23Nov 2021 by Post

Lessons Not Learned from the Evangelical Debate over Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve, Ann Gauger, Annual Review of Genetics, apes, beta-globin, BioEssays, BioLogos, chimpanzees, Christianity, common ancestry, CRISPR, Dennis Venema, Evangelicals, Evolution, evolutionary theory, Faith & Science, functionality, Genealogical Adam and Eve, gorillas, hominids, Human Origins, In Quest of the Historical Adam, Intelligent Design, Jesus Christ, Joshua Swamidass, Junk DNA, Kenneth Miller, Kitzmiller v. Dover, macaques, methodological naturalism, microRNA response elements, Nature (journal), Nature Reviews Genetics, Ola Hössjer, Paul Nelson, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pseudogenes, RNA (journal), Science Signaling, Springer, Theist Evolution, theology, william lane craig
To his credit, William Lane Craig is among those evangelicals who have been willing to question arguments against Adam and Eve. Source
Read More
06Jul 2021 by Post

Honoring Richard Lewontin, Famed Evolutionary Biologist and Sometime Critic of His Own Field

"God of the gaps", adaptationist, Billions and Billions of Demons, brachiopod shells, Carl Sagan, Charles Darwin, Darioconus auricomus, Darwinism, empirical science, Evolution, Harvard University, Herbert Spencer, historical sciences, intelligent causation, Intelligent Design, Jerry Coyne, Jerry Fodor, John A. Moore, just-so stories, Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, methodological naturalism, Origin of Species, Richard Lewontin, sea snail, spandrels, Stephen Jay Gould, The New York Review of Books, What Darwin Got Wrong, William Dembski, zoologists
The quote for which Lewontin has become best known appeared in his 1997 review of a book by Carl Sagan. Source
Read More
03Feb 2021 by Post

More Dispatches from the Science/Religion Classroom

consciousness, cosmology, Darwinian theory, Darwinians, Evolution, Faith & Science, fine-tuning, Francis Collins, geneticists, mathematics, methodological naturalism, natural selection, origin of life, particle physics, Philip Davies, population genetics, Richard Goldschmidt, Richard Lewontin, The Goldilocks Enigma, The Language of God, universe
Students are adept at spotting the incongruities, double standards, and tendentious arguments that often accompany methodological naturalism. Source
Read More
25Dec 2020 by Post

Reuben’s Story — A Light in Troubled Times

Atheism, biochemistry, biology, Center for Science & Culture, Darwin's Black Box, Darwinian evolution, Discovery Institute, Education and Outreach Initiative, encouragement, Foresight (book), Intelligent Design, Irreducible Complexity, Marcos Eberlin, methodological naturalism, Michael Behe, purpose, Summer Seminars, United Kingdom, YouTube videos
"Methodological naturalism is a very depressing thing to be told is the truth," says an 18-year-old correspondent. "Your work may have saved my life." Source
Read More
17Jun 2020 by Post

Trapped in the Naturalistic Parabola

abiogenesis, American Federation of Teachers, cell phone, Chemistry, Evolution, evolutionists, Faraday cage, federal courts, geometry, hydrolysis, Intelligent Design, Ludwick Fleck, Luke, methodological naturalism, National Academy of Sciences, Naturalistic Parabola, Oparin-Haldane model, origin of life, Origin of Species, parabola, paradigm, Prado Museum, proteins, reducing atmosphere, San Francisco, Sisyphus, smoked herring, strange loop, Thomas Kuhn, Titian
The principles of an alien [thought] collective are, if noticed at all, felt to be arbitrary and their possible legitimacy as begging the question. The alien way of thought seems like mysticism. The questions it rejects will often be regarded as the most important ones, its explanations as proving nothing or as missing the point, its problems as often unimportant or meaningless trivialities.Ludwik Fleck, 1935  When paradigms enter, as they must, into a debate about paradigm choice, their role is necessarily circular. Each group uses its own paradigm to argue in that paradigm’s defense.T.S. Kuhn, 1970 …a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.Luke 16:26 Don’t…
Read More
02Jun 2020 by Post

Darwin’s Desperation?

"survival of the fittest", appendix, beards, BioEssays, Brois Yeltsin, California Science Center, cell's, censorship, chimpanzees, choking, Christians, Communist Party, conferences, Current Biology, Darwin Devolves, Darwinian theory, Dave Speijer, Dover trial, dysteleology, epiglottis, Evolution, Glenn-Peter Sætre, Heretic, Intelligent Design, J.B.S. Haldane, Judge John E. Jones, Kremlin, lip-smacking, Matti Leisola, methodological naturalism, Michael Behe, Norway, peasants, Richard Dawkins, Richard Sternberg, Social media, speech, Stephen Jay Gould, Summers Seminars, Uncommon Descent, University of Oslo
They used to just ignore us. That worked for many years. Rare appearances of the loathsome words “intelligent design” in scientific journals were quickly squashed, as Richard Sternberg can attest. Occasional payouts to avoid lawsuits, like at the California Science Center, could be dismissed as inconvenient hush money, quickly settled and ignored by the press.  Meanwhile, Darwinism marched on, confident and triumphant. Largely unimpeded by any need for debate, evolutionary biologists and psychologists, safe in the accepted custom of methodological naturalism, could spin their just-so stories without fear of contradiction. The media were willing accomplices, keeping the public submissive and quiet, satisfied with the daily illusions pouring forth from the ministry of truth. See how wonderful, elegant, and powerful Darwin’s theory is at explaining everything — from human speech evolving…
Read More
09Jan 2020 by Post

Reflections on Our Ancient Past

Africa, ancient past, BIO-Complexity, bottleneck, coalescence, de novo creation, Denisovans, DNA, genetic diversity, Homo erectus, Human Origins, methodological naturalism, Neanderthals, Ola Hössjer, population genetics
This past October, Ola Hössjer and I published a paper, “A Single-Couple Human Origin Is Possible.” Writing in the journal BIO-Complexity, we described a model that used standard population genetics methods but refined in a new way to permit calculation of larger data arrays deeper in time. Using this model we were able to demonstrate that an initial couple could indeed give rise to the modern human population. That paper discussed the possibility of a first couple, but it did not distinguish between two alternatives. The single couple could have had a de novo origin, meaning to start from the beginning. This alternative is one most scientists choose to ignore since it does not fit with methodological naturalism (MN), the philosophical position that only “natural” explanations are allowed in science.…
Read More