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World Net Daily editorial - What are the Darwinists afraid of? (8 Aug 05)

Welcoming letter from the Mayor!

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial, the Smithsonian Institution released several unpublished photos from the trial. The photos were recently discovered by an independent historian gathering information in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. The photographs were taken by Watson Davis, Managing Editor of Science Service, while he was in Dayton, Tenn., June 4-5, 1925, and July 10-22, 1925.

Lies Americans Believe: The Scopes Trial by Dr. Jeff Myers, Associate Professor of Communication Arts at Bryan College and President of the Myers Institute for Communication and Leadership.

Special article featured by Answers in Genesis!

Mark your calendars now for this once in a lifetime event. The play Monkey in the Middle is an exact reenactment of the 1925 Scopes Trial using the exact words from the trial transcript. The key events of the trial will be presented in this reenactment at the KiMo Theater on July 29 and 30, 2005. Tickets are available and help cover up-front costs - contact: 294-7876. Tell all your friends and family about the Scopes Trial Reenactment and the new website address: www.scopes-trial.com! Additional info available at www.bryan.edu.

New book release - May 2005. The Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee was a watershed moment in the history of this country. The ramifications of those proceedings are still being felt today. However, it is not necessarily the arguments from the courtroom floor that are reverberating in the halls of America today. The way the entire event was conducted and perceived by the rest of the nation set the tone for how creationists and evolutionists have been viewed by society ever since. Marvin Olasky and John Perry tell the true story in Monkey Business. Most people have a misunderstanding of what happened based on slanted newspaper reporting accounts of H. L. Menken, who made fun of creationists. As a result, the case for creationism has been crippled in the eyes of society. But this account of what happened is far from accurate. Monkey Business will offer the facts of the story and an apologetic for divine creation. Amazon offers a 34% discount.

Book signings by John Perry:
Bibles Plus, Friday, July 29 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Chronicles, Saturday, July 30 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Walter Scott's Personality Parade says Scopes was THE most significant trial of the 20^th century. QUESTION: Every high-profile trial - from the Lindberg kidnapping to Sam Sheppard, the Manson family and O.J. - has been billed as the Trial of the Century. Which one tops your list? - Dan Muller, Royal Oak, MI
ANSWER: None of those. Our vote for Trial of the 20th Century goes to the 1925 case of John Scopes, a high school science teacher charged with illegally teaching evolution in Dayton, TN. "The Monkey Trial," as it came to be known, began a culture war that still rages in America. Parade Magazine, 27 Mar 05

The play Monkey in the Middle is an exact reenactment of the 1925 Scopes Trial using the exact words from the trial transcript. The key events of the trial will be presented in this reenactment at the KiMo Theater on July 29 and 30, 2005. For ticket availability contact: 294-7876. TicketMaster will also carry tickets in the near future.

Why are we presenting Monkey in the Middle? It is entertaining, historical, relevant today, and especially, communicates truth. What's wrong with the movie Inherit the Wind? This courtroom performance is known chiefly for its famous characters, fabricated conflicts, and fiery climax rather than for its intrigue-filled prologue, essential issues, and influential epilogue. Sixty-five telegraph operators moved in and began sending more words to Europe and Australia than had ever been cabled about any other American happening. Some of the almost 200 reporters received editorial directives as to how the trial was to be played up in their papers. One reporter, when asked by his Dayton host why he never attended trial sessions, replied,

Rarely, it seems, does a year go by that the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee play Inherit the Wind about the famous "monkey trial" is not produced by local high schools and colleges. In addition, the 1960 film of the same name featuring Frederic March and Spencer Tracy appears frequently on local television. Lest there be even a few who have some how failed to see these productions, NBC produced its own color remake of Inherit the Wind in 1988 which it has aired twice on nationwide television. All of these versions of Inherit the Wind are quite similar, with both film versions expanding on certain themes of the original play. Inherit the Wind is perceived as a documentary and is used to influence the Creation-Evolution debate.
Much more info at: www.gennet.org/facts/scopes.html

PROLOGUE. The name "Scopes" came from the defendant, John Scopes, in the trial held in Dayton TN, for eight days from July 10^th to July 21^st, 1925. The trial began in May 1925 as a public relations scheme to interest a second generation of developers in the industrial potential of the Dayton area. The ACLU published an announcement offering to pay the expenses of a teacher willing to make a test case of the recently passed TN anti-evolution law. John Scopes agreed to act as the law-breaking villain and was promptly served with a warrant. Chattanooga tried but failed to weasel in on the act by setting up a case with their own teacher.

Darrow & Bryan. Criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow and NY divorce lawyer Dudley Field Malone volunteered their services to manage the defense. Three-time presidential aspirant William Jennings Bryan accepted the invitation to help with the prosecution. Bryan was invited partly because the Dayton promoters had an eye for the spectacular and partly because some people wanted to acknowledge Bryan's influence in getting the anti-evolution law passed. The former Secretary of State, Democratic Party leader for over 20 years, and popular Chautauqua orator, had lectured in Nashville on "Is the Bible True?" at the time when the TN legislature was considering the bill (Jan 21 - Mar 13, 1925) making it unlawful to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.

ISSUES. The greatest issue was that of origins: Where did we come from and where are we going? The Scopes Trial also dealt with issues with a more immediate impact on our day-to-day lives:

• What is the role of religion in public life? In 1925 there was a very public debate over modernism and fundamentalism. Today, the question is different, reflecting the pluralism of American society.
• Who controls the schools? What role do parents, teachers, the government have or should they have in the operation of public schools? What rights do students have? Does academic freedom apply only to teachers, or do students have the right to hear all sides of controversial topics?
• What rights do minorities have? What rights do the majority have, particularly when they conflict with a minority position?

EPILOGUE. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. The TN Supreme Court later upheld the law but reversed Scopes' conviction on the technicality that the jury - not the judge - should have set the fine. Darrow lived 13 years after the trial and on one return visit to Dayton TN, he noticed the construction of a new Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Darrow was reported to have quipped, "I guess I didn't do much good here after all." Bryan published a 15,000-word monologue that he had not been allowed to deliver. He traveled several hundred miles around TN speaking to thousands of people. On Sunday, July 26^th, 1925, Bryan drove to Dayton and participated in the morning worship service of the Southern Methodist Church. That afternoon he died quietly in his sleep. His body was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery beneath the inscription, "He Kept the Faith." Bryan's passing marked the end of the legal drama, but the beginning of an epilogue that shows no signs of concluding.

In less than three months after Bryan's death, friends from all over the country initiated a memorial university to honor Bryan's life and his desire to establish a school on one of the hills surrounding Dayton. The doors were opened in 1930 in the old high school building where John Scopes had supposedly taught evolution. Today, William Jennings Bryan University is an independent, four-year Christian liberal arts institution offering degrees in 15 areas. It is accredited to award the associate and baccalaureate degrees. Eighty percent of the faculty hold doctoral degrees. Bryan University is founded on the belief that God is the author of truth; that He has revealed Himself to mankind through nature, conscience, the Bible, and Jesus Christ; that it is His will for man to come to a knowledge of truth; and that an integrated study of the arts and sciences and the Bible, with a proper emphasis on the spiritual, mental, social, and physical aspects of life, will lead to a balanced development of the whole person.

Cosponsors: CSFNM & KFLQ

Scopes Trial Resources:

• Scopes: Creation on Trial by R.M. Cornelius and John D. Morris
• 12 Days in Dayton: The Scopes Monkey Trial produced by TV-45, this documentary explores the history of the evolution/creationism battle, the events of the trial, the effects it had on the town of Dayton, and answers the $64,000 question: Why Dayton, TN?
• Dare to Win by Jay D. Homnick. Just one man's opinion? The time is ripe, argues the author, for people of faith to fight back against militant secularists pushing the theory of evolution as fact.