Kenneth Miller–Tonight (6/16) on The Colbert Report!

Kenneth Miller will be on The Colbert Report; I’m assuming he’ll be discussing his new book, Only a Theory.

Also, Miller was interviewed at Science Friday this past Friday, June 13. You can hear the interview here.

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Kenneth Miller’s new book, “Only a Theory”, is out!

Kenneth Miller, author of the excellent book Finding Darwin’s God, has just released a new book titled “Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul”.
The description at Amazon.com states:

At the dawn of the twenty- first century, the debate over Darwin’s theory of evolution is nearly as contentious as it was in the notorious Scopes trial a century ago. Today, however, people who believe that evolution is “only a theory” have put their hopes in a concept known as Intelligent Design.

In Only a Theory, Kenneth Miller dissects the claims of the ID movement in the same incisive style that marked his testimony as an expert witness in Pennsylvania’s landmark 2005 Dover evolution trial.

Unlike other books on the subject, Only a Theory’s critique of ID goes far beyond the scientific claims of the movement. To Miller, America’s “soul”—its place as the world’s leading scientific nation—is at risk because of this struggle. As he explains, the tactics of this new assault on science mimic earlier efforts of the academic left to remake science as a relativistic, culturally determined enterprise, rather than a rational search for truth about the natural world. Such marginalization, he argues, would effectively destroy American science.

Despite this analysis, Miller refuses to play the role of pessimist. He sees this as a teachable opportunity, a moment at which public understanding and support for science can be redeemed, and offers nothing less than a prescription for how America can save its scientific soul.

You can read more here: Only a Theory

Not a regional matter

People in certain parts of the U.S. seem to be of the belief that creationists/ID proponents only exist in “backwards” parts of the country–particularly the south. Kenneth Miller speaks about how this is not a regional problem and why it is important regardless of location.

Kenneth Miller starts new trend with mousetrap tie clips

No, not really! But here is an interesting video of Miller discussing the mousetrap example often cited by those spouting about “irreducible complexity”.

In the Philadelphia area? Check out the Year of Evolution

April 2008 through May 2009 is being dubbed “the year of evolution”…at least by the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Museum. Several events have been planned, including presentations by one of my favorite people…Kenneth Miller!

There are many events that look interesting, including an exhibit called “Surviving: The Body of Evidence” at Penn Museum, whose purpose is to teach about evolution and its impact on you.

Check it out. You can see a list of events, dates, etc, on the website located here: Year of Evolution.

Kenneth Miller speaks out on “Expelled”

In a recent op-ed in The Boston Globe, Kenneth Miller shared his thoughts on “Expelled”. Kenneth Miller, you may recall, is the well-known Christian biologist who works for Brown University and author of “Finding Darwin’s God”. Miller has a new book coming out in June entitled, “Only a Theory–Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul”.

I love that Miller calls the film’s producers out on why they didn’t interview him, Francis Collins, Francisco Ayala, or any other scientists who happen to be believers. Here’s a tasty tidbit:

The movie also uses interviews with avowed atheists like Richard Dawkins, author of “The God Delusion,” to argue that scientific establishment is vehemently anti-God. Never mind that 40 percent of the members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science profess belief in a personal God. Stein, avoiding these 50,000 people, tells viewers that “Darwinists” don’t allow scientists to even think of God.

Puzzled, the editors of Scientific American asked Mark Mathis, the film’s co-producer, why he and Stein didn’t interview such people, like Francis Collins (head of the Human Genome Project), Francisco Ayala, or myself. Mathis cited me by name, saying “Ken Miller would have confused the film unnecessarily.” In other words, showing a scientist who accepts both God and evolution would have confused their story line.

Read the rest here.

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Why Ken Miller isn’t in “Expelled”–An Inconvenient Truth

Why aren’t Christians who believe in evolution, like Kenneth Miller and Francis Collins, in the film?

It’s simple.

That would have undercut the false dichotomy the film sets up–that only two views are acceptable. One must either entertain the idea of Intelligent Design or one must be an atheist who affirms evolution.

The associate producer of “Expelled” basically even said it himself. Go read the excellent synopsis from Higgaion. Go read it! Now!

When your whole schtick is to pit religious “design proponents” open to the supernatural against atheistic, philosophically materialist “Darwinists,” all those pesky scientists who simultaneously affirm evolutionary biology and a robust Christian faith become very, very inconvenient.

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Kenneth Miller speaks at UT

Miller spoke at UT in Austin recently on April 4. This is pretty much the same talk I’ve seen in person elsewhere. To view it, you’ll have to download a plug-in from the University of Texas website. It’s a bit long, but he puts on a very nice presentation defending evolution while going through many points of creationism, intelligent design, etc. If you’ve read the book “Finding Darwin’s God” much of this will be familiar to you.

Go here to watch the presentation.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to download the plug-in you can watch a similar presentation by Miller from You Tube below:

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No mention of religious evolutionists in “Expelled”

To answer my previous question in another blog, Kenneth Miller and Francis Collins do seem to be conspicuously absent from “Expelled”.  Kristine at “Amused Muse” saw a viewing of the movie, so I questioned her at her blog site.  Below is my question and her reply:

Kristine, since you’ve seen a screening, can you tell us if the movie included anything about Francis Collins, Kenneth Miller, or the likes thereof?

No, certainly not. They wouldn’t want to be off message about how “most evolutionary biologists are atheists.” I’m not kidding, Stein says that. Another inaccuracy. They do make some passing remark that “liberal and mainstream theologians” are complicit with the Nazi/Commie atheist scientists. It’s just astounding!

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How Intelligent Design cheats: proponents try to circumvent the scientific method

Many IDers are asking to include intelligent design in science curriculum because it is only “fair” to present “both sides” of the story to students.  Listen to Kenneth Miller explain why including ID in science curriculum is anything but fair.

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