Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!

By Duane T. Gish

Book Overview

This book constitutes one of the most devastating critiques of the evolutionary philosophy one could find. It goes right to the stronghold of the supposed scientific evidence for evolution and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890511128
• ISBN13: 9780890511121
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Institute for Creation Research
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Stinkier than ever

Gish has spiffed up his pseudoscientific screed against evolution with more pseudoscience; and he is even further from the truth than before. The gist of his argument is that life was either created or it evolved. Thus, if you can point to a tenet of evolutionary theory, and say that "this could not be the product of evolution, so therefore it is proof of special Creation." That's not how science works. Gish commits the cardinal sin of not following the scientific method all the way through. He performs the first step, by observing the natural world. He fails on the second step, though, because he fails to consult, with an unbiased eye, any prior research which points in favor of evolution. He performs the third step by making a hypothesis about what the empirical evidence in the natural world will disclose; but his process is already fatally flawed, because he either ignores, misunderstands, or mischaracterizes research which he finds unpleasant. Another fatal flaw is that his hypothesis makes no testable or falsifiable predictions, and is itself immune from falsification since he relies on religious scripture than scientific texts journals, etc. He performs the fourth step, by assembling his research into a theory, already fatally flawed; and he submits the theory for peer-review only in places where the reviewers share his preconceptions. Remember: in science, a "theory" is not a guess or supposition. That's a hypothesis. A scientific theory is one developed by testing the hypothesis against empirical evidence from the natural world and making falsifiable predictions about what the research might show. Evidence from the supernatural world, which includes religion, must be excluded because it is not testable or falsifiable, and in fact is immune from either one. Once the research is complete, it undergoes peer-review at the hands of those who LOVE to tear apart a flawed theory; and only after it survives that step does a theory gain provisional acceptance -- since no theory is immune from disproof. Unfortunately for Mr. Gish, 100% of the empirical evidence found to date supports evolutionary theory; and while some parts of that theory have been disproved, the gap is filled by better science. Indeed, the theory of evolution can be called a "Mobius theory," because it has been confirmed to such an extent that disproof is infinitesimally unlikely to happen. Good scientists are not so emotionally wedded to their theories that they will not discard them is subsequent evidence disproves them. The historical record is full of scientists who have abandoned theories because they have been disproved. The advocates of Creation, on the other hand so that their "theory" -- if I can dignify it thus -- is immune from disproof. Any yet, the realms of religion and science, while completely separate can be complementary. It is hypothetically possible that scientists could pin down when the Big Bang occurred, and how it happened; but it can never explain WHY the Big Bank occurred, or WHO touched it off It can tell us that two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen make water; but it cannot tell us who or what decreed the composition of matter in the universe, what the properties of various chemical elements are, or who ordained that the speed of light cannot be exceeded. For that, we can cheerfully turn to religion, philosophy, and metaphysics; and indeed, the majority of scientists are religious -- some, extremely so. They marvel at the wonders of a God who can assemble the building blocks of the universe, give each block its properties, and set everything in motion. Gish ignores all this, and offers us yet an even stinkier version of a contention which was lready fatally flawed when he first made it.

homework for Evolutionists

This book contains most of the arguments which Duane Gish used in his debates for the next 20 years. As early as 1973, he started his notorious quote-mining operation, his ad hominem attacks on the Piltdown Man and the Nebraska Man, his exposure of the Haeckel drawings, his misrepresention of the Cambrian explosion, and his confusion between evolution and abiogenesis. Sure enough, these arguments are important. This encompasses many of the favorite Creationist arguments. It seems, however, that he contains all of this information in his later books, but with a few details and a few updates added. In other words, he pretended to publish several books while really publishing several editions of the same book. If you want it all in the same place, you might prefer a more recent book by Duane Gish.

Devastating critique of evolutionary fossil "evidence"

This book constitutes one of the most devastating critiques of the evolutionary philosophy one could find. It goes right to the stronghold of the supposed scientific evidence for evolution and demolishes its central bastion.The fossil record must provide the critical evidence for or against evolution, since no other scientific evidence can possibly throw light on the actual history of living things. All other evidence is circumstantial and can be more effectively explained in terms of the creation model. The time scale of human observation is far too short to permit documentation of real evolutionary change from lower to higher kinds of organisms at the present time. The vital question, therefore, is: "Does the record of past ages, now preserved in the form of fossils, show that such changes have occurred?" The answer, unequivocally, is: "The fossils say no!" There has been no evolution in the past any more than in the present. This important fact is conclusively demonstrated and documented by Dr. Gish in this book.Dr. Duane T. Gish is a careful scientist of impeccable academic credentials. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California (Berkeley). He is currently Senior Vice President and Professor of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Creation Research (Santee, California 92071). He spent 18 years in biochemical research at Cornell University Medical College (NYC), the Virus Laboratory of the University of California (Berkeley), and The Upjohn Company (Kalamazoo, Michigan). He has published approximately 40 technical articles in scientific journals and is a well-known author and lecturer on creation/evolution. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists. Dr. Gish has successfully defended creationism before numerous universities and scientific audiences and in formal debates with many of the nation's leading evolutionary scientists.This book (under its original title, "Evolution: The Challenge of the Fossil Record") has gone through several printings and has already been eminently successful in its mission of convincing men of the truth of creationism. In this new enlarged and revised edition with a new title to emphasize the powerful nature of the evidence for creation, it is still more convincing, and will, no doubt, have a greater acceptance than ever before. Anyone who reads this book and who then still rejects creationism in favor of evolutionism must at least acknowledge that he believes in evolution in spite of the massive witness of the fossil record against it!

The author builds a strong case for a belief in creation.

There on many books in favor of creation. Different books concentrate on different aspects of the creation/evolution debate. This book focuses on the fossil record. This book is well researched, documented, and written. This book is also well footnoted, along with plenty of references for those who would like to do follow up research. Pay no attention to the below reviews that seek to destroy the credibilty of this author by calling his research, ethics, and quotations into question. The reviewers I speak of are a part of the Internet Infidels, or other atheistic groups, that seek to undermine anything of a religious nature. This author has many detractors, not because his research or conclusions are shoddy, but because he does such a good job at making the evolutionists feel uncomfortable.The irony of this book is that author Duane Gish uses the evolutionist's own fossil record against them to prove, compellingly, his case for special creation. He does this by showing that the fossil record, instead of demonstrating the occurrence of evolution, actually speaks loudly in favor of a special creation. In science, to prove a theory one must, among other things, show that the theory is capable of making accurate predictions. Evolution predicts that the fossil record should show no species appearing in a fully formed state without transitional forms leading up to them from a prior primitive state. The fossil record does not show this at all. The fossil record, therefore, has failed as miserably as Jeanne Dixon in making predictions. The model of creation theory predicts that the fossil record should show species appearing fully formed with NO transitional forms leading up to them. This is exactly what the fossil record does show! Therefore, the fossil record, instead of being evidence for evolution, is actually a record of special creation. To claim otherwise is to be dishonest. I would like to leave all readers of this review with the following thoughts. Regardless of what the evolutionists say to the contrarty, evolution is not a fact, nor is it science. Do not be misled, please. To call evolution a fact is to lie. To call it science is to misrepresent the definition of science. Science deals with things observable and repeatable. Neither is possible with the case of evolution. Evolution may be alot of things, but it is not a fact, nor is it science. At best, it is a "theory" held by "some" scientists.

Tells the Unavoidable Truth About Fossils and Evolution

Ardent evolutionists may demean the author and work all they want, but the facts presented by it just won't go away. Using quotes, in context, from evolutionists themselves, scientist Dr. Gish clearly shows how the fossil record is full of discontinuities. Molecules-to-man evolution, as ostensibly supported by fossils, is far from proven.

Easy to read, informative answer to evolution

The evolutionists reviewing this book are generally easy to spot. As a former evolutionist, I can tell you--the book is not as full of bull as most evolutionists will insist. A realization that the fossil record cannot account for creation invokes fear and hatred from those who hold that theory dear. This book does a fine job bringing that theory into question with consistent focus on the lack of evidence in the fossil record. As Gish aptly states, the fossils don't support the theory.