Traipsing Into Evolution: Intelligent Design and the Kitzmiller V. Dover Decision

Traipsing Into Evolution: Intelligent Design and the Kitzmiller V. Dover Decision is a response to Judge Jone's decision. Having read most of the trial transcript, I must conclude that this book is on target. My only complaint is the book is far too brief; many more problems exist with the decision that could have been included. It is very clear in his opinion that the Judge does not like Darwinism Skeptics as people. The judge in his decision largely accepted everything the ACLU said as true, and most everything the other side said as false (or he ignored it). This decision is one of the most irresponsible I have ever read (and I have read many court decisions). The Judge used numerous labels that he never clearly defined, or defined accordingly to his narrow purpose. An example is "creationist" and "evolutionist," and then concluded the creationists were the bad guys and evolutionists were the good guys. Reality is far more complex. For example, Dr Michael Behe, who the judge labeled a "creationist" testified that he was an evolutionist (he accepted common ancestry). It was the existence of the cell that Behe concluded Darwinism has difficulty explaining. Behe believes life beyond the cell could have evolved by mutations and natural selection. Conversely, Kenneth Miller testified that he was a creationist "in the ordinary meaning of the word" yet the judge labeled him an evolutionist. The difference between these scientists (both Roman Catholics and both labeled creationists) is in the degree of creating they have concluded that naturalism can achieve. It is obviously difficult to draw a clear line between the two theistic evolutionists, Behe and Miller, yet the judge did just that. This is important because the judge ruled that ideas given the creationist label cannot be taught in the public schools, and those given the evolutionist label can. The fact is, Kenneth Miller's ideas are clearly creationist as he explained in detail in the second half of his book "Finding Darwin's God." The judge thus ruled that Miller's theistic evolution creationism can be taught in the schools but Behe's theistic evolutionism creationism cannot. The court, contrary to the constitution, has ruled which religious ideas are orthodox, and thus OK to teach, and which religious ideas are forbidden. It is exactly because of rulings such as this why separation of church and state is a very good idea. Now we have state sectioned religion!

This book is great in revealing how entrenched Darwinian Dogma has become in our culture. Specifically, it shows how Judge Jones' Katzmiller decision uses the faulty reasoning that empirical evidence that doesn't support Darwinian evolution can't be science. It is sad and ironic that eighty years after "Scopes" made it possible to teach evolution in public schools in Tennessee, judges are now leading us to a place where schools and teachers can't teach anything but Darwinism...

As the publisher of the book, it is interesting to me that every single negative comment thus far comes from someone who has never read this book. I know because the books were only physically available on March 23 and I didn't give one to any of these people. Keep that in mind when weighing the veracity of their attacks on this book. On the other hand, a number of reviewers who received advance copies have added their thoughts below and present a much more accurate view of the book's importance. You may not agree with the authors' views, but serious readers will appreciate their thoroughness and accuracy. Traipsing into Evolution: Intelligent Design and the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Decision is a critique of federal Judge John E. Jones's decision in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case, the first trial to attempt to address the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design in public schools. In this concise yet comprehensive response, Discovery Institute scholars and attorneys show how Judge Jones's Kitzmiller decision was based upon faulty reasoning, non-existent evidence, and a serious misrepresentation of the scientific theory of intelligent design. Despite Jones's protestations to the contrary, his attempt to use the federal bench to declare evolution a sacred cow turns out to be a textbook case of good-old-American judicial activism. Mark Twain once famously refuted his own obituary by proclaiming that "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Traipsing Into Evolution rebuts similar reports about the "death of intelligent design" from media pundits and the Darwinist establishment in the wake of Kitzmiller v. Dover. The book also includes a lengthy response to the ruling from Dr. Michael Behe, the lead expert witness for the defense at the trial, entitled "Whether ID is Science: Michael Behe's Response to Kitzmiller v. Dover." For more information on the book and the trial visit discoverydotorg. Robert Crowther, director of communications, Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture.

Traipsing Into Evolution is a timely criticism of judicial overreaching arising out of the Kitzmiller v. Dover intelligent design trial. It gives a thoughtful, yet succinct, analysis of the errors of the Kitzmiller court. This book is a must read for both proponents and critics of intelligent design. Unless critics of intelligent design grapple with the arguments in this book, their criticisms will be as intellectually anemic as that of the court. The authors of Traipsing Into Evolution present an insightful view of both the history and merits of intelligent design as well as the profound shortcomings of the Kitzmiller court. As an attorney that has worked extensively on this issue, the book has the ring of accuracy.