Title: Among the creationists : dispatches from the anti-evolutionist front line /
Authors: Rosenhouse, Jason.
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 2012
Subjects: Creationism; Creationism; Kreationismus.
Abstract: "Why do so many Americans reject the modern theory of evolution? Why does creationism, thoroughly refuted by scientists, retain such popularity among the public? Is the perceived conflict between evolution and Christianity genuine, or is it merely an illusion peculiar to Protestant fundamentalism? Seeking answers to these questions, mathematician Jason Rosenhouse became a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. After ten years of attending events like the giant Creation Mega-Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia, and visiting sites like the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and after hundreds of surprisingly friendly conversations with creationists of varying stripes, he has emerged with a story to tell, a story that goes well beyond the usual stereotypes of Bible-thumping fanatics railing against coldly rational scientists. Through anecdotes, personal reflections, and scientific and philosophical discussion, Rosenhouse presents a more down-to-earth picture of modern creationism and the people who espouse it. He is neither polemical nor insulting, but he does not pull punches when he spots an error in the logical or scientific reasoning of creationists, especially when they wander into his own field, mathematics. Along the way, he also tells the story of his own nonbeliever's attempt to understand a major aspect of American religion. Forced to wrestle with his views about God and evolution, Rosenhouse found himself drawn into a new world of ideas previously unknown to him, arriving at a sharper understanding of the reality of science-versus-religion disputes, and how these debates look to those beyond the ivory tower. A personal memoir of one scientist's attempt to come to grips with this controversy--by immersing himself in the culture of the anti-evolutionists--Among the Creationists is a fair, fresh, and insightful account of the modern American debate over Darwinism."--Jacket.
Contents: pt. I: Vignettes : Studies in insularity -- Showdown at Subway -- The prospects for agreeable disagreements -- How I got here -- My problems with religion -- pt. 2: The Creation Mega-Conference, Lynchburg, Virginia, July 2005 -- An introduction to evolution -- An introduction to creationism -- Literalism and other canards -- Browsing the bookstore -- The best evidence that God created -- Fossils, human and otherwise -- On information -- Movies and television -- pt. 3: The "Darwin vs. Design" conference, Knoxville, Tennessee, March 2007 -- The marginality of Genesis 1 -- Intelligent design vs. young-earth creationism -- Rhetorical legerdemain -- Conversion stories -- On religious experience -- Creation as fishtank -- Methodological naturalism -- Irreducible complexity -- pt. 4: Visiting the Creation Museum, Petersburg, Kentucky, August 2010 -- Creation cinema -- Creation and corruption -- Groaning under the curse -- From catastrophe to consummation -- What does Genesis mean? -- Theological phlogiston -- Why I love being Jewish -- pt. 5: The Sixth International Conference on Creationism, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 2008 -- Building the creation model -- Inevitable humans? -- Unpleasantness -- Conversations in bookstores -- Is the earth at the center of the universe? -- Things I learned at the banquet.