Darwinopterus v Dawkins (admits evolution "nowhere explicitly set out" in any of his prev. books!)

CMI ^ | October 27, 2009 | Jonathan Safarti, Ph.D.

[GodGunsGuts]

Prominent antitheist and self-styled “atheist” Richard Dawkins has written a new book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. Ironically, he admits about all his previous pro-evolution books:

“Looking back on these books, I realized that the evidence for evolution is nowhere explicitly set out, and that it seemed like a good gap to close.”.

Naturally, CMI is preparing a book to answer Dawkins’ latest. In a chapter about alleged bad design, Dawkins had a section about the loss of wings and evolution of features like halteres, the little drumstick-like stabilizers behind the one pair of wings on flies.

To set the stage, Dawkins related the theory of English evolutionist (and former debate partner1) John Maynard Smith (1920–2004) about the evolution of flying creatures. Maynard-Smith argued that...

[raygunfan]

itz amazing how many times this moron has to write books continually explaining something he claims is so obvious...then he comes out and says his previous books dont really lay any evidence out there...

what a doofus.

[GodGunsGuts]

Dawkins admits that all of his previous books failed to provide the evidence for evolution...LOL!

[GodGunsGuts]

Ditto!

[elkfersupper]

Why is this still being discussed on a political news forum?

[sickoflibs]

I agree with you folks. Stuff like this makes me want to crap:

This book is my personal summary of the evidence that the ‘theory’ of evolution is actually a fact - as incontrovertible a fact as any in science.
—Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth, p. vii

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Show_on_Earth:_The_Evidence_for_Evolution

[GodGunsGuts]

Because the Christian Right is a MAJOR PILLAR of the Reagan Coalition, and we don’t want our political concerns shoved off to the religion forum.

[Ira_Louvin]

Looking back on these books, I realized that the evidence for evolution is nowhere explicitly set out, and that it seemed like a good gap to close.”

Nice job at quote mining the actual quote is “Looking back on these books, I realized that the evidence for evolution is nowhere explicitly set out, and that it seemed like a good gap that I needed to close.” ~ Richard Dawkins Preface The Greatest Show on Earth.

GGG that statement does not mean that his previous book failed to provide the evidence for evolution, just that he had not yet complied all the evidence into one book.

I wonder why they did not use this quote from the same book:

“Evolution is a fact. Beyond Reasonable doubt, beyound serious doubt, beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt, beyond doubt evolution is a fact.” ~ Richard Dawkins

I guess that would require too much intellectual honesty on the authors part. Why lets the facts get in the way of a good story?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[count-your-change]

So now Dawkins has endless material for more books. Not surprising, a clever writer never explains the whole plot or answers every question, he saves some for later!

Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter, “The Greatest Snow On Earth”.

[rae4palin]

“Looking back on these books, I realized that the evidence for evolution is nowhere explicitly set out, and that it seemed like a good gap to close.”

Ya think?

[xcamel]

...because they are legends in their own minds....

and that ‘pillar’ - lol - made of wax, and long melted.

[Broker]

Speaking of Darwin.. Last night PBS had a special on a family of Islamic freaks who walk like dogs on all 4s. Blindly brilliant British professor of walking abnormalities et all introduced the latest HOAX:
REVERSE EVOLUTION !! They think Darwinism is a two way street and these fools want to direct traffic.

[sheik yerbouty]

Dawkins is just another arrogant fool..

[elkfersupper]

Because the Christian Right is a MAJOR PILLAR of the Reagan Coalition, and we don’t want our political concerns shoved off to the religion forum.

With the very foundation of this country under assault, I find it asinine that people who are so weak in their faith that they cannot tolerate the imaginary or miniscule threat that Darwinian theory might present to their faith find it necessary to demonstrate that weakness day after day on a political forum.

[GodGunsGuts]

Don’t you get it, eks? This country is under assault by revolutionary evolutionists. And as the Christian church shrinks in this country, the revolutionary evolutionists are taking its place.

[elkfersupper]

Excuse me, I thought the country is under assault by socialist / communist / fascists.

Darwin has been dead for a long time.

[elkfersupper]

Excuse me, I thought the country is under assault by socialist / communist / fascists.

Darwin has been dead for a long time.

[GodGunsGuts]

Almost all modern socialists = revolutionary evolutionists.

Communists= revolutionary evolutionists.

Fascists = revolutionary evolutionists.

[elkfersupper]

If Darwin had a plan to agitate the 21st-Century Christians, why did he waste all that time studying and writing about the sciences and sailing around the world on a two-masted ship?

He should have just ran for public office and dictated his "findings" rather than support them with a lifetime of research.

[whattajoke]

This country is under assault by revolutionary evolutionists. And as the Christian church shrinks in this country, the revolutionary evolutionists are taking its place.

Really?! On the list of ideologies and "groups" hellbent on limiting our freedoms, stealing our money and ruining our country, "revolutionary evolutionists," all 3 of them, don't even register. You're nuts.

[whattajoke]

Last night PBS had a special on a family of Islamic freaks who walk like dogs on all 4s.

How dare they! Get up and walk, freaks!

Their odd gait was due to a rare set of genetic and developmental circumstances coming together. First, their mother recalls that initially all of her 19 children started off walking with a bear-crawl (i.e. on their feet rather than their knees). Second, due to an inherited recessive genetic mutation, they have a non-progressive congenital cerebellar ataxia that impairs the balance children normally use to learn to walk bipedally. Not being able to manage the balance needed for bipedal walking, they perfected in its place their initial bear-crawl into an adult quadruped gait.

[GodGunsGuts]

Since your screenname perfectly describes who you are, I will give your comments the attention they deserve, and then deposit them in the whattajoke file/trash can.

[whattajoke]

Since your screenname perfectly describes who you are, I will give your comments the attention they deserve, and then deposit them in the whattajoke file/trash can.

Facing the truth is hard, eh? Did Free Republic begin as a defense against "Radical evolutionists?" With confidence, I can say an emphatic "No!" You're telling me that the number one issue with conservatives in America is evolution? Priorities, man, priorities.

[elkfersupper]

Amen.