On Wed, 11 Oct 1995 23:08:07 -0400 Glenn wrote:
>John turnbull wrote:
JT>Even if new "chaos-to-order" models enhance the probability by
>many orders of magnitude to form the first reproducing entity, the
>question of the origin is not answered without addressing who
>arranged the laws to cooperate so well." (Cosmos, Bios, Theos -
>Henry Margenau & Abraham Varghese, Open Court, 1992, pg 29). In
>other words, systems that self-organize all by themselves suggest
>that the end product was in fact the result of a design built right
>into the very laws of nature itself.<<
GM>This last sentence is almost exactly my view of evolution. God
>programmed the outcome into the laws of nature themselves! Thus just
>like Sierpinski's gasket is always produced from the chance choice of
>direction, and some simple rules, life and humans can be produced
>from the rules God laid into the laws of nature.
This sounds like Deism:
"Although the term is rarely heard, deistic evolution is perhaps the
best way to describe one variety of what is generally called theistic
evolution. This is the view that God began the process of evolution,
producing the first matter and implanting within the creation the laws
which its development has followed. Thus, he programmed the process.
Then he withdrew from active involvement with the world, becoming, so
to speak, Creator emeritus. The progress of the created order is free
of direct influence by God. He is the Creator of everything, but only
the first living form was directly created. All the rest of God's
creating has been done indirectly. God is the Creator, the ultimate
cause, but evolution is the means, the proximate cause. Thus, except
for its view of the very beginning of matter, deistic evolution is
identical to naturalistic evolution for it denies that there is any
direct activity by a personal God during the ongoing creative process.
Deistic evolution has little difficulty with the scientific data.
There is a different story with respect to the biblical material,
however. There is a definite conflict between deism's view of an
absentee God and the biblical picture of a God who has been involved
in not merely one but a whole series of creative acts. In particular,
both of the Genesis accounts of the origin of man indicate that God
definitely and distinctly willed and acted to bring man into
existence. In addition, deistic evolution is in conflict with the
scriptural doctrine of providence, according to which God is
personally and intimately concerned with and involved in what is going
on in the specific events within his entire creation."
(Erickson M.J., "Christian Theology", Baker: Grand Rapids, 1985,
p480)
Please note I do not here presume to judge Glenn's personal
"orthodoxy"! :-)
God bless.
Stephen
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