| 2002 Web Sites of the Month |
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| Web Site of the Month - January 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| “To the unbiased, any naturalistic explanation for the moon’s origin is logically unsound. However these theories are still promulgated since many people do not like the ramifications of admitting there is a designer much more powerful and intelligent than us.”- Bill Morgan |
This month's web site review looks at an article by a mechanical engineer that discusses some basic yet fascinating information about our planet's nearest neighbor the moon. "The moon is the earth's closest companion...it is a satellite of the earth. It is a dark body (like a planet) and is seen by reflected sunlight. The Bible says, "God created the moon to be "the lesser light that rules the night" (Genesis 1:16). This is one of many essential duties served by the moon. Our planet is the only planet with a moon large enough to light up the evening sky. Our moon is 100 times larger than the average sized moon in our solar system. With an average sized moon, our evenings would be 20 times darker."
After describing many more details about the moon, the question is asked, "What is the Best Explanation for the origin of the moon?" The author suggests two answers:
He then discusses the following theories about the creation of the moon:
| Web Site of the Month - February 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| “A journey into where we're from and where we're going.” |
This month's web site review looks at the web site created by PBS to explain the theory of evolution. Much of the material on the web site covers material from the PBS Evolution project. Indeed, the web site is a large part of the project.
"The Evolution project is a seven-part, eight-hour television broadcast series, an extensive web site, a far-reaching educational outreach initiative, and a HarperCollins companion book by acclaimed science writer Carl Zimmer."
The program premiered on PBS September 24-27, 2001. The episode titles include
The web site provides video clips from the series (best viewed if you have a broadband Internet connection) and a great deal of supporting information for each episode. The site also has a FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions about Evolution, an Evolution Library and material for teachers and students.
You will have to judge for yourself if the information provided by this web site really provides all the facts regarding the evolution versus creation controversy. One thing that is very clear is that a lot of money has been spent on this project.
| Web Site of the Month - March 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| "The media delight in talking about the warfare between evolution and creation science. However, there are not just two conflicting belief systems concerning the origin of plants, animals, humans, the rest of the world and the rest of the universe. There are literally many hundreds of theories.” |
The belief systems that this web site discusses in detail are Naturalistic Evolution, Creation Science and Theistic Evolution. Creation Science is divided into the two categories of New Earth and Old Earth creationists. Recent Gallop Poll results are also presented that show how the general public views these belief systems.
The material covered is divided into the following sections:
The site presents a lot of interesting information and comes to the conclusion that due to the nature of these various belief systems the warfare that is going on among them will not end very soon.
| Web Site of the Month - April 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
This month's web site looks at a site I found recently by using the Google search engine. The site provides links to creation and evolution information located on the Internet. The links are arranged into the following categories:
In the parentheses above I have indicated the number of links that are located in each category. As you can tell by the numbers, there is a lot of information available on the Internet covering the subject of creation and evolution.
| Web Site of the Month - May 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| Could the "nicors" Beowulf encountered be based on factual creatures of his time? |
This month's web site review looks at the subject of dinosaurs and man. I was surprised by how many links are found on this subject when using the various search engines available on the net. Yahoo (265), Google (478), Altavista (227), Lycos (368) and Teoma (390). Finding one to report on was difficult, but I decided on the one given above. The site presents an essay David Joly wrote for an English literature class.
He points out that "ancient world literature and folklore seems to be embellished with odd creatures, a superstitious mix between mythical beasts and dinosaurs." He provides a brief survey of ancient folklore and mythical beasts and China's ancient dragons. Along the way he makes many interesting observations.
I find his closing note on modern skepticism quite interesting.
| A Closing Note On Modern Skepticism-Skepticism. Not only does it exist in society as whole but it has also infiltrated the scientific community. More and more people, scientists as well as citizens, seem to be becoming increasingly closed-minded, biased, and skeptical. "We all know that dinosaurs died out millions of years ago!" is the resounding cry. Society needs to open its closed minds and filter out its skepticism and biased-prone dogmas. Then, and only then, will science be able to fairly answer the question: "Did dinosaurs reign with man?" |
| Web Site of the Month - June 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| "Seeking Objectivity in the Pursuit of Truth" |
This month's web site review looks at the web site of the National Association for Objectivity in Science. This group is a non-profit organization located in Washington DC. On the main page of the web site you find that the "primary purpose of the National Association for Objectivity in Science (NAOS) is to promote objectivity in the teaching of the theory of macroevolution." They then define how macroevolution differs from microevolution (which they believe to be true).
The main page has a table of contents with links to the following information:
Following the first link, the case is made that there are strong scientific arguments against the theory of macroevolution, but these arguments are not presented in most biology textbooks used in public high schools and universities in the United States. The arguments against macroevolution are of two types: (1) those that relate to the origin of life; and (2) those that relate to the origin of species. More details can be found on the web site.
The link for A Scientific Dissent presents a list of one hundred reputable scientists that have subscribed to the following statement: "I am skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged." It is interesting to know that an organization such as NAOS exists and to learn what it does to promote objectivity in science.
| Web Site of the Month - July 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| "Facts are stubborn things." - Alain René Lesage |
This month's web site review looks at a site based upon a series of lectures by the late James Wallace Godschall Johnson. The material is presented as 15 chapters after a link providing a rationale for the presentation.
The chapters are as follows:
These chapters make for interesting reading and cover most of the questions that arise in the creation versus evolution controversy. The first chapter discusses "punctuated equilibrium" which is a theory used to explain why transitional creatures are not found in the fossil record. In chapter 15 the question is asked "Why are we happy to continue along a road paved with fallacies, discrepancies, and outlandish assumptions, to support the belief in a theory with absolutely no real or physical truth? How can the rational mind believe in a theory which violates natural scientific laws and offers no tangible evidence in its support?". I suppose we all have to answer these questions for ourselves.
| Web Site of the Month - August 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| “Understanding through knowledge and discussion” |
This month's web site review looks at the web site of the EvC Forum.
| "Dedicated to developing a better understanding of the issues on both sides of the debate, the EvC Forum plays host to the ongoing debate. With a Reference Library that includes links to many sources of information on the web, as well as local copies, and including a Multi-Forum Discussion Board, the EvC forum serves as a centralized resource on the topic." |
The web site is well organized and easy to navigate. The Forums cover many topics including:
When you select a Forum, a web page is presented that lists a topic, the originator of the topic, the number of posts on the topic and the date of the most recent message posted for the topic.
As you can tell, you can spend a lot of time exploring this web site and I do believe it lives up to its billing of "Understanding through knowledge and discussion".
| Web Site of the Month - September 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
This month’s web site review looks at a resource found on the net that covers many of the web sites that discuss the Creation vs. Evolution question. Originally compiled by Gerry Harris, this site organizes the Creation vs. Evolution Sites by name and by subject making it easy to find topics that may be of interest to various readers.
The subjects covered include the following:
There are a total of 240 links covering these various subjects. Just reading some of the titles of the links is very interesting. Unfortunately, not all the links lead to actual web pages. One link leads to a 404 error, i.e., file not found. Nevertheless all in all this is a great resource that groups together many of the interesting web sites covering creation and evolution.
| Web Site of the Month - October 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| “Investigating the facts as to the reliability of the evolution theory” |
This month's web site review looks at a site that presents, as the subtitle says, facts as to the reliability of the evolution theory.
The web site is presented as three frames: the top frame has picture links to various subjects; the left frame contains links to the subject matter; and the right frame contains the detailed information. The transitions to the detailed information are quite interesting.
The links cover the following subjects:
The material presented on the web site will be updated in time and you can identify new material with a moving "new" icon.
All in all, this is a very well done web site that presents much material regarding the evolution theory. The site also provides links to other resources on the net that provide more detailed information on the presented subjects.
| Web Site of the Month - November 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| "Presenting Scientific Evidences for a Biblical Creation" |
This month's web site review looks at the home page for the Creation Network. This network was established as a one-hour mini-television network in March of 1999 on the network Angel One (owned and operated by Dominion Sky Angel, Inc.). The programming has been split into two half-hour programs; "Creation Discoveries" and "The Forum". The network hopes to expand and soon reach over 100 million viewers. The web site provides links to the air time of currently scheduled programs and information about how tapes can be purchased for programs shown in the past.
The web site also provides information about "The X-Nilo Show", which is a half-hour children's science show. The site claims that you can watch this show online if you have RealPlayer8, but I could not make it work.
The home page also provides a link to "News" which provides information about new programming material available for purchase and news in general about the network.
Also on the home page there is a link to "Seminar Series" which provides information about the following programs:
It is interesting to know that this network exists and what kind of programming it offers.
| Web Site of the Month - December 2002 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| How to deal with the emergence of “scientific” creationism. |
This month’s web site review looks at the research guide that the University of Wisconsin Library provides to undergraduates covering the subject of Evolution vs. Creationism.
The scope of the guide provides the following background: “The continuing ideological struggle between evolutionists and creationists has entered a new phase with the emergence of ‘scientific’ creationism. Scientific creationists believe the creation of the universe took place in six days as described in the Bible; they seek to prove it by scientific evidence and by disproving evolutionary studies. This subject guide focuses on resources which cover the scientific nature of evolution versus creationism, as well as disputes over teaching scientific creationism in public schools and its presentation in textbooks.”
The material the Library recommends as resources in their research guide is organized as follows: Overview, Finding Journal & News Articles, Finding Books, Internet Sites, Videos, Organizations, Return to Research Guide List. Although most of the material referenced in the guide is only available to students of the University of Wisconsin, what it recommends shows the impact that scientific creationism is having in our universities.
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