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Science On Your Side Discussion Groups meet - on Sundays at Christ Lutheran Church, 760 Victoria Ave., Costa Mesa, CA .
All are welcome - especially if you have challenging questions.
All are welcome - especially if you have challenging questions.
About This Blog
You are in the middle of a Culture War whether you like it or not. You are bombarded daily with statements that contain theological, moral, philosophical, political or economic implications - for example: “Evolution is a fact, Religion causes wars, Consciousness is an illusion, Intelligent Design is not science.”
While claiming objectivity, those making such claims are almost always attempting to advance an agenda. If you are like me, it is not the claimant’s agenda that interests you; it is the truth or accuracy of the claim. I do not care if Intelligent Design fits a particular definition of science. What I want to know is - Is there trustworthy scientific evidence that the Universe was intelligently designed?
The upside of the Culture Wars is that fascinating questions have been raised and an enormous body of scholarly literature and research has been produced. I have been following the main issues in the Culture Wars for years and have learned some things, which may be valuable to others interested in these new developments and their implications.
That is why this Blog has been established – to share some of these findings with a wider audience. The materials contained in this Blog are things that I want every one to know about in order to help them make up their own minds about the “truth claims” in the Culture Wars.
While claiming objectivity, those making such claims are almost always attempting to advance an agenda. If you are like me, it is not the claimant’s agenda that interests you; it is the truth or accuracy of the claim. I do not care if Intelligent Design fits a particular definition of science. What I want to know is - Is there trustworthy scientific evidence that the Universe was intelligently designed?
The upside of the Culture Wars is that fascinating questions have been raised and an enormous body of scholarly literature and research has been produced. I have been following the main issues in the Culture Wars for years and have learned some things, which may be valuable to others interested in these new developments and their implications.
That is why this Blog has been established – to share some of these findings with a wider audience. The materials contained in this Blog are things that I want every one to know about in order to help them make up their own minds about the “truth claims” in the Culture Wars.
Critical Issues
Evolution vs. Darwinism
Few words have ever been subjected to the level of miss-use, as has “evolution”.This miss-use has charged it with emotion and loaded it with political baggage. When this miss-use is inflicted on a public, that is largely uninformed on the subject, the consequences are mass confusion.
Evolution Defined
The definition of evolution has been the source of much of this confusion.Webster’s Dictionary defines evolution as “a process of development, formation or growth”.Most simply put, it means, “change through time”. Biological evolution is the process by which organisms change over time. It is absolutely imperative to keep this in mind when thinking about the subject because everything in this universe changes over time: people change over time, cars change over time, language changes over time and biological organisms change over time. Even the strongest literal interpretation of the Bible reveals that Genesis chapters 1 & 2 report a change over time of living creatures. The Bible clearly states that different organisms came into existence over four days - days three, four, five and six. While Bible scholars differ on the nature or length of these days, even if it is argued that these are literal 24-hour days, the Bible still describes the addition or changing of organisms that occupy the planet or an evolution of life forms.
You will change slightly during the time you read this article. You will probable lose a minuscule amount of weight and your hair will grow a few thousandths of an inch and so on. By definition you will have “evolved.” Consequently when someone says, “evolution is a fact” they are indeed correct. Things change, that is a fact, they evolve. However very often when the term “evolution” is used the user does not actually mean “evolution” or change through time but instead mean “Darwinian evolution.” That is biological change driven by a purposeless, natural process, a process that does not need God.
The heart of the controversy then is not whether or not evolution (change over time) in living organisms actually takes place, the real argument is over what causes this evolution?There are two possible answers to this question. And two major philosophical camps have emerged around these two answers. One answer is that evolution is a purposeless natural process: this is the Materialist or Naturalist position, which is the predominant view among biologists. But a different answer is gaining currency. That answer sometimes referred to as “Intelligent Design” argues that natural processes alone are not sufficient to explain biological evolution and that these biological changes are driven in full or in part by a designer or a purposeful plan. This is the Theistic position.
It is imperative to keep these definitions clearly in mind when discussing evolution. Rejecting “Darwinism” is an intellectually tenable position but rejecting “evolution” is not. I have discovered that if someone is asked if they believe in evolution almost 100% will say yes. If you ask the same person if they believe that evolution is caused by a purposeless, purely natural process about 70% of them will say “no.” So if you begin a conversation by saying that you do not believe in evolution most people will conclude that you are in the same intellectual category as those who believe that the Earth is flat. As a consequence they are ready to dismiss any further information presented as coming from a benighted fool.
The correct distinction between Darwinism and Evolution is not a trivial matter but is central to making progress in this great debate.
Few words have ever been subjected to the level of miss-use, as has “evolution”.This miss-use has charged it with emotion and loaded it with political baggage. When this miss-use is inflicted on a public, that is largely uninformed on the subject, the consequences are mass confusion.
Evolution Defined
The definition of evolution has been the source of much of this confusion.Webster’s Dictionary defines evolution as “a process of development, formation or growth”.Most simply put, it means, “change through time”. Biological evolution is the process by which organisms change over time. It is absolutely imperative to keep this in mind when thinking about the subject because everything in this universe changes over time: people change over time, cars change over time, language changes over time and biological organisms change over time. Even the strongest literal interpretation of the Bible reveals that Genesis chapters 1 & 2 report a change over time of living creatures. The Bible clearly states that different organisms came into existence over four days - days three, four, five and six. While Bible scholars differ on the nature or length of these days, even if it is argued that these are literal 24-hour days, the Bible still describes the addition or changing of organisms that occupy the planet or an evolution of life forms.
You will change slightly during the time you read this article. You will probable lose a minuscule amount of weight and your hair will grow a few thousandths of an inch and so on. By definition you will have “evolved.” Consequently when someone says, “evolution is a fact” they are indeed correct. Things change, that is a fact, they evolve. However very often when the term “evolution” is used the user does not actually mean “evolution” or change through time but instead mean “Darwinian evolution.” That is biological change driven by a purposeless, natural process, a process that does not need God.
The heart of the controversy then is not whether or not evolution (change over time) in living organisms actually takes place, the real argument is over what causes this evolution?There are two possible answers to this question. And two major philosophical camps have emerged around these two answers. One answer is that evolution is a purposeless natural process: this is the Materialist or Naturalist position, which is the predominant view among biologists. But a different answer is gaining currency. That answer sometimes referred to as “Intelligent Design” argues that natural processes alone are not sufficient to explain biological evolution and that these biological changes are driven in full or in part by a designer or a purposeful plan. This is the Theistic position.
It is imperative to keep these definitions clearly in mind when discussing evolution. Rejecting “Darwinism” is an intellectually tenable position but rejecting “evolution” is not. I have discovered that if someone is asked if they believe in evolution almost 100% will say yes. If you ask the same person if they believe that evolution is caused by a purposeless, purely natural process about 70% of them will say “no.” So if you begin a conversation by saying that you do not believe in evolution most people will conclude that you are in the same intellectual category as those who believe that the Earth is flat. As a consequence they are ready to dismiss any further information presented as coming from a benighted fool.
The correct distinction between Darwinism and Evolution is not a trivial matter but is central to making progress in this great debate.
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