The Talk.Origins Archive: Debates, Gatherings & Court Decisions

The Talk.Origins Archive: Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy

Debates, Gatherings & Court Decisions

"It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same."

- Thomas Paine,
The American Crisis [1777]

Debates and Gatherings...
Debating Creationists: Some Pointers: The creationists' strength lies in their debating and rhetorical skills. In separate accounts, Scott and Trott describe the tactics of the creationist and provide some pointers for anyone preparing to take one on.
How Not to Argue With Creationists: Certain tactics should be avoided in public debates with creationists, as this continuation of an exchange between James Lippard and Ian Plimer illustrates.
Public Debate with a Creationist: An Account: An account given by one of the participants of a public debate with creationist Ian Taylor of the Creation Science Association of Ontario. This event was notable not only for what transpired at the debate itself, but for the underhanded tactics used by the organizers before and after the debate.
A Debate between Richard Milton and Jim Foley: An email debate on the topic of human evolution between anti-evolutionist Richard Milton and Fossil Hominids author Jim Foley.
Duane Gish at Rutgers University: This exchance between Richard Trott and Duane Gish of the Institute for Creation Research appeared in a student newspaper at Rutgers University.
The Saladin-Gish II Debate [offsite]: Transcript of the 1988 debate held at Auburn University between the ICR's Duane Gish and Professor Ken Saladin of Georgia College.
Account of a Creationist Conference in Oregon: A first-hand account of the 1993 International Creation Conference held in Beaverton, Oregon. This article describes a few of the arguments creationists are currently using as part of their arsenal; some of them could cause the more informed scientist to erupt in giggles.
"Sons of Light": A Visit to the Sixth European Creationist Congress: An account of the 1995 Sixth European Creationist Congress in the Netherlands. This author gives the reader a look at creationist activity in Europe.
Age of the Earth: Debate Between Chris Stassen and Bob Bales: This is the result of an attempted "formal" Usenet debate, with orderly turns between speakers, length limits, and a predetermined topic (the age of the earth). The participants were Bob Bales and Chris Stassen, both high-profile talk.origins readers at the time of the debate.
The Online Miller-Johnson Debate [offsite]: Biologist Kenneth Miller debates creationist lawyer Phillip Johnson on the validity of biological evolution. The online debate forum was provided by PBS's Nova program.
Kansas Evolution Hearings: Transcripts of an Intelligently-Designed "Kangaroo Court": A transcript of the "science hearings" held by a subcommittee of the Kansas Board of Education composed of three creationists in May, 2005. A background article and many relevant links are also provided.
Court Decisions...
McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education: Read the U.S. District Court decision in which "balanced treatment" for creationism and evolution in Arkansas public school science classrooms was ruled unconstitutional.
Edwards v. Aguillard: U.S. Supreme Court Decision: Read the U.S. Supreme Court decision dealing with creationism in public school science classrooms. The majority opinions and the dissenting opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia are provided along with the amicus curiae brief filed by 72 Nobel Prize winning scientists.
Epperson v. Arkansas: U.S. Supreme Court Decision: Read the U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled unconstitutional Arkansas's law forbidding the teaching of evolution in state-supported schools.
Peloza v. Capistrano Unified School District: California public school teacher John Peloza sued his school district, claiming he should not be required to teach evolution or refrain from teaching about his religious beliefs. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him on the substantive portions of his claim.
Daniel v. Waters: Biology teachers, parents, and National Association of Biology Teachers sued in 1975 to overturn Tennessee's "balanced treatment" law. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that requiring creationism to be taught and requiring disclaimers about evolution violated the First Amendment. Also included is Steele v. Waters which the Tennessee Supreme Court agreed with the Sixth Circuit.
Wright v. Houston I.S.D.: Houston, Texas, students sued to prevent the school district from teaching evolution, believing it infringed their First Amendment rights. The federal courts dismissed the case for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be based.
Selman v. Cobb County School District: The decision of the district court stricking down a Cobb County, Georgia requirement that a sticker with a disclaimer be placed on all textbooks that discuss evolution. The amicus curiae brief filed by several pro-science organizations is also included.
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District: Dover, Pennsylvania case which a judge ruled that intelligent design is creationism, is not science, and does not belong in science classes of public schools. Documents here include the decision of the court and the complete trial transcript.
Hendren v. Campbell: A 1977 decision of an Indiana superior court ruling against a textbook produced by the Creation Research Society. In some respects this case resembles a young-earth creationist version of the Kitzmiller case. Introductory material, links, as well as the full text of the judge's memorandum opinion are provided.

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