Tornado in a Junkyard: The Relentless Myth of Darwinism

Darwin's theory of evolution and "survival of the fittest" are taught as fact in nearly all of today's schools. Any other theory of the source and principles of life on earth are shouted down, belittled and attacked with vigor. But how sound is Darwin's theory?James Perloff uses statements from evolutionist scientists and those of prominent scientists to expose the weaknesses of evolution theory. In the end, you have to have more faith in miracles to believe in evolution than you do for "intelligent design" theory.Some of the areas discussed:* Darwin's own concerns of the weakness of his theory.* Difference between variation within a species, and transformation of a species into another species.* Lack of evidence of evolutionary development in the record of 250,000 fossils, or even in the known history of animal life.* Order does not accidentally arise from disorder.* Living organisms are rife with examples of irreducible complexity. That is, mechanisms such as reproduction that require many complex components to be available at the same time; there is no means by which the components could be evolved independently.With so many weaknesses in evolution theory, and so many indications of intelligent design in nature and especially life, why is it that evolutionists are so adamant and vigorous in the defense of their own theory and in the attack of competing theories? In other areas of science multiple theories are acccepted and taught simultaneously until hard proof is developed to disprove one or the other. But when it comes to the origin of life the evolutionists are religious zealots of Darwin. It seems obvious their position is not based on science but on a strong desire to eliminate God (or some supreme intelligent being as the creator and designer of the universe)from science. The premise of a creator God is a more valid and consistent theory of life than evolution. Perloff extensively documents the premises of evolution theory and the multitude of "holes" in the evidence, or even evidence to the contrary. He uses the words of evolutionists, Nobel honorees, and prominent scientists from microbology to astronomy to introduce and validate his points.If you are weary of evolutionsist forcing their theory as fact on you, your children and society in general, or are actually a disciplined scientist that wants to explore *all* the aspects of a theory, then read Perloff. James Perloff offers a detailed explanation of the premises and weaknesses of Darwin's theory of evolution. Intelligent design or creationism will appear much more likely as a workable theory than evolution. Science is a useful an honored employment of our rational brain to understand the workings of the world around us. But can we eliminate God from science and still understand the world, especially living organisms? Read Perloff to stimulate your mind.

Tornado in a Junkyard now ranks as my first recommendation to anyone interested in investigating the Creation/Evolution controversy. Perloff thoroughly lays out the creationist argument in an approchable manner, while thoroughly documenting his resources. I have read nearly 2 dozen books on the topic of creation and evolution, including books by evolutionists, and Tornado is the most comprehensive and interesting to read from a non-technical standpoint. For someone looking for a rigorously scientific/technical treatment on the origin of life, I'd recommend "Mysteries of Life's Origin" by Thaxton, Bradley, and Olsen. However, for an overview of the main issues I can't think of a better and more interesting book. I found the chapters about the play "Inherit the Wind" particularly informative, and am now much more aware of the distortions and stereotypes it perpetuated. He also carefully clarifies important misconceptions that evolutionists have about creationists. For example, creationists do not believe in complete fixity of species as is commonly assumed. God established a wide range of genetic variability in the "created kinds" enabling variation and adaption. This describes horizontal evolution or microevolution, which is observable and accepted by creationists. However, the monophyletic descent (from one ancestral proto-cell to all life today) of all organisms, is macroevolution and unproven and unobserved. Ask any evolutionist today why you don't see apes evolving into humans and fish crawling around on land, and they'll almost always give the same general answers. For example: Either you can't observe it because it happens too slow (meaning they've moved it out of the range of testable and observable science) or they'll give an example of a speciation event, such as the standard Darwin finches (which is just microevolution, and completely acceptable to a creationist). Bottom line is, if you are close-minded and unwilling to consider the evidence, don't bother with this book. Since the atheist has NO CHOICE but to believe in the naturalistic origin of life and the universe, he will doggedly cling to evolution. Ultimately, the study of origins can not be divided from religion, since the a priori assumptions of any person will shape their interpretations of the evidence. Both atheism and theism are religions, and evolution and creation are worldviews flowing from those presumptions. If you do want to at least weigh the evidence for creation/evolution, and become better informed, I highly recommend Tornado in a Junkyard.

Having studied issues involved in the debate of creation vs evolution for years, I don't expect to find much, if anything, new in a book supporting either side. I did find something pleasantly new in this book however: a new attitude. Perloff, in contrast to some people's ideas of people who accept that the world was created, didn't even believe in God for years. He frankly shares how he used to feel, and gives a lively recital of how solid scientific evidence and sound logic lead him to realize that the mythical history produced by evolutionary thought is not possible.Along the way, he presents the evidences and reasoning in a flowing manner which kept me reading even though I'm familiar with the material, as well as the evolutionists' "refutations" and the creationists' responses to them. So, not only will beginners get a well-rounded introduction to the subject, but those "in the know" will get a fresh look at the old battlegrounds. If nothing else, Perloff puts the lie to the old adage that you have to be born and raised that way to be a creationist.

I am amazed at Perloff's ability to make everything simple. He boils evolution down to a basic element. Can it be proven? No. He shows how so many hoaxes have been introduced and, even though disproven, we still have pictures of our so called "ancestors" in school books.It was also refreshing to learn the ACTUAL account of the Scopes Trial and how the makers of the movie INHERIT THE WIND completely destroyed the facts.If you want a no holds barred expose on evolution, look no further... HERE IT IS! And don't worry about those that are trashing this book. People react that way when their religious beliefs are proven flase.Thank you, Perloff, for this excellent work.

This excellent summary of creationist arguments against the theory of evolution comes from an unlikely source. Perloff's previous book was The Shadows of Power, an exposé of private influence on American foreign policy. Perloff isn't a professional creationist. He just seems to be an intelligent individual who reads technical literature and understands the reasons why modern scientists are rejecting the theory of evolution.Chapter 1 tells us about the author's anti-Christian, liberal background. Being the same age as the author, I enjoyed his nostalgic look back at the 1960's. I suspect younger readers would not. The good stuff starts at chapter 2.Chapter 2 deals with the fossil record. Rather than proving evolution, the fossil record presents evolutionists with problems they must explain away. Perloff gives a good overview of the basic problems.Chapter 3 explains why genetic mutations can't create higher life forms. There are some obvious logical problems with Darwinian evolution, which are explored in chapter 4. Darwinian evolution must answer the question, "What good is half an eye?" Perloff's brief, but adequate, explanation of irreducible complexity explains why half an organ won't win any battles for survival.Then he points out that the classification system (taxonomy) is based on the fact that there are distinct differences in species. If evolution were true, it should be hard to classify animals because there should be so many intermediate forms. It would be like trying to divide a rainbow into distinct colors. (Exactly where does Orange end and Red begin?) But animals are easily classified because there are such obvious differences between species.In chapter 4 he also points out that salamanders have 20 times more DNA than humans. Does that mean salamanders are more highly evolved than humans? Chapter 4 ends by asking why extinction rates today are so high, and modern evolution is unknown.Darwinian evolution depends on the premise that there is no limit to the changes that can be achieved by selective breeding. Chapter 5 points out the well-known limits to breeding. Species can vary only as much as the pre-existing genetic material allows. You cannot breed a dog into a horse.In chapter 6, Perloff quotes some modern Nobel Prize-winning scientists who find that the scientific evidence points to intelligent design rather than evolution.According to evolutionists, pre-biotic molecules came together by chance and formed the first living cell. Chapter 7 examines the probabilities of this happening. Statistical analysis proves it simply can't happen.Chapters 8 and 9 tell some surprising things most people don't know about the supposed "missing links" between man and ape.Chapter 10 exposes Haeckel's fraudulent drawings that evolutionists formerly used to prove that the human fetus evolves from a fish to an amphibian, etc., all the way up to humanity in the womb. This chapter also conta