From: Keith Miller (kbmill@ksu.edu)
Date: Thu Aug 14 2003 - 21:56:38 EDT
Walter:
> Excluding catastrophic events, is natural selection responsible for all
> evolutionary outcomes? This is not a trivial question in that it is
> _the_
> critical bone of contention with many Christians (who feel that this
> is too
> cruel to be the way that God would accomplish His goals). To me your
> answer
> seems to say yes and no at the same time. Can you do a "natural
> selection
> for dummies" that would directly address that specific question?
It seems that you have put your finger on the real issue - at least for
you and
many other Christians. That issue is theodicy -- how to understand
God's character
in light of pain and suffering. I have often stated, that the
fundamental issues driving
much of the Creation/Evolution debate within the church are theological
ones. Until
those issues are dealt with forthrightly, arguing about scientific
questions is not
productive. We must uncover the root theological concerns and deal
with those first.
Keith
Keith B. Miller
Research Assistant Professor
Dept of Geology, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-3201
785-532-2250
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/
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