Re: [asa] Response to Baylor meeting

Thanks, Randy. His comments make more sense to me now.

On Aug 30, 2009, at 6:41 PM, Randy Isaac wrote:

> Pete,
> He's not really a Baylor prof but I know what you mean--the prof
> who commented on the Baylor meeting. He is in the computer science/
> math department at a Christian University in the Midwest. He has a
> Master's in chemical engineering and 30 years industry experience,
> much of it in computer science and systems work. As you might be
> able to tell, he cites creation science as one of his areas of
> interest on his website.
>
> Randy
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Pete Enns
> To: Randy Isaac
> Cc: asa@calvin.edu
> Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 6:21 PM
> Subject: Re: [asa] Response to Baylor meeting
>
> Randy,
>
> What is the Baylor prof's academic discipline?.
>
> Pete Enns
>
> <sig02.jpg>
>
> peteenns@mac.com
> peterennsonline.com
>
>
>
>
> On Aug 30, 2009, at 4:54 PM, Randy Isaac wrote:
>
>> In a recent note to faculty at Christian Colleges and Universities,
>> I provided the link to the talks at the Baylor meeting. One
>> professor responded with a note to say he found the talks very sad
>> and was disappointed. I started a dialog with him and have had some
>> interesting exchanges. I'd like to share part of his note and
>> perhaps gather some feedback from several of you that I can collect
>> and forward to him. I had asked him what kind of discussion he
>> would have found interesting. Here's part of his feedback:
>>
>> "When I saw the conference, I was impressed at the availability of
>> the slides and audio and dug into slides of presentations that
>> looked interesting.
>> The first one I looked at carefully was on "Worldview" - and was
>> dismayed to find it was just another convoluted twist of a way to
>> justify believing in the faith of evolution while still maintaining
>> some faith in Christ. This seemed to follow the lines of the
>> complex machinations in the Christian Scholar's Review. Seeing the
>> first slides, I thought this one would be a breath of fresh air vs.
>> those approaches, but, alas, just another twist on the same story.
>>
>> Along these lines, discussions of science and faith which would be
>> interesting, even from a group of committed evolutionists, might be:
>>
>> -Philosophically, why do I want so much to believe in evolution?
>>
>> -Discussion of dealing with evolution as a constructive mechanism
>> vs.our observation of environmental degradation with time(even
>> without man), species extinction etc.
>>
>> -An answer to the question of why evolutionists are concerned with
>> extinction when this is a vital part of the process. How does a
>> Christian reconcile this necessity of species destruction with the
>> stewardship mandate of man?
>>
>> -As a scientist, how has a belief in evolution guided my
>> understanding and research in profitable ways? For example, how
>> using the theory has lead to examination of fruitful lines of
>> research, or predicted results that were confirmed by
>> experimentation, results that one who did not believe in evolution
>> would never have thought to pursue. The only answer I have heard to
>> this question, never stated, but implied, is that believing in
>> evolution gains "respectability"."
>>
>> I may share some of the other comments later.
>>
>> I'd particularly like to solicit your comments on the last one.
>>
>>
>>
>> Randy
>>
>
>

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Received on Sun Aug 30 18:45:00 2009