On Undesigned Coincidences: A Reply to Dan McClellan

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, biblical apologetics, can we trust the Bible, Christianity, Gospel, Jonathan McLatchie, JonathanMclatchie.com, Lydia McGrew, Undesigned Coincidences, Wes Huff
Dan McClellan, a Biblical scholar with a specialty in the Hebrew Bible, and popular social media content creator, recently responded to a clip of my friend and colleague, Wesley Huff, on undesigned coincidences as a marker of historicity in the gospel accounts. Wesley Huff subsequently posted a statement on his community page on YouTube, linking to my previous response to John Nelson, which deals with many of the same concerns raised by McClellan. This prompted McClellan to publish another video offering a rebuttal to my engagement with Nelson’s (and by extension his) concerns in my essay. I do not know why the critics of undesigned coincidences always seem to want to engage with those examples pertaining to the feeding of the five thousand. Literally every critical treatment of the topic thus far has focused on those. There are…
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Fascinating Hypothesis from Weinstein: Repetitive “Junk” DNA Stores Integer Variables

biological processes, Bret Weinstein, chromosomes, Discovery Institute, DNA, embryonic development, ERVs, evo-devo, Evolution, evolutionary biology, function, gene expression, genes, genetics, genome, integer variables, Intelligent Design, Joe Rogan, Jonathan McLatchie, Junk DNA, microsatellites, repetitive DNA, Richard Sternberg, supporters, telomeres, variables
This opens up a world of potential functions for repetitive DNA that open-minded scientists can consider. Source
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Sexual Reproduction: Engineered for Success

Bayesian reasoning, Charles Darwin, Darwin's Black Box, egg, Engineering, Evolution, evolutionary theory, fertilization, forethought, goal, human reproduction, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Irreducible Complexity, irreducibly complex systems, Jonathan McLatchie, Michael Behe, natural selection, Podcast, purpose, seminal fluid, sexual reproduction, sperm, sperm capacitation
I continue a three-part discussion with Dr. Jonathan McLatchie on why sex is the queen of problems for evolutionary theory. Source
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No. 4 Story for 2025: Farewell to Günter Bechly

Cambridge, Casey Luskin, Center for Science and Culture, Charles Darwin, Christianity, Darwinian theory, Darwinism, Discovery Institute, England, Evolution News, evolutionary biology, Fossil Friday (series), fossil record, Germans, Germany, Günter Bechly, Human Origins, Icons of Evolution, Intelligent Design, intimidation, John West, Jonathan McLatchie, Jonathan Wells, Pacific Ocean, paleontology, Paul Nelson, Revolutionary: Michael Behe and the Mystery of Molecular Machines (film), Richard Sternberg, State Museum of Natural History, Stephen Meyer, Stuttgart, Theistic Evolution (book)
I told Richard Sternberg a story from own experience. I learned about more than paleontology from Bechly. Source
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Let’s Help Harvard Understand Intelligent Design

2. Does God Exist?, 3. Are Miracles Possible?, Apologetics, Christianity, design argument, Evolution, Gospel, Harvard, Intelligent Design, Jonathan McLatchie, JonathanMclatchie.com, naturalism, scientific apologetics
Last week, my wife and I spent an afternoon at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in Cambridge, MA, near where we live. We both were generally impressed by the exhibitions, particularly the dinosaur section, and would recommend the museum to anyone visiting Boston. I was, however, quite disappointed to see this notice at the entrance to the display on evolution: It was disappointing to see the inaccurate representation of intelligent design (ID), along with the poor scientific epistemology. A “Super-Natural Explanation”? First, proponents of ID have long stressed that ID, in its purest sense, does not necessarily postulate a supernatural cause but is consistent with a natural or supernatural intelligence. Furthermore, I would contend that the natural / supernatural distinction is problematic. What precisely is meant when a phenomenon…
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McLatchie Explains Design Implications of DNA Replication

Allan CP, biology, DNA, DNA replication, Evolution, history of life, hypothesis, Intelligent Design, Irreducible Complexity, Jonathan McLatchie, life, natural selection, primitive, sophistication, students, The Science Dilemma, unguided evolution, __featured2
Dr. McClatchie notes its “primitive” nature — meaning, not a lack of sophistication (quite the opposite!) but that life at the most basic level depends on it. Source
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Recurring Design Logic in Living Systems

attractants, Bacillus subtilis, bacteria, biological systems, biology, bioluminescence, chemotaxis, Complexity, Darwin's Black Box, E. coli, Evolution, genes, Intelligent Design, Jonathan McLatchie, Michael Behe, musicians, outer membrane, painters, poisons, proteins, Salmonella, signal transduction, sporulation, toxins
Architects, painters, musicians, and other creators apply recognizable patterns of thinking to their craft. Source
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The Miracles in Acts, and Their Evidential Value

3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Book of Acts, Christianity, Early Church, Evidence for God, Gospel, historical apologetics, Jonathan McLatchie, JonathanMclatchie.com, miracles, natural, supernatural
The book of Acts recounts various miracles performed by Paul and the other apostles, as well as the deacons Stephen and Philip. If it can be shown that these miracle reports substantially represent the testimony of these individuals, then this is an important aspect of the testimony that must be accounted for. For reasons I have discussed at length previously, there is strong reason to believe that the apostles sincerely believed what they claimed. As William Paley puts it, “there is satisfactory evidence that many professing to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives,…
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Help Us Mentor the Next Generation of Intelligent Design Scientists and Scholars

Alumni Mentoring Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Brian DeVries, Brian Miller, Cambridge, Center for Science and Culture, Darwinian evolution, Discovery Institute, Education, educators, Emily Reeves, Evolution, evolutionary biology, ID 3.0 Research Initiative, IDEA Clubs, Intelligent Design, Ivy League, Jonathan McLatchie, science education, scientists, South America, Steve Dilley, students, Summer Seminar graduates, Summer Seminar on Intelligent Design
Emily Reeves, a PhD staff scientist at Discovery Institute, has mentored an Ivy League postdoc in the field of molecular biology for the past five years. Source
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