Re: Few Christian Nobelists- why??
Glenn Morton (grmorton@waymark.net)
Sat, 18 Oct 1997 21:54:17 -0500I have been watching the discussion of the Nobelists. I have one other
explanation and that is that we Christians lose many of the brightest
students when they begin to see the difference between what they were taught
and what science observes. Some will remember the list of personal stories I
posted a few months back about those who felt the origins issue were
important enough to leave the faith. (If anyone missed it I would be glad to
look it up and send them a copy). As one example I would cite E.O. Wilson, a
world class scientist, who admits that the discrepancies between what
Christians teach about sciecne and what science actually says caused him to
leave the faith. He was raised Southern Baptist but rejected Christianity
when he found out that evolution was true and Christians had no scenario
which would match his view of truth. Wil Provine in a personal
communication with me told me a similar story about his conversion to
atheism. Provine, an exceptional scholar, is the son of a Presbyterian
minister who didn't believe in evolution. Wil found out that the data for
evolution was overwhelming and now actively challenges christians in his
classroom. It is reported that up to 505 of his classes reject their faith
after one semester in his class.
To conclude, the failure of christianity especially conservative
Christianity, to provide a scenario in which the Scriptures can be viewed as
objectively true in light of modern scientific knowledge causes the
defection of many who otherwise might become Nobel candidates. It is this
loss that drives me. Not every student can feel comfortable with the view
that the Scripture is true but doesn't describe what actually happened.
glenn
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm