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A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing: A Philological Note to a BioLogos Discussion
One of the frustrations of web discussions about theology and science is that so many of the participants in the discussions choose to argue with a vigor all out of proportion to their knowledge of the subject at hand. It is easy enough to summon examples of individuals from all camps (YEC, OEC, atheist/materialist, TE/EC, and ID) and from all sites (such as Uncommon Descent, The Skeptical Zone, BioLogos, and Panda’s Thumb) who are guilty of forming opinions about authors they have not read, of taking strong positions in advance of learning the subject-matter, of affecting to more knowledge than they have, etc.
Posted in Edward Robinson, Politics and sociology, Theology, Uncategorized
3 Comments
Model soldiers
There’s something of a clash of the titans going on over at BioLogos, where Dennis Venema is defending his claim in the book Adam and the Genome that science makes belief in a single original human couple untenable. In the blue corner is Richard Buggs, of Kew Gardens and Queen Mary College, London and, ruining the boxing metaphor somewhat, Steve Schaffner (“Glipsnort”) is doing expert computer simulations on the side within his sphere of undoubted expertise.
Posted in Uncategorized
6 Comments
Biological adaptation – a question of worldview, apparently
When I recently posted a YouTube clip of the band Devo, it was based on a vague recollection of a hypnotically quirky song attached to a supposedly subversive philosophy not of revolution, but of devolution. Checking out the back-story, though, I discover that the whole idea was rather ironically purloined from a controversial anti-evolutionist pamphlet-writer of the 1920s, B H Shadduck. The Devo track was, in fact, named for Shadduck’s 1924 pamphlet Jocko-Homo Heavenbound.
Posted in Uncategorized
6 Comments
What a historic Eden means for understanding “goodness” in creation
In a recent post I argued for the case that Genesis 2 intends us to take the garden of Eden as a real place set in geography and history. I want to take that idea a bit further, and draw some conclusions on what we are intended to understand about the “very good” nature of the Creation before the Fall.
Posted in Adam, Creation, Genealogical Adam, Theology, Uncategorized
6 Comments
Natural realities
At the back of our house we have a one and a half acre meadow on a steep slope. I went out this week to rake out some mole hills before they harden – it makes the mowing easier in the spring. I was surprised to find that one of the pretty roe deer that frequently emerge from the woods to browse there had decided to die – and only a short time before, too, as it was still warm.
Posted in Uncategorized
6 Comments
The Hump goes providential
With the number of posts on The Hump now exceeding 900 I’ve added a “random post” facility in the sidebar to keep you amused for hours. I must note, given one of our perennial subjects, that “random” here means “epistemologically random”, not “ontologically random”. The widget is in fact governed by some kind of clever algorithm that simulates randomness: the posts actually appear according to deterministic criteria. That doesn’t preclude them, of course, being providentially tailored to your particular interest and needs. Isn’t theology wonderful?
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Beauty and the beast
There is a small animal park near us. It doesn’t really qualify as a zoo, but it’s a great place to take small grandchildren. When we’re not waylaid by the children’s playground, I get a kind of Goethian pleasure in seeing how each exotic species, especially the birds, when seen in life, has its own unique and holistic character (with the possible exception of the llamas, which look as if they were made from leftover parts of a kit). Goethe wrote: We conceive of the individual animal as a small world, existing for its own sake, by its own means. Every creature is its own reason to be. All its … Continue reading
Posted in Creation, Science, Theology, Uncategorized
4 Comments
God’s Good Earth – Chapter 10: Direct Effects of the Fall on Nature
Here is a link to chapter 10 of my book.
Posted in Uncategorized
3 Comments
Finality creeps in everywhere
Sy Garte has a new piece on his blog about a Chinese paper, published in a Western journal, in which some biological function is dealt with, and its suitability to the wisdom of the Creator is remarked.
Posted in Uncategorized
17 Comments
When creation is not good enough
I found myself astonished by the sheer scale, and immediacy, of media outpouring over the death on Monday of David Bowie. I don’t know what it was like elsewhere in the world, but from the first “We heard half an hour ago…” on the non pop-culture BBC Radio 4, pretty well the whole radio output of the day seemed to be replaced by every available media person’s appreciations, however trivial. Here was the BBC news: “I’m sorry to have to cut short your thoughts on tomorrow’s national doctors’ strike, but you’ll appreciate that in the light of David Bowie’s death this specially extended programme…”
Posted in Music, Politics and sociology, Theology, Uncategorized
2 Comments