Blog

In Biology, Replacing Chance with Purpose Is the New Paradigm

Abraham, Aristotle, biology, Chance and Necessity, Chemistry, Christianity, Darwinism, Evolution, God Hypothesis, Intelligent Design, Jaques Monod, Kansas, laws of nature, Mariusz Tabaczek, materialism, Modern Synthesis, molecular biology, natural processes, naturalism, Neo-Darwinism, Nobel laureates, paradigm, physics, purpose, René Descartes, science of purpose, scientific atheism, scientism, St. Thomas Aquinas, teleology, telos, theistic evolution, Thomistic Aristotelianism, Thomists
In my most recent post in this series on the science of purpose, I concluded that the proper means of understanding our world requires that we include both purpose and necessity as fundamental elements of any comprehensive framework. I noted that the flagship phrase of 20th-century scientific atheism, as articulated by Nobel laureate Jaques Monod in his book Chance and Necessity, acknowledged necessity but explicitly and intentionally eliminated purpose from scientific dialogue.  Now some fifty years later we see that Monod’s paradigm has failed. And that the only possible way of understanding life on earth is to replace chance with purpose. Doing so reverses an epistemological trend stretching back almost 150 years. As such, it is incumbent that we fortify and substantiate the basis for what many would see as a revolutionary new paradigm. That is the goal of this essay. In Read More › Source
Read More

What Does the Bible REALLY Say About Homosexuality? with Dr. Robert Gagnon

Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Divorce, Dr. Frank Turek, Dr. Robert Gagnon, Homosexuality, Love, marriage, morality, Old Testament, philosophy, Podcast, religion, sex, The Bible and Homosexual Practice, theology
Can a biblical case be made to justify the practice of homosexuality? Does science support the narrative that people are “born gay”? And what did Jesus really teach about sexual ethics in light of the Old Testament? In this powerful episode, Frank is joined by Dr. Robert Gagnon, arguably the world’s leading scholarly authority on the topic, to tackle one of the most divisive moral issues of our time. Drawing from Dr. Gagnon’s landmark book, ‘The Bible and Homosexual Practice‘, widely regarded as the standard work on the subject for over 25 years, they examine what Scripture and science reveal about the issue of homosexuality. Tune in as they answer questions like: What was the initial response to Robert’s book? How does the Bible define love? What’s wrong with “loving”…
Read More

New Paper Has Bad News for Popular “Oxygen Theory” of the Cambrian Explosion

Cambrian animals, Cambrian Explosion, clades, Darwin's Doubt, David Coppedge, Douglas Erwin, Evolution, evolutionary precursors, Gizmodo, Intelligent Design, James Valentine, oxygen, oxygen theory, oxygen trigger model, oxygenation, paleontologists, paleontology, partial pressure of oxygen, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The Cambrian Explosion (book)
The technical paper acknowledges that this level of oxygenation, if sustained, would indeed “challenge the view” that oxygen was a trigger for animal evolution. Source
Read More

“My Public Education Was Ruined,” Weeps Dover High Grad

anniversary, attorneys, biology class, Casey Luskin, Dover, Dover Area, Dover School Board, Education, expert witness, geologists, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Jaron Starner, Kitzmiller v. Dover, library, Meredith Willse, monkey costumes, monkeys, paragraphs, Pennsylvania, public schools, science education, Scientific Freedom, Steve Fuller, trauma, York Dispatch
A bit melodramatic, perhaps? Attorney and geologist Casey Luskin, who was present for part of the Dover trial, has this to say. Source
Read More

Against Anti-LLM and Anti-AI Absolutism

1 Thessalonians, absolutism, Aristotle, Artificial Intelligence, Bible, Carl Rogers, ChatGPT, Christians, Computational Sciences, dopamine, Doug Smith, Education, Edward Thorndike, Eighteenth Amendment, ELIZA program, Frederick Buechner, geography, history, Jacques Ellul, Jaime Escalante, Joseph Weizenbaum, Judeo-Christian tradition, large language models, Laurent Siklossy, liquor, Marshall McLuhan, math, mathematicians, Neil Postman, Open AI, Phillips Exeter Academy, programmed learning, Prohibition, Rogerian therapists, Sam Altman, science education, software, St. Paul, Substack, Technology, Turing test, William Jennings Bryan, [Un]Intentional
Doug Smith has been a software developer for three decades. He writes extensively about the impact of technology on culture. Source
Read More

Is the Bible No More Credible Than the Book of Mormon?

4. Is the NT True?, Alex O’Connor, Apologetics, Bart Ehrman, Christianity, Evidence, Gospel, historical apologetics, Latter Day Saints, LDS, Mormonism, Sean Redfearn
Bart Ehrman (see timestamp 12:51 – 17:46) and Alex O’Connor (see timestamp 1:12:40 – 1:14:32) have both tried to undermine the eyewitness argument for Jesus’s resurrection by comparing it to the eyewitness testimony for Mormonism’s golden plates. Both Alex and Bart challenge Christian apologists with this question: “Why do apologists reject the eyewitness testimony of Mormonism when their reasons for believing in Christianity are founded on the eyewitness testimony of the apostles?” Are they right that this is a double standard? After all, Mormonism has a total of twelve eyewitnesses for its key claim about the golden plates. In addition to Joseph Smith’s testimony, eight witnesses say they saw the golden plates, plus three more witnesses say that an angel showed them the plates. There are a few simple points…
Read More

Hidden or Revealed? Two New Guides for the Perplexed

cancer, Christianity, Christians, clockmaker, codes, death, DNA, faith, Faith & Science, God the Science the Evidence, Granville Sewell, Guide for the Perplexed, Intelligent Design, Judeo-Christian tradition, Justin Brierley, Kathryn Jean Lopez, Maimonides, Michel-Yves Bolloré, Middle Ages, National Review, Olivier Bonnassies, podcasters, proofs, Return of the God Hypothesis, Roman Catholicism, Science and Culture Today, Scott Adams, Stephen Meyer, Steve Fuller, The God Proofs, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, theologians, theology, Thomas Aquinas, universe, Warfare Thesis, young people
As many already know, the beloved podcaster Scott Adams, beset by cancer, is wavering on death’s portal. Source
Read More

Why I Left Islam and Became a Christian – Apostate Prophet Shares His Powerful Testimony (Part 2)

Apostate Prophet, Atheism, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, David Wood, Dr. Frank Turek, Islam, morality, philosophy, Podcast, religion, Ridvan Aydemir, Testimony, theology
Ex-muslim turned Christian, Ridvan Aydemir aka “Apostate Prophet”, returns to the program to continue his conversation with Frank about theological problems with Islam and his recent conversion from atheism to Christianity. Together they answer questions like: What role did David Wood play in his conversion from atheism to Christianity? As an ex-Muslim, how did visiting Jerusalem change his point of view on Judaism? Why is the resurrection of Jesus essential to the truth of Christianity? Do we need 100% certainty to believe that anything is true? Why is living a Christian life more fulfilling than any other worldview? What inspirational words did Charlie Kirk share with Ridvan shortly before his death? What advice would Ridvan give to Christians who want to evangelize to Muslims? There’s even more important insights to…
Read More

How Far Will Experiments on the Unborn Go?

anthropomorphizing, artificial gestation, bioethics, Cell Press, China, egg, embryo, embryonic stem cell research, embryos, ethics, fetus, human embryos, IVF, miscarriages, MIT Technology Review:, organoids, pregnancy, Spain, Stem Cell Research, unborn children, United Kingdom, United States, uterine lining, uterus, Vermont, women
We have been told by some bioethicists that a born baby is no different morally than a fetus, so why stop there? Source
Read More

How Does Paul’s Relationship with the Jerusalem Church Present a Problem for Islam?

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Church History, Gospel, Islam, JonathanMclatchie.com, Paul, Were the Apostles Muslims?, World Religions
In a previous article, I offered a simple reason why the Qur’an cannot possibly be the word of God, since the proposition that the Qur’an is the word of God entails a necessary contradiction. Here, I am going to present an equally compelling reason to reject the Qur’an as the word of God. As I alluded to in my previous post, the Qur’an contends that the disciples of Jesus were Muslims. According to Surah 3:52, “…when Isa [Jesus] sensed disbelief in them, he said: “Who are my helpers in the way of Allah?” The disciples said:“ If The Apostles were Muslim . . . So according to the Qur’an, there is no question that the apostles were Muslims, under Jesus. But what if we could establish that the teaching of…
Read More