Note: This is a condensed version of the original. The editing was done by David H. Bailey, who posted this to eyring-l.
Clark A. Peterson, Using the Book of Mormon to Combat Falsehoods in Organic Evolution. Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 1992. ii + 196 pp., with subject index. $10.95.
Lamarck, Giraffes, and the Sermon on the Mount
Reviewed by Michael F. Whiting
I have always been pleased that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have not felt it necessary to hop on the bandwagon of some fundamentalist Christian groups which publish outlandish creationist literature. Generally speaking, the poverty of scholarship demonstrated in these publications is only rivaled by that of most anti-Mormon publications. Unfortunately, the old creationist arguments have been resurrected and placed in a book with "Book of Mormon" in its title, which gives the book a sense of authenticity that the other creationist books lack.
The author attributes the impetus for writing this book to a statement by President Benson:
"Our family may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book [of Mormon] to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, etc." (p. 1)
The author undertakes to dismantle evolutionary theory with little regard to the qualifying word in President Benson's statement: falsehoods. There is no doubt in my mind that there are falsehoods in evolutionary theory; scientific theories are generally in need of revision and correction. My purpose as a reviewer, however, is to judge whether the author has been fair in his presentation of the evidence on the issue and whether this evidence supports the arguments he makes. I will first critique the "scientific" arguments constructed by Peterson and then point out flaws in his theologically based arguments.
The author has not remained true to his title since roughly the last 100 pages consist of evolution bashing from a framework independent of Book of Mormon or other scriptural sources. He uses arguments that he considers scientific, which are based on misunderstandings of the nature of science and the manner in which science operates; these are simply a rehash of arguments found in any creationist literature.
Some of the touchstones for judging the scholarship of any book that attempts to "combat" anything else are the depth of the author's understanding of alternative positions, the reliability of sources brought into play, fairness in presenting all positions, and the author's ability to weigh conflicting evidence. Peterson's work fails on all accounts. Misstatements of fact and theory occur on almost every page and would be too tedious to deal with individually. Out of roughly 100 sources cited, only six originate from the biological literature, and the author seems blissfully unaware that even these are now mostly outdated. Indeed, the conspicuous absence of even the most basic recent works on evolutionary theory is troublesome. The majority of the author's understanding of evolutionary theory appears to have been derived from watching television programs and reading creationist literature. These sources can hardly be expected to represent accurately a very large body of theory and certainly cannot be considered authoritative references for the theory of evolutionary biology.
Peterson's definitions of evolution are incorrect. Initially he adheres to a definition taken from Webster's Dictionary: "[evolution is] a process of continuous change from a lower or simpler to a higher or more complex state" (p. 14). Later, under his description of what he terms the "evolution model," the author states that "all events must occur at random by natural processes without purpose, directions, or goals" (p. 68) and "it is the evolutionary concept that everything happened by chance" (p. 31). These definitions are not only outdated, the second two contradict the first! The currently accepted definition of evolution -- which has been around for at least thirty years -- is entirely absent from the book.
The author demonstrates confusion over the manner in which science operates when he concludes that "since evolution is a dogmatic religious belief based on faith, not scientific evidence, it should be excluded from the science curriculum" (p. 153). He states that the observations evolution makes are not "repeatable, confirmable, and subject to test and rejection" (p. 158). He asserts that scientists must use faith to accept the assumption that evolution is true (p. 79). These statements are false. ...
Peterson's theologically based arguments can be divided into three types. The first is an authoritarian approach by which he reiterates statements made by General Authorities concerning evolution. While he includes some important statements made by those who opposed evolution, he has omitted statements by other General Authorities who were more open to the possibility of an evolutionary process of some sort. It is unfortunate that the author did not completely review all statements, since it would be interesting to compare them side by side.
In the second type of theological argument, the author (mis)states a principle of evolution and then quotes a scripture which he feels demonstrates the inconsistency of that principle with scripture. In order for this type of argument to hold any weight it is essential that (1) the scientific principle be presented accurately, (2) the scripture be interpreted within reasonable bounds as usually set by context, (3) the applicability of the scripture to the principle be demonstrated, and (4) a direct conflict between the principle and scripture be established. Unfortunately, none of the author's arguments meets all four criteria. ...
The third type of theological argument Peterson uses to combat evolution is condemnation by association. Through the use of ad hominem fallacies, backed up with a scriptural justification, the author suggests that the earliest proponents of evolutionary theory were anti-Christs. This is really the only place where the Book of Mormon is called into play in any significant manner, as the author quotes the stories of Sherem, Korihor, and Zeezrom at length. In the preface the author describes this tactic:
"People in our day who have promoted doctrines in the name of science can be compared to people in the Book of Mormon who have been deceived by Satan and have promoted his doctrines. By exposing the origins of some of the accepted scientific theories, and by analyzing them, we can determine which theories are true, and which ones are false."
According to this type of argument, if it can be demonstrated that the early proponents of a theory were bad men, we can simply dismiss their theories without consideration. This is perhaps the weakest form of argumentation since it relies exclusively on the character of a proponent, which has little to do with the veracity of the theory he espouses. ...
It becomes quickly clear in the early pages that the author thinks all of evolutionary theory is falsehood. He merely dichotomizes evolution and religion, leaving no room for any intermediate position: "We can be enticed to believe in man's theory of evolution, or we can choose to believe in the scriptures and believe in creation" (p. 5). By doing so, he ignores the possibility that God used natural laws to create the grand diversity of life and that evolutionary biology is simply trying to explain some of these laws in a scientific framework. To this position he responds: "to accept this theory is to compromise the scriptures to conform to scientific beliefs" (p. 62).
One of the major problems with this book is that the author draws no distinction between the doctrine of creation and his own personal interpretation of the mechanistic details of creation. He falls back on the scripture: "if ye believe in Christ, ye shall believe in these words" (p. 1). Why we should believe in his interpretation of the details of creation, however, is left poorly defended. His logic amounts to (1) creation is a true and scripturally well-supported doctrine; (2) therefore, any detail culled from the scriptures (as he interprets them) that conflicts with evolutionary theory must be correct; and, as a corollary, (3) the more it conflicts, the more correct it must be. This is a convenient style of argumentation for the author because he does not need to demonstrate that his interpretations are well founded in scripture, only that they conflict with evolution. ...
The author has omitted reference to the more moderate viewpoint of Brigham Young regarding the time frame of creation as well as the geology of Lyell. Brigham Young felt that long creation periods were not only in harmony with scriptural accounts, but were also evidence for the veracity of the Mormon interpretation of creation. He states:
"I am not astonished that infidelity prevails to a great extent among the inhabitants of the earth, for the religious teachers of the people advance many ideas and notions for truth which are in opposition to and contradict facts demonstrated by science, and which are generally understood. You take, for instance, our geologists, and they tell us that this earth has been in existence for thousands and millions of years. They think, and they have good reason for their faith, that their researches and investigations enable them to demonstrate that this earth has been in existence as long as they assert it has. . . . In these respects we differ from the Christian world, for our religion will not clash with or contradict the facts of science in any particular. You may take geology, for instance, and it is true science; not that I would say for a moment that all the conclusions and deductions of its professors are true, but its leading principles are; they are facts -- they are eternal; and to assert that the Lord made the earth out of nothing is preposterous and impossible. . . . How long it's been organized is not for me to say, and I do not care anything about it. As to the Bible account of the creation we may say that the Lord gave it to Moses. If we understood the process of creation there would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there is no mystery except to the ignorant."
Using the Book of Mormon to Combat Falsehoods in Organic Evolution is a disappointing book riddled with sloppy scholarship, flimsy arguments, unsupported scriptural interpretations, and misrepresentation of fact and theory. Stylistically, the presentation is difficult to follow, and the author seems distracted as he jumps from point to point without any clear direction. Organization of thoughts and ideas is weak, and the author has considerable difficulty expressing his arguments clearly and succinctly. In addition, the book is filled with rather paranoid insinuations of conspiracy and cover-up.
Peterson unwittingly demonstrates something most of us already know: while the Book of Mormon tells us that God is the Creator, that creation was orderly, and that creation serves a vital purpose in his plan, it gives very few details about the mechanics of creation (or the details of how to fix a car, for that matter). If individuals are interested in creationism they should go elsewhere; they will find more compelling and better formulated arguments in other creationist publications.
The author's fundamental misunderstanding of evolutionary theory and the nature of scientific inquiry, as well as his poorly defended scriptural interpretations and questionable applications, should be sufficient reason not to take this book very seriously. As aptly stated by James E. Talmage:
"The opening chapters of Genesis, and scriptures related thereto, were never intended as a textbook of geology, archaeology, earth-science, or man-science. Holy Scripture will endure, while the conceptions of men will change with new discoveries. We do not show reverence for the scriptures when we misapply them through faulty interpretation."
Or one could simply use the same argument to dismiss this book as the author uses to dismiss Darwin: (1) since Darwin had little formal education in science, he was not qualified to produce such an influential theory (p. 55), and (2) because Darwin had ulterior motives, his objectivity in analyzing data is brought into question (p. 56). Ironically, by his own logic the author condemns his own work.