As described by Cameron, this new introduction provides a balanced view of creationism, while exposing the various myths surrouding evolution. As evidence, the text also cites a number of scientists who believed in God, including Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955), Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727), Copernicus (1473 – 1543), Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867), Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895) and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)… All dead. What?! No living scientists? Surely they exist.

Kirk Cameron introduces this new “Origin of Species” in the clip below.

As to provide some additional background on Ray Comfort, in the clip below he describes the divine inspiration behind the banana, which he calls the “Atheists worst nightmare.”

Warning… veering off topic…

On a humid July morning 40 years ago today, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin climbed aboard the most dangerous vehicle man had ever built, on a voyage to the moon.

I was two and half years old. I remember that day, or at least have convinced myself that I remember it, sitting in front of an old black and white television watching a streak of light hurtle towards the stars.

Like most boys growing up, I was fascinated by all things space and dinosaurs. While interest in the Jurassic and Cretaceous eventually faded, the love of space and space travel, did not. Astronomy books, science-fiction novels, movies, I couldn’t get enough. I was a certified space geek.

When I went off to college I decided to study aerospace engineering, with the dream of working one day for NASA or JPL, but soon realized I had little of the prerequisite discipline necessary for that field of study, ie the math. And there was a lot of it. So I switched to Journalism, which had only slightly more math than English. But my interest in all things space never waned.

Barely a year into my studies I watched in horror as the shuttle Challenger exploded into a million pieces across the Atlantic. I attended no class that day, not even the Astronomy elective I was taking. I remember President Reagan’s moving tribute later that same evening: “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God…”

There have certainly been other triumphs and disasters since, but for me, none quite so much like the day humankind took their first steps on the moon.

In honor of 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch, the JFK Library and Museum explores the mission in extraordinary detail at WeChooseTheMoon.com. The site tracks the mission in realtime as it happened, creating a thoroughly immersive and cool experience. Be sure to check it out.

There are also some beautiful, and some rarely seen photographs from before, during and after the mission at The Big Picture: Remembering Apollo 11.

Looking back over these past 4 decades as a man in his early 40s, I had hoped by now we would have at least planted a flag, any flag, in the red sands of Mars. But unfortunately, no. In fact it’s been 37 years since we last walked the on the face of the moon. And now, as I approach middle age, it seems unlikely that either will happen, or happen again, in my lifetime.

But I am a space geek. And I am hopeful.

Video of that memorable launch and landing below.

“This legislation works to ensure that our society recognizes the dignity and sacredness of human life,” said Brownback. “Creating human-animal hybrids, which permanently alter the genetic makeup of an organism, will challenge the very definition of what it means to be human and is a violation of human dignity and a grave injustice.”

This important piece of legislation is co-sponsored by nearly 20 other like-minded individuals who refuse to blur the lines between man and beast, and should be the Senate’s top priority. Prohibiting mad scientists from creating man-beasts is so much more important than health care or any of those other trifles the Senate is currently debating.

Give me a break. Granted there is some legitimate research going on in Britain, but it is not as the bible-thumping conservatives would present it.

Blue whales are returning to Alaska in search of food and could be re-establishing an old migration route several decades after they were nearly wiped out by commercial whalers, scientists say.

The endangered whales, possibly the largest animals ever to live on Earth, have yet to recover from the worldwide slaughter that eliminated 99 percent of their number, according to the American Cetacean Society. The hunting peaked in 1931 with more than 29,000 animals killed in one season.

Here’s hoping the former vice-presidential candidate’s penchant for hunting big game doesn’t kick in. These magnificent beasts wouldn’t stand a chance against a harpoon-wielding Sarah Palin.

Via Ameriblog.

While certainly not in the same league as Ebola or the Spanish Flu, the H1N1 virus—aka the swine flu—is still a killer, with a death toll passing 150, and it’s meteoric spread across the globe has been nothing less than astonishing. Originating in Mexico, the virus has spread as far as Europe and Australia, including over 40 cases here the United States, and that’s only 2 weeks after first documented case. The outbreak hasn’t been classified as a pandemic. Yet. (See the map to the the right for real-time tracking of the documented cases)

Despite the name, swine flue didn’t originate in pigs, and is actually made up of components of avian, swine and human flu viruses. Currently there is no vaccine designed to combat the virus, but Tamiflu is being used with some success.

While I think it’s a little early to be stocking up on dry goods and surgical masks—ask me again later in the week—it is a wakeup call to how small and how connected this planet really is. That something so tiny could take us all out, without so much as a thought or regret.

As an aside, it’s really  unfortunate that the Republicans cut pandemic funding from the stimulus bill. If people weren’t falling ill and dying, the irony would be truly delicious. I’m sorry, I couldn’t let this slide by without a mention.

So back to my trainer. Not only does he give a good workout, he gives sage advice… see the Swine Flu Q & A below from the CDC:

Q. What should I do to keep from getting the flu?
A. Most important for preventing the spread of flu is washing your hands. Also, try to stay in good general health. That means get plenty of sleep, be physically active, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious foods and manage your stress. Also, try to avoid contact with people who are sick.

Q. What is the best technique for washing my hands to avoid getting the flu?
A. Wash with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner, rubbing your hands until the gel is dry. The alcohol kills the germs on your hands without water.

I’ll be heading out to buy some more hand soap. How about you?

The piece, set to music and video below, reminds us that our planet is little more than a point of light in vast, encompassing cosmos… but it is our “point of light,” and it’s the only one we’ve got. Perhaps the implied message is that we better take care of this place we call Earth, because if we don’t, no one else in the universe will even notice… when we are gone.

I know you’ll probably be reading this the day after Earth Day, but this will still be just as important and definitely worth the time.

I’ll close with another quote from Carl Sagan, as relevant today as it was almost 30 years ago…

“Our own planet is only a tiny part of the vast cosmic tapestry, a starry fabric of worlds yet untold. Those worlds in space are as countless as all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the Earth. Each of those worlds is as real as ours. In every one of them, there’s a succession of incidents, events, occurrences which influence its future. Countless worlds, numberless moments, an immensity of space and time. And our small planet, at this moment, here we face a critical branch-point in the history. What we do with our world, right now, will propagate down through the centuries and powerfully affect the destiny of our descendants. It is well within our power to destroy our civilization, and perhaps our species as well. If we capitulate to superstition, or greed, or stupidity we can plunge our world into a darkness deeper than time between the collapse of classical civilization and the Italian Renaissance. But, we are also capable of using our compassion and our intelligence, our technology and our wealth, to make an abundant and meaningful life for every inhabitant of this planet. To enhance enormously our understanding of the Universe, and to carry us to the stars.”

Happy, belated, Earth Day.

It seemed appropriate to focus on global warming this time around thanks to the success of Earth Hour last Saturday and the same day announcement by the White House of a global warming summit to be held next month.

Perhaps, just perhaps, there will finally be some progress.

As reported by AP…

While Louisiana already bans the destruction of fertilized embryos, the courts have not yet weighed in, Charo said.

In Georgia, a measure that would ban some forms of stem cell research on fertilized embryos is moving quickly through the state Senate. The bill would outlaw the destruction of fertilized embryos, which the legislation defines as a person. It is expected to face a vote in the full state Senate on Thursday.

Similar “personhood” measures have cleared one chamber each in Montana and North Dakota.

They come in the wake of a Colorado ballot initiative that said human life begins at conception. It failed to win voter approval last year.

David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, said Obama’s announcement Monday that he will free federal funds for embryonic stem cell research will rally conservatives.

“This is the beginning,” Prentice said. “I think there will be more to come.”

Many would suggest that any state that hampers or bans stem cell research shouldn’t be able to enjoy the fruits of its research. While I certainly wouldn’t go that far, the state should be penalized in some way without harming its constituents.

The true irony here is that nearly half of those states have some of the highest rates of heart disease and incidences of diabetes in the nation. Chronic conditions that could easily be reduced by breakthroughs in stem cell research.

It brings back that tired but true refrain “always voting against one’s self interest.”