2003 Web Sites of the Month

Web Site of the Month - January 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

The Bible Physics Project (Cr)
http://www.biblephysics.com

"There will always be tension between those who stand on a supernatural creation event and those who believe in a random origin of the universe. At Bible Physics, we don't have a problem with that. What we encourage, though, is open, honest examination of both concepts, leaving behind the preconceptions that have hindered so many bright students from their first indoctrination by evolution, and have dogged them ever since. We prefer an objective presentation of the evidence, leaving judgment up to the reader."

This month's web site review looks at the web site of the Bible Physics Project. The web site begins with an interesting 800kb Flash introduction. If you have a slow web connection it will take some time to download, but I think you will find that it is very well done. You can skip this introduction if you want to.

From the first page there are links to the following topics:

  1. Overview
  2. Exponential numbers
  3. Design in the universe
  4. Age of the universe
  5. Creation vs. Evolution
  6. Is faith in God rational?

From each topic page you can also find links to:

  1. Frequently asked questions
  2. Quotes
  3. About us
  4. Contact us
  5. Search this site

I found the material presented by the various topics very interesting and I'm sure as you explore this web site you too will find useful material to use for creation vs. evolution discussions.

Web Site of the Month - February 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Creation vs. Evolution (Cr)
http://www.gtbe.org/resources/resource_topics/t_creation_vs_evolution.htm

"Gateways to Better Education"

This month's web site review looks at a web site that provides links to many of the topics that are discussed when one considers creation versus evolution. A great deal of interesting reading can be found by following the following links:

The link that I found especially interesting was the one on Teaching Intelligent Design as Religion or Science? Here the reader is asked to imagine himself as the head of Christian education for a large local church who has to deal with state certification boards.

Web Site of the Month - March 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Creation Science Defense (Cr+)
http://www.creationdefense.org/index.htm

"Most people believe in evolution because most people believe in evolution. That's all they've ever been taught. If creation is mentioned, it's ridiculed and unfairly caricatured. Thus, evolution is assumed, not proved, and creation is denied, not refuted." - John Morris

This month's web site review looks at the Creation Science Defense website. Tom Carpenter who wrote a weekly creation science column for a local newspaper maintains this site.

The main page of the site provides a link to the many articles that Tom published from January 2000 through June 2002. The link takes you to a Table of Contents that provides a table organized into page numbers and subject. There are a total of 117 pages. Below the table, the information is placed into another table that is organized by date published and the question being addressed by the particular column.

Since there is so much information on this site, Tom has provided a link that allows the web reader to use a search engine to find information of interest. To test the engine, I entered "Darwin" and 37 documents were found, "mutations" found 19.

If you are interested in learning more about creation science and evolution I am sure you will find much interesting reading on this site.

Web Site of the Month - April 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Creation vs. Evolution II Site Quiz
http://library.thinkquest.org/29178/sitequiz.htm

Since it is April, it's time for some lighter reading about the Creation versus Evolution controversy.

On the Creation vs. Evolution II web site, which is a discussion/debate site by teens for teens, you can find a quiz about Creation versus Evolution. There are a total of twelve questions to answer. All the answers to the questions can be found by reading the various web pages found on the site.

Here are some sample questions (they are all multiple choice):

  1. What is punctuated equilibrium?
    1. A pasta
    2. Fossils that are in 2 to 5 million year old strata
    3. A theory about evolution
    4. A book by Darwin.
  2. What type of animal was fossilized into the wall of the Grand Canyon giving birth?
    1. A Dog
    2. A T-rex
    3. A whale
    4. A fish
  3. Who are Stephen J. Gould and Niles Eldredge?
    1. Movie stars
    2. The people who proposed punctuated equilibrium
    3. judges
    4. Attorneys at the Scopes Trial

As you can tell, these are some tough questions that require much study to answer them correctly. Have fun!

Web Site of the Month - May 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Creation vs. Evolution Web Page (Cr)
http://ourworld-top.cs.com/mikegriffith1/id49.htm

"I used to be a devout theistic evolutionist. I was absolutely convinced that evolution was the mechanism God used to create life on earth. This is one reason I hesitate to question evolutionists' motives, since I know that I genuinely believed evolution was factual and I saw no conflict between it and my religious faith." - Michael T. Griffith

This month's web site review looks at Michael T. Griffith's web site, which provides a wealth of information about the creation vs. evolution controversy. On the main page of the site you will find links to the following subjects:

Following the My Articles link you will find the following topics:

All these topics provide interesting reading and references to much supporting information.

Griffith's reasons for rejecting evolution are listed in the first topic. He states that he used to be a devout theistic evolutionist and provides insights into why he has changed his mind about evolution. The questions that he feels evolution cannot answer are indeed many.

Web Site of the Month - June 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

NSTA Position Statement on the Teaching of Evolution (Ev+)
http://www.iacad.org/positn.pap/creatn.evo/crea-evol%20nsta.htm

"The National Science Teachers Association supports the position that evolution is a major unifying concept of science and should be included as part of K-College science frameworks and curricula. NSTA recognizes that evolution has not been emphasized in science curricula in a manner commensurate to its importance because of official policies, intimidation of science teachers, the general public's misunderstanding of evolutionary theory, and a century of controversy...teachers are being pressured to introduce creationism, creation "science," and other nonscientific views, which are intended to weaken or eliminate the teaching of evolution."

This month's web site review looks at a Position Statement on the Teaching of Evolution by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). The NSTA Board of Directors approved the statement in July 1997. The web site makes recommendations for science curricula, teachers, policy-makers, administrators, parents and science textbooks. Just by reading their recommendations you can sense that the NSTA feels that what they call "creation science" is having an impact on the teaching of evolution in our schools.

Near the end of the statement NTSA offers background information on the following topics:

  1. The Nature of Science and Scientific Theories
  2. Evolution as a Unifying Concept
  3. Creationism
  4. Legal Issues
  5. References

If you are interested in learning how the NSTA is trying to promote the teaching of evolution in our schools then you should find many answers and questions in this position statement.

Web Site of the Month - July 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Creation-Cataclysm and Macro-Evolution (Cr)
http://freetobeme.ca/free/creation/evolution.pdf

"The purpose of this essay is to expose two models of geological history in the searchlight of scientific evidence."

You must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer to view this file containing an essay discussing Creation-Cataclysm and Macro-Evolution as two models of origins. The file contains twelve pages. After a brief introduction describing the two models, it looks at eight scientific questions and tries to determine which model provides a better explanation.

The scientific questions are as follows:

  1. How possible is it that life generated spontaneously by natural processes?
  2. Does scientific evidence point to a continuous progression of living things from one type to all types, or is there evidence of basic kinds of living things that have not and do not change from one kind into another?
  3. Is it possible that the earth may not be old as some dating systems suggest?
  4. Has evidence of a global flood been discovered in earth's rocks?
  5. Do earth's strata display the type of assortative distribution of sediments expected if they were deposited by the action of a flood?
  6. Do the fossils in earth's strata suggest a global flood?
  7. What does the primary order of fossil deposition mean scientifically?
  8. Do the strata of earth demonstrate strata out of the sequence displayed in the geological column?

At the end of the essay a summary is presented that shows that the Creation-Cataclysm model of origins is "more probable on the basis of its superior ability to account for the evidence discovered by science."

Web Site of the Month - August 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Creation Science Movement (Cr)
http://www.csm.org.uk/

"Restoring faith in the Bible and Science"

This month's web site review takes us on a trip to England to see what material is available from the Creation Science Movement web site.

The new CSM web site main page provides links to the following topics:

  1. CSM Details
  2. Current Journal
  3. Genesis Expo
  4. Creation Store
  5. Join CSM
  6. Online Membership
  7. Links

Also on the main page you will find a search box that allows you to search for information from the site.

From the CSM Details link you learn that "The Creation Science Movement is the oldest creationist movement in the world. Founded in 1932 as 'The Evolution Protest Movement' by a small group of Christians concerned by the propaganda that was promoting the theory of evolution as if scientifically proven, it has grown in strength over the years." You also learn about the aims of the movement.

The Current Journal link provides access to the latest monthly journal published by CSM and also journals dating back to May 2000. You also learn that CSM produces pamphlets and makes them available to members and also produces CDs that you can purchase. The journal provides details about the latest work done by CSM, and also book reviews.

There is a lot of information to explore on this site and it is very interesting to learn that CSM exists and about the work it is doing in England to educate people about creation science.

Web Site of the Month - September 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

The Creation/Evolution Debate
http://www.evcforum.net/

"Understanding through knowledge and discussion"

This month's web site review looks at a site that is "dedicated to helping develop a better understanding of both sides of the issue, the EvC Forum plays host to the ongoing debate."

The site is easy to navigate, on the main page you will find links for site navigation, discussion topics and online forums. If you want to participate in the forums you must register on the site.

The site provides a Reference Library which organizes much of the information on the Creation/Evolution debate that can be found on the web. The library classifies "webpages from both the Creation and evolution perspectives, and is organized by both major topics and subtopics. Many of the links include short summaries." The major topics in the library in alphabetical order are as follows:

Since the information on the web tends to change quite rapidly, local copies of web pages are made available of the EvC Forum site.

A nice feature the site provides is an email template that allows a person to provide information about web sites that are pertinent to the Creation/Evolution debate.

Web Site of the Month - October 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

CREATION VS. EVOLUTION: Wasp Nests (Cr)
http://lightningfingers.tripod.com/waspnests.html

Have you ever looked at a wasp nest?

This month's web site review looks at a site that asks the question "Have you ever looked at a wasp nest?" Although this is a simple question, when you study how different wasps make their nests you learn that this question has a direct bearing on the creation versus evolution controversy.

The web site is really only a single web page that asks many interesting questions. One group of questions is "Have you ever closely examined or thought about the symmetrical architecture and geometrical construction of a wasp nest? How does the wasp know what materials to gather to build the nest? Who taught that wasp how to build? Did it spend time as an apprentice under a master builder wasp? Obviously a silly question, but then, where did the wasp learn how to build such a structure?" The web page author offers the explanation that the nest-making behavior of wasps can be attributed to an intelligent Designer.

After discussing wasp nests, another example of wasp behavior is presented. Many interesting details about spider wasps are presented. In particular, how tarantula hawk wasps feed their young.

The web page author comes to the conclusion that "when you examine the habits and practices of animal, and even plants, you can find countless examples where, once common sense is applied, it is obvious to the intelligent, open-minded individual that evolution falls short and miserably fails in explaining the origins of animals, plants and insects."

Web Site of the Month - November 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Evolution Is Dead (Cr)
http://www.EvolutionIsDead.com

Chronicling the Demise of 19th Century Naturalism

This month's web site review describes the Evolution Is Dead (EID) web site. On the home page of this site you will find a discussion of scientific naturalism and what the web site author calls 'methodological' naturalism. Here you also find that the "purpose of this site is to demonstrate that 'methodological naturalism' is horribly old-fashioned; based on the paradigms of 19th century philosophies which understood nothing about life sciences, information theory, or probability and design inference."

On the home page you find links to the following information:

Following the link on Quotes you will find a quote title and a quote from various persons about creation and evolution. You can rate the quote, email it to a friend, view the top 25 quotes or perform a search to find a particular quote.

The Forums are organized as follows:

By following the forum links you will find a general description of the topic and the number of posts regarding the subject. You must register on the site if you want to add your own posts to the various forums.

The Weasel Casino! link leads you to a web page that discusses Richard Dawkins' computer simulation of evolution. You can even run the simulation and try to win a $50 gift certificate from amazon.com.

As you can tell, there is a lot of material to explore on this web site. Space does not permit me to relate more so you'll have to explore the site for yourself. Enjoy!

Web Site of the Month - December 2003
by Lothar Janetzko

Origins (Cr)
http://www.origins.org

This site features scholarly and popular resources concerning intelligent design and philosophical theism.

This month's web site review looks at the www.origins.org website. On the home page of the site you can start reading a featured article which changes each time you visit the home page. Also on the home page you will find links to the following topics under Regular Departments:

There are also links to Our Focus and Featured Sites.

The Our Focus link provides detailed information about the purpose of the web site and provides a good starting point for exploration. If you are interested in learning more about the scientific theory known as Intelligent Design you can find a great deal of information about the theory on this site.

The Search Origins link allows you to search the contents of all the publicly available documents on the site. You enter a search word and all the documents containing the word are found. A section of the document containing the search word is displayed and a link is provided to allow you to view the whole document.

There are hundreds of articles on this web site available for your own study. I am sure you can find something of interest relating to creation and evolution.

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