Re: agreeing about a mere creation?

Craig,

While I admit that the jury is still out, and while I don't deny the
value of a spirit of humility here, the whole tenor of our chapter is
NOT to cast doubt on the possibility of "fully gifted" and "totally
self-assembling" but rather to suggest that it is not only
conceivable, but also, in light of the examples given, to suggest
that there is no good reason to reject such given our current state
of knowledge.

Your citation of the opening and closing paragraphs of the chapter
gives a somewhat different impression of what the chapter is trying
to accomplish and overplays, I think, our humility. In my mind "the
jury is still out" quote is primarily aimed at anti-evolutionists who
claim that the jury has spoken its verdict and that verdict is that
"natural" processes CANNOT explain these phenomena.

This is my reaction and not Loren's. He can speak for himself here if
he likes.

TG

On Jul 28, 2005, at 7:40 AM, Craig Rusbult wrote:

>
> P.S. The "mere creation" statement is from the end of a part of my
> web-page
> about evolutionary creation (theistic evolution) that distinguishes
> between
> two stages of history (formative and salvation), looks at a possible
> analogy (or maybe not) between the two stages, looks at the concept
> of a
> Fully Gifted Creation that has complete functional integrity, asks
> "Which
> universe is more impressive?" and urges humility about arguments
> (theological, philososphical, emotional, aesthetic, and scientific)
> and
> personal preferences, and quotes Loren Haarsma & Terry Gray (in
> Perspectives on an Evolving Creation) who say "the jury is still
> out" on
> the question of whether God created nature to be fully gifted and
> totally
> self-assembling by natural process.
> http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/origins/theistic-cr.htm#history
>
> Craig
>

________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D.
Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
(o) 970-491-7003 (f) 970-491-1801
Received on Thu Jul 28 14:07:15 2005