"Neither evolution nor creation qualifies as a scientific theory." (Creation, Evolution, and Public Education)
"Intelligent Design is Creationism" April 20th, 2007, at Grace Bible Church in Bozeman, MT.
Duane Tolbert Gish is an American biochemist and a prominent member of the
creationist movementCreationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
. Gish is a former vice-president of the
Institute for Creation ResearchThe Institute for Creation Research is a Christian institution in Dallas, Texas that specializes in education, research, and media promotion of Creation Science and Biblical creationism. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as...
(ICR) and the author of numerous publications on the subject of
creation scienceCreation Science or scientific creationism is a branch of creationism that attempts to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove generally accepted scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about the history of the Earth, cosmology...
. Gish has been called "creationism's T.H. Huxley" for the way he "relished the confrontations" of formal debates with prominent evolutionists, usually held on university campuses."
Biography
Gish, a twin, was born in
White CityWhite City is a city in Morris County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 618.-History:In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Topeka through White City to Herington...
,
KansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, the youngest of nine children. He received a B.S. degree from UCLA in 1949 and a Ph.D. in
biochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
from the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1953. He worked as an Assistant Research Associate at Berkeley, and Assistant Professor at
Cornell University Medical CollegeWeill Cornell Medical College is the biomedical research unit and medical school of Cornell University. The medical college is currently located at 1300 York Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, along with the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences...
performing biomedical and biochemical research for eighteen years, joining the Upjohn Company as a Research Associate in 1960.
A Methodist from age ten, and later a fundamentalist
BaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Gish has long held that the Biblical creation story is a historical fact. After reading
Evolution: Science Falsely So-Called in the late 1950s, Gish became persuaded that science had produced falsifying evidence against biological evolutionary theory, and that various fields of science offered corroborating evidence in support of Biblical creation. He joined the
American Scientific AffiliationThe American Scientific Affiliation is a Christian religious organization of scientists and people in science-related disciplines. The stated purpose is "to investigate any area relating Christian faith and science." The organization publishes a journal, Perspectives of Science and Christian Faith...
(ASA), an association of Christian scientists, mistakenly assuming the group to be aligned with creationism. Through his affiliation at the ASA, Gish met
geneticistGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and creationist, William J. Tinkle, who in 1961 invited Gish to join his newly formed anti-evolution caucus within the ASA.
In 1971 Gish became a member of the faculty at
San Diego Christian CollegeSan Diego Christian College is a private, evangelical Christian college located in El Cajon, California, in suburban San Diego, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.-History:In January 1970, Tim F...
working in their research division, before accepting a position at the
Institute for Creation ResearchThe Institute for Creation Research is a Christian institution in Dallas, Texas that specializes in education, research, and media promotion of Creation Science and Biblical creationism. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as...
(independent since 1981). He is the author of several books and articles espousing the tenets of
creationismCreationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
. His best known work,
Evolution: The Fossils Say No!, published in 1978, has been widely accepted by antievolutionists as an authoritative reference for creationist concepts.
Gish initially "assigned low priority to the question of age [of the Earth]". Gish currently holds the position of Senior Vice-President
EmeritusEmeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
at the ICR.
Debates
Gish has been characterized as using a rapid-fire approach during a debate, presenting arguments and changing topics very quickly.
Eugenie ScottEugenie Carol Scott is an American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education since 1987...
, executive director of the
National Center for Science EducationThe National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
, has dubbed this approach the "
Gish Gallop," describing it as "where the creationist is allowed to run on for 45 minutes or an hour, spewing forth torrents of error that the evolutionist hasn't a prayer of refuting in the format of a debate" and criticized Gish for failing to answer objections raised by his opponents.
Gish has also been criticised for using a standardized presentation during debates. While undertaking research for a debate with Gish,
Michael ShermerMichael Brant Shermer is an American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and Editor in Chief of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. The Skeptics Society currently has over 55,000 members...
noted that for several debates Gish's opening, assumptions about his opponent, slides and even jokes remained identical. In the debate itself, Shermer has written that while he stated he was not an atheist and willing to accept the existence of a divine creator, Gish's rebuttal concerned itself primarily with proving that Shermer was an atheist and therefore immoral.
Massimo PigliucciMassimo Pigliucci is the chair of the Department of Philosophy at CUNY-Lehman College. He is also the editor in chief for the journal . He is known as an outspoken critic of creationism and advocate of science education.-Biography:...
, who has debated Gish five times, said that he ignores evidence contrary to his religious beliefs. Others have accused Gish of stonewalling arguments with fabricated facts or figures.
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