betrayal,
biology,
cosmic fine-tuning,
cynicism,
Daniel Reeves,
design detection,
Early Church,
faith,
Faith & Science,
foresight,
Intelligent Design,
John West,
Marcos Eberlin,
Melissa Cain Travis,
nanomachines,
Parents,
Philadelphia,
reproduction,
science,
scientific evidence,
scientists,
Secularism,
Stephen Meyer,
students,
teachers,
Vern Poythress,
Westminster Conference on Science and Faith,
youth track
It’s possible to simplistically sweep aside challenges to a materialist picture of reality. Proponents of atheism do this all the time. And it’s possible to sweep aside challenges, or what seem to be challenges, to a theistic understanding. People do this, too, all the time. Neither is intellectually satisfying. And the latter sets a trap for young people. Parents and educators might feel it’s the safest way to take shelter from claims by scientists and other academics that are thought to engender cynicism and undermine faith. But what happens when young people grow up, are immersed in a university or secular culture, and realize how little they were prepared for or exposed to counterarguments against their family’s religious tradition? The resulting sense of betrayal has been reported many times. Youth…