From: Adrian Teo (ateo@whitworth.edu)
Date: Sat Dec 21 2002 - 16:58:14 EST
Hello Rich,
You wrote:
> AT: What I mean is what has been generally accepted by
the majority of
> Christians around the world throughout history. I think
this is a most
> legitiamte source of guidance for us, and will prevent us
modern Christians
> from all kinds of novel interpretations not in keeping
with Apostolic
> teaching.
I didn't know Christianity was a democracy and so have given
little thought
to what majorities accept.
AT: Far from it. Christian doctrines are discerned by the
faithful, and what is generally believed by the majority of
Christians can often be helpful in knowing the leading of the Holy
Spirit. Remember that the gates of hell will not prevail against the
Church.
Rich: My inquiry into the darwinian substrate in the
bible is based on Ken Ham's legitimate concern. I heard him defend
creationism simply on the grounds that if he didn't, people
would abandon the
Biblical teachings. Ham is concerned they would then abandon
the moral law in
the scriptures. My inquiries suggest that the moral law in
the scriptures is
supported by a darwinian interpretation so Ken Ham is
unnecessarily concerned
so I am trying to get people past the refusal to accept the darwinian
substrate in the scriptures because they think its a threat. It's not a
threat, but you have to make the intellectual inquiry from a darwinian
perspective to see that for yourself.
AT: Seems to me like the darwinian interpreation is beyond
question in your mind, and your goal is to help others accept it the
way you have.
Rich: The Darwinian interpretation of the
Scriptures is not a 'novel' interpretation. The first book of
the MacDonald
trilogy was published in 1994, the last in 1998.
A PEOPLE THAT SHALL DWELL ALONE
Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy
SEPARATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Toward an Evolutionary Theory of anti-Semitism
CULTURE OF CRITIQUE
An Evolutionary Analysis
of Jewish Involvement
in 20th Century
Intellectual and Political Movements
AT: The 1990s seem pretty recent to me, given the 2000 year
old history of the church. In fact anything in the last two centuries
would still be comparatively recent, don't you think?
Rich: In these three volumes Kevin MacDonald identifies
a religiously applied
human evolutionary strategy. If
you've followed the development of evolutionary theory,
you are not
surprised by the identification of a
religiously applied evolutionary strategy. E.O.Wilson
warned us over 20
years ago that it was coming when
he wrote in On Human Nature that, "...beliefs are really enabling
mechanisms for survival. Religion, like
other human institutions, evolves so as to enhance the
persistence and
influence of its practitioners."
Kevin MacDonald has developed "an understanding of
Judaism based on
modern social and biological
sciences... and especially the social psychology of
group behavior"
(APTSDA, Judaism as a Group
Evolutionary Strategy). He finds the solution to the
riddle of cyclic
genocide in group dynamics.
AT: All these may be quite interesting, but how did we get
this far astray from the question of human origin?
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