From: Jay Willingham (jaywillingham@cfl.rr.com)
Date: Fri Aug 22 2003 - 09:03:52 EDT
Truly, a gentle word turns aside wrath.
Jay
----- Original Message -----
From: "Iain Strachan" <iain.strachan.asa@ntlworld.com>
To: "Dr. Blake Nelson" <bnelson301@yahoo.com>; "ASA" <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2003 2:47 AM
Subject: Re: Student perceptions re evolution
> Blake wrote (in part):
>
> > In such popularizations, it is easy to take gratuitous
> > swipes at what you dont like as Dennett, Wilson,
> > Dawkins, Provine, Atkins, Weinberg, et al. do...
> > please name some theistic science popularizers who
> > actually include their theism in their works? (Does
> > Russell Stannard, who is one of the few theistic
> > popularizer who I can think of that has written books
> > popularizing science rather than addressing a
> > particular sicence/religion issue directly, talk about
> > God in his Uncle Albert series?).
> >
> > I think, like the discussions of YEC in some christian
> > denominations, the deck is stacked very heavily in
> > giving press and a forum in a university to those with
> > the biggest axes to grind... I am reasonably certain
> > that if a theist approached their area of interest in
> > class the way that some atheists do, they would be
> > censured by the administration simply because the
> > academy is sensitive to proselytizing and the advocacy
> > of theistic views, it is not sensitive to atheistic
> > proselytizing.
> >
>
> Actually, there is one notable exception (which by no means disproves what
> you are saying). John Polkinghorne, in his book "The Particle Play", a
> popular science book on particle physics, does refer to his Christian
> beliefs in the very last chapter of the book. In it, he refers to the
pique
> of the believer when an atheistic science promoter, who otherwise does an
> excellent job, can't resist taking a poke at religion. He therefore
> permitted himself the small indulgence of describing how what he saw in
> physics (specifically the surprising relation of mathematics - a human
> "creation" to the universe), related to his own beliefs, in particular the
> Logos doctrine.
>
> I think Polkinghorne seems to have got away with this, perhaps because he
is
> such a highly respected physicist (now an Anglican priest). As a result,
> certainly in the UK media, one often sees Polkinghorne being asked for his
> opinion in order to counter people such as Dawkins. Furthermore, he seems
> to be able to do it with grace and respect, rather than the rather testy
> outbursts that often characterise Dawkins' behaviour. Dawkins seems kind
and
> reasonable when he has the stage to himself, but put him on a programme in
> debate with religious people - as I saw on one late night discussion with
a
> Christian and a Rabbi - and his irritation is all too apparent. In this
> particular case it was the Rabbi who got it in the neck; but it so happens
> that the Christian involved is a friend of mine - who has had several
> encounters with Dawkins - all of them extremely unpleasant. Alas, it
seems
> to me that far too many Christians (on either side of the debate) behave
in
> a manner very similar to Dawkins - just getting irked and sarcastic with
> those who disagree with them. Some of the more heated debates I see on
this
> list make very unpleasant reading, for example.
>
> Iain.
>
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