The Irish Minister for Science, Conor Lenihan, has pulled out of his commitment to launch an anti-evolution book in Dublin.
 
The book describes evolution as a fantasy and a hoax. The author of the book, John May, asked the Minister to withdraw after controversy erupted on the Internet.
 
“The Origin of Specious Nonsense” will have a theatrical launch at a Dublin city center hotel tomorrow with actors playing the parts of Charles Darwin and King Kong.
 
Mr May gave his reasons for asking Mr Lenihan to withdraw from the launch. He said “I am so embarrassed that the Minister for Science has been so insulted” and “eviscerated” on a political website. He added “He doesn’t even believe in my central argument.”
 
During the launch Mr May will give a talk titled “How Evolution Made Monkeys Out of Man”. Mr May is also offering over $13,000 to anyone who can prove evolution to him on a biochemical level.
 
Mr Lenihan insists that he “remained to be convinced” by Mr May’s arguments. He said that he believes “diversity of opinion is a good thing.”
 
On his website Mr May describes himself as “like Abraham Lincoln, self-educated, and might be viewed as a polymath, left school young and commenced my real education”.
 
In the publicity material released in advance of the book’s launch Mr May said that evolution is “a fantasy of farraginous, farcical, fatuous, feculent, facile facetiousness and my book shall lead the charge against this UNSCIENTIFIC HOAX [his emphasis] worldwide”.