>Robert van de Water wrote:
>
>> The bottom line is that atheists make the following claim:
>>
>> The evidence from the natural realm shows that no supernatural
>> "creator" had any active role in the development of life. This
>> means that there is no God and we should behave accordingly.
>
With Loren and Robert, I reject this claim. To remove its metaphysical
content, it should be changed to
>> The evidence from the natural realm does not unequivocally establish that
>>a
>> supernatural
>> "creator" had an active role in the development of life. Neither does it
unequivocally establish that such a creator did not have a role.
Consequently, other sources (the Bible, illuminated by the Holy Spirit) are
more appropriate for seeking knowledge about the Creator.
This is Loren:
...
>I would like to offer one small but (IMO) important correction on the part
>of theistic evolutionists. Theistic evolutionists believe that
>
> The evidence from the natural realm shows that the Creator played
> THE SAME ROLE in the development of life as he did in the development
> of the universe's physical forms. (e.g. heavier elements, galaxies,
> stars, planets, earth's geological features, etc.)
>
While I believe that the Creator _does_ work in the same subtle ways in the
development of life as He did in the development of the universe's physical
forms, I can't swallow the statement that the evidence from the natural
realm shows this. I would be more content with "doesn't rule it out, nor
does it require it."
Again, I believe we must go to appropriate sources -- the Bible, the Holy
Spirit, prayer, to learn about the Creator. In my creationist days, an
answer like that would have caused me to exclaim that the person giving it
didn't see God as _real_. I doubt I can answer that objection
satisfactorily for most creationists, but my response would be to resort to
a (C. S.) Lewisism: I believe the Creator is in a sense _more_ real than
the material world. My reasoning is this: There is a material side and a
spiritual side to reality. God is spirit, and he created the material
world. The material came about because God, Who the Bible teaches is
Spirit, created. Therefore the spiritual side of reality is vital for
understanding reality, because it preexisted the material side and governs
it.
Bill Hamilton | Vehicle Systems Research
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX)
hamilton@gmr.com (office) | whamilto@mich.com (home)