I just came across Doug LaPointe's "Top Evidences Against the Theory of Evolution" which is noteworthy for being wrong in every point, including the bogus argument about "Lucy"'s knee joint which I refuted in a Talk Origins FAQ. LaPointe wrote his article of nonsense while a student at the Calvary Academy, a Christian school in Lakewood, NJ. It is responded to point-by-point by "A Critical Look at Doug LaPointe's 'Top Evidences Against the Theory of Evolution,'" which includes reference to my FAQ in part 2. (I can't vouch for the rest of the response, as I haven't reviewed it in detail, and I see that it misspells "hominid" repeatedly in part 2, but a quick scan looks like the author has otherwise done a decent job.)
So what is LaPointe up to today? He's a pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Stuart, FL, and still proudly advertises that he is the author of "Top Evidences Against the Theory of Evolution." A naive person would think that a man of God would correct his mistakes. A cynic would think that a man of God makes a living from spreading falsehoods.
Interesting stuff. I'm a Christian, but I know the earth is old and I'm fed up with the junk YECs are trying to feed us. Also wanted to say that there's no link to a response to points 7, 8, or 9, but I know the stuff he says in point 9 about Grand Canyon and geology in general is nonsense.
ReplyDeleteTim:
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out the omission, and thanks for stopping by.
Points 7, 8, and 9 are referenced in Mark Isaak's Index to Creationist Claims.
Point 7 includes multiple claims, including that natural selection requires "barbarianism" or Social Darwinism (claim CA002) and a version of the irreducible complexity argument (claim CI102). Point 8 claims that various things are better evidence for a common designer than common ancestry (claims CI120, CI130, CI141, and strong contrary evidence may be found here). Point 9 talks about the geological column (claims CH100-CH111) and argues for flood geology (claims CH540-CH589).
Thanks - I've checked Mark's index several times - there's a lot of good material there. I also bought his book, which is based on his web material. My only gripe with the book is that Mark may be getting a bit out of his area of expertise when he gets into theology issues. It's still a great book, though.
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