The scientists in this chapter brought creation science back from its apparent coma. These were brave men who
fought the establishment and won a hearing. Their books, lectures, and influence - along with their science -
demonstrated to millions that the evidence supported creation all along, and that Darwinism was only a facade
hiding numerous and serious evidential problems. The chapter concludes by examining trends in creation science
at the start of the Third Millennium.
 A. E. Wilder-Smith 1915 - 1995
The Intelligent Design Movement is big news today, but did you know much of the
scientific reasoning behind it came from a European organic chemist?
William Dembski, author of several key books in the ID movement, credits Dr. A. E.
Wilder-Smith for the inspiration to make the study of origins his life’s work.
Dean Kenyon, the evolutionary origin of life researcher turned creationist, called
Dr. Wilder-Smith one of the two or three most important scientists in his life.
Much of the literature coming out of the modern intelligent design movement contains
echoes of powerful arguments made by A. E. Wilder-Smith decades ago.
In his books and tapes, Arthur Edward Wilder-Smith stressed the importance of
information in biology, stressing that the materialist’s formula for
the life, energy + matter + time, was deficient because it left out the
factor information. He convincingly argued that the information in DNA,
in its translation, had to follow a language convention which presupposed
an agreement between parties needing to communicate with one another. For example,
he explained how SOS is a meaningless sequence of letters unless there has been a
convention (a “coming together” agreement, in advance) that it is a signal
for distress. Similarly, the DNA triplet codon for alanine, GCC, looks and smells nothing
like alanine, by itself. Unless both the translation mechanism (the ribosome)
and the DNA code both have a convention that GCC means alanine, it means nothing at
all. This, he explained, was prima facie evidence of intelligent design.
He also argued effectively against Thomas Huxley’s old monkey-typewriter analogy,
the claim that a million monkeys typing on a million typewriters
would eventually produce Psalm 23 by chance, given enough time. Wilder-Smith pointed
out a fatal flaw that
undermined the whole argument. By showing that since the chemical
reactions that would have led to life in a primordial soup are reversible,
that fact rendered the analogy useless – in the monkeys’ case, if the
letters fell off the page as soon as they were typed, no meaningful sequence would
ever be produced. Huxley, therefore, had cheated by claiming that the letters
typed would remain on the page. The laws of chemistry do not permit that sort
of stability in chemical evolution scenarios.
With points like this, he argued that creation was scientific and naturalistic
evolution was unscientific.
As a highly qualified organic chemist, A. E. Wilder-Smith was uniquely
positioned to critique so-called “chemical evolution.” This
kindly gentleman was merciless in his attacks on Miller, Oparin, Fox and other
evolutionists who claimed to be making progress explaining life’s origin by
chance and necessity. His effectiveness stemmed not from vituperative ability
or rhetoric, but rather – because of his intimate acquaintance with the facts of
chemistry – from calm, rational dismantling of the philosophical and
scientific assumptions underlying his opponents’ errors: i.e., from scientific
arguments that could not be denied by any knowledgeable chemist. Dr. Wilder-Smith
was one of the first to emphasize the necessity
for one-handed molecules to hold genetic information (see online book),
and to apply the laws of thermodynamics and equilibrium to discussions of the origin of life.
A. E. Wilder-Smith was one of few scientists in the world to have three
earned doctorates. He obtained his first Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry at
Reading University, England in 1941. A research scientist during the war, he
subsequently became a fellow of the University of London, and then director of
research for a Swiss pharmaceutical company. After becoming a full professor
at the University of Geneva, he earned a second doctorate in pharmacology there, and
later, a third in pharmacological sciences at
ETH, a senior university in Zurich, Switzerland. In addition, he was a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a NATO three-star general!
Dr. Wilder-Smith was not only an expert on chemotherapy, pharmacology, organic chemistry,
and biochemistry, but
a gifted teacher and popular public speaker. He did not shy away from entering
the lions’ den of the evolutionary establishment. At a time when communism was
strong and evolutionary science reigned with unchallenged bravado,
he was like a Daniel with seemingly divine power to shut his opponents’ mouths. Once, in a manner
reminiscent of Paul turning the Pharisees and Sadducees against each other (see
Acts 23),
he got the better of a hostile audience of Finnish and Russian students by referring to a word that
meant one thing in Finnish and another in Russian. The Finns, who despised the Russians,
were incensed to hear him claiming this word had the Russian meaning, but the Russians agreed
with him. As they
were shouting at one another, the English jumped in and argued that the word was a
meaningless syllable. Thus the professor made his point effectively: without a
language convention, a sequence of letters carries no information. Dr. Wilder-Smith
confronted communists with scientific arguments that undermined their political philosophy.
God only knows how much his work contributed to the eventual demise of communism, but it
certainly affected numerous individual communists.
A. E. Wilder-Smith is also probably responsible
for Richard Dawkins refusing to debate creationists any more. In 1986,
Wilder-Smith and Edgar Andrews debated the two leading evolutionists in
Britain, Richard Dawkins and John Maynard Smith, at Oxford – a lions’ den
with the two strongest Darwinian lions in Europe. Yet even there, over a third
– almost half – of the
staunchly pro-evolution audience voted that the creation side had won the debate.
The vote count became a contentious
issue. There were claims of a cover-up by the Oxford Student Union.
The AAAS was accused of lying about the vote count and didn’ correct it even when confronted
(see article).
The evolutionists apparently were embarrassed that the creationists made such a strong
showing. For whatever reason, Dawkins no longer will debate creationists.
Reports from those in attendance say that, contrary to the ground rules of the debate,
the Dawkins and Maynard Smith repeatedly attacked religion, while
the creationists used only scientific arguments. Dawkins himself had to be
reprimanded by the moderator for attacking Wilder-Smith about his religious views.
Dawkins implored the audience not to give any votes to the creationists lest it be a
“blot on the escutcheon of ancient University of Oxford” (an odd
remark, considering Oxford was founded by Christians).
After the debate, details of the event were lost by the University. Normally, Oxford Union debates are big news,
given prominent publicity in the press, radio and television. This one, however,
which should have rivaled the historic 1860 Huxley-Wilberforce debate in importance,
and indeed was even titled the ’Huxley Memorial Debate,”
was silently dropped from the radar screen. In his memoirs, Dr. Wilder-Smith
wrote, “No records of my having held the lecture as part of the Oxford Union
Debate could be found in any library. No part of the official media breathed
a word about it. So total is the current censorship on any effective criticism
of New-Darwinian science and on any genuine alternative.”
A sought-after public speaker, Dr. A. E. Wilder-Smith shared his insights with tens of
thousands throughout America and Europe. His rapport with audiences made them
feel at home with even difficult scientific concepts as he would occasionally glance
into their faces to see whether they “got it” and, if not, would ask who
needed a term or concept explained before he went on. With charming simplicity
he could be found discussing comfortably everything from black holes to one-handed
molecules, or Shannon information theory, time dilation, DNA transcription, AIDS,
criminal psychology, history, natural theology, natural selection or why God allows suffering.
He was no mere talking head. A devoted husband and father of five children, a devout
born-again Christian, and an unquestionably capable scientist, he left no chinks in
his armor. To the consternation of his scientific colleagues, here was a
young-earth creationist they could not pigeonhole as an ignoramus. He could
not only hold his own among the best of them, he could make his opponents turn tail
and run for cover.
Wilder-Smith authored over 70 scientific publications and more than 30 books, some of which
have been published in 17 languages and are still in print. Many of today’s
leading creationist consider
him a major influence in their own intellectual development, and call him a
pioneer in anti-evolution arguments.
Dr. A. E. Wilder-Smith appeared prominently in an award-winning creation film series called
Origins: How the World Came to Be.
Still available from ChristianAnswers.net,
this series keeps his wit and wisdom alive. It’s a good way to become acquainted
with the man and his message. In one episode, he holds up a living plant and a dead
stick to the energy of the sun and asks the viewer what is the difference.
If energy is all that is necessary to produce life, why does one
grow, and the other decay? Clearly, the energy must be directed through programmed
instructions and conversion mechanisms to harness the energy for growth.
Such pithy illustrations using familiar objects are a good teacher’s art.
In another taped lecture (The Seven Main Postulates
of Evolution), he holds up a sardine can. Could life evolve from this can? he
asks. After all, it has all the ingredients necessary for life, because they were
once alive. It’s an open system, too: we can heat it or cool it any way we
wish. Everyone knows that nothing will happen. If new life could originate
from the can, he points out, the food processing industry would be in turmoil, because
no one would be able to predict what new life-forms would be found in our food.
He drives the point home by asking what would happen if the genetic program
for E. coli bacteria were inserted into the can: an explosion of life would result.
Clearly, matter and energy are insufficient to produce life under the best of conditions;
the essential ingredient is information, in the form of the genetic instructions and
processing apparatus to utilize the matter and energy to carry out the program.
The time you are taking reading this short biography of a great creation
scientist might be better spent listening to Dr. Wilder-Smith himself.
Fortunately, friends have made a website in his honor:
WilderSmith.org, with information about his
books, tapes, videos and articles. So after reading this, go browsing and learn
more; download some audio files and listen.
To know A. E. Wilder-Smith from his legacy of literature and lectures is to love him, not
only as a great scientist and thinker, but as a winsome Christian man of integrity.
He had the look of a kindly grandfather. His disarming personal appearance belied
the sharp intellect inside. His soft-spoken and unhurried speech, seasoned with
wry humor, had a way of getting right to the heart of important issues and conveying
difficult concepts in terms accessible to everyone. A masterful teacher, he
won the “Golden Apple” award three years in a row at the University of
Illinois Medical Center for the best course of lectures. The last one was
inscribed, “He made us not only better scientists, but better men.”
Despite his busy schedule, A. E. Wilder-Smith loved classical music and enjoyed
hiking in the Swiss alps. The music of Haydn’s Creation reminded him
of God’s creativity described in Genesis. Of his outdoor experiences he said,
“In God’s beautiful nature, with the colorfully blossoming mountain meadows
in front of you and the gigantic snow-capped ten thousand footers behind them, the
murmuring brooks beside you and the ringing of the cow-bells around you, hearts
automatically begin to admire God’s creation and wisdom and cannot but praise
the intelligence behind such manifold beauty.”
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Learn More About
A. E. Wilder-Smith
Browse the Wilder-Smith website.
Order the videos Origins: How the World Came to Be from
ChristianAnswers.net.
Read about the 1986 Oxford Debate scandal and cover-up by
George Cooper and Paul Humber.
A recording of the Oxford Debate has surfaced after being forgotten and is now available. A New
Zealander had bought them in 1986 from an Englishman who had purchased the copyright to the
tape, but then he forgot about them for 17 years. In 2003, when he was involved in a discussion
about the debate, he remembered he had the tapes and has now made it available on CD.
Order here.
Read
testimonials
from scientists in the biography of A. E. Wilder-Smith by
his wife Beate, entitled Fulfilled Journey: The Wilder-Smith Memoirs.
To find his books, enter "A E Wilder-Smith" (in quotes) in a book search on
Amazon.com. Inquire for audio tapes from
Chapel Tapes, P.O. Box 8000, Costa Mesa, CA 92628, 800-272-WORD.
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 Henry Morris 1918 - 2006
The man considered the “father of the modern creationist movement,” a prolific
author, scientist and founder of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), died Feb. 25, 2006
at age 87 after a series a small strokes. His memorial service, a celebration of a
consistent and profitable life, attracted leading creationists from around the world.
Dr. Henry M. Morris, Jr. (PhD, hydraulic engineering, Rice University)
and Dr. John Whitcomb awakened a slumbering church in
1961 with The Genesis Flood, a book that many have claimed marked the beginning of the modern
creationist movement. The book presented convincing scientific evidence against long ages and for a global watery
cataclysm. In 1970, Morris left Virginia Tech where he was head
of the department of civil engineering, to pursue his creation activities full time.
With Dr. Duane Gish, a biochemist from UC Berkeley, Morris formed the Institute for Creation
Research. The fledgling work, begun on a shoestring, soon grew into the leading
creationist research institute in the world and added a museum and graduate school.
Morris and Gish debated hundreds of scientists on college campuses across America and
around the world. His 50+ books, unabashedly Christian and literally Biblical but also
very astute about science and the history of evolutionary thought, have had an enormous impact
on generations of readers.
Gentle and soft-spoken in person but impregnable with a pen, Dr. Henry Morris
was still writing things up to his final few days. The breadth and depth of subjects
he wrote about is remarkable. His mind stayed sharp mind through age 87. The work at ICR continues under
the leadership of his son John Morris, a PhD in geological engineering. The institute has begun
several new research projects including one in genetics, after the recent conclusion of its 8-year RATE project,
an interdisciplinary analysis of radioactive dating by 11 scientists.
In 2002, ICR hosted a large, well-attended
conference at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa called “Passing the Torch of Creation,”
where Morris received a standing ovation after being introduced to speak at one of his last
public appearances. He will be missed by all who loved him and his work; indeed,
even his pro-Darwinist enemies will probably pay their respects. While denouncing his
beliefs, they never could deny his personal character, integrity and influence.
His many books, along with audio and video recordings, and not least the institution he founded,
will ensure that Dr. Henry M. Morris, Jr. will remain near to the creation movement he revived.
Dr. Morris demonstrated how one man, committed to God and
his word, can make a difference. Almost every creationist leader today is indebted
to his life and works. In the 1960s there were very few books on creation.
Evolution dominated the textbooks and most churches, intimidated by science, preferred to avoid the issue.
Henry Morris’s first small paperback, The Bible and Modern Science, began to change things.
Then The Genesis Flood electrified a new generation of college-educated Christians.
Liberal churches had long since given in to Darwinism completely, and many Bible-believing
churches had capitulated to long ages and uniformitarianism. Assuming that science
had proved deep time, they merely tried to accommodate it with compromises like the gap theory
or progressive creation.
Morris and Whitcomb demonstrated that it was possible to
look at the fossil record and the geological strata in a new way that corroborated the
Bible record of a world-wide flood. Not only that, they showed how the scientific
evidence was superior to that of the evolutionists. A new army of creation scientists launched into further
investigations that continue to the present day. New organizations, like the
Bible-Science Association and the Creation Research Society, were formed and numerous
spin-off clubs and societies have kept the creation movement growing in strength and extent
around the world. Almost all of them can trace some ancestry back to ICR.
Henry Morris never boasted about himself but always sought to honor Jesus Christ
and remain faithful to God's word. He was aware to the last of the crucial nature of
this intellectual battle. The battle has become more heated than ever.
Having passed the torch on to a new generation, he didn’t
leave the field, but continued to challenge and encourage others to the end. Dr. Morris
has been the Moses of modern creationism. His personal endurance,
patience and integrity, and the wisdom of his books, need to inspire a new generation
of Joshuas and Calebs to be strong and very courageous, and to take back the land,
for good science and the glory of God.
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Learn More About
Henry Morris
The best source for information on Dr. Morris is the website of the Institute for Creation
Research that he founded: ICR.
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Materialism