of wings and eyes, respectively (excellent!)
- The Selfish Gene (New Edition), Oxford University Press, 1990
- by Daniel C. Dennett
- by Steve Jones
- by Carl Zimmer
From the Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology:
- Other Links - General Internet Bio Resources
Search Engines and Links
Banks and Tables
Selected Model Organism Databases
Selected Other Biological Databases
- Genamics' GenomeSeek
- SeqAnalRef -- a bibliography on sequence analysis
- Taxonomic Databases
- REBASE, the restriction enzyme database
- BIOSCI
- IMGT, the international ImMunoGeneTics database (Montpellier, France)
Biological Software Directories
More Links!!
You may also wish to search The Pasteur Institute's Search Service
Related Areas
I apologize if some of these links are repeated from above categories 
Evolution and Religion: Christianity and Evolution (Theistic-Evolution). "I have prepared this information so that you may learn about evolution from one Christian's perspective." (Nov 16, 2005) National Academy of Sciences: Science and Creationism. This an open book copy of the book by the same name. National Center for Science Education (NCSE): Defending the Teaching of Evolution in the Public Schools. "NCSE defends the teaching of evolution in public schools. We are a nationally-recognized clearinghouse for information and advice to keep evolution in the science classroom and "scientific creationism" out. NCSE is the only national organization to specialize in this issue." (Nov 16, 2005) Society of Ordained Scientists (SOSc). "To express both the commitment of the church to the scientific enterprise and our concern for its impact on the world." (Dec 6, 2005) Founded by theistic evolutionist Arthur Peacocke, the SOSc works to reduce the conflict between science and faith.Wikipedia: Creation-evolution Controversy. "The creation-evolution controversy...is an ongoing dispute in the public arena about the origins of the universe, the Earth, life, or humanity. The opposing viewpoints are represented by those who support religious origin beliefs...and those who support the natural history accounts of the sciences of astronomy, geology and biology." (Nov 16, 2005)Wikipedia: Creation and Evolution in Public Schools. "The legal status of creation and evolution in public education is the subject of a great deal of debate in legal, political and religious circles, mainly in the United States." (Nov 16, 2005)Evolution and Natural Sciences: Evolution Wiki: Evolution Education. "The Evolution Education Wiki is a free, reader-built encyclopedia of evolution, biology, and origins. It is inspired by the Talk.Origins Archive and the Wikipedia project. EvoWiki's goal is to promote general evolution education, and to provide mainstream scientific responses to the arguments of creationism and other antievolutionists." (Nov 16, 2005) PBS: Evolution: A Journey into Where We're from, and Where We're Going. "The Evolution project is a seven-part, eight-hour television broadcast series, an extensive Web site, a far-reaching educational outreach initiative, and a HarperCollins companion book by acclaimed science writer Carl Zimmer." (Nov 16, 2005)UC Berkeley: Understanding Evolution. "Understanding Evolution is a non-commercial, education website, teaching the science and history of evolutionary biology. This site is here to help you understand what evolution is, how it works, how it factors into your life, how research in evolutionary biology is performed, and how ideas in this area have changed over time." (Nov 16, 2005)Creationism: Answers in Genesis: Upholding the Authority of the Bible from the Very First Verse. "We proclaim the absolute truth and authority of the Bible with boldness. We relate the relevance of a literal Genesis to the church and the world today with creativity. We obey God's call to deliver the message of the Gospel, individually and collectively." (Nov 16, 2005) Fixed Earth: The Non-Moving Earth and Anti-Evolution Page. "Read all about the Copernican and Darwinian Myths (and their many ramifications all the way to Big Bangism!)" (Nov 17, 2005) A site advocating a version of modern geocentrism. Institute for Creation Research (ICR): Revealing the Truth of Creation. "We believe God has raised up ICR to spearhead Biblical Christianity's defense against the godless and compromising dogma of evolutionary humanism" (Nov 14, 2004).Intelligent Design:ACLU: FAQs on Intelligent Design and Religion in Schools. Notoriously secular legal organization that, among other things, fights against religion and Intelligent Design in public schools. Access Research Network (ARN): Providing Accessible Information on Science, Technology and Society from Intelligent Design Perspective. "Through our publications and product offers, we give you the infomation [sic] you need to orient yourself in today's scientific and technological world and make informed decisions. But science and technology are only half the picture. We put science topics in perspective by looking at related political, ethical and philosophical issues--so you can get a well-rounded understanding of the hot issues." (Nov 16, 2005) Center for Science and Culture (CSC): Challenging Darwin's Theory of Evolution and Promoting Intelligent Design. "Started in 1996, the Center for Science and Culture is a Discovery Institute program which: supports research by scientists and other scholars challenging various aspects of neo-Darwinian theory; supports research by scientists and other scholars developing the scientific theory known as intelligent design; supports research by scientists and scholars in the social sciences and humanities exploring the impact of scientific materialism on culture; encourages schools to improve science education by teaching students more fully about the theory of evolution, including the theory's scientific weaknesses as well strengths." (Nov 16, 2005) The Design Inference Website: The Writings of William A. Dembski The Discovery Institute: Making a Positive Vision of the Future Possible. "The Institute discovers and promotes ideas in the common sense tradition of representative government, the free market and individual liberty." (Nov 16, 2005) The Institute is also the parent of the pro-Intelligent Design CSC. The Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE): Restoring the Freedom to Know with Enriching Curricula. "The Foundation for Thought and Ethics is working to restore the freedom to know to young people in the classroom, especially in matters of worldview, morality and conscience, and to return the right of informed consent to families in the education of their children." (Nov 16, 2005) Books published by FTE include Intelligent Design texts Pandas and People and Design of Life.The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Design Arguments for the Existence of God. "Design arguments are empirical arguments for God's existence. These arguments typically, though not always, proceed by identifying various empirical features of the world that constitute evidence of intelligent design and inferring God's existence as the best explanation for these features..." (Nov 29, 2005) A reference site including information on various design arguments. Intelligent Design Network (IDN): Seeking Objectivity in Origins Science. "Intelligent Design Network, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that seeks institutional objectivity in origins science." (Nov 16, 2005)
Have a nice day!
