The Scopes Trial began on July 10th, 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee when John Thomas Scopes was charged with violating the Butler Act by teaching the theory of evolution in his class by saying men have descended from apes claiming that was the theory of evolution. The prosecuting attorney William Bryant was flooded with questions from the bible by defending attorney Clarence Darrow, several he could not answer. William Bryant, a Christian, could not defend the Bible nor his beliefs and the point of being a certain religion is to understand what you believe and why you believe it. Furthermore, what makes this trial significant is that till this day we still have that debate of how were we created, whether it’s from the religion we possess or from
Many people are quick to jump to conclusions on people 's personalities due to their appearance and their backstories. The townspeople of Hillsboro makes assumptions of Henry Drummond by saying that he is a horrible agnostic, they even went as far by calling him “the devil” and attempt to restrict him from entering the town just because of the stories they heard about him. In Lawrence and Lee 's Inherit The Wind, it is shown that Henry is actually a praiseworthy character throughout the play even though the townspeople labels him as a terrible person. Throughout the play, he is a strong advocate for the freedom of thought even when opposed by many, all his motives had intelligence behind it, and shows respect and stands up for Matthew
In the article “Evolution as Fact and Theory” Stephen Jay Gould who is one of the leading theorists in evolution argues that the debate between evolutionists and creationists is pointless since creationists’ arguments lack support and evidence. Gould writes that creationists’ main argument is that evolution is only a theory. However, Gould states that it is not only a theory but also a fact. He suggests that humans evolved from apelike— whether or not is happened by Darwin’s mechanism. What Gould is saying is that there is more than enough evidence to support the theory of evolution and the question that scientists are trying to answer is how exactly all living organisms are linked. It makes him sad to realize that his colleagues find it easier
Over the eras, many scientists have expressed concerns with Darwin's evolution theory and in "Was Darwin Wrong?" by David Quammen one can learn about the proof behind the theory of evolution. Many people do not believe in evolution due to an overall unawareness about the theory and religious upbringing. However, Quammen clarifies the truth behind evolution in his article. The article states five positions of evidence biogeography, embryology, morphology, paleontology, and the bacterial resistance to antibiotics discovered in humans. In this summary of "Was Darwin Wrong?" by Quammen I will explain the evidence behind the theory of evolution and evaluate each of the five categories of evidence of evolution.
People tend to be judged by how others perceive them to be, rather than how they actually are. This statement is shown in the play, Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. One example from the play in which this type of unfair judgement is displayed is when the news of Henry Drummond being the defense attorney for Bert Cates was announced. “Henry Drummond, the agnostic… A vicious, godless man… Henry Drummond is an agent of darkness. We won’t let him in the town… God didn’t make him, that he is a creature of the Devil, perhaps even the Devil himself.” (27-28). This shows an example of Reverend Brown judging Henry Drummond as an evil man who is even comparable to the Devil, despite the fact that he doesn’t truly know him and
Philip Kitcher in “Abusing science: The case against creationism” argues about how creationists have motives in which they want to show that the theory of evolution are just lies. They will pick on every theory they find and claim them as untestable. The author states that creationist use tautology objection, which means that whatever the evolution theory is it cannot be tested and is classified as not real science. The author hen states that creationist do not thoroughly understand what their objections borrowed from evolutionist really mean. All they do is get whatever information makes sense to them and turn it around to a point in which will justify their point of view against evolutionist. One thing that creationist misunderstand is the
In the decades following the Civil War as the United States was changing from a primarily agricultural to an industrialized nation the American intellectual landscapes was changing in equally important ways. New ideas in the worlds of literature, science and philosophy were having great impact on intellectual and artistic endeavors and theses ideas were not just influencing the social elites but also America’s growing mass of ordinary, literate citizens. This influence would set in motion a change in mass direction for the United States.
Mr. Ewell is considered an underhanded, white man who falls on the outer rings in Maycomb’s
Finally, Drummond and John Neal were the defense attorneys for Scopes (John Neal) and Cates (Drummond). Drummond was a character most would say looked like the devil, or was an atheist because they thought he fully supported evolution and disregarded the Bible. —To only find out that he was more religious than his witness Colonel Brady himself. Drummond speaking to Hornbeck after the trial quotes Proverbs 11:29 “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the
It takes a powerful man to captivate and change the minds of an entire town. In Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit the Wind, Henry Drummond is this man. Bertram Cates is accused of illegally teaching evolution, and Henry Drummond is called in to defend him against the prosecution, Matthew Harrison Brady. Ultimately, Cates is convicted, but the town becomes more open-minded and supports free thinking. Henry Drummond’s virtue, eloquence, and kindness enable him to make a case for man’s right to think.
While the practice of limiting a man’s ideas may now be seen as archaic, Inherit the Wind brings to light this very injustice, prevalent in an era not yet shrouded by time. In this final scene of the play, Drummond poignantly summarizes the beauty of free thought. The following passage highlights the central theme of Inherit the Wind: theological and scientific beliefs can co-exist, on the condition that an individual has the right to believe whatever he or she deems fit:
Another reason why Drummond impacted society the most was because of his game-changing decision to bring Brady to the witness stand. An example of this point is when Drummond calls up Brady and Judge says, “I-well, it’s highly unorthodox. I’ve never known an instance where the defense called the prosecuting attorney as a witness” (Lawrence and Lee, 84). The Judge says calling up the rival attorney have never been done before in the history of the court. The fact that Drummond did something that was never done before in the trial is shows that he brought an impact to the trial. He wouldn’t be the most impacting character of the play if he did the same old things that others have been doing in the courtroom for decade. He wanted to do something that would leave a mark in the history of the court, and he certainly did. Also, not only did was the Judge shocked by Drummond’s decision, but the jury was too, “DRUMMOND: Good! (With relish) I call to the stand one of the world’s foremost experts on the Bible and its teachings-Matthew Harrison Brady! (There is an uproar in the courtroom. The JUDGE raps for order)” (Lawrence and Lee, 84). Because there is “an uproar in the courtroom”, the jury are clearly also shocked by Drummond’s nerve to call up Brady. Many of the jury will go back to their town
John Morris. Creationism is religious, but no more than evolution. Because to believe in evolution, is to believe there is no God, but you believe in science. To believe that evolution is the only theory with scientific fact, is totally untrue. Not to mention that evolution breaks many scientific laws which include; the second law of thermodynamics, the law of cause and effect, and the law of biogenesis. So, to say that evolution is the only scientific theory, is like saying creationism is the only religious theory. Which is also untrue. Neither creationism and or evolution can be proven one-hundred percent. So why should we just teach one to our growing minds? If neither can be tested or scientific fact, then why teach one without the
Presenting different perspectives that are against the norm is perilous. There's a lot of stress in having people criticize your unpopular beliefs. In Alan Lightman’s “The Power of Mysteries” and Allan Barger’s “I Could Be Wrong” they tell two different stories that bond between one essential idea: challenging mainstream beliefs. Each writer uses different styles to convey their message that initially has the reader questioning the author's credibility, but in the end they both captivate the reader by teaching them to keeping an open mind to all perspectives.
The evolutionism-reationism debate has been going on for centuries among christians and scientists. However, creationism is said to have more logical proof of their points being the strongest.