Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels

Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels – Book & DVD

Various Authors (Ed. Robert Carter) – Creation Ministries International

• Book – 272 pages, £8.00, (eBooks also available in a range of formats).
• DVD – 96mins, £12.50, (The film is also available for download).
• Book and DVD set, £18.00.

All available from Creation Ministries International.

The story of Achilles is famous in classical mythology. Fearing that in the future he would be killed in battle, his mother took him as a baby and holding him by the ankle dipped him in the river Styx, the doing of which was said to impart invulnerability. Achilles became a great warrior, however, one day he was struck by a poisoned arrow in the heel of his foot where his mother has been holding him. This was the one part of his body that had not come into contact with the water and therefore was not protected. As a result, Achilles died and the term ‘Achilles Heel’ has entered our vocabulary to refer to a weakness in an otherwise invulnerable person or object.

In the 21^st century, evolution seems much like Achilles – an invulnerable warrior defeating all opposition. In every aspect of modern life evolutionary theory is promoted and the vast majority of people believe it without question. We come across this regularly at school, college, university and work. As Bible believing Christians, if we do dare to challenge evolution and promote the idea of creation and a creator God we are very often subjected to mockery and derision or labelled as religious nutcases.

People tend to embrace an evolutionary worldview for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it negates any need to believe in a creator God to whom they would then be accountable. Secondly, most people have never properly thought about it. In reality, this is the fundamental problem; the education system, the media and our culture in general have brainwashed people into believing that the theory of evolution is a completely proven, unchallengeable fact. This has been one of the devil’s greatest strategic masterstrokes in his campaign to ‘blind the minds of unbelievers’ – he has convinced people that the answers to the big questions Where did I come from? and Why am I here? do not include God.

The sad thing, is that the theory of evolutionary is in fact just that, a theory. It is a metaphorical house of cards, with no real foundation, which can be successfully challenged. For many Christians, broaching the topic with friends and colleagues can be daunting as we are not clear what the big problems with evolution are and we do not feel qualified or confident to talk about what are seen as scientific subjects.

This book and DVD, both titled Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels, are an excellent resource for assisting Christians to educate themselves on this topic, and to equip themselves for talking to others about it.

Published by Creation Ministries International (CMI), the book Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels includes 8 chapters that each set out one of the key flaws in evolutionary theory. Each chapter is contributed by one of more Ph.D scientists including Donald Batten, Robert Carter, David Catchpoole, John Hartnett, Mark Harwood, Jim Mason, Jonathan Sarfati, Emil Silvestru and Tasman Walker. There is a foreword by Carl Wieland and the book is edited by Robert Carter.

Topics covered in the both the book and DVD are:

• Natural Selection
• Genetics and DNA
• The Origin of Life
• The Fossil Record
• The Geologic Record
• Radiometric Dating
• Cosmology
• Ethics and Morality

The book is clearly laid out in an attractive style with many full colour illustrations and diagrams. It is quite in depth and in parts very scientific. However, whilst initially this may be off-putting for some, it is worth persevering, as the authors do a very good job of explaining the complexities of their subjects. Each chapter has many sections and a comprehensive index means that it can be dipped into as a reference book. I found some chapter more interesting that others (particularly Natural Selection, The Origin of Life and Genetics) but this is just a matter of personal preference – I have never enjoyed geology!

The DVD is well put together and provides an higher level introduction to the subject matter in an accessible way. It is probably the best starting point for getting to grips with the various topics tackled. Whilst it makes an enjoyable and interesting film to watch for 90 minutes, I did find it helpful to watch the relevant section of the DVD before reading the corresponding chapter in the book. The DVD also gives a succinct set of summary points for each topic and it is a shame that these are not repeated at the end of each chapter in the book. Other features on the DVD are:

• Biographies of the scientists involved.
• Over 20 minutes of extended interviews..
• Subtitles in 16 languages: Afrikaans, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.

CMI have also produced a free study guide to accompany the DVD which can be downloaded here. This provides a set of questions relevant to each section of the film, along with links to more in depth articles on the CMI website.

The book and DVD achieve their goal in showing that evolution is fatally flawed – having not just one but many Achilles’ heels. The book is very detailed, whilst the DVD is more accessible as an introduction. Both, however, clearly present their subject matter and will provide ample ammunition for those wanting to challenge the prevailing evolutionary worldview. It is also encouraging for our own faith as Christians to see evolutionary theory so comprehensively undermined.

Highly recommended.