15 February 2021
Creationism is what drew me into skepticism. Back in the 90s when I was lecturing in software development, I had a work colleague who was a young earth creationist. Seemingly rational in other areas of his life, and very intelligent, he was nevertheless hooked on “creation science”. It showed to me how even smart people can be taken in when they have an emotional stake in the topic.
1 August 2010
Bernard Beckett (Skeptic 95 , p8) says the ability of Creationism to make the same predictions as evolutionary psychology shows that the latter is not a scientific process. But the same is equally true of evolutionary biology. ("God made cats resemble tigers, and apples resemble pears, because He felt like it.") The fault is with Creationism, not evolution. An omnipotent Creator can be used to explain/predict absolutely anything, not only the universe as it is, but any other universe, possible or im-. You might say that Creationism, like Nostradamus and astrology, is very good for predicting the past. That is their fundamental failing.
1 November 2008
I am a skeptic when it comes to psychics, mediums and anything to do with the 'paranormal'. Over the last couple of years, I have watched perhaps four or five episodes of the popular show Sensing Murder, each time growing more annoyed.
1 May 2008
A strange transformation has overtaken the murky world of the creationists. This article is based on a presentation to the 2007 NZ Skeptics Conference.
1 November 2007
The teaching of evolution in New Zealand schools may seem secure, but it has faced many challenges, and these appear to be on the increase. This article is based on a presentation at the Evolution 2007 Conference, Christchurch.
1 November 2006
Jim Ring finds some material to pass the time on a recent flight.
1 May 2002
Netsurfer Science is a website every skeptic should bookmark. It provides a good lead-in to many science and skeptic-related sites and issues on the web. Here are a couple of recent items.
1 February 1998
Ten or twenty years ago, prominent overseas creationists once toured in a blaze of publicity. They spoke in public schools and received plenty of air time on National Radio and prime time TV. Some of us were out there fighting, and we felt we won most of the major battles.
1 November 1997
AS MOST readers will now be aware, the Ian Plimer/Allen Roberts court case has been adjudicated, and the results for Ian were not as he had hoped. The case was brought under federal Trade Practices legislation and state Fair Trading legislation and concerned two issues. The first was a breach of copyright action, where Ian's co-applicant, David Fasold, alleged that Roberts had used a diagram, Fasold's intellectual property, without permission. The second issue alleged that, in his lectures and sale of tapes, etc, Roberts had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in pursuit of trade.
1 February 1997
NZCSIOP does not take a stand against religious belief, per se, and many Christians are committed Skeptics. While Mr van der Lingen's essay may appear to contradict this stance, he is not arguing that religious belief is incompatible with being a Skeptic; he is only challenging some claims and methodologies adopted by those who take a particular set of positions regarding the relationship between evolutionary science and contemporary Christian belief.
1 May 1995
We need to immunise ourselves against this virus too.
1 February 1993
The article on creationism by Barend Vlaardingerbroek (Skeptic 24) contains much with which I would agree, but there are also several points that could be contested.
1 August 1992
Creationists are winning hands-down in the publicity stakes, despite, one presumes, no real assistance in the form of Divine Guidance.
1 May 1992
In reference to Ruth Walker's article "Absurdities of Creationism" [Skeptic 22], I would like to remind fellow Skeptics that it is not only "fundamentalist" Christian schools that teach creationism.
1 February 1992
Fundamentalists suffer contortions in trying to make their assumptions fit Biblical accounts.
1 November 1988
An 80-minute cassette of excerpts from Hugh Young's "World of Science" radio series—ESP?, Astrology*, Creationism, Phrenology, and how to recognise pseudoscience.
1 May 1988
On Sunday, 24 May, there was broadcast on the Commercial programmes a debate on Evolution-Creationism. The host was George Balani and our member, Gordon Hewitt, spoke for evolution and Dr Arthur Wilder-Smith defended creationism. This debate provided the perfect example of creationist technique in action. How do creationists do it?
1 November 1987
Stephen Jay Gould, the world's best known palaeontologist, was approached by a creationist in Auckland after a lecture.