The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God. -- Psalm 14:1
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. -- Jer 29:13
Are you an evolutionist?
Everybody is to some extent. It depends how you define the term and the scope of your question. In the general sense, evolution simply means “change over time,” which is self-evident. What the debate is really over is the mechanism and extent of that change.
(1) What role (if any) does God directly play in the creation of things (Creationism) and in the subsequent changes created things go through?
(2) What is the extent of change that can take place by natural means alone? Are there limits to that change? Can valid extrapolations of change be made by observing small limited changes?
Unfortunately, people are sloppy (sometimes on purpose) on how they use the term “evolution”, flip-flopping its usage and sometimes causing great misunderstanding. In the scientific sense “evolution” can be discussed in four categories. Each will be considered in this class.
- Cosmological Evolution – The origin and formation of the universe. The Big Bang theory and the subsequent evolutionary coalescing of all matter into galaxies, stars, and planets by natural means alone (Naturalism).
- Chemical Evolution – The origin of life. The creation of organic (living) chemical building blocks (molecules) of life (e.g., amino acids) from inorganic (non-living) atoms by natural means alone (Naturalism).
- Biological Evolution – The origin of the species (Darwinism). The creation of the complexity and diversity of life on earth from a simple living cell by natural means alone (Naturalism).
- Social Evolution – The origin and explanation of human and social behavior (evolutionary psychology) by natural means alone (Naturalism).
- Consciousness and Soul – The origin and experience of consciousness and soul in human beings. The difference between the physical “brain” (Naturalism) and the non-material reality of the “mind” (Creationism).
Naturalism and Creationism are opposing worldviews
The Naturalistic view of the world
… all aspects of reality are subject to evolution, from atoms and stars to fish and flowers to human societies and values – indeed, that all reality is a single process of evolution. In 1859, Darwin opened the passage leading to a new psychosocial level, with a new pattern of ideological organization of thought and belief. In the evolutionary pattern of thought there is no longer either the need or room for the supernatural. The earth was not created, it evolved. So did all the animals and plants that inhabit it, including our human selves, mind and soul as well as brain and body. So did religion. Evolutionary man can no longer take refuge from his loneliness in the arms of a divinized father figure whom he himself created…
-- Sir Julian Huxley. British biologist, philosopher and world statesman. From his opening remarks at the Darwin Centennial celebration at the University of Chicago, 1959.
The Creationist view of the world
In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. And the Logos became human and dwelt among us.”
-- The apostle John. From his opening remarks in the Gospel according to St. John, c. 90 A.D.
As one readily sees these statements represent radically opposed worldviews. This course is designed to help the Christian layperson understand all forms of evolutionary thinking and its impact on society so that he or she may be equipped to give a Christian response (I Peter 3:15, Titus 1:9). The entire spectrum of evolutionary thought known ideologically as Naturalism is overviewed and compared and contrasted to the Christian worldview. Science and Scripture are interwoven so to help the reader contrast evolution against the Bible’s teaching regarding creation. Remember the Christian’s mandate is to give answers for the hope that is within him or her, and to correct those who are in opposition with “gentleness and respect” in the hopes that “God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
Darwinism (biological evolution)
Much of the time when people use the term “evolution” they are referring to “biological evolution” (also known as Darwinism) and it engenders most of the controversy since it speaks directly to the creation of humankind. Biological evolution is considered a fact of science and educators are committed to teaching it as such to our children. This is in spite of the fact that, according to the National Academy of Sciences,[i] more than half of all American adults do not believe that human beings evolved from earlier species and say that they would like to have “creation” taught as an option in public school classrooms. In its 1998 publication, Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, the National Academy stated that, “Those who oppose the teaching of evolution in public schools sometimes ask that the teachers present the evidence against evolution. However, there is no debate within the scientific community whether evolution occurred, and there is no evidence that evolution has not occurred.”
In 1995, the U.S. National Association of Biology Teachers promulgated their “Statement on Teaching Evolution” to guide high-school teachers in handling this “delicate subject.” The most significant part of the statement read:
Biology educators teach students that they were created by evolution, a purposeless, unsupervised natural process and then insist, with a straight face, that they are not saying anything about religion or God. At the 1999 convention, the National Science Teachers Association -- a group of 23 biology textbook writers -- called upon school districts across the nation to demand that textbooks proclaim evolution as truth. These scientists, with backing from the National Center for Science Education, a private organization which opposes creationist attempts to gain access to public school science classrooms, claim teaching the theory of evolution is no different than teaching the theory of gravity. “It’s academically and intellectually dishonest to teach biology any other way,” said Eric Strauss, author of a popular introductory biology textbook and a biology professor at Boston College. The National Center says that no other theories of the origin of life are worth talking about in the classroom.
Not only are our children indoctrinated with evolutionary dogma, but adults are constantly bombarded by a media blitz that assumes the fact of evolution. Carl Sagan was on a personal crusade to dissuade Americans from their belief in God by preaching that Nature is “all there is.” He opened his famous Cosmos television series with the remark: “The Cosmos is all there is, or ever was, or ever will be.” Evolutionists have been successful at arbitrarily defining-away evidence in favor of creation as non-scientific. Therefore, empirical data in favor of creationism is never discussed in public institutions or media venues. Evidence for a Creator is never presented as an alternative “scientific” theory. Anti-creationists, however, freely dispense evidence for evolution, totally ignore evidence against it and then conclude that evolution is fact because there are no other alternatives! This class will arm you with the “scientific” facts of creationism (intelligent design) so that you can hold your own in any debate without having to be a scientist.
Biological evolution denies absolutely that God is responsible for our existence. Biological evolution teaches that the purposeless, mindless forces of nature produced life through a happenstance process of chance variation and natural selection. In the words of the famous evolutionist George Gaylord Simpson, “Man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind.” On the other hand, the Bible teaches that in the beginning a pre-existing Intelligence (the Logos, the Word, Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God) brought all things into existence for His own purposes. This is the exact opposite claim of evolution that views man as a cosmic accident. In evolution’s ultimate formulation as a science today (the neo-Darwinian synthesis), and as an ideology (Evolutionism or Naturalism), God’s agency is unnecessary and God’s existence is untenable. According to J. Rachels, “Darwin’s great contribution was the final demolition of the idea that nature is the product of intelligent design.”[iii] Hence Darwinism, rightly understood, is not just operationally indifferent to, but intrinsically incompatible with, belief in an intelligent, purposeful Creator.
Evolution is not just a scientific theory that is relevant only to a small group of professional scientists: its philosophical atheistic premises undergird all of secular ideology. Every biblical principle and institution established by God – human beings made in His image, the family, marriage, government, and culture – has been reinterpreted in evolutionary terms. Christians look in horror at the moral demise of our society and wonder why it is so and what can be done to reverse the trend. Here is one way: Take the time to become knowledgeable about evolution and its ideological counterpart – Naturalism – and use that information to give a Christian response in the public square where God’s institutions are crumbling. Naturalism provides the ideological foundation for much of our moral demise.
Two Stories – the impact of evolution on our lives
In their book How Now Shall We Live? Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey weave together two fictionalized stories that relate how everyday people as well as academics are impacted by some manifestation of evolution.
Dave and Katy’s Metaphysical Adventure
Katy, Dave and Claudia Mulholland’s high-school-aged daughter, is slipping away from her Christian roots because, as she put it, “I don’t want to be so different. And I don’t have to be. I can be a good person without believing the things my Christian parents believe.”
Katy had been taught in school that science has proven that the universe came into existence by chance; that by chance the Earth was just right for life to exist; by chance life developed into birds and bees and butterflies; by chance human beings came along; and, by chance human beings turned out to be so smart that all the world’s problems will someday succumb to their technological prowess. Katy said, “If what you believe is true Dad, then how come no one else believes it? Last semester we saw a movie called Inherit the Wind, and you could see that all the scientists are on the side of Darwin. Christians just close their minds to the facts of science.”
Dave thought to himself, “If we’re nothing more than a cosmic accident, then small wonder that, over time, language about a loving God who created us and loves us sounds more and more like a fairy tale.” Dave finally understood what happened to his daughter. She had absorbed the idea that science was the source of truth while religion was merely subjective opinion, something we tolerate for those weak and unintelligent enough to need that kind of comfort. He realized that he had allowed his daughter to be exposed to these ideas in school, on television, and in her books without ever bothering to teach her how to respond.
Katy explained, “It’s all chemicals, Dad. I saw life being created in a test tube in my science textbook and at Epcot Center.” My science textbook has a picture of Dr. Miller at the University of Chicago creating amino acids, and Dr. Fox at the University of Miami linking up amino acids to form proteins – that’s what makes up life,” Dad. “They even have laboratories that simulate the primitive seas and energy sources, just like the sun and volcanoes of early earth.”
“These are not just my ideas, Dad. They’re what I learned in school. They’re what everyone believes; we saw in the exhibits at Epcot Center. And you can’t argue with that.” On that point, Katy was right, Dave thought grimly. He couldn’t argue with that, because he didn’t know how to begin to counter what she was saying. His daughter seemed to be throwing away her faith, and he had no idea how to stop her. But, Dave was determined. “It’s not just my belief or your mother’s belief,” Dave told Katy, “Christianity is the truth about reality, about what is ultimately real. And somehow, I am going to find the facts that will show you it’s true.” I hope you will have a Dave Mulholland experience in this class.
Albert Einstein’s God
(Although this is a fictionalized story, it is based on published accounts.)
In 1942 Albert Einstein had three clergymen over to his home for tea -- Dov Hertzen, a young orthodox rabbi; Brian McNaughton, a middle-aged Catholic priest; and Mark Hartman, a liberal Protestant theologian. Einstein had been agonizing for some time over the implications of his famous theory of General Relativity -- that the universe was not infinitely old and must have had a beginning. Also, he was now convinced by Edwin Hubble at the Mount Wilson Observatory that the “red shift” observed through its telescope meant that the universe was expanding, which implied that it began at a finite point in time and space. “And so,” Einstein said to his three religious friends, “I accept that the universe had a real beginning in time. But what are the implications of this discovery? Does it have any metaphysical, or even religious, implications? I thought perhaps we could discuss it together.”
The three clergymen thought that the brilliant physicist had reasoned himself into accepting the Creator God of his Jewish heritage, but in Einstein’s inimitable way of disarming people, and then using his sharp logic to cut them to shreds he said, “I believe in Spinoza’s God, a deity revealed in the orderly harmony of the universe. What I cannot accept, is the idea of a personal God who punishes or rewards people. My religion has no dogma, no personal God created in man’s image. A real scientist must be convinced of the universal operation of the law of causation, and he cannot for a moment entertain the idea of a being who interferes in the course of events.” Einstein’s voice grew louder, “If this personal being is omnipotent, then every event everywhere in the universe is his work – including every human action, every human thought, every human feeling. So how is it possible to think of holding people responsible for their deeds and thoughts?”
His voice dropped to a steely intensity. “You say God is a being of absolute goodness and righteousness. But think of this. If he is the one ultimately responsible for our actions, then he is the one behind all the harm we do each other. In giving us punishments and rewards he is in a way passing judgment on himself. God himself is the source of the very evil he supposedly judges!” Einstein’s guests proceeded to argue that man has free will and is in rebellion against God; that man is the source of evil. But Einstein rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes briefly and responded, “When science has probed the depths of the human mind, I am convinced we will find natural laws that govern it, just like they do everything else.”
For Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist of the 20th century, the toughest intellectual barrier to the Christian faith was not the question of whether God created the world. He saw clearly that the universe is designed and orderly, and he concluded that it must therefore be the result of “an intelligence of such superiority that it overshadows all human intelligence.” Not merely random matter bumping around endlessly in space and by chance “creating” all things. Einstein once quipped, “God does not play dice with the universe.” No, what stymied Einstein was something much tougher than the doctrine of creation: It was the problem of evil and suffering. Knowing there must be a designer, he agonized over the character of that designer. Many people share Einstein’s predicament. Unfortunately, we will not be able to delve into this particular subject in this class.
GOAL OF THE SERIES
My goal is to give you the tools to understand what is “fact” and what is just “theory or ideology” concerning evolution. I will show that evolution is at best a weak hypotheses ill supported by the scientific evidence, and at worst it is an ideology (naturalism) masquerading as science. Scientists may have authority over scientific questions of biology, but they have no authority to impose (consciously or unconsciously) an ideology on society. It is my hope that once we understand that we are being manipulated by the establishment and confront the issue, it will loose its power to exclude dissent and will no longer be able to insist that evolution is the only option. When the public understands that naturalism is only a highly promoted ideology and not science, things can start turning around.
The demise of Darwinism can be at hand if Christians would start participating in its deconstruction. As you will see, the scientific discoveries of the last 30 years have yielded much disconfirming scientific evidence against evolution, and much confirming evidence in support of intelligent design. This series reviews many of the fundamental facts that debunk biological and chemical evolution and presents positive evidence for the truth of intelligent design by a Creator. It will inform you as to how evolution and naturalism justify the removal of God from every societal institution. But more importantly, it will give you the tools to be able to present a biblical defense (apologetic) and articulate a Christian worldview.
It is my hope that you will use this information on a one-on-one basis with your neighbors, or in a small group or classroom setting with other Christians, to enable you to engage society with a creationist’s point of view. Ever since the so-called Enlightenment, God has been removed from His rightful position as Creator and Sovereign in public debate; and our societal institutions are all the worse off because of it. If Christian’s will not defend the biblical worldview in our culture, then who will? Study this material and become well informed on the issues so that God can use you as His agent in redeeming the culture.
SOURCES
I have been particularly instructed and inspired on this topic by the writings of Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, William Dembski, J. P. Moreland, Nancy Pearcey, Chuck Colson, Lee Strobel, Charles Thaxton, Dean Kenyon, and Michael Denton – in addition to the Bible and “the book of nature” (God’s creation) which give the most fundamental revelation. This class syllabus started out as a compilation of notes and direct quotes from their books. In many cases I have abstracted complete sections of their books. I have attempted to give credit to the original author when I used his or her work extensively, but I know I have missed many acknowledgements even when I shamelessly copied their work verbatim. Please refer to their published works noted in the Bibliography below and buy them for your library!
A particularly worthy addition to your library is denoted by []. Weekly, there are new books coming out, some of which are equally excellent. Read the book reviews in Christianity Today and Books & Culture. The DVD’s are excellent teaching tools for small groups. Check out the websites listed – the secular ones as well as the Christian.
Books
Access Research Network, Origins and Design, An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, (ARN Press, Colorado Springs, CO).
Ankerberg, John and Weldon, John, Darwin’s Leap of Faith, Exposing the False Religion of Evolution, (Harvest House Publishers, 1998).
ASA Committee for Integrity in Science Education, Teaching Science in a Climate of Controversy, (American Scientific Affiliation, 1986).
Behe, Michael J., Darwin’s Black Box, (The Free Press, 1996). []
Bell, James Scott, The Darwin Conspiracy, (Vision House Publishing, 1995), a novel.
Blackmore, V. and Page, A., Evolution the Great Debate, (Lion Publishing, 1989).
Broom, Neil, How Blind is the Watchmaker?, (InterVarsity Press, 2001).
Collins, Robin, “The Argument from Design and the Many-World Hypothesis,” in Philosophy of Religion: A Reader and Guide, ed. William Lane Craig, (Rutgers University Press, 2002).
Colson, Charles, Pearcey, Nancy, How Now Shall We Live? (Tyndale House Publishers, 1999). []
Craig, William Lane, Reasonable Faith, Christian Truth and Apologetics, (Crossway Books, 1994). []
Darwin, Charles, The Origin of the Species, By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Survival, (original publication, 1859). []
Darwin, Charles, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, (original publication, 1871). []
Davies, Paul, The Mind of God, (Touchstone, 1992). []
Davis, Percival; Kenyon, Dean H.; Thaxton, Charles B., Of Pandas and People, The Central Question of Biological Origins, (Haughton Publishing Company, 2nd Printing, 1996).
Dawkins, Richard, Climbing Mount Improbable, W. W. Norton & Co., 1996).
Dawkins, Richard, River Out of Eden, (Basic Books, 1995).
Dawkins, Richard, The Blind Watchmaker, Why the Evidence Reveals a Universe Without Design, (W. W. Norton & Co., 1986). []
Dembski, William A., The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions about Intelligent Design, (InterVarsity, 2004). []
Dembski, William A., Intelligent Design, (InterVarsity Press, 1999).
Dembski, William A., The Design Inference, Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities, (Cambridge University Press, 1998).
Dembski, William A., editor, Mere Creation, Science, Faith & Intelligent Design, (InterVarsity, 1998).
Denton, Michael, Nature’s Destiny, (New York: The Free Press, 1998).
Denton, Michael, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, (Adler & Adler, 1985). []
Eldredge, Niles, Fossils, The Evolution and Extinction of Species, (Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, New York, 1981).
Filkin, David, Stephen Hawking’s Universe, The Cosmos Explained, (BasicBooks, 1997). []
Fischer, Robert, God Did It, But How? Relationships Between the Bible and Science, (CalMedia, 1981).
Gish, Duane, Evolution: The Challenge of the Fossil Record, (Creation-Life Publishers, 1986). Updated under the title, Evolution: The Fossils Say No. []
God, Bible, (The Word Press, eternity past). []
Godfrey, Laurie R., editor, Scientists Confront Creationism, (W. W. Norton & Co., 1983).
Gonzalez, Guillermo and Jay Wesley Richards, The Privileged Planet, (Regnery, 2004). []
Gould, Stephen J., The Panda’s Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History, (W.W. Norton, 1980).
Habermas, Gary & Moreland J. P., Beyond Death, Exploring the Evidence for Immortality, (Crossway Books, 1998). []
Hawking, Stephen, A Brief History of Time, (Bantam Books, 1988, 1996). []
Heisenberg, Werner, Physics and Philosophy, (Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1958).
Horgan, John, The End of Science, (Broadway Books, 1996).
Hoyle, Fred, Encounter with the Future, (Trident Press, 1965).
Jastrow, Robert, God and the Astronomers, (W. W. Norton & Co., 1978).
Johnson, Phillip E., The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate, (InterVarsity Press, 2002). []
Johnson, Phillip E., The Wedge of Truth, (InterVarsity Press, 2000).
Johnson, Phillip E., Objections Sustained, Subversive Essays on Evolution, Law & Culture, (InterVarsity Press, 1998).
Johnson, Phillip E., Defeating Darwinism, by Opening Minds, (InterVarsity Press, 1997). []
Johnson, Phillip E., Reason in the Balance, The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law & Education, (InterVarsity Press, 1995).
Johnson, Phillip E., Darwin on Trial, (InterVarsity Press, 1993). []
Kuhn, Thomas S., The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, (The University of Chicago Press, 1970).
Larson, Edward J., Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion, (Harvard University Press, 1997). []
MacArthur, John, The Battle for the Beginning, (W Publishing Group, 2001).
McGrath, Alister, Glimpsing the Face of God, (Eerdmans, 2002).
Milton, Richard, Shattering the Myths of Darwinism, (Park Street Press, 1997).
Moreland, J. P. & Reynolds, John Mark, Three Views on Creation and Evolution, (Zondervan, 1999). []
Moreland, J. P., Christianity and the Nature of Science, A Philosophical Investigation, (Baker, 1994).
Moreland, J. P., editor, The Creation Hypothesis, Scientific Evidence for an Intelligent Designer, (InterVarsity Press, 1994). []
Morris, Henry M., and Parker, Gary E., What is Creation Science?, (Master Books, 1987).
Meyer, Stephen C., "The Cambrian Information Explosion: Evidence for Intelligent Design, in Debating Design, eds. Michael Ruse and William Demski, (Cambridge University Press, 2004).
Meyer, Stephen C., "Evidence for Design in Physics and Biology, in Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe, eds. Michael J. Behe, William A. Demski, and Stephen C. Meyer, (Ignatius, 1999).
NAS Committee on Science and Creationism, Science and Creationism, A View from the National Academy of Sciences, (National Academic Press, 1984).
Noll, Mark A., The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1994). []
Pearcey, Nancy R., Total Truth, (Crossway Books, 2004). []
Pearcey, Nancy R., and Thaxton, Charles B., The Soul of Science, Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy, (Crossway Books, 1994). []
Ratzsch, Del, Science & Its Limits, (InterVarsity Press, 2000).
Ratzsch, Del, The Battle of Beginnings, Why Neither Side Is Winning the Creation-Evolution Debate, (InterVarsity Press, 1996).
Ross, Hugh, The Genesis Question, (NavPress Publishing, 1998).
Ross, Hugh, The Creator and the Cosmos, How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God, (NavPress, 1995). []
Ross, Hugh, Creation and Time, A Biblical and Scientific Perspective on the Creation-Date Controversy, (NavPress, 1994).
Ross, Hugh, The Fingerprint of God, Recent Scientific Discoveries Reveal the Unmistakable Identity of the Creator, (Promise Publishing, 1991). []
Sailhammer, John, Genesis Unbound, A Provocative New Look at the Creation Account, (Multnomah Books,1996).
Schaefer, Henry F., Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence, (University of Georgia, 2003). []
Schroeder, Gerald L., The Science of God, (The Free Press, 1997).
Shapiro, Robert, Origins, A Skeptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth, (Bantam Books, 1987). []
Sproul, R. C., Not A Chance, (Baker Books, 1994).
Strobel, Lee, The Case for a Creator, (Zondervan, 2004). []
Sunderland, Luther D., Darwin’s Enigma, (Master Book Publishers, 1988).
Thaxton, Bradley, Olsen, The Mystery of Life’s Origin: Reassessing Current Theories, (Philosophical Library, 1986). []
Ward, Peter and Brownlee, Donald, Rare Earth, (Copernicus, 2000).
Wells, Jonathan, Icons of Evolution, Science or Myth?, Regnery Publishing, 2000). []
Wilder-Smith, A. E., The Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution, (Master Books, 1982).
Wilder-Smith, A. E., The Creation of Life, A Cybernetic Approach to Evolution, (Master Books, 1981).
Wilson, Edward O., Consilience, The Unity of Knowledge, (Harper Bros., 1998).
Youngblood, Ronald, editor, The Genesis Debate, Persistent Questions About Creation and the Flood, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986).
DVDs
Unlocking the Mystery of Life, The Scientific Case for Intelligent Design, (IllustraMedia, 2002). []
Icons of Evolution, The Growing Scientific Controversy Over Darwin, (ColdWater Media, LLC). []
The Priveleged Planet, How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery, (IllustraMedia, 2004). []
The Theory of Evolution: A History of Controversy, Edward J. Larson, (The Teaching Company, 2002). []
Websites -- Secular worldview
Smithsonian: The website for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It houses an extensive collection of papers on evolution and of human origins.
NAS: The official website for The National Academy of Sciences -- a private, non-profit, and self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars.
NCSE: This is the homepage of the National Center for Science Education, the foremost non-profit organization working to defend the teaching of evolution and keeping "scientific creationism" out of the science classroom.
PBS: Homepage for the PBS series on Darwin and evolution.
NASA: This is the homepage for NASA’s Astrobiology Institute; a partnership between NASA and a number of other research organizations. Their goal is to promote, conduct, and lead integrated multidisciplinary astrobiology research.
Astrobiology: This site tracks the new science of Astrobiology, It is full of news and personal opinions on topics regarding space, science, technology, biology and education.
Universe: “Beyond Einstein” – This site relates the theory of the structure and evolution of the universe from the big bang to black holes.
SETI: The SETI Institute serves as the home for “other life in the universe?” and “are we alone?” research. This site features articles, interviews, news items and book reviews.
Websites -- Christian worldview
Discovery Institute: Discovery Institute’s Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture strives to replace naturalism and its destructive cultural legacies with a positive scientific alternative. The Center maintains this extensive website covering the scientific and cultural implications of a designed universe.
ICR: The website for Institute for Creation Research, a “young-earth” creation-science ministry. ICR publishes its research, writings, and educational opportunities at the technical and popular level.
Reasons To Believe: The apologetics site for astrophysicist Hugh Ross and the Reasons to Believe organization. Its purpose is to remove the doubts of skeptics, strengthen the faith of believers and demonstrate that the Bible and science complement one another. It comes from an “old-earth” creationism perspective.
ASA: The American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) is a fellowship of scientists who share a common fidelity to the Word of God, but are open to various interpretations. This may be the best site to view material from a “theistic evolutionary” viewpoint.
ARN: The Access Research Network provides information on science, technology and society and relates it to political, ethical and philosophical issues. ARN publishes Origins & Design which features authors from the Intelligent Design movement.
Breakpoint: Chuck Colson’s website. Colson gives excellent commentary on the impact of naturalistic thinking on societal issues. You can subscribe to his free daily Breakpoint email.
Leaderu A resource base of thousands of articles, reviews, research papers, essays, etc. that provide answers to many of the weightier issues of science, religion and life. It is sponsored by Christian Leadership Ministries, the faculty and training arm of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Origins: This site features scholarly and popular resources covering intelligent design, philosophical theism, atheism, Darwinism and evolution. It maintains “virtual offices” for leading proponents of the intelligent design movement.
Idea Center: The Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting intelligent design theory. It fosters good-spirited discussion and understanding about intelligent design theory and creation/evolution issues among students, educators, churches, and other interested parties.
-------
[i] The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln and since that time has served as the official advisor to the Federal Government on matters of science and technology.
[ii] A fascinating controversy ensued over whether or not the Statement officially pronounced evolution as atheistic and that life was meaningless. It resulted in the NABT removing the two words unsupervised and impersonal from the October 1997 Statement. However, it went on to say that natural selection “has no specific direction or goal, including survival of a species.” Thus, the NABT’s strong position on biological evolution is still uncompromised by the removal of the two adjectives. See Phillip Johnson, Objections Sustained (p.85-97) for the full story on the controversy.
[iii] Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism, (Oxford Univ. Press, 1990).
© 2004 by Stuart Orr
<< Home