Todd's Blog

When my annual turn at scheduling CORE's origins journal club came up this semester (Roger Sanders and I alternate semesters), I decided I wanted to try something different. Recall that the goal of journal club is to keep apprised of the latest publications relevant to the creation/evolution issue, especially publications by Bryan College faculty or students. Rather than just pick some interesting papers at random, I decided to shoot for an overarching theme. This may be the only time we ever have a journal club theme, but I thought it was worth trying. Our theme for this semester is "Faith and Science in Dialogue." Here's the schedule: January 24 : Special presentation by Michael Gulker. Michael Gulker is executive director of the Colossian Forum , and he will be presenting on the work of the Colossian Forum. According to their website: In an age of increased fear and animosity over issues of science, faith and culture, The Colossian Forum reminds believers ...

A recent Bryan grad did an internship in Kruger National Park in South Africa, and the Henning Museum of Natural History will be hosting an exhibition of her photography.  Behold the press release: 'Visions of Africa' to be featured in Henning Museum Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Just a brief note this morning to alert you to the podcasts of the conference available at the Bryan website. On Friday, we heard 30 minute basic presentations of each speaker's position, followed by a concluding panel discussion: Opening and Richard Averbeck opening comments Todd Beall opening comments Jack Collins opening comments Tremper Longman opening comments John Walton opening comments Friday night panel discussion On Saturday, there were issue-focused panel discussions Saturday Session One - Literary Context of Genesis 1 and 2 Saturday Session Two, Historical Adam and Eve Saturday Session Three, New Testament Interpretation of Genesis1 and 2 Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

This weekend is the big Bryan Institute symposium on Genesis at the Chattanooga Convention Center. I will be there, and I will likely (very likely) post some thoughts either during or after the event. Yesterday, I was talking with one of our Bible professors here at Bryan (not a speaker), and we both hope that this "conversation" really does transcend the battle lines of the propaganda war and become an actual conversation. Since most of the speakers have taken one side or another, I'm not sure how it will turn out. Will it be an edifying and enlightening weekend or a biblical re-enactment of the larger creation/evolution debate? However it turns out, I wouldn't miss it, and I hope you won't either. Details on the schedule can be found here , and information on directions, parking etc. are here . There is a small cost for the events (which includes Saturday lunch), and you can register at the door. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot]...

Dear Great Britain, Thanks to my friend Paul Garner , I have been quite interested to read of the new "Teach evolution, not creationism!" campaign, detailed at its website . I was especially fascinated to read the short position statement of the campaign, which reads in part: The current government guidance that creationism and 'intelligent design' should not be taught in school science should be made statutory and enforceable. It also needs to be made comprehensive so that it is clear that any portrayal of creationism and 'intelligent design' as science (whether it takes place in science lessons or not) is unacceptable. As a Christian, creationist, and science professor at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, I find this position extremely ironic. You see, the state of Tennessee tried to enforceably legislate orthodoxy in curriculum some 85 years ago. The Butler Act stated That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals an...

Here's a very brief update to our journal club schedule this fall: On October 25, we will be welcoming a very special guest speaker to the Bryan College campus. Ornithologist Jon Ahlquist will be giving a presentation on his research at 5 p.m. in Mercer Hall 137. Dr. Ahlquist worked with Charles Sibley for 30 years on studies of genome similarity and bird classification and co-authored with Sibley the 1990 book Phylogeny and Classification of Birds from Yale University Press. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Each semester, CORE sponsors a discussion group on campus to examine recent publications that are relevant to the creation/evolution debate.  We meet every other Tuesday in Mercer 137.  If you are on campus or nearby and you'd like to participate, we welcome you.  The schedule for the fall semester has been posted at the CORE website.  Check it out if you can! Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

The summer is rapidly coming to a close. I've returned from the last of my travels, I'm seeing a lot of my faculty colleagues on campus again, and in one short week, I'll be in faculty workshop again. I didn't even get half the stuff done this summer that I wanted to. That's pretty typical though. So what's coming up this fall from CORE? Roger and I will be working on several special issues of JCTSB , including one on the baramin . That means we'll be writing some new papers summarizing some of our research on carnivorous plants and the verbena family. I'll also be working with Marcus Ross and Paul Garner on our Avialae paper. To top all that off, I've started a significant research project as a response to Senter's criticisms. It goes way beyond dinosaurs, though, and it could potentially change everything that's been happening in baraminology over the last decade. Big stuff. Over at the Creation Biology Society, I've alread...

For those just joining us, "From the Library" spotlights interesting items in the library of the Center for Origins Research at Bryan College . While browsing in a local antique mall in Dayton recently, I stumbled upon a bookcase full of old textbooks. To my delight, I found George William Hunter's 1907 Elements of Biology , the predecessor to his 1914 textbook A Civic Biology that featured prominently in the famous Scopes trial. Best part? It was only $2. I love a good bargain. I've only briefly skimmed the book, but it appears that the concept of evolution occupies a much lower place in this volume than in A Civic Biology . That's not to say that the later textbook covered evolution in great detail. Evolution appears briefly in A Civic Biology when classification and heredity are discussed. In Elements of Biology , evolution appears to be barely mentioned. On page 7 of the introduction we read, "In the second half year the so-called evolutio...

Bryan College will be hosting a symposium this fall entitled Reading Genesis 1-2: An Evangelical Conversation . Due to the roster of speakers, we've been getting some questions about the symposium. Here's what I wrote to one such inquiry: Thanks for writing. The Genesis symposium you refer to is hosted and organized by the Bryan Institute for Critical Thought and Practice , which is part of Bryan College . For the past six years, the Bryan Institute has organized symposia at the college focusing on controversial issues, often including disagreements within evangelical Christianity. Past symposia focused on issues like global warming, the function of music in church services, and health care in America. Here's a list of past symposia . It's in that context that we need to understand the Genesis Symposium. The college is definitely not advocating some new way of reading Genesis, and we're not changing our position on anything. What we're trying to do wi...

I'm kind of busy this week, but if you're in the neighborhood, check out the Henning Museum Art Show: Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

For you locals or even semi-locals, every semester CORE organizes a discussion group to talk about the latest issues in the creation/evolution debate. The group meets every other Tuesday in Mercer Hall 132 at 5 pm. Our first discussion this semester will be TODAY at 5 pm! CORE director Todd Wood (that's me) will explore the relevance of the doctrine of creation to Christians. Some say that to be a good Christian you MUST be a young-earth creationist. Others say that the Bible doesn't teach anything about the mechanism of creation and you can believe whatever you want. What does this debate mean to you? What does it mean to Bryan College? Does it matter at all? Come and find out! The rest of the schedule is posted at the CORE website . If you're in the area and interested, we'd love to have you stop by. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

I'm pleased to announce that Hugh Owen, the director of the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation , will be visiting the Bryan College campus in November to present a lecture on the creation/evolution debate from a Catholic perspective. The Kolbe Center is the leading young-age creationist advocacy group among Catholic Christians, and Mr. Owen's lecture will give our students an excellent opportunity to view the creation/evolution debate from a different theological tradition altogether. Mr. Owen will speak on Monday evening, November 15 at 5:00 p.m. in Mercer Hall 139 (the classroom right across the hall from the Henning Museum). The lecture will last about 45 minutes and is free to the public. Mr. Owen's lecture is part of the ongoing journal club meetings sponsored by the Center for Origins Research at Bryan College . Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

For you locals, the journal club schedule for the fall semester has been posted here . It's open to anyone and everyone. What is journal club? The Origins Journal Club is designed for those interested in origins or the work of CORE to meet together and discuss recent literature or research results. The format is a short presentation (25-35 minutes) followed by discussion. Presentations can be a summary of a published article or an original research project and may be given by a professor or student. Journal Club meets Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m. in Mercer 139. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

So I've been out of town, and now school is starting up again. I'm teaching two classes this fall ("Biological Origins" and "History of Life"), so I'm gearing up for that. Meanwhile, I've got a paper to revise for publication, and two manuscripts to revise before I submit them (including that response to Senter I've been talking about). And for all you blog fans, I'm cooking up a fun series of posts that will be very, very entertaining. I'll do my best to get them ready for next week, but no promises. They'll be worth the wait, though. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

I was asked recently to explain the purpose of blogging, specifically what is the purpose of my blog. That set me to thinking about my own history with creationism, and what I wanted to accomplish with this blog. I suppose the question has a broader implications for the general motivation for blogging (which often escapes me), but I'm taking more along the lines of why I chose to blog about creation, evolution, theology, and science. First and foremost, this is an information channel for supporters of CORE . I've tried all sorts of means to keep people aware of the goings on at CORE, but there's nothing as simple and easy as blogging. Since I am first and foremost a researcher, I don't really like to spend a lot of time writing newsletters and such. With the blog, I just post stuff as I'm reminded of it. Very convenient. Second, this is sort of a notebook for my ideas and for papers that interest me. It's a convenient way to keep track of papers or presen...

Some readers might know that I double as curator of the Henning Museum at Bryan College in addition to my duties as CORE director. We've been really busy this summer upgrading some of our exhibits, and I wanted to give you a sneak peak. We quadrupled the number of shells on display. This is the museum's most significant collection, and we wanted to put as much of it on display as we could, which is to say we've put maybe 2-3% of it on display. We also added a giant clam to the exhibit. It's not big enough to bathe in, but it's still pretty large. We reworked and expanded our skull exhibit. Joining the lion, leopard, and various local critters are the North American porcupine, a jackrabbit, and casts of a dugong and a giant beaver. Our mineral exhibit got a huge boost from a donation of six beautiful specimens from Bulgaria and the acquisition of a huge amethyst geode. Very nice. In addition to many locally-collected insects and spiders, our new arthropod exhi...