Proverbs 22:6
"The first set of books reviewed is a lavishly illustrated set of five books, three of which I reviewed, written for children from 7 to 12 years old.
National Geographic Society, the highly respected publisher, has sold many thousands of copies. As evidence of their popularity, these books have over 38,000 ratings on Amazon.
Positive features of the books include color illustrations on every page and that they are very well written on engaging topics often of interest to young people. The downside is that some volumes in the set contain evolution from cover to cover, much of it having been refuted decades ago.
An example from the first volume under the subheading “What Is Evolution?” defines evolution as the following:
On page 60 is pictured the now omnipresent, fictional progression from ape to the neanderthal man ending with modern man. In an
attempt to persuade the reader of the truth of evolution, the author noted that those who disagree with evolution ask, “If humans evolved from apes, then why do chimpanzees and other apes still exist?” (Boyer 2015, 61). The reason given is that apes and humans both evolved from a common ancestor which, they fail to mention, was a nonexistent, hypothetical ape.
In the section on the origin of languages, the book admits that “researchers can only guess when humans first began forming sounds into words to communicate thoughts” (Boyer 2015, 118). The text adds that “ancestors of the human species possessed the mouth and throat parts necessary to pronounce words nearly two million years ago, but they likely didn’t have much to talk about until they started creating complex tools and building fires more than a million years later” (Boyer 2015, 118).
"The theory of evolution explains how all plants and animals—including humans—slowly change over time to improve their chances of survival. All life-forms are subject to the forces of “natural selection” in which nature favors changes (tougher beaks, sharper teeth, keener eyesight, etc.) that help a species survive and reproduce. . . . Eventually, all of these adaptations add up until one species evolves into a new one. If you go back far enough in Earth’s history, all life-forms—from great white sharks to cherry trees—evolved from a common ancestor. (Boyer 2015, 60)"
On page 60 is pictured the now omnipresent, fictional progression from ape to the neanderthal man ending with modern man. In an
In the section on the origin of languages, the book admits that “researchers can only guess when humans first began forming sounds into words to communicate thoughts” (Boyer 2015, 118). The text adds that “ancestors of the human species possessed the mouth and throat parts necessary to pronounce words nearly two million years ago, but they likely didn’t have much to talk about until they started creating complex tools and building fires more than a million years later” (Boyer 2015, 118).
The author assumed that Australopithecus afarensis evolved into Homo erectus over two million years ago, and little evidence exists that Australopithecus afarensis could use language. Yet the author stated without evidence that the beginning of human beings was “200 thousand years ago” (Boyer 2015, 59).
Evolution is repeatedly personalized. In answer to the question “why do humans have ten fingers,” Boyer answered: “The process of evolution determined that the most beneficial number of fingers and toes for our survival [was five] . . . evolution determined that five fingers per hand are just right for humans” (Boyer 2015, 28).
In answer to the question “why are some body parts pointless,” the book answered: “Called ‘vestigial’ organs, these useless body parts are leftovers from our evolutionary ancestors, who actually needed them” (Boyer 2015, 14). Among those “vestigial” organs listed was the coccyx, which the author claimed “is a leftover from animals that needed tails for balance or grasping tree branches” (Boyer 2015, 14). However, in actuality, the coccyx functions as an attachment point for various muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Posteriorly, the lateral edges function as insertion sites for the coccygeal muscles, the sacrospinous ligament, the sacrotuberous ligament, and the fibers of the gluteus maximus muscle. Although these muscles have other attachment points, this redundancy provides additional needed support and serves as a critical function of the coccyx. A coccygectomy (removal of the coccyx) creates the risk of loss of bowel control and nerve damage. The surgery is often done to relieve pain, but its removal does not always stop the pain.
Also listed were wisdom teeth which, as is true of all other teeth, are pulled only if they cause a problem, usually if they become impacted. There are no proven health benefits of pulling problem-free wisdom teeth. Removing them is usually unpleasant, and their removal may cause unwanted health side effects.
Human evolution in the Boyer book is taught as an unassailable fact: “Humans have evolved to become less hairy in the past six million years or so, but we still have these clumps of fur above our eyes” (Boyer 2015, 14). Then, after claiming that goose bumps serve no purpose, the author listed several important purposes that they do serve (Boyer 2015, 15). In answer to the question “why do we think baby animals are cute,” the book’s answer is that “we have evolved to think that any creature with a big head, large eyes, and a button nose—features that most human babies share—is cute. . . . Evolution has wired our brains to think babies are cute” (Boyer 2015, 187). Besides personifying evolution, this answer does not answer why we perceive baby animals as cute any more than explaining that we have eyes because we need to be able to see. To claim that we evolved eyes to see the world around us is not an answer. The answer to the question “why am I here” was given two full pages to show how some chemical soup 3.8 billion years ago created life which, after millions of years, evolved into humans (Boyer 2015, 59). Boyer added that our species began evolving 200,000 years ago after natural selection wiped out our less fit ape relatives.
There was not a word about the many controversies related to human evolution—not to mention the fact that almost half of all Americans have concluded that we did not evolve but were created by God (Moyers 2013; Newport 2004). The books openly teach a secular worldview, namely a belief that attempts to answer the questions of where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going—none of which can be answered by science.
Evolution is repeatedly personalized. In answer to the question “why do humans have ten fingers,” Boyer answered: “The process of evolution determined that the most beneficial number of fingers and toes for our survival [was five] . . . evolution determined that five fingers per hand are just right for humans” (Boyer 2015, 28).
In answer to the question “why are some body parts pointless,” the book answered: “Called ‘vestigial’ organs, these useless body parts are leftovers from our evolutionary ancestors, who actually needed them” (Boyer 2015, 14). Among those “vestigial” organs listed was the coccyx, which the author claimed “is a leftover from animals that needed tails for balance or grasping tree branches” (Boyer 2015, 14). However, in actuality, the coccyx functions as an attachment point for various muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Posteriorly, the lateral edges function as insertion sites for the coccygeal muscles, the sacrospinous ligament, the sacrotuberous ligament, and the fibers of the gluteus maximus muscle. Although these muscles have other attachment points, this redundancy provides additional needed support and serves as a critical function of the coccyx. A coccygectomy (removal of the coccyx) creates the risk of loss of bowel control and nerve damage. The surgery is often done to relieve pain, but its removal does not always stop the pain.
Also listed were wisdom teeth which, as is true of all other teeth, are pulled only if they cause a problem, usually if they become impacted. There are no proven health benefits of pulling problem-free wisdom teeth. Removing them is usually unpleasant, and their removal may cause unwanted health side effects.
Human evolution in the Boyer book is taught as an unassailable fact: “Humans have evolved to become less hairy in the past six million years or so, but we still have these clumps of fur above our eyes” (Boyer 2015, 14). Then, after claiming that goose bumps serve no purpose, the author listed several important purposes that they do serve (Boyer 2015, 15). In answer to the question “why do we think baby animals are cute,” the book’s answer is that “we have evolved to think that any creature with a big head, large eyes, and a button nose—features that most human babies share—is cute. . . . Evolution has wired our brains to think babies are cute” (Boyer 2015, 187). Besides personifying evolution, this answer does not answer why we perceive baby animals as cute any more than explaining that we have eyes because we need to be able to see. To claim that we evolved eyes to see the world around us is not an answer. The answer to the question “why am I here” was given two full pages to show how some chemical soup 3.8 billion years ago created life which, after millions of years, evolved into humans (Boyer 2015, 59). Boyer added that our species began evolving 200,000 years ago after natural selection wiped out our less fit ape relatives.
There was not a word about the many controversies related to human evolution—not to mention the fact that almost half of all Americans have concluded that we did not evolve but were created by God (Moyers 2013; Newport 2004). The books openly teach a secular worldview, namely a belief that attempts to answer the questions of where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going—none of which can be answered by science.
Evolution teaches that we evolved from simpler forms of life, that we are here to survive and reproduce, and that when we die, we are gone forever. This is a secular religion.
On the other hand, Christianity teaches that God created all life, that our purpose is to serve our Creator God and our fellow humans, perhaps to raise a family, and that our afterlife depends on whether we have asked Christ to save us from our sin." AIG