Duane Gish
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Duane Tolbert Gish (February 17, 1921 – March 5, 2013<ref name=death>Template:Cite web</ref>) was an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationist movement.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A young Earth creationist, Gish was a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) and the author of numerous publications about creation science.
Gish was called "creationism's T. H. Huxley" for the way he "relished the confrontations" of formal debates with prominent evolutionary biologists, usually held on university campuses,<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> while abandoning formal debating principles, in a style that came to be known as the Gish gallop. A creationist publication noted in his obituary that "it was perhaps his personal presentation that carried the day. In short, the audiences liked him."<ref name="Acts & Facts, May 2013">Template:Cite web</ref>
Early life and education
Gish, a twin, was born in White City, Kansas, the youngest of nine children. He served in World War II, attaining the rank of captain, and was awarded the Bronze Star.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from University of California, Los Angeles, in 1949, and he obtained his biochemistry Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1953. He worked as an assistant research associate at Berkeley, and as an assistant professor at Cornell University Medical College for eighteen years, joining the Upjohn Company as a research associate in 1960.<ref name=CB>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Page needed</ref>
Creationism
A Methodist from age ten, and later a fundamentalist Baptist, Gish believed that the Genesis creation narrative was historical fact.<ref name=Num251>Template:Harvnb</ref> After reading the booklet Evolution, "Science Falsely So-called" in the late 1950s, Gish became persuaded that science had produced falsifiable evidence against evolutionary theory, particularly the origin of life, and that various fields of science offered corroborating evidence in support of the Genesis creation narrative.<ref>"Dr. Duane Gish: Crusader", Creation Matters, Volume 1, Number 1 Template:Webarchive January/February 1996</ref> He joined the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA), an association of Christian scientists, mistakenly assuming the group supported creationism. Through his affiliation at the ASA, Gish met geneticist and creationist William J. Tinkle, who in 1961 invited Gish to join a newly formed anti-evolution caucus within the ASA.<ref name=Num251/>
In 1971, Gish became a member of the faculty at San Diego Christian College, working in its research division before accepting a position at the Institute for Creation Research (independent since 1981). He was the author of several books and articles espousing creationism. His best-known work, Evolution: The Fossils Say No!, published in 1972, has been widely accepted by creationists as an authoritative reference.<ref name=CB/> Gish initially "assigned low priority to the question of [the] age [of the Earth]".<ref>Template:Harvnb.</ref>
At his death on March 5, 2013, Gish held the position of Senior Vice-President Emeritus at the ICR.<ref name="NCSEDies">Template:Cite web</ref>
Debates
Template:Main Gish's debating opponents said that he used a rapid-fire approach during a debate, presenting arguments and changing topics quickly. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, dubbed this approach the "Gish gallop", describing it as "where the creationist is allowed to run on for 45 minutes or an hour, spewing forth torrents of error that the evolutionist hasn't a prayer of refuting in the format of a debate".<ref name = TOGish>Template:Cite web</ref> She also criticized Gish for failing to answer objections raised by his opponents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
However, Gish said a similar thing about his debate opponents, especially Kenneth Miller. Gish accused Miller of using spread debating, i.e. speaking very fast and bringing up so many points that there was no chance to answer them all.<ref>Gish, D.T., Creation Scientists Answer Their Critics, IRC, 1993</ref>
Gish was also criticized for using a standardized presentation during debates. While undertaking research for a debate with Gish, Michael Shermer noted that Gish re-used similar openings, assumptions about his opponent, slides, and even jokes. For example, during the debate, Gish attempted to prove that Shermer was indeed an atheist and therefore immoral, even though Shermer said he was not an atheist and was willing to accept the existence of a divine creator.<ref name = MS>Template:Cite book</ref> Massimo Pigliucci, who debated Gish five times, said that Gish ignored evidence contrary to his religious beliefs.<ref name="isbn0878936599 ">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Page needed</ref> Robert Schadewald accused Gish of stonewalling arguments with fabricated data.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Works
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See also
References
Further reading
External links
- 1921 births
- 2013 deaths
- 20th-century American biochemists
- 20th-century American writers
- 20th-century Baptists
- 21st-century Baptists
- 20th-century Methodists
- Methodists from Kansas
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- Scientists from Kansas
- Christian fundamentalists
- American Christian Young Earth creationists
- Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty
- People from Morris County, Kansas
- American twins
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
- University of California, Los Angeles alumni
- Creation scientists
- Former Methodists
- Baptists from Kansas
- United States Army officers