Re: Will the transition ever occur in our lifetime?

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Phillip Jones
  To: Freeman, Louise Margaret ; asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 10:56 PM
  Subject: Re: Will the transition ever occur in our lifetime?
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>> Actually, I think many Christians consider scientists reasonably smart people (or at least appreciate the technology and medical procedures science has provided) and are eager to find some way of reconciling science with their religion. <<

   Yes, I agree. But, lay people still think they have to decide between their faith and science supporting evolution. Thanks to pop-theology and the news media, people are still trapped in 1980s origins theology. Middle ground is unknown to them. I have taught theological and evidentialism Bible studies at various protestant churches, and when discussing origins, the TE concept is unknown. Most have never heard the term. While they have heard of ID, they don't understand it. I have thought about writing a book that simplifies and explains the various views in a brief, easy to read format. Seems the only books aimed at the non-intellectual crowd are propagandistic YEC books.
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  One very good resource is Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett, Evolution from Creation to New Creation (Abingdon, 2003). Peters is a theologian at Pacific Lutheran seminary & CTNS & has long been involved in theology-sciences discussions. Hewlett, a Roman Catholic, is a molecular biologist. They are TEs but they give a very fair survey of the whole spectrum of beliefs about origins. My review of the book is in the most recent issue of PSCF.

  This morning the Akron Beacon Journal has a piece by Jane Eisner, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, titled "A trust in science tied to income, education," with attention given to debates about evolution. Of course it's no surprise that better educated people are, on the average, more likely to accept evolution. But that has the obvious but not so often mentioned corollary that those with higher incomes are likely to accept it & in general to be supportive of good science - which implies a kind of class warfare component of the current debates about evolution, ID &c.

  Shalom
  George
  http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
Received on Fri Oct 14 10:00:06 2005