But Science News-Letter pointed to fossils such as those of Neanderthals and Homo erectus as evidence for evolution. Regarding an apparent ape/human skull discovered in Africa in 1924, the magazine said, “There seems to be little doubt that there has been discovered … a most important step in the evolutionary history of man.”

But opponents of evolution weren’t finished. Bans on teaching the theory lasted for another 40 years. However, in the 1960s high school teacher Susan Epperson challenged an Arkansas anti-evolution law. Science News reported, with a hint of sarcasm, “Typically, Arkansas teachers skip [evolution] chapters or tell their students it is illegal to read them, thereby assuring that they will be read.” In 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Arkansas law to be unconstitutional.

In the 1970s and 1980s the movement against evolution theory took on a new look, by adding “science” to “creation” to become “creation science” or “creationism.” This is the belief that the universe and all life were created by God, and the aim in some places was to add creation science to the school curricula. In 1982, Arkansas passed another law named the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against this new Arkansas law, claiming that creationism is not science and that the law would bring religion into the schools and advance a religious belief. A judge agreed, declaring the law unconstitutional based on freedom of religion protected by the First Amendment.

In the 2000s, a new movement related to creationism, but different, came into existence. Intelligent design (ID) was the belief that organisms are too structurally and biochemically complex to have arisen only according to natural forces. The Intelligent Designer was not identified as God or any supernatural being, but a federal judge still ruled ID was religion.

Today several states have passed laws defining “academic freedom” as the right to discuss scientific controversies in public schools, thus allowing teachers to discuss intelligent design and weaknesses of evolution theory. Efforts to prevent the teaching of evolution as fact will continue, and Science News has promised to continue reporting on them.

Comments: Although the modern movement against evolution theory can be said to have begun with the John Scopes trial, forms of belief in evolutionism or the idea that kinds of animals could change into other kinds of animals and humans have been with us since before Christ. Wikipedia mentions the ancient Chinese, the Romans and the Greeks as being among those holding to evolutionist-type notions. This shouldn’t surprise us because unbelief, the resistance to giving the Creator his due, have also been with us since Genesis.

The biggest impediment to allowing a fair discussion of evolutionary theory appears to be the doctrine among secular scientists that religion must be kept separate from science. But this can pose problems. For instance, there is no testable theory for the origin of life. Britannica says, “Perhaps the most fundamental and at the same time the least understood biological problem is the origin of life.” If there is no natural explanation for the origin of life, the solution must then be a supernatural or religious one.

As one who has been studying evolution theory and creationism for 50 plus years, it is my opinion that there are few creationists who want creation science as such to be taught in public schools. Can you imagine what a skeptical public-school teacher would do to creation science if forced to teach it? Yet, science and logic dictate that weaknesses of a hypothesis or theory should be discussed as well as the strengths.

There are plenty of scientific problems with evolutionary theory which ought to be discussed in addition to the origin of life problem. Was there really a big bang at the beginning of the universe and, if so, how could so much of something have so rapidly popped up out of nothing? Is there a genetic explanation for how genes could take on all the new information needed to create a new kind of being? Why do we see no evidence in the modern world of living creatures evolving into different kinds of creatures?

The debate between evolutionists and creationists will likely continue until the end of the world. But at that time everyone will be able to see with his or her eyes the Creator himself. For many people it will be a very happy event that confirms their beliefs. For many others a frightful day that will cause them an immense amount of regret.

Meanwhile, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior see evidence of his existence everywhere, even in deep space. As St. Paul says in Romans 1:20, “In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made. As a result, people are without excuse.”

by Warren Krug

Reference: Erin Wayman, "How attacks on evolution in classrooms have shifted over the last 100 years," Science News [June 17, 2025]. (Photograph of John Scopes by Watson Davis, from Micromedia Commons.)

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

How hot can lightning get?

Lightning reaches upward of 50,000 degrees F. That’s hotter than the sun’s surface!

Source: “Creation Kids: Lightning” Acts & Facts [March/April, 2025], page 23.

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