I went back and watched the end of the debate tonight. Predictably, you
quotes are verbaitum, my quote of Barry Lynn was approximate. Lynn
actually said, " 'In the beginning was the Word.' Indeed, that word
just mught turn out, literally, to have been a command - evolve."
Sat, 20 Dec 1997 21:21:24 -0600 Glenn Morton wrote:
> But I would suggest that Philip Johnson is going to get unloaded on by the
> young-earth creationists. He said "I have said on many occasions and have
> urged persons in the conservative Christian community to put aside the Bible
> issues and let us ask the question what is actually known from scientific
> evidence as opposed to materialistic philosophy."
I don't think any YEC should take issue with that statement. IF the YEC
view of Genesis is historically true, then there should be scientific
evidence supporting that view. Unfortunately, the easy route is to say,
"God said it, I believe it, and that settles it." Phil is simply saying
that more Christians need to follow the lead of Michael Behe and take
the time to build the empirical foundation to support whatever it is
that we believe. When David fought Goliath, he (1) crossed over to the
enemy's turf, and he (2) used geology to convince Goliath of the truth
of God. He (3) also used a little metallurgy to obtain data useful in
reminding Saul of his promises (I Samuel 17).
> and of a young-earth
> creationist book said "The kind of thing you are scouraging certainly is
> silly, just almost as silly as the work of Richard Dawkins. And its
> damaging. And I mean that."
I was surprised and sadden to hear this from Phil. If _D Is For
Dinosaur_ is silly, then what should we say of God, who finished Job off
with leviathan (dead ringer for a dino) in Job 41? And no, I don't
believe this can be dismissed as poetic imagery, as suggested not too
long ago on this site.
Incidentally, God wasn't playing patty-cake with Job. How would God's
question in verse 5 of Job 41 sit with you if you had just experienced
the loss of your children, especially your little girls, Dads: "Can you
make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?"
His girls were dead.
I would like to thank the participants of this debate for clarifying the
issues. I now have better definition of my target.
Bill Payne