Re: [asa] Global Anti-Darwinism

Further comment again in red.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Gregory Arago
  To: George Murphy ; ASA list ; David Opderbeck ; Terry M. Gray ; rjschn39@bellsouth.net
  Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 10:34 AM
  Subject: Re:[asa] Global Anti-Darwinism
  ...................

  For example, George writes: "God has indeed become part of the evolutionary process."
    
  Though he claims not to be a process theologian, I find it difficult to imagine how God could 'become' part of 'the' evolutionary process. To me, this is a confusing mixture of metaphors that verges on ideologizing. Let me be clear that I do not discount process philosophy or process theology entirely (or think they come from the devil, as George pointed out is some peoples' view). However, I cannot help but realize the power of process-oriented thought/thinking in contrast to the outright dismissal of talk about origins and effects, especially in regard to human life and consciousness.

  Whether you can imagine it or not, the classical Christian claim of Chalcedon and Nicea is that the fully human child born of Mary is "true God of true God." If he is fully human then he shares our evolutionary history & like all the rest of us bears in his anatomy & biochemistry the marks of his relationships with other species. This is a unique claim about Jesus of Nazareth, & that uniqueness is one of the things that distinguishes it from most process theology. Perhaps you are put off by the word "process." If so, all I can say is, get over it. Process theologians don't have exclusive rights to the word.

  p.s. yes, George, please do privately re-send your final post on the nature/naturalism discussion from January, so that I may respond to it in due time; I meant to respond before, but ran out of candle-light/electricity.

  I will do so.
   
  p.p.s. If de Chardin had been willing to back away from his 'universalistic evolutionism' (e.g. "Evolution is a light illuminating all facts," 1940), he likely would not have faced such sanctions from the RCC. In the case of universalistic evolutionism he does, unfortunately, share something in common with Dawkins and Dennett.

  Anybody who accept the reality of biological evolution shares something with Dawkins & Dennett but it's misleading to classify the Christian (& in many ways quite traditional RC) Teilhard with a couple of militant atheists.

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Received on Tue Apr 24 23:50:40 2007