Re: The Church of Darwin (WSJ 16 Aug 1999)
Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Wed, 18 Aug 1999 17:18:15 -0400
I have to leave for home a few minutes ago, but I want to comment on a
couple things Howard said. This is one of the best defenses of the RFE
principle I have yet seen from Howard. I for one will find it useful in
discussions with others. However, putting on my former creationist hat, I
suspect a good many creationists will say that Howard's view makes God seem
very impersonal: we only know Him indirectly through admiring His
creation. That's not what Howard is saying, of course, but I'm sure the
deism label will be pinned even to this. Let me inject something that I
hope will appeal to thinking creationists. It seems to me that God _does_
intervene in the world, and Scripture documents that He does. But that
intervention is in the affairs of men -- the beings He has created to have
fellowship with Him. Stars, planets, energy, chemicals, and even animals
(to a lesser extent to be sure) act according to more or less well-defined
rules. Man on the other hand is capable of behaving un unpredictable ways,
because he can observe nature, think about it and act on his thoughts. It
seems very reasonable that God intervenes in the affairs of men, and from
personal experience I attest that He does. _That_ seems far more
impressive to me than the question of whether He causes earthquakes, etc.
I think He can and does cause earthquakes, but He does so by making
infinitesimal adjustments (if nature is a mechanism, call them _inputs_) to
a superbly designed mechanism (nature) that carries out His desires.
Bill Hamilton
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
Staff Research Engineer
Electrical and Controls Integration MC 480-106-390
GM R&D Center
30500 Mound Road
Warren, MI
hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com / whamilto@mich.com (home)