It’s often been referred to as the trial of the century.  It occurred in July of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.  It’s formally known as: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes but is more commonly referred to as The Scopes Monkey Trial.  

Joining Jim to discuss this issue was Dr. Jerry Bergman, author of the book, The Other Side of the Scopes Monkey Trial.  Dr. Bergman is a multi-award-winning teacher and author.  He’s taught biology, biochemistry, anatomy, genetics and other courses for over 40 years at the University of Toledo Medical College, Bowling Green State University and other colleges.  His nine degrees include a doctorate from Wayne State University in Detroit.  The 1,026 college credit hours he has earned is the equivalent to almost 20 master’s degrees.  He has over 1,800 publications in both scholarly and popular science journals which have been translated into 13 languages.  His books, which include chapters he has authored, are in over 2,400 college libraries in 65 countries.   

According to Dr. Bergman, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was aware of a law passed that stated that in public schools, you couldn’t teach theories which contradicted the biblical account of creation.  The ACLU didn’t appreciate that because human evolution is a major plank in their worldview.  They wanted to go to court but they needed a case so they asked for volunteers.  Scopes was asked to volunteer in Dayton, Tennessee.  The thought was that it would bring attention to the city as it wasn’t doing well due to the fact that a lot of industry had moved out.  So in the end, the trial was about creation vs. evolution.

Review this broadcast and you’ll learn about the major players in the trial (John Scopes, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan), why the trial paints a false picture of science vs. religion, how racism is actually a key element of the trial, and why Dr. Bergman believes this trial is one of the most distorted and misrepresented events in American history.