Book Tour and Review: The Evolution Conspiracy by Lisa A. Shiel

The Evolution Conspiracy by Lisa A. Shiel

Rating:  Easy to understand, read well, well-researched, presents arguments well
Note: I don't often read non-fiction so I don't think my rating system for fiction books and memoirs (which is emotional rating not technical) will work for non-fiction, so I will just give the good or bad points in the rating.


I received this through Pump Up Your Book Promotions for review and tour.



My Review:
As I have posted before I don't read a lot of non-fiction books, but this one caught my eye.  As a Christian and also as a scientist I have always been interested in the Evolution debate, but have never really done my research.  Well Lisa Shiel has done hers.

The arguments in the book against evolution are put foward in a thoughtful and scientific manner.  She is not just someone off the street telling us her beliefs, she argues well against evolution.  She also does it in a way that it makes it easy to understand for the layman.  I have a scientific background, but did not really need it to understand this book.

To back up her arguments, she has her research which is well documented in a bibliography at the end of each chapter.  A glossary is also included at the end to help with some of the terms, though each of the terms is defined when it is used in the book.

If you are interested in the evolution debate then this is a good book to read,  It's factual and scientific, and it reads well for the layman.  Ms. Shiel did a wonderful job on this book.


About the book:
Evolution. One word, deceptive in its simplicity, has transformed the way we look at ourselves and everything around us. Once thought of as unique, man has become one of the animals with no special claim on the planet. As children, few of us question what we learn in biology class about the origins of life and the position man holds in the hierarchy. Science textbooks present evolution as fact–indisputable, inevitable, and incomprehensible to everyone outside the exalted few with PhDs in the appropriate fields.

Yet this book promotes one key premise–anyone can understand evolution.

Evolutionists focus their defensive efforts on Creationist claims, giving the impression that nobody except religious zealots disputes evolution. Shiel approaches the subject from a different perspective. Instead of criticizing evolution in an effort to promote my personal beliefs, I’ve chosen to critique evolutionary theories and the evidence attached to them through a secular lens.

Read. Think. Decide for yourself.

EXCERPT:

In the 150 years since Darwin first posited the theory that species develop out of natural selection, his disciples have endeavored to confirm the theory. In the process, Darwin has become a god among the godless, a messiah to those who refute the idea that a divine being had a hand in creating living things on earth. Evolutionists who believe in the Christian God avoid the problem by saying He observes as evolution does His dirty work. Many evolutionists denounce God altogether, celebrating atheism as the only logical option for intellectuals and alienating hundreds of millions of people around the world who believe in one deity or another.

The evolutionists’ zeal to admonish disbelievers spills over into another kind of zealotry, the kind that makes anyone who questions evolution into an ignorant fool. Evolutionists frequently use terms like “extremist” or “fringe” when talking about their critics, and often state that anybody who doubts evolution must know nothing about the topic because anyone knowledgeable about evolution could never question it. The third prong in the attack shoots down disbelievers because they lack PhDs, yet even a PhD leaves the critic open to ridicule unless he has a PhD in an “appropriate” field, such as biology or paleontology. Despite how evolutionists bemoan the lack of credentialed critics, when a disbeliever possesses an “appropriate” degree that fact fails to satisfy the evolutionists.

No one can win a game where not only the rules keep changing, but also the laws of physics. That’s the secret weapon in the evolutionists’ arsenal. They control every aspect of the game.

Consider the words evolutionists use to ridicule disbelievers. The word extremist is usually reserved for suicide bombers and their terrorist kin. An extremist is uncompromising, fanatical, and unwilling to see other points of view. An extremist takes his beliefs beyond the reasonable, beyond propriety. In most people’s rule books labeling anyone who disagrees with our beliefs an extremist, a lunatic, a fringe wacko, ignorant, or just plain stupid qualifies as beyond reason and propriety.

Like true zealots, evolutionists insist that no one with a brain, no true intellectual, can possibly question any part of the theory of evolution. The attacks on objectors revolve around the presumption that evolution has a solitary opponent—Creationism. Evolutionists can easily dismiss anyone who doubts evolution as a religious nut. Never mind that plenty of religious non-Christians question evolution, and that plenty of nonreligious people do the same.

The contradictions in evolutionary theory begin with the attitudes of the evolutionists. With one hand they slap down critics by declaring them religious zealots. With the other hand they clutch a picture of Darwin to offer prayers to his image.



Lisa A. Shiel researches and writes about everything strange, from Bigfoot and UFOs to alternative history. She has been interviewed for big-city newspapers, national magazines, drive-time talk radio shows, and TV news. Lisa has a master’s degree in library science and was previously the chief investigator for Michigan’s chapter of the Mutual UFO Network.

As a fiction writer, Lisa developed the Human Origins Series—which includes the novels The Hunt for Bigfoot and Lord of the Dead. Lisa’s other nonfiction books are Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs & the Sasquatch and Strange Michigan. This book, The Evolution Conspiracy, Vol. 1, marks the initial release in a planned three-book series.

READ THE REVIEWS:

“Shiel is consistently convincing…evolutionary scientists have circumvented the true scientific method.”--Dr. Quinton R. Rogers, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Dept of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis

“A decidedly irreverent view of evolution…[Shiel] translates the off-putting jargon while outlining some major scientific hypotheses, warts and all.”--Tyler A. Kokjohn, PhD, professor of microbiology, Midwestern University

“This book takes a fresh look at evolution, time, and human origins… I do completely agree that the evolutionary presuppositions of our age stand in dire need of a thorough scientific reevaluation.”--Paul Abramson, editor, Creationism.org

The Evolution Conspiracy is available at Amazon.com!

To see where Lisa stops next on her virtual book tour, please visit http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

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