Re: Phillip Johnson (and Methodological Naturalism)

From: Robert Schneider (rjschn39@bellsouth.net)
Date: Wed Oct 15 2003 - 15:50:43 EDT

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    Josh writes:

    > But then Ken Ham believes that all dog kinds (from foxes to wolves to the
    > poodle) are descendants of two parental dog kinds from Noah's boat that
    > quickly diversified into all known species.

    Is this evolution? What does "diversification" mean in this context? If
    this is Ham's version of "common descent," it was completed with a rapidity
    that would leave any evolutionist breathless. No gradualism here!

    I see a potential problem. If there is a fossil record that provides
    evidence for the divergence of canis lupus and canis canis (I don't know
    about foxes) from a common ancestor, and the Noachian flood lay all of these
    deposits down in a time frame measured in months, how to reconcile the
    empirical evidence with the hypothesis. Since the diversification took
    place after the flood, it couldn't have taken place while on the ark. The
    time frames here raise the same kind of impossible images as Peleg watching
    the continents whirl around after the breakup of Pangaea. I'd love to hear
    Ham explain this.

    Bob Schneider

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Josh Bembenek" <jbembe@hotmail.com>
    To: <hvantill@chartermi.net>; <asa@calvin.edu>
    Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 1:19 PM
    Subject: Re: Phillip Johnson (and Methodological Naturalism)

    >
    >
    > >A question for Jonathon Wells (or his defenders):
    > >
    > >If there are now things that happen "naturally," does that mean that they
    > >are therefore in conflict with, or could not be a manifestation of,
    "God's
    > >purposeful, creative activity"?
    > >
    >
    > Sure, if we take a very limited view of the issues at hand and form a view
    > of the bible that equates with God's True Word as saying that evolution is
    > impossible and did not happen.
    >
    > But then Ken Ham believes that all dog kinds (from foxes to wolves to the
    > poodle) are descendants of two parental dog kinds from Noah's boat that
    > quickly diversified into all known species. This event does not appear to
    > be mutually exclusive with God's creative activity. I wonder what Wells'
    > and ID's take on that argument would be, since they see evolution as such
    an
    > inefficient process.
    >
    > Josh
    >
    > p.s. I don't know if I'm a "Wells Defender" but I answered anyway
    >
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