4th Correspondence |
31 January 1997 |
| The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses New York Dear Brothers CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CREATION BOOK Please find enclosed a Creation book with references to, and commentary on some of the scientific information contained in chapters 1-8, 11, 15 and 17. Presently I am serving as literature servant assistant in Windermere Congregation, Durban, South Africa. I served as a ministerial servant between 1987-1993 and as an elder from 1993 to 1995. I had the privilege of being the Theocratic Ministry School overseer for an entire year in 1994. I chose to step down as an elder for personal reasons in 1995. I have written to you thrice before. My letter dated 14 February 1992 had to do with the inconsistencies involved in believing that the Flood was global, my letter of 9 May 1994 with the inaccurate depictions of animals in the Paradise, and my letter dated 27 June 1996 with the secret encryptions in the Pentateuch (to which you have not as yet replied). I actually learned the truth as I was leaving school. The Creation book was released soon afterwards, while I was at university studying genetics and botany. I recall how enthusiastic I was at the book’s release, and how I used my unique circumstances to witness to some of the professors, as well as numerous undergraduate and post-graduate students. Of course, I only experienced moderate success with a few of the undergraduates, and I remember thinking it odd as to why none of the qualified persons I spoke to seemed to take me seriously. Today brothers, 11 years later, I finally know why the Creation book was rejected by the well-informed. Upon completing my studies I took my stand on the issue of neutrality, and served 3 years of Community Service at the Durban Botanic Gardens and the Durban Natural Science Museum. I was subsequently employed as a science teacher at the Museum, and have now been there for 6 years. My exposure to scientific thinking and access to a natural science library has, as you can imagine, raised many questions regarding the natural world in my mind. I am a perfectionist by nature, and insist on researching matters thoroughly and accurately. In fact, from the outset the truth appealed to me because you, the Governing Body, were clearly thorough in your investigation of all subjects. The real basis for my love for Jehovah though, is His creation. I has always been in awe of it - the more I study it, the more it fascinates me and the more I enjoy sharing its beauty with others. I am greatly blessed in that my secular work is also my hobby. From the outset though, the Creation book disturbed me. Its smooth and effortless rebuttals and refutations of the Theory of Evolution seemed almost too good to be true. Surely disproving Evolution could not be this simple? The Theory of Evolution is an attempt at explaining the mysteries we observe in nature - and for the most part, biological evolution makes sense. The only controversy amongst scientists revolves around how organisms adapt and change, and exactly how far they can adapt and change - but adapt and change they do! And if given long enough, no-one can authoritatively deny that immense changes are possible. I nevertheless always believed in my heart that you must have investigated this matter in your usual thorough manner, and therefore it was I who had more to learn and more research to do. Sadly though, it is clear to me now that I HAD BEEN WRONG (and after much investigation, prayer and discussion with others, I still say this with an element of disbelief). The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I gradually realised, had allowed its prejudiced and hostile attitude towards Science (evident to anyone in the truth for longer than 10 years), to get the better of it, and had produced a shamefully biased and crafty publication. I hope you don’t get too upset with my criticism. To be honest, I think that over the last 11 years you have probably heard this all before - there is just no way that I, a lowly South African school teacher, can be the only person to have pointed these errors out to you! Please understand that my disillusionment with the Creation book does not mean I doubt your motives. I realize that according to your present way of thinking, biological evolution has its origin with the Devil, and you are simply fulfilling your duty of trying to overturn his evil designs. What you don’t seem to realize though brothers, is that in itself, biological evolution does not imply atheism, it is simply a viewpoint that unfortunately happens to be consistent with atheism. Contrary to the claims you have made about the book’s authenticity and scientific accuracy - a careful and unbiased investigation reveals otherwise. As you will see in my comments and criticisms, the book not only often quotes scientists in a devious manner, but it even openly misquotes them! Major lines of evidence in favour of evolution have been ignored; numerous un-authoritative ‘experts’ have been referred to; diagrams have been dishonestly modified; contradicting statements are common, and cleverly designed pseudo-scientific arguments are put forward to deceive the layman. Worst of all, one cannot help feeling throughout the book that YOU DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY (I need to explain here that in my analysis I will be referring to "YOU", meaning you as the originators of the material. Even if you did not actually compile the book, the fact remains that you commissioned it, you endorsed it, it represents your official viewpoint, and therefore you must take responsibility for its shortfalls). Also, I apologise if, in reading my analysis, you are offended when I accuse you of being dishonest, deceptive and foolish. You must please understand that as a science teacher, I take pride in the efforts I make to dispel the superstitions, myths and abject ignorance that exists today about the natural world and the beautiful Universe we are all part of. To have to face the blatant untruths and unfair statements that you make in this book has been very difficult for me, and admittedly I have been quite infuriated at times (particularly with regard to the 7000-year "days" [p26]; the skull drawings you falsified [p94] and the shockingly deceptive comment made about radiocarbon dating [p96]). It’s true to say that my faith has been shaken by all of this. I, like the rest of the brothers worldwide, trusted you implicitly, and believed that, for the greater part, biological evolution must be a blatant lie because you said so, and we were led to believe that you had done long and honest research on the subject. Clearly though, that is not how things were in reality. Nonetheless, I feel relieved that this matter is now off my conscience. I’m happy that finally I have enough material to write to you on this subject. Despite the certain amount of bitterness I naturally feel towards this deceptive conspiracy brought against evolutionary biology, I keep telling myself that I also have a lot to be grateful to Jehovah and his organization for. I want to be loyal to those who have helped me in the past, and who largely publish information of great value. Yet, I’m not prepared to renounce all the scientific truth and the concrete facts I know in exchange for fairy tales and unfounded stories. The truth about exactly how life originated and how it diversified into the variety we see today, is out there, waiting to be discovered. In the end, whatever natural laws or mechanisms are found to be involved, they all bring praise to the one who originally put them in motion, Jehovah, the Great Purposer. With Christian love and greetings. Yours sincerely Mario Di Maggio |
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5 June 1997 |
The
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses Dear Brothers UNSATISFACTORY REPLY TO MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CREATION BOOK Please find attached a copy of the letter I received from the South African Bethel in response to my critical analysis of the Creation book. Please note that not one of the Creation book’s numerous scientific errors outlined in my 48-page document are addressed. Instead, I am referred to two scientists who do not have a problem with evolution per se, but only with the origin of life by chance.Also, I am referred to a book about fossil forgery which was discredited soon after its release in 1985 (borne out also by the fact that you have never referred to it in any of your publications). Yours sincerely |
