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More About This Textbook
Overview
In light of the embattled status of evolutionary theory, particularly as "intelligent design" makes headway against Darwinism in the schools and in the courts, this now classic account of the roots of creationism assumes new relevance. Expanded and updated to account for the appeal of intelligent design and the global spread of creationism, The Creationists offers a thorough, clear, and balanced overview of the arguments and figures at the heart of the debate.
Praised by both creationists and evolutionists for its comprehensiveness, the book meticulously traces the dramatic shift among Christian fundamentalists from acceptance of the earth's antiquity to the insistence of present-day scientific creationists that most fossils date back to Noah's flood and its aftermath. Focusing especially on the rise of this "flood geology," Ronald L. Numbers chronicles the remarkable resurgence of antievolutionism since the 1960s, as well as the creationist movement's tangled religious roots in the theologies of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Adventists, among others. His book offers valuable insight into the origins of various "creation science" think tanks and the people behind them. It also goes a long way toward explaining how creationism, until recently viewed as a "peculiarly American" phenomenon, has quietly but dynamically spread internationally—and found its expression outside Christianity in Judaism and Islam.
Editorial Reviews
Isis
A welcome addition to the burgeoning scholarship on contemporary interactions between science and religion. Since the first edition of The Creationists was published fourteen years ago, conflicts involving evolution have continued to make news; so much has happened, in fact, that a new edition is sorely needed.
— Stephen P. Weldon
The Nation
A great reference work.
— Ian Hacking
Financial Times
A classic text, now updated and expanded to take into account the latest trends among anti-evolutionists, Numbers's carefully researched history is required reading to understand the current controversy.
— Alan Cane
Salon.com
Ronald Numbers is in a unique position to offer some answers. His 1992 book, The Creationists, which Harvard University Press has just reissued in an expanded edition, is probably the most definitive history of anti-evolutionism. Numbers is an eminent figure in the history of science and religion—a past president of both the History of Science Society and the American Society of Church History. But what's most refreshing about Numbers is the remarkable personal history he brings to this subject. He grew up in a family of Seventh-day Adventists and, until graduate school, was a dyed-in-the-wool creationist. When he lost his religious faith, he wrote a book questioning the foundations of Adventism, which created a huge rift in his family. Perhaps because of his background, Numbers is one of the few scholars in the battle over evolution who remains widely respected by both evolutionists and creationists. In fact, he was once recruited by both sides to serve as an expert witness in a Louisiana trial on evolution. (He went with the ACLU.)
— Steve Paulson
Reports of the National Center for Science Education
This book is an intellectual history of religiously inspired anti-evolutionism, primarily in the US, since the latter 19th century. It is a meticulous work by a distinguished historian—with 431 pages of text, followed by 133 pages of detailed notes on sources. Some readers might find it heavy going, but Numbers writes in an engaging style and keeps the narrative moving briskly, writing about the human qualities as well as the theology of leading creationists.
— Francis B. Harrold
Financial Times
A classic text, now updated and expanded to take into account the latest trends among anti-evolutionists, Numbers's carefully researched history is required reading to understand the current controversy.— Alan Cane
Salon.com
Ronald Numbers is in a unique position to offer some answers. His 1992 book, The Creationists, which Harvard University Press has just reissued in an expanded edition, is probably the most definitive history of anti-evolutionism. Numbers is an eminent figure in the history of science and religion--a past president of both the History of Science Society and the American Society of Church History. But what's most refreshing about Numbers is the remarkable personal history he brings to this subject. He grew up in a family of Seventh-day Adventists and, until graduate school, was a dyed-in-the-wool creationist. When he lost his religious faith, he wrote a book questioning the foundations of Adventism, which created a huge rift in his family. Perhaps because of his background, Numbers is one of the few scholars in the battle over evolution who remains widely respected by both evolutionists and creationists. In fact, he was once recruited by both sides to serve as an expert witness in a Louisiana trial on evolution. (He went with the ACLU.)— Steve Paulson
Reports of the National Center for Science Education
This book is an intellectual history of religiously inspired anti-evolutionism, primarily in the US, since the latter 19th century. It is a meticulous work by a distinguished historian--with 431 pages of text, followed by 133 pages of detailed notes on sources. Some readers might find it heavy going, but Numbers writes in an engaging style and keeps the narrative moving briskly, writing about the human qualities as well as the theology of leading creationists.— Francis B. Harrold
The Nation
A great reference work.— Ian Hacking
Isis
A welcome addition to the burgeoning scholarship on contemporary interactions between science and religion. Since the first edition of The Creationists was published fourteen years ago, conflicts involving evolution have continued to make news; so much has happened, in fact, that a new edition is sorely needed.— Stephen P. Weldon
Library Journal
This informative, well-researched intellectual history of the origins of the contemporary creation science movement was first published in 1992. Numbers (history of science & medicine, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison; Darwinism Comes to America) has added two chapters covering developments of the most recent decade and a half. Chapter 17 describes the ascendancy of the intelligent design school, while Chapter 18 addresses the globalization of the creation science movement. Numbers offers a historical analysis of the various permutations in creation science thought, starting with the original response in 1859 to Charles Darwin's Origin of Speciesand ending with creationism's spread across the globe during the 1990s (the body of the book concentrates on developments in creationist thought since the early 1960s). Numbers does not judge the claims of creationists; instead, he seeks to introduce the historical development of its main ideas to the general public. Since only the last two chapters are new—the book was not rewritten to take into account current research—Numbers's expanded edition is highly recommended for libraries that did not buy the first edition or that maintain comprehensive religion collections.—Pius Charles Murray
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Meet the Author
Ronald L. Numbers is Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has served as president of the History of Science Society, the American Society of Church History, and the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, Division of the History of Science and Technology.
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Expanded Edition
Introduction
1. Creationism in the Age of Darwin
2. George Frederick Wright: From Christian Darwinist to Fundamentalist
3. Creationism in the Fundamentalist Controversy
4. Scientific Creationists in the Age of Bryan
5. George McCready Price and the New Catastrophism
6. The Religion and Science Association
7. The Deluge Geology Society
8. Evangelicals and Evolution in Great Britain
9. Evangelicals and Evolution in North America
10. John C. Whitcomb, Jr., Henry M. Morris, and The Genesis Flood
11. The Creation Research Society
12. Creation Science and Scientific Creationism
13. Deception and Discrimination
14. Creation Research Institutes
15. Creationism in the Churches
16. The Appeal of Creationism at Home and Abroad
17. Intelligent Design
18. Creationism Goes Global
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index