It’s not just “scientific illiterates” who take issue with evolution. Hundreds of scientists have signed the Scientific Dissent From Darwinism, which states: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”
The list includes respected scientists from such universities as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA, among others.
The list includes respected scientists from such universities as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA, among others.
I looked over that list. What I saw is that very few of the signatories actually have any experience in an evolutionary science. Some of them do claim to have knowledge in sciences that are closely impacted by evolutionary considerations, but even in disciplines most closely impacted by evolution, it is possible to find a niche where one can do some research without considering the evolutionary implications. I saw that the crackpot Michael Behe is on the list... that's not a great recommendation for that list. Many of those scientists cannot be verified, since they are in countries where information is difficult to obtain (Czech Republic, etc.)
I also counted: there are approximately 44 names per page, for 18 pages. Another two pages have maybe another 50 names. So that is less than 1,000 signatures--out of around 20,000 PhD scientists in the US, plus who knows how many from other countries, plus who knows how many Masters level science technicians... that's not a very large number. In the real world, there is no controversy about evolution. At work, we spend plenty of time talking about details, like how much Neanderthal DNA is present in the genomes of people of European descent? But I have yet to come across an actual scientist who questions evolution.
As I said before, it harms the cause of bringing more people into the fold by portraying Christians as scientifically illiterate.