From: bivalve (bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com)
Date: Thu Oct 16 2003 - 15:11:54 EDT
Whether one thinks that God is in some way responsible for genetic problems is more closely correlated with one's appraoch to predestination and free will than to evolutionary issues.
However, I think that any position on this still raises problems for the ID approach, as Dick noted. If God sometimes intervenes to fix up biochemical systems, why does He not do so in the case of genetic disorders? Note that this is not a very strong argument against God's involvement; if He determines (or influences) all things, but chooses to primarily run things using ordinary means, then the occurence of mutations in no way contradicts His involvement. Only if we are expecting Johnson-style fingerprints all over everything does the lack of such prints on genetic disease become a problem.
The topic of the level of God's control over creation also ties to the old discussion on process theology. Under a process or process-like scenario, can creation coerce the creator?
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Thu Oct 16 2003 - 15:12:36 EDT