( web-pages by Craig Rusbult, Ph.D. )
The Homepage
for Origins Questions will give you a quick overview of what I've
developed as editor of the ASA Website
for Whole-Person Education. And an FAQ
about Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design (it's a set of responses
to Frequently Asked Questions) is a good summary of my views as
an author who "is writing the FAQ for
ASA, but does not claim to speak for ASA, ... so you can think of it as a
‘personal editorial’ [for this part of the ASA website] that is
one ASA-FAQ rather than the ASA-FAQ." The FAQ "combines
my descriptions of general agreements (by most scientists, or
most scholars, ASA members, Christians,...) and disagreements, plus
personal opinions (I think...)."
You can explore three levels of
the FAQ (a brief "read me first" outline, a medium-sized overview,
and 8 full-length pages) or you can begin with the "brief summary
of my views" below. And a
detailed version of this page briefly outlines each of my pages about
origins — about scientific questions, theological questions, age of
the universe, credibility of historical science, origins education, and mutual
interactions between worldviews & science — thus providing a"big
picture" view for a wide range of origins questions.
a brief summary
of my views:
Theologically, I think
that: God initially created the universe "from nothing", and
is now involved in natural process by designing and sustaining it, and sometimes
guiding it; miracles are probable during formative history — if
this history is analogous to the salvation history of humans recorded in the
Bible, which included divine action that was usually natural-appearing and
occasionally miraculous-appearing — but formative miracles are not theologically
necessary. And miracles in the Bible, such as the healing in Acts 3,
provide theological support for creations by "modification of existing
matter" rather than independent creations from nothing.
Scientifically, based
on evidence and logic, I think God designed the universe so it would be
mostly
self-assembling, and my theory for "how God created" is independent miraculous-appearing
creation of the first life, followed by progressive creation — with continual
creation by natural-appearing evolution (probably guided by
God, sometimes or always) over billions of years, supplemented
with occasional creation by miraculous-appearing genetic
modifications — for the production of complex life. All modes
of creation — in a design of nature, natural-appearing action,
and miraculous-appearing action — are intelligent design.
Methodologically, in science
I think naturalism (assuming "it happened by natural process")
should be flexible, not rigid; it should be viewed as a starting
point, as an assumption to be tested (not a conclusion that must
be accepted) but methodological naturalism is not the same as philosophical
naturism (claiming that "only nature exists"). In principle,
one type of design-directed action (in a miraculous-appearing creation
of life or modification of genes) could be detected
by using
the methods
of science, by a logical evaluation of empirical evidence.
Relationally, my goals
are accurate understanding and respectful
attitudes because our "views about other views and other people"
are an important part of life. These goals are consistent with my recognition
that an appropriate level of humility, about theology and science, is justifiable
and useful. I claim to have some productive ideas about Origins Questions,
rather than The Origins Answer. But humility should appropriate;
it should be balanced with confidence, because even though humility is logically
justifiable and is useful (both intellectually and relationally) we often
have reasons for rationally justifiable confidence, so I think postmodernism
"goes too far" and converts a good idea (re: humility) into a bad
idea (re: skeptical extremes and radical relativism).
Educationally, my philosophy
and goals — as editor of the ASA website for Whole-Person Science
Education
— are described in the home-pages for Creation
Questions and Origins
Evidence and in Accurate Understanding
& Respectful Attitudes.
One of my favorite pages is Biblical Theology for young-earth Christians and it begins with an invitation: "If you are a Christian with young-earth views, or if you're wondering what to think about age, this page is written for you, to share Bible-based ideas that you'll find both challenging and comforting."
MORE, in other areas:
World Views (reality,...) and Quantum Mechanics (my web-pages about worldviews)
Exploring Education: Learning, Thinking, Teaching (my web-pages about education)
Christian Education for the Whole Person (Principles, Motivations, Worldviews)
This page is
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/origins/rusbult.htm