Everything Says, “GLORY!” (Jim Albright)

Our pathways crossed some years ago when I was introduced to Jim Albright and helped him get his first book into print. We kept in contact, and some months ago, he reached out to me and mentioned he was ready to do his second book–and would I help him to do so? Well, the pleasure was all mine!

In the book, Jim Albright really does a great job to undermine and demolish some of the axiomatic beliefs of evolution. And what is so useful about it is that he uses many “insider” quotes from the evolutionists themselves in pointing out the weaknesses and inconsistencies of their assumptions and conclusions. As the blurb on the back cover of the book puts it,

In seven articulately written chapters, Jim Albright persuasively pinpoints and exposes the pseudo-scientific tenets of macro-evolutionary thinking. Replete with quotations from scientists across many disciplines, this is a book that every Christian should own. Missionary Keith Jones is right, “The best part of this book is that it will provoke you to a whole new level of worship!”

The book comes with several compelling endorsements, such as

“. . . a staggering number of relevant (often shocking) quotations from scientists and researchers.”—Professor Don Whitney
“Albright makes the case in a way that causes you to say, ‘How could it be possible to believe in evolution?’”—Pastor Jim Elliff
“. . . utilizes scientific and logical evidence to expose the lie that evolution is.”—Professor Jim Ehrhard
“My advice, dear reader, . . . sincerely contemplate what you find in these pages.”—Pastor Lance Quinn
“. . . your tongue and heart are loosed to speak what you know is true with confidence and assurance.”—Missionary Alan Johnston
“A great resource for the church . . . a layman’s synopsis.”—Pastor Brad Vaden
“. . . a treasure of quotable science.”—Pastor Dow Welsh
“Read this book closely; think deeply; observe inquisitively; worship passionately.”—Pastor Doug Richey
“The best part of this book is that it will provoke you to a whole new level of worship.”—Missionary Keith Jones

Peacock and Poppycock

My colonial and English background make me rather like the word “poppycock.” Jim uses it to good effect in some descriptive text. There is a peacock motif that runs through the book. That was really why the cover was so important to “get right.” Below is the text from some early matter in the book:

About the Cover

So, why the peacock feather on the cover? Because Charles Darwin hated it. He wrote, “The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!”^[i]

The obvious problem was that he did not know how to plausibly explain this large, mathematically patterned, jewel-colored, gratuitous display of beauty in evolutionary terms. A peacock tail can stand five feet high. And all those cumbersome feathers are most inconvenient regarding the chief survival-of-the-fittest issue—namely, not being eaten. This was no small dilemma for Mr. Darwin.

In keeping with his general approach to science, Darwin concocted a story. Give the man credit. He knew how to weave a narrative. This is, of course, the foremost skill of his disciples. Storytelling is far less bothersome than engaging in the exacting rigors of real science.

Darwin proposed a theory of sexual selection. That is, peahens prefer peacocks with the best tails. Best meaning, the biggest and most colorful. The gaudier the tail, Darwin surmised, the better the peacock would fare with the peahens, and consequently pass on more of the flamboyant plumage genes to male offspring.

Oops. Yeah, this doesn’t actually happen. This is where storytelling, as opposed to truly doing science, puts one in a bit of a bind. A “seven-year study that observed 268 matings”^[ii] conducted by scientists seeking to confirm Darwin’s theory, found that peacock sexual selection based upon the coolest tail, is, and sorry, I couldn’t resist borrowing Ph.D. David Catchpoole’s quote, “poppycock.”^[iii]

The “tail tale”^[iv] is the perfect parable of Darwinian evolutionary theory. It’s all just unsubstantiated anecdotes. Regarding the macro-Darwinian hypothesis, there is no hard data. Zero. But oh, what a fanciful myth of unparalleled imagination has been fabricated for the incurious and unwary!

Darwin hated the peacock feather. It makes no evolutionary sense. Exactly!

[i] Charles Darwin and Francis Darwin, The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, including an Autobiographical Chapter, Vol. 2 (New York: D. Appleton, 1911), 90-91.

[ii] Catchpoole, D., Peacock tail tale failure, creation.com/tale, 2008. (Creation 31(2):56–Jun 2008).

[iii] Catchpoole, D., https://creation.com/peacock-poppycock (Creation 29(2):56 – Mar 2007).

[iv] Ibid.