News to Note, March 15, 2008

1. Templeton Award-winner Denies Intelligent Design

The 2008 Templeton Prize, a $1.6 million (£820,000) award for “discoveries about spiritual realities,” is going to a Roman Catholic priest who denies intelligent design.

Michael Heller, a priest and professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in his native Poland, was announced the winner of the prize this week in recognition of his work on the theological and scientific origin of the universe.

But while you might expect such an individual to endorse intelligent design if not biblical creation, Heller has done nothing of the sort. Rather, he accuses intelligent design advocates of having committed a “grave theological error.” Take a look at Templeton Award-winner Denies Intelligent Design and decide whether this priest has really made an important discovery about spiritual realities.

2. Ancient Bones of Hobbits found in Palau

“Thousands” of human bones have been unearthed on the Pacific island Palau, reports National Geographic News. The bones belonged to “numerous individuals,” some of whom were “of particularly small size.” More hobbits, perhaps?

3. Native American DNA Linked by Six Women

Nearly all Native Americans—including those in North, Central, and South America—have descended (in part) from just six women, says a new DNA study published this week in PLoS One.

4. Looking into the Strongest Creature on the Planet

The Hercules beetle, the strongest animal in the world, is not only renowned for its strength; it also employs a shell that changes colors in response to ambient humidity.

5. A Meeting of Minds

It’s just over a month away from the opening of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed in movie theaters across America, and AiG–U.S. president Ken Ham recently had the opportunity to chat with Expelled host Ben Stein.

Stein joined the National Religious Broadcasters’ annual conference for a preview showing of Expelled, but first he spent about fifteen minutes chatting with Ham before the film began. Stein even commented on AiG’s “wonderful” Creation Museum, saying he hoped to visit it one day.

Praising the movie, Ham said, “I urge everyone not to miss Expelled. I found it riveting, eye-opening, even astonishing. Ben Stein does a masterful job of exposing the ruthlessness of evolutionists who will go after anyone who challenges or merely questions Darwinian orthodoxy. I was on the edge of my seat—entertained yet instructed.”

Ham concluded, “This movie is a must-see. Congratulations to Ben and the producers for the courage to create a much-needed perspective on the erosion of freedoms in America.”

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