Re: Phil Johnson's Approach -- Provine

Terry M. Gray (grayt@calvin.edu)
Mon, 24 Feb 1997 16:44:27 -0500

I would not call what goes on between Johnson and Provine a debate. They
actually agree on the fundamental issue: that Darwinian evolution and
theism cannot and ought not be reconciled. They both agree that if
evolution is true, then theism is false and if theism is true, then
evolution is false. The debate is then which one is correct: theism or
evolution. Of course, nearly all of us in the ASA disgree with this way of
even phrasing the question.

It was interesting to see the Johnson response to Niles Eldredge. I do not
know if they have continued debating, but I would be surprised if they
have. Eldredge did not let Johnson get away with phrasing the question in
the either/or terms.

TG

>
>It seems to me that a lot of Johnson's effectiveness is tied up in his
>friends (both those whom he agrees with and those whom he debates).
>
>What do folks think of Ruse and Provine? It seems to me like their
>willingness to debate him on a regular basis gives him credibility in
>the minds of Christians outside of science.
>
>Michael

_____________________________________________________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Calvin College 3201 Burton SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Office: (616) 957-7187 FAX: (616) 957-6501
Email: grayt@calvin.edu http://www.calvin.edu/~grayt

*This mission critical message was written on a Macintosh with Eudora Pro*

A special message for Macintosh naysayers:
http://www.macworld.com/pages/july.96/Column.2204.html