I couldn't track down a definitive reference to the "modified mud" remark. Googling gets me "a reviewer of Darwin." As I recall, according to Huxley's biographer Adrian Desmond, the review was of Huxley's book, Man's Place in Nature, and the anonymous reviewer, Frederick Dyster, a friend of Huxley's, took his lead from one of Huxley's letters. On this little island, I'm not able to verify this. I would be grateful if any reader can set me straight. In any case, it sounds like something Huxley would say. Chet
Chet | 02.28.05 - 11:53 am | #

Here is one republican that prefers the monkey theory. There must be others like me out there. Renae
Renae | 02.28.05 - 2:48 pm | #

The only place I could find a reference to it is: http://www.wallbuilders.com/reso...p? ResourceID=18

Search that text for "modified mud."
Matt | 02.28.05 - 4:42 pm | #

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Absolutely true! I am a man formed from the dust of the ground (the periodic table). Having worked at Los Alamos for over 35 years, I probably even contain a little uranium and plutonium. Whether the process took a microsecond or 4.5 billion years, the statement above still holds true. The details of my formation and that of my ancestors, I leave to the creationists, intelligent designers, and Darwinists (and all persuasions in between) to work out.
Barry P. Shafer | Homepage | 03.01.05 - 4:29 am | #

Thanks to Anthony for his succinct review of Colin Grove’s book on evolution (see comment following "The Synthetic Sea"). Enclosed is the quote that I promised from Will Provine, demonstrating the "virulent atheism" that I think is so counterproductive.

"Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear… There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either."

Provine, W. B., 1994. Origins Research, 16(1/2):9.
(Provine is Professor of Biological Sciences at Cornell University.)

I couldn’t disagree more! This is hardly the theistic neutrality that you, Chet, Steve, and I agree is necessary for the advancement of science.

By the way, a small irony! The atheist Provine is in at least partial agreement with Martin Luther on the freedom of the will. See " The Bondage of the Will" (De Servo Arbitrio), Martin Luther (1525).
Barry P. Shafer | Homepage | 03.01.05 - 4:31 am | #

Pardon my punctuation. Grove's should have been Groves'.

All kidding aside, Groves' book remains my favorite for a cogent explanation of human origins. Now, following Chet's lead, "we'll let the evolution thing rest for a while."
Barry P. Shafer | Homepage | 03.01.05 - 7:37 am | #

Thanks to a friend here on the island, here is the source of the Huxley line, which I did'nt get quite right, although I had its source correct.

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/...letters/ 59.html

Chet
Chet | 03.01.05 - 11:41 am | #