The April, 2006 edition of Crisis Magazine features a critical review of the Darwin exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. George S. Johnson’s article, “An Evening with Darwin in New York,” is a thoughtful analysis of the museum content mixed with general criticism of the Darwinian orthodoxy.

The article walks through the museum in broad brush strokes while taking note of the stories about Darwinian evolution not told by the exhibit. The review starts with the exhibits treatment of fossils, and features extended notes from Niles Eldredge, and many paleontologists who find the fossil record somewhat lacking as evidence for Darwin. Not surprisingly, the criticisms of these paleontologists, all mainstream secular scientists, were left out of the display.

The exhibit then moves to genetics, where Johnson finds the evidence of “evolution in action” unconvincing: “It’s all very interesting, but it tells us nothing about the origin of species.” The article notes that many secular scientists have found the extrapolation necessary for Darwinism to work to be problematic. Johnson laments that, “The semantic shuffle from ‘variation’ to ‘evolution’ nonetheless fools a lot of people.” The article discusses why DNA and modern genetics cannot solve the problem of the evolution of complexity. Johnson also offers plenty of criticism of natural selection, again referencing many skeptical mainstream scientists.

Johnson concludes, “What the show really demonstrates is that Darwinism has turned into a public orthodoxy that must be defended at all costs.” The article is worth reading, particularly for the well-researched quotes from influential scientists who are skeptical of the evolutionary explanation.