Re: appearance of age, the goodness of God, and MEDIA)

From: George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Date: Fri Apr 04 2003 - 09:19:22 EST

  • Next message: John Burgeson: "Re: appearance of age and the goodness of God"

    Denyse O'Leary wrote:
    >
    > Debates provide value. They force on the hearer/viewer the fact that a
    > choice is needed. They tease out the weaknesses in arguments.
    >
    > A church producing a documentary in favour of its views on evolution? I
    > know that if my church did it, I would pay no attention whatsoever. The
    > church is hardly expert in this matter. I have no way of knowing whether
    > the experts it summons are merely the expected house hacks touting the
    > usual line, whatever it is -- unless I already know more about the
    > subject than the average viewer. In which case I can skip it.
    >
    > I would consider ASA a good choice for a sponsor of reasoned debate
    > between high-profie, scientifically informed proponents. And even, in
    > some cases, merely high-profile proponents.
    >
    > ASA-sponsored debates may stand a good chance of media coverage, and the
    > organization would then be wise to hire a publicist to help.

            
            Debates are a spectator sport, & often the very fact that "They force on the
    hearer/viewer the fact that a choice is needed" is misleading. The very fact that the
    issue in question is usually posed as "creation _versus_ evolution," already concedes
    the major theological point to the anti-evolutionists.

            I don't know what your church is, but with the view you express about it, why
    stay there? Why belong to a church if you don't pay attention to what it says? Move
    up to Shop-Rite.

            I am certainly not an unqualified promoter of everything the ELCA does but on
    this issue it (along with some others) has people who are capable of dealing with the
    issue with integrity. (But I am not suggesting that the scientists who would be
    involved in such a production need be church members.)

            For the reasons I pointed out earlier, the ASA cannot be effective here because
    it does not take a stance on the issue. So ASA-sponsored debates would just be more of
    "some say this, some say that."
                
                                                            Shalom,
                                                            George

    George L. Murphy
    gmurphy@raex.com
    http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/

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