“Special Creation vs. Darwinian Evolution” will be the subject of debate on Saturday, May 18, at 11 a.m. at the Prendergast Library, 501 Cherry St., Jamestown.

Chris Miller and Norm Carlson will each have 20 minutes to present their view and followed by three alternating 4-minute time slots.

Chris Miller will argue in favor of special creation and Norman Carlson will argue in favor of Darwinian evolution. This will be the third debate between Miller and Carlson, having debated previously in 2003 and 2015.

Miller has a BS from Penn State in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, as well as an MBA from St. Bonaventure University. He became an avid believer in evolution after being taught that it was just as factual as gravity. He was so certain evolution was true that for 10 years he tried his best to persuade others to abandon their “ridiculous” belief in creation. Eventually he became aware that the evidence he was taught for evolution was dependent on dubious assumptions, and without those assumptions, true evidence greatly favored creation. Since then, he has given more than 700 public presentations explaining why he abandoned the Theory of Evolution.

Carlson spent his high school evenings listening to Herbert W. Armstrong and spent five years of adulthood in a local fundamentalist church. He has always treated religious questions seriously. He has a collection of English bible translations. Now he is a reluctant atheist but a thorough one: no god, no spirit or supernatural realm, no miracles, no afterlife. He spent half his life dairy farming. He hewed logs at public demonstrations for 30 years. He is a lifelong political and cultural conservative. He spent 20 years active in the Chautauqua County Conservative Party. He has a master’s degree in entomology from Purdue University and has done extensive reading in science, history, and folklore.

The Jamestown Prendergast Library is not a sponsor of the debate.