[.ca] The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate (ISBN 0830822941)

Valid Questions:
With plenty of quotes from leading scientists, Johnson exposes the prevalent materialist philosophy espoused by many contemporary scientists and how that mindset colors their findings. Among other things, he argues that the materialist or naturalist philosophy of these scientists has hijacked various scientific disciplines to the point that practitioners do not present Darwinian evolution as theory but as indisputable fact. Johnson cites that science has evolved to the point that educational institutions don't present viable alternatives to Darwinism (such as the theory of intelligent design) because the scientific elite have a vested interest in propagating their mindset-a mindset which is strongly biased against the idea that there is an intelligent creator. The book is not so much about evolution versus fundamentalist creationism (indeed, Johnson strongly opposes fundamentalism) as it is about the need to teach theory as theory and reject those ideas which result from the philosophical biases of certain scientists.

Just as biased and intollerant as his opponents:
This book is written for people who have already made up their minds that the majority of scientists are wrong and all orthodox and fundamentalist Christians are right when it comes to creation as described in the first two chapters of Genesis. Johnson is just as dogmatic and closed-minded in his presentation as the scientists he opposes. By profession Johnson was a law professor at Berkely, and thus one could characterize his expertise in debate as opposed to scientific discourse. Johnson has, however, soaked up much of the literature on Darwinian evolution (hence my two star rating as opposed to simply one star). However, Johnson is pushing his own Christian adjenda just as forcefully as those he opposes. The best book available on the topic at hand -- the debate between creationist and evolutionists -- is by Ronald L. Numbers, entitled "The Creationists." R.L. Numbers IS an expert in the field of religion/scientific history. Moreover, Numbers is not pushing any adjenda, neither scientific nor religious. If you really want to learn about the debate which has taken place between religion and science, go to the experts -- usually historians. This subject is too important to mindlessly read anything that flows from the publishing houses. To date, the best references on this subject are David Lindberg and Ronald Numbers. Yet, I fear that because they push no adjenda upon the reader, fundamentalists and people like Johnson would lump them into the same category as the atheist scientists that they so much despise.

Important Answers:
The Right Questions, by Phillip Johnson, exposes the bias seen in Western society by the intellectual elite, particularly those teaching in higher education. The book examines and confronts the dogmatic, self-righteous materialists who blindly promote Darwinism, regardless of the tentative nature of the data, and refuse any alternate possibilities. They attempt to marginalize Christians, denying them influence in education and cultural life. I thought this was going to be a book primarily on intelligent design, but instead it goes beyond; starting with matters of creation and evolution, but builds this to examine the consequences of relativism, scientific materialism, and naturalistic philosophy. Johnson's style is hard-hitting and to the point, possibly a little harsh at times, but I admire his passion. His argument is clear and simple, and his conclusions cannot be faulted. This book is not and does not claim to be rigorous or scholarly (there are few footnotes and no index), so I found it very accessible and a joy to read, very thought provoking.

Gets right to the core issues:
Having read this book I now understand why Publisher's Weekly gave it such a poor review. Frankly, this book is threatening. The book is well written, with an easy to follow structure, and plenty of the clear thinking that Johnson has a reputation for. In addition, the issues that this book deals with are of fundamental importance. Johnson deals with core questions about God, Science, Religion, Politics, Christianity, Islam, September 11th, Darwinism, Genesis, Education, and Truth, and he does so in an eminently readable and clear manner. There are some in our society, however, who feel threatened when fundamental issues are addressed in a clear manner -- especially when the author questions the basic tenets of their worldview. Clearly the Publisher's Weekly reviewer feels threatened. Consider this: there are two reasons to give a book a poor review: 1) the book deserves a poor review; 2) You don't want people to read the book. Let me assure you that this book does not deserve a poor review. I predict that this book will provoke one of two reactions in its readers: they will either 1) read it straight through with excitement, or 2) fling it across the room in a fit of rage. Boredom is impossible. In either case, this book is relevant.

A Must Book for Every Christian to Read:
One criticism that Johnson has been subject to by the religious community is, although he has shown Darwinism suffers from major problems (and that these need to be dealt with by the scientific community) what about the religious issue? Many scientists have shown the many major problems with Darwinism (and hundreds of books now exist effectively documenting these). Most of these books then develop the author's new theory of evolution that he or she claims is superior to neoDarwinism. An example is Lynn Margulis has eloquently shown mutation driven Darwinism to be entirely inadequate and then proposed the new theory of symbiosis which, she argues, is superior. This new theory, though, still does not explain the arrival of the genes, only the widespread spread of certain genes, at least in bacteria. Also, the question on many readers minds is, does a theory of Naturalism explain reality? This book deals with the religious concern to some degree. It also focuses on Johnson's major stroke at age 61 and the profound impact of this event on his life, especially his religious life. It is an honest book in which Johnson grapples with the religious questions most of us ask at one time or another in life. As such, this book would be of special interest to persons who have an interest in spiritual concerns (atheists would be turned off by this work; I know I once was one). It shows, in response to Johnson's critics, that he does have a spiritual side (or at least he does now after his stroke) and is not just a Darwin critic as are thousands of other intellectuals (especially biologists, my profession). Since this book is a different kind of book then Johnson's other books, it is especially easy to spot reviews by those who have not read it, but just want to slam Johnson because they do not hold to the view that a God exists that has done something active to the creation in the past. There is no topic that elicits as strong emotions as does religion, as our war on terrorism eloquently shows.