FOTF Citizen article

dohlman@cornerstone.edu
Thu, 27 Jun 1996 15:10:36 EST

As a journalist, I was wondered how the ASA folks would respond to the Citizen
article Mike has mentioned. Since Citizen is highly influential, I think it
is critical that someone from ASA makes a carefully worded response. I have to
agree with the respondent to Mike that speculation will not cut it as a
response. I once asked on the Science and Christianity listserv if science had
ever discovered anything "simple." After scads of long responses it became very
clear that indeed nothing simple has been discovered. I think that the author
(my copy of the article is not in hand) spoke of this as "irreducible complexi-
ty" if my memory serves me right.

While it appears that most of the folks on this list are believers in macro-
evolution, it seems pretty clear that the influential folks like Jim Dobson and
Charles Colson are throwing down the gauntlet to the ASA on this one -- with
the help of Philip Johnson. And I find that I side with them because of the
very point Behe makes about irreducible complexity and Johnson's point about thelack of a mechanism to produce complexity out of simplicity -- unless, of
course, you resort to the God of the gaps. And it seems that the real problem
is indeed the total lack of evidence for anything truly simple.

Heaven forbid that this would start another round on origins! The point I am
making is that I think it would be counter-productive for ASA to write a
response to Citizen that includes any speculation whatsoever. An honest
admission of the weaknesses in evolutionary theory and a statement about a
number of people of faith who are believers in macro-evolution would seem to me
to be the best you could do. I suspect that Behe and the FOTF folks will be
looking long and hard at the fall forum at Biola.

Dean Ohlman
Cornerstone College