Students School Kirk Cameron on Darwin

Biologists take the opportunity to show kids science is 'cool'

(NEWSER) - How to celebrate "Darwin Day" in rural America? Very carefully, the New York Times reports: When evolutionary biologists set out on a road trip this weekend to Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, and Iowa to promote science in honor of Charles Darwin's 202nd birthday, one high school principal made sure to send out permission slips (two parents opted out). A museum vice president only publicized the event to teachers, not the community at large. Even so, the intended audience—students—seemed to deem the events a success: One 10th-grader blogged that the scientists "told it like it is." More»

Critics agree Paul Bettany shines, but premise falls mostly flat

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that on paper, Creation has a lot going for it. But they don't think the flick delivers the thrill of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking work:

• "Director Jon Amiel has reduced a crucial moment in science to a Lifetime weepie about a workaholic who needs personal tragedy to wake him up to his wife's virtues," Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone . The fact that stars Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly are married in real life "adds surprisingly little zest."

Brits 'can't imagine religion in America': Jeremy Thomas

(NEWSER) - The producer of a new film about Charles Darwin says he hasn't landed a US distribution deal because Americans can't stand the theory of evolution, the Daily Mail reports. Creation, the story of Darwin's struggle between reason and faith as he wrote The Origin of Species, has opened the Toronto Film Festival and sold to several other countries. "It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America," says Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas. More»

Publisher defends magazine's choice

(NEWSER) - Roseanne Barr, always good for a controversy, recently dressed up as a “Nazi domestic goddess” for Jewish magazine Heeb, causing quite a flap. “Yes, the story of this infamous satirist/Jewish grandmother pulling a tray of burnt ‘Jew cookies’ out of an oven has been making its way around the Internet,” writes publisher Joshua Neuman, but detractors are “ignoring the very particular context in which the image was created.” More»

Church officials now say evolution theory fits with beliefs

(NEWSER) - The Vatican is clarifying that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with its doctrine after all, the Times of London reports. The Church never officially condemned Darwin, but his views have been controversial with some because they present a radically different image of the origins of species than what's presented in Genesis. "What we mean by evolution is the world as created by God," said a Church official, apparently leaving wiggle room for Darwin's theories. More»