Brand Now Has a Brand New Book: Origin (Part 2)
Having looked at some of the insulting and disparaging statements made about Christianity and the Bible in Brand Now's brand new book, Origin (#2 last week on the best seller's list), it is time for a look at his evolutionary statements, which are just about as fictional as the plot of his novel. According to the author, Copernicus, Galileo, and Bruno were systematically murdered, imprisoned, or denounced by "the Church", which delayed scientific progress by at least a century (96). When Brand Now refers to the "Church," he is speaking of the Roman Catholic Church, which is not the church one reads about in the New Testament. Perhaps the Catholic Church may wish to defend itself, but Christians feel no compulsion to do so.
However, even the Roman Catholic Church did not put to death the three scientists mentioned above. They challenged Copernicus when he proved that the planets revolved around the sun rather than everything revolving around the earth, but that was probably due to the "scientific" thinking of the day. When Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis proved that women in the maternity ward were dying because the doctors examined them after finishing in the morgue without washing their hands, he "conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community," according to Wikipedia. When Sister Kenney originated a technique that worked with victims of polio, she was ignored because she was not a "doctor"—only a nurse. These rejections had nothing to do with religion, but the stubbornness of "scientists" in rejecting observable, demonstrable facts. Christians do not object to evidence, but upward evolution has not been proven.
Galileo was not put to death by the Roman Catholic Church, either, but Bruno was. Here, however, the reader is introduced to the way "Brand" treats his readers—by using the fallacy of equivocation. Was Bruno put to death by the Inquisition? Yes—but not for any science that he taught—it was for his heretical views. According to Wikipedia,
Starting in 1593, Bruno was tried for heresy by the Roman Inquisition on charges of denial of several core Catholic doctrines, including eternal damnation, the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the virginity of Mary, and transubstantiation. Bruno's pantheism was also a matter of grave concern, as was his teaching of the transmigration of the soul (reincarnation). The Inquisition found him guilty, and he was burned at the stake in Rome's Campo de' Fiori in 1600.
Was he a scientist whom the Roman Catholic Church put to death? Yes, those are two facts, but what is omitted is that he was put to death for his religious errors—not whatever he taught in the realm of science. Brand's implication is dishonest.
The Superconducting Super Collider
The author laments strongly the demise of "Texas' Superconducting Super Collider—slated to be the largest particle collider in the world—with the potential for exploring the very moment of Creation…." However, "the project was canceled due to cost overruns and political pressure from some startling sources" (97). It was shut down mainly because of the cost overruns, but pointing out that it was "in the heart of America's Bible belt" made it sound like Christians put the kibosh on it. Wikipedia simply states: "The project was canceled in 1993 due to budget problems." This did not even occur recently. However one was built in Switzerland. According to Wikipedia,
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle collider, the most complex experimental facility ever built, and the largest single machine in the world. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries, as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.
So it wasn't built in Texas, but it was built in Switzerland. Brand Now apparently forgot to include that bit of information. With everything he researched for the novel, he surely knew about it. He just chose not to inform the reader. So far, the tests run at the facility have proven inconclusive.
"The Sharpest Minds"
Brand Now cannot resist continuing the ad hominem attacks against those opposed to evolution. He has his protagonist, Robert Langdon, say, "Darwin's theory of evolution is extremely well established because it is based on scientifically observable fact…" (186). He concludes that it "is universally accepted by the sharpest minds in science." Oh, so those who oppose it must be intellectual dwarfs! Does that include Wernher von Braun?
According to Wikipedia, he became an "American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Germany and the father of rocket technology and space science in the United States." That seems fairly impressive; certainly it elevates him above duncehood. Consider the quotes below from this scientific genius. They are instructive.
My experiences with science led me to God.
To simply dismiss the concept of God as being unscientific is to violate the very objectivity of science itself.
Thus I am certain that, were He among us today, Christ would encourage scientific research as modern man's most noble striving to comprehend and admire His Father's handiwork. The universe as revealed through scientific inquiry is the living witness that God has indeed been at work.
Science and religion are not antagonists. On the contrary, they are sisters. While science tries to learn more about the creation, religion tries to better understand the Creator. While through science man tries to harness the forces of nature around him, through religion he tries to harness the force of nature within him.
A book could be filled with the names of legitimate scientists who oppose evolution, but only one more is cited to make the point that a number of "sharp minds" reject evolution in favor of Creation. Anyone can type into a search engine the name of Jonathan Sarfati and find the following information.
Dr. Sarfati is a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand. He earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from a secular NZ university. Dr Sarfati co-authored papers in mainstream scientific journals including one on high-temperature superconductors published in Nature when he was 22.
Jonathan was a co-founder of an Apologetics Society in New Zealand and then joined Creation Ministries International in Australia in 1996. In 2010, he and his American wife transferred from the Australian office to the USA office near Atlanta.
Dr. Sarfati has authored some of the most popular and powerful books on the issues of origins, strongly defending biblical ('young earth') creation and refuting the strongest arguments for evolution and millions of years. His first book, Refuting Evolution, has sold half a million copies, making it the best-selling creationist book of all time (apart from the Bible!). His latest and most important book is The Genesis Account, a thorough 800-page theological and scientific commentary on Genesis 1–11.
Jonathan is also a chess master and former New Zealand chess champion, and drew [ended up in a tie, GWS] a tournament game with former world champion Boris Spassky. One specialty is playing simultaneous chess games, sometimes 'blindfold', i.e. from memory.
One wonders how many chess games Brand Now can play blindfolded. How does he happen to omit the existence of some of the "sharpest minds" who have ever lived? Could it be that he is biased in favor of evolution and against Creation? Furthermore, there's an answer to his charge that Creationists have impeded scientific discoveries.
Dr. Georgia Purdom, who has a Ph. D. in Molecular Genetics, made several statements that Brand Now might want to chew on. She said that observational science does not confirm evolutionary changes; rather it confirms intelligence. Her assessment is exactly the opposite of Langdon's; she affirms that evolutionary science has inhibited research. By that, she means that so many scientists have been stuck in evolutionary mode that they reluctantly accept contradictory data. She works for Answers in Genesis. Despite all of the scientists who hold these various degrees, Langdon quotes Stephen J. Gould as saying that "there was no question whatsoever among real scientists that evolution is happening" (187). Von Braun and all the others must be fake scientists.
Misrepresentations
As the author denigrates anyone who disagrees with Darwin, he misrepresents a great deal of information. One character mentions five books in opposition to Darwin. Langdon pooh poohs them as being written by ignorant Creationists. The fact is that What Darwin Got Wrong is written by an individual who is still an evolutionist. Whoops! How can someone who researches monasteries and church buildings so thoroughly skimp over such significant details as these? The writer of Darwin on Trial was once an evolutionist but became a Creationist.
On page 187, Langdon says that one of the authors "suggested that the earth's fossil record was placed there by God 'in order to test our faith.'" He conveniently failed to mention which author said that or what book it is from. But that omission aside, two impressions are thereby given that are false. First, whoever made such an argument does not represent in any way, shape, or form the majority of apologists. One would think it was their key argument rather than one that is altogether obscure. Scientists do not argue in such a slipshod manner.
Second, Langdon then quotes Stephen J. Gould as saying that "most of the anti-Darwin books were published by the Institution for Creation Research—an organization that, according to its own informational materials, views the Bible as an infallible literal account of historical and scientific fact" (187). In so saying, he implies that the Institute for Creation Research agrees with the "fossil" statement above (since they publish most of those books), which is false. So is the publishing claim.
Brand Now listed five books: Not one of them was published by the Institution for Creation Research. Darwin's Black Box, written by Michael Behe, was published by Free Press. According to National Review, it was one of the top 100 non-fiction books of the 20th century, a fact which Brand overlooked mentioning. What Darwin Got Wrong was published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Darwin on Trial and Defeating Darwinism both came from InterVarsity Press, and The Dark Side of Darwin was released by Master Books. The author of Origin knows how to slant and misrepresent the facts.
Yes, the Institute for Creation Research and all true Christians do believe that the Bible is infallible historically and scientifically—because of the evidence. We stand guilty as charged. Hopefully, we can escape any modern Inquisitions that might want to do away with us. The Bible has always been proven to be historically accurate—even when scholars assured everyone it was wrong. Many scientific facts are also included, but some have thought otherwise and failed to discern a poetic expression from a factual statement. When understood properly, the Bible is both historically and scientifically correct.