Bernard d'Abrera

Bernard Laurance d'Abrera was an Australian Fundamentalist Christian scientist butterfly photographer. He was a signatory of A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism and a vehement opponent of evolution.
He was a fellow at the pro-intelligent design organization He owned Hill House Publishers, which restricted itself to publishing his Lepidoptera books, Bella Wyborn d'Abrera's revisionist anti-English Reformation books, and facsimile reprint editions of works. Ironically, John Gould's island biogeography work was instrumental in the development of evolution and was cited in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. 
==Religion==
It seems that he did not publicly state his religious affiliation, but it would seem that he veered towards Traditionalist Catholicism due to his opposition to both the Protestant Reformation and the Roman Catholic Church's infallibility reversal on evolution.
==Qualifications and quality of work==
d'Abrera was not a scientist by training. He earned bachelor's degrees in History & Philosophy of Science, and History from the University of New South Wales in Sydney. About Bernard d'Abrera, Hill House Publishers (archived from April 17, 2015).
Although the sham petition A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism lists d'Abrera as a Visiting Scholar of the "Department of Entomology, British Museum", the listed affiliation is, quite simply, a lie; d'Abrera was associated with the Natural History Museum, which has not been part of the British Museum for several decades. d'Abrera was not a scientist by training and does not hold a Ph.D.BSCE, article on the British contributors to the list
Lacking a degree is not inherently a hindrance to doing quality scientific work (credentialism), however:John Tennent remembers Bernard Laurance D'Abrera (latterly d'Abrera), 28th August 1940 – 13th January 2017 by John Tennent (2017) Entomological Society of Queensland News Bulletin 44(9). via The Insect Collectors' Forum (archived from August 9, 2019).
==View on evolution==
He described the theory of evolution as "viscid, asphyxiating baggage" that requires "blind religious faith" since, according to this particular PRATT, it is unfalsifiable. Arthur Shapiro aptly described d'Abrera as "profoundly anti-scientific – not unscientific, but hostile to science."(Review of) Bernard d'Abrera, Butterflies of the Holarctic Region, Part I, Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 30 (1-2): 142–144.
==Dissection of a D'Abrera book==
In describing d'Abrera's book Butterflies of the Holarctic Region, Part I, Arthur Shapiro states the following,Arthur Shapiro as quoted in The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture Of Criminals, Collectors, And Conservationists by Peter Laufer Lyons Press, ISBN 1599219271.
Analysis of Birdwing Butterflies of the World, new and revised edition by Bernard d'Abrera (Hill House Publishers, 2003):
==Hill House==
Since d'Abrera's demise, Hill House Publishers has gone belly up, with its web domain purchased sometime in 2018 or 2019.Hill House Publishers (archived copies)
==References==
Category:Australians
Category:Christians
Category:Creationists
Category:Pseudoscience promoters
Category:Side-by-side articles