The Scopes Monkey Trial Centennial – Part 2

by | Jul 18, 2025 | Origins

The Scopes trial of 1925 was a pivotal case for the teaching of evolution in public schools.  At that time the State of Tennessee did not permit the evolution of man from lower primates to be taught in state-funded schools according to the Butler Act.  Many other states had similar laws.  The ACLU sought to challenge the validity of this law by offering to defend anyone accused of violating it.  John Scopes agreed to be prosecuted.  From a legal perspective, the trial was about whether Scopes had violated the Butler Act.  But the defense attorney Clarence Darrow wanted to use this trial to discredit Christianity in general and creation in particular.  He secured the written testimony of eight experts on the science of evolution.  None of these were seen by the jury because the judge ruled that they were irrelevant to the legal issue of the trial.  We examined three of these expert testimonies in part 1 and found that their arguments have not aged well.  We here examine the testimonies of the remaining five experts.

The Scopes Monkey Trial Centennial – Part 1

by | Jul 11, 2025 | Apologetics, Origins

July 10, 2025, marked the 100th anniversary of the start of the famous “Scopes Monkey Trial,” in which John Scopes was accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.  The trial was the inspiration for the heavily fictionized play (and subsequent movies) Inherit the Wind.  The Scopes trial was considered a victory for the teaching of evolution in public schools.   But what actually happened at this trial?  Was the scientific evidence really a powerful refutation of biblical creation?  Would it stand up to modern scrutiny?

Mature Galaxies Continue to Challenge Secular Models

by | Nov 17, 2023 | Astronomy, Origins

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has again revealed evidence that challenges the secular origins story and confirms biblical creation.  A team of researchers has discovered evidence of a barred spiral galaxy in the distant universe.  This is further evidence that mature galaxies exist at a distance where the secular view predicted only “infant” galaxies should exist.

The Historical Adam – Part 8: Closing Remarks

by | Jan 7, 2022 | Apologetics, Origins, Refuting the Critics, Theology

In this final segment, we continue to critique William Lane Craig’s claim that Genesis 1-11 is mytho-history. The New Testament often quotes from the Old Testament as if the events recorded therein actually happened. Craig attempted to show that some such references may not be endorsing the historicity of such events, but merely using them as literary illustrations. However, none of the examples he provided suggested anything other than a reference to actual historical events. There is nothing wrong with using a fictional story to illustrate a point. But there is no evidence that any biblical author thought of Genesis as anything but straightforward history.