Allen,
I'm going to jump in here, reluctantly, because I'm not sure I have time
for a sustained discussion, but I think that the either/or that you've
painted is part of the problem. What do you do with those of us
"evolutionary creationists"? Indeed, some evolutionists and some
creationists are guilty of assuming the conclusion. No doubt, if you start
with Philosophical Naturalism, you're going to end up there. Also, if you
start with Young Earth Creationism, you're going to end up there.
But, what if, oh and it seems a big what if in the contemporary discussion,
what if, you are a theist and a creationist (i.e. you believe that God
created), but you also believe that God could have created however he
pleased (including using evolutionary processes) and that you are willing
to let the evidence tell you how he did it (not your interpretation of
Genesis)??????
I'd suggest that these people turn into old earth evolutionists. It is this
class of people, in my opinion, that gives the greatest credibility to
evolution because their commitment to evolution is not rooted in
Philosophical Naturalism but in empiricism. (To be honest, that is my
reading of most scientists, even non-Christian scientists--philosophical
commitments play much less a role in their conclusions that you might
think, although there is an outspoken minority around who are an exception.)
It is the young earth creationists who are blatantly and unapologetically
non-empirical (as your post indicates). Your commitment to young earth
catastrophism has NOTHING to do with empirical evidence but EVERYTHING to
do with your commitment to a particular interpretation of Genesis. Sure
it's possible to interpret the world within the confines of your axioms,
but there are certain questions that you simply cannot ask of the evidence:
age of the earth, origin of species, etc. because your Biblical
interpretation has already answered those questions decisively.
For those of you who don't know me, I'm the evolution list manager, an
advocate of evolutionary creation, former biochemistry professor at Calvin
College, and now computer support scientist in the chemistry department at
Colorado State University. Of late, I've been a mere lurker on the list.
TG
_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
grayt@lamar.colostate.edu http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801
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