Best of
Skepticism

2001

Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics: Philosophical, Theological, and Scientific Perspectives


Robert T. Pennock - 2001
    This anthology of writings by prominent creationists and their critics focuses on what is novel about the new movement. It serves as a companion to Robert Pennock's Tower of Babel, in which he criticizes the wedge movement, as well as other new varieties of creationism. The book contains articles previously published in specialized, hard-to-find journals, as well as new contributions. Each section contains introductory background information, articles by influential creationists and their critics, and in some cases responses by the creationists. The discussions cover IDC as a political movement, IDC's philosophical attack on evolution, the theological debate over the apparent conflict between evolution and the Bible, IDC's scientific claims, and philosopher Alvin Plantinga's critique of naturalism and evolution. The book concludes with Pennock's Why Creationism Should Not Be Taught in the Public Schools.

Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will to Believe


Karl T. Pflock - 2001
    Did the military recover a crashed "flying saucer" there, along with several extraterrestrial bodies? Has the government gone to great lengths to hide the evidence? Over time these speculations have reached the status of unquestionable truths in the minds of many ufologists.In this definitive study of the Roswell incident, longtime UFO researcher Karl T. Pflock-who is convinced that some UFO reports are real alien sightings-concludes, after an exhaustive investigation, that no alien craft or bodies were ever found at Roswell. Pflock admits at the outset that he too once strongly believed there might be something to the Roswell alien stories, and he describes how he then came to discover the whole truth. Using formerly classified records he proves that the U.S. government has absolutely no physical evidence of aliens, shows how critical weather data completely refute key claims of Roswell believers, and explains why the case now rises and falls on the testimony of just one witness, who cleverly manipulated leading investigators and continues to do so today.Pflock's intensive research and access to once-classified documents-including facsimilies of important formerly classified documents, 28 witness affidavits, and the entire Pratt-Marcel interview transcript-make this book must reading even for UFO buffs-believers and skeptics alike- who feel they know everything about Roswell.