The spotlight, the
fame, the hullabaloo,
When anti-evolution
laws
Were challenged by
the ACLU!
The year: 1925.
The place: Dayton,
Tennessee.
To say it was an
extravaganza
Wouldn't be
hyperbole.
For many people it
was hard
To find a way to
reconcile
Biblical accounts
with science,
So science found
itself on trial.
A young teacher,
John T. Scopes,
Was willing to face
prosecution
For breaking a
Tennessee law for having
Given a lesson on
evolution.
The "Monkey
Trial" it was called.
The challenge meant
swimming upstream
For the feisty
lawyer Clarence Darrow,
Who helped to lead
the defense team.
A prosecutor was
William Jennings
Bryan, who with no
apology
Loved to stir up
outrage against
Evolutionary
biology.
Defendant Scopes
quickly found
It wouldn't take
long for him to know
What it was like to have a part
In a multimedia
reality show.
The courthouse
received a make-over:
Platforms for
newsreel cameras were built;
Extra spectator
seats were added.
They were playing
the trial to the hilt.
Concession stands
sold food and drinks;
Toy monkeys were on
display;
A chimp was dressed
in a suit and fedora;
The clergy also
joined the fray.
The media and the
public loved it!
The country watched
the trial progress.
What would win:
science or scripture?
The answer was
probably easy to guess.
After an eight-day
trial, the jury
Deliberated. Nine
minutes later
They had their
verdict: guilty! How
Could someone
question THEIR creator?
Scopes had actually
never given
The lesson. That's
what he later said.
Strangely, five days
after the trial,
Williams Jennings
Bryan dropped dead.
Laws later changed,
but even during
Current times, some
people feel
That stories from
the Bible should be
In science
textbooks. Now THAT'S surreal!
-by Bob B (11-6-18)
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