Re: [asa] Evangelicals and scientists

Randy, this is great, and I'll definitely be praying for you.

On 1/23/07, Randy Isaac <randyisaac@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Charles,
> Was that Joel Hunter you saw and heard?
> Yes, this was a major struggle that several of us had to cope with. If
> you've deciphered the various press releases and news reports, you'll know
> that there was a retreat on Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 that was intended to be a
> joint meeting between evangelicals and scientists as a response to EO
> Wilson's book "The Creation." There were about 30 people in attendance of
> whom three of us were ASA members and part of both groups--Cal DeWitt, Joe
> Sheldon, and I. We were asked to keep this event confidential until the
> press conference on Jan. 17. All the gory details of that press
> conference are at http://chge.med.harvard.edu/media/releases/jan_17.html
> It was simultaneously awkward and yet encouraging. For Cal and Joe and
> me it was strange to hear our colleagues the scientists talk about "those
> evangelicals" and vice versa. It was quite a sociological insight, actually.
> The secular scientists repeatedly talked about their apprehension of meeting
> with evangelicals and how their stereotypes were shattered as they learned
> that evangelicals were human beings after all. Meanwhile, the evangelical
> leaders who attended hadn't ever met prominent scientists before and were
> surprised to learn how respectful the scientists were of the moral values
> and beliefs of evangelicals.
> Yes, the three of us felt at ease and at home in both groups and we
> struggled with the "false split" as you put it. At least I had a good chance
> to highlight the existence of ASA and its members who are part of both
> groups. Eric Chivian got that point across very well in the Newsweek online
> article at : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16671785/site/newsweek/
> Nevertheless, the split isn't entirely false--it isn't inherent but it
> isn't false either. That is, the unfortunate truth is that most scientists
> are not evangelicals and most evangelicals are not scientists. Yes, they can
> be but they aren't. Those of us who live in the intersection of the
> two don't need retreats to learn about each other. But it was a tremendous
> benefit to be able to be intermediaries in such a gathering where the
> "middle road" portion of each group could meet each other.
> Managing the news media has been challenging at best. It appears that
> tonight (Jan. 23) I'll be given a chance to try it on a conservative
> Christian talk show on live radio. It's scheduled for 8pm to 8:30pm Eastern
> time and can be heard at http://www2.kkla.com/listen/<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=9663396&msgid=4792720&act=3CGK&c=42074&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.kkla.com%2Flisten%2F> Your
> prayers would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Randy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Charles Carrigan <CCarriga@olivet.edu>
> *To:* asa@calvin.edu
> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:02 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [asa] Intelligent design to feature in British
> schoolReligious Education lessons
>
>
> It is unsettling that the students will hear only these two ends of the
> debate (ID and Dawkins), once again supporting the false dichotomy of either
> science or religion. It is very unfortunate that those who are both
> religious and scientists are left out of the discussion.
>
> I saw the same false split supported this past week on the morning news,
> when they interviewed a scientist on one hand and a Christian minister on
> the other, and spent plenty of time discussing their differences. The whole
> point of the story was to show these two as "strange bedfellows" who were
> united in their desire to reduce global warming, but of course had
> completely different views on origins.
>
> It is very troubling that this false separation is taken as a "given" in
> many areas of our society.
>
> Best Regards,
> Charles
>
> _______________________________
> Charles W. Carrigan, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor of Geology
> Olivet Nazarene Univ., Dept. of Physical Sciences
> One University Ave.
> Bourbonnais, IL 60914
> PH: (815) 939-5346
> FX: (815) 939-5071
> ccarriga@olivet.edu
> http://geology.olivet.edu/
>
>
>
>

-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Web:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com
Blog:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com/throughaglass.html
MySpace (Music):  http://www.myspace.com/davidbecke
To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.