Re: [asa] Quoting Evolution [was Darwin] out of context

--- David Campbell <pleuronaia@gmail.com> wrote:

> >
> > Several questions arise about the limitations of evolutionary thought.
> > May it be that the concept of 'evolution' can be taken out of context,
> > misquoted so to speak? Is this a possibility that can be further explored
> at
> > ASA or should it be swept under the carpet due to fears about
> > anti-evolutionism? I ask this because it seems to me that not only those
> > like Dennett and Dawkins abuse the term 'evolution' and over-stretch its
> > uses, but also those theists, even Christians, who tie together or
> integrate
> > their views of science with their theology to such a degree that evolution
> > has become one of the most important theological concepts in their
> > vocabulary (e.g. de Chardin). Could it be, for example, that process
> > theology is so intimately intertwined with evolutionary thinking that to
> > remove evolutionary thinking would result in a catastrophe for process
> > theology?
> >
> >
>
> It's certainly necessary to specify what one means by evolution.

And here is the nub of the problem. If I, arguing before a fairly typical
evangelical audience, argue that the textbook definition of evolution is simply
change in the frequency of the various allelles from generation to generation,
I'm likely to be told that that's not the definition of evolution. The "true"
definition, should I ask for it, might not be wrong, but you can be sure it
will be phrased so as to make most evangelicals see red. We're dealing with
Hitler's observation: that if you tell a lie frequently enough, people begin to
believe it. The only antidote to that I see is for Christians with a science
background to tell the truth in as many forums as possible.

There's
> the basic issue of making clear what one is talking about. On top of that
> is the antievolutionary use of the word (or related terms such as
> macroevolution, Darwinism, etc) as a perjorative. Conversely, there is the
> invocation of evolution in the quest for adding an aura of scientific
> authority to philosophical views. For example, assumptions about
> progressive social evolution are widespread and typically invoke biological
> evolution for justification when in fact it provides no support for those
> views. Examples include Marxism, claiming that a particular theological
> view found in a passage could not have arisen prior to X time and so the
> passage has to be dated later than that, ideas that society is progressing,
> etc. Of course, one can find support for some aspects of claims of these
> sorts on the basis of historical evidence, definition of moral values, etc.,
> but others are imposed in disregard of the evidence.
>
> Process theology, as far as I can tell, posits continual change in both God
> and creation and in that sense is inherently evolutionary, in contrast to,
> e.g., the cyclic picture with a static ideal seen in Hinduism or Buddhism.
> However, this need not have anything to do with biological evolution.
> Although traditional Christian theology sees God as unchanging, there is a
> progressive revalation and a sense of direction to history which is more of
> an evolutionary pattern than the Hindu view. Again, there is some parallel
> to biological evolution, but the relationship is not necessarily any more
> profound than that between Trinitarianism and the use of (inadequate)
> scientific metaphors such as water, steam, and ice.
>
>
> > --
> > Dr. David Campbell
> > 425 Scientific Collections
> > University of Alabama
> > "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
> >
>

Bill Hamilton
William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
248.652.4148 (home) 248.821.8156 (mobile)
"...If God is for us, who is against us?" Rom 8:31

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Received on Mon Aug 21 21:33:18 2006