>My point was this: given how little we can empirically predict about
>present-day biological phenomena such as zygotic development and
>microevolution, I am astonished at how confidently some people claim that
>macroevolution has been all-but-falsified and is now held for little more
>reason than philosophical bias and wishful thinking.
>
>Of course, that cuts both ways: given how little we can empirically
>predict about present-day biological phenomena such as zygotic development
>and microevolution, I am astonished at how confidently people such as
>Gould and Dawkins claim that naturalistic evolution has been PROVED.
We have to realize that the methods available to biologists will improve as
more research is done. From what I vaguely remember of my chemistry
courses in High School and college, there were once chemical reactions that
"should" occur but didn't. The valences were compatible, but the reagents
didn't combine to form new compounds. My (also vague) understanding is
that as chemists improved their understanding about how thermodynamics
applied to these reactions, they developed better means of predicting what
reactions should and should not occur. So, to paraphrase Glenn: we need
to keep in mind that what seems beyond the capabilities of science today
may be commonplace tomorrow. Since the Bible is about who God is and how
man relates to Him, I'm quite confident that developments in physics,
chamistry and biology are peripheral to the concerns of Scripture and
should not be viewed as threats by Christians.
>
>I agree with Terry, though: given what we DO know already about biology
>(and for various theological reasons), I see little reason to embrace the
>progressive-creation-with-supernatural-interventions model for plants and
>animals.
>
Agreed. What you are in essence doing if you invoke acts of God is taking
some piece of nature and building a barrier around it and labeling it
revelation. Then Christians who hold that view have a vested interested in
suppressing further investigation that might require them to change their
view. Because after all, you are now dealing with revelation. And
changing revelation rightly makes anyone who is a serious Christian
uncomfortable.
Bill Hamilton | Vehicle Systems Research
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX)