RE: [asa] Book TV on C-SPAN 2

Pim wrote:
 
After all, one may point to a valid secular purpose to point out that
evolutionary theory is not necessarily at odds with religious faith. It is
far different from the position that evolutionary theory and fact are at
odds with religious faith, a position which serves no valid secular
purposes.
 
 
This, it seems to me, is a profound statement, although it appears contrary
to consistent logic on the surface. I will summarize your point,
substituting "scientific" for the more controversial term "evolutionary":
 
1. Asserting that a scientific theory is not necessarily at odds with
religious faith serves a valid secular purpose. Your point is, the "valid
purpose" is to make the teaching of science more palatable or easy to bear
for those who hold a particular religious viewpoint.
2. Asserting that a scientific theory IS at odds with religious faith DOES
NOT serve a valid secular purpose. Whether it be atheism trying to
establish the falsity of religion, or religion trying to assert the falsity
of science, both points are a philosophical/religious purpose, not a secular
one.
 
And I think, your use of the term "valid secular purpose" has to do with the
legal judgment that instruction in the (secular) classroom must serve a
purpose toward the end of secular education, not the furthering of purely
religious goals. Is this a fair summary of what you are saying?
 
 
Jon Tandy
 

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Received on Tue Feb 26 14:53:32 2008