On Sat, 10 Feb 1996 23:04:19 -0600 you wrote:
SC>I heard he (Provine) had been ill, but didn't knwo it was so
>serious. What is his prblem?
??>He has a brain tumor. It was originally thought he had a mild
>stroke, but they've since discovered a rapidly growing tumor. He's
>taking it better than I would, and he's still very active. However,
>the doctors have given him about a year.
Burgy posted on the Reflector and account by Phil Johnson of Provine's
illness:
---------------------------------------------------------
Date: 21 Dec 95 11:01:25 EST
From: "John W. Burgeson" <73531.1501@compuserve.com>
To: Evolution Reflector <EVOLUTION@calvin.edu>
[...]
Here is the week3 report from Phil Johnson.
Weeks 4-9 will follow:
Third Week in Penn-New York
[...]
Friday, October 6.
[...]
Will Provine also came, and this had its awkward aspects.
Will is so overbearing in his evangelism for atheism that I have to
put on the most aggressive side of my own personality to handle
him, and this gets in the way of more restrained discussion with
other people. Will's own idiosyncratic views about free will and
ethics tend to become the subject of discussion, crowding out more
significant issues. Will is quite open about his medical
condition; his untreatable brain tumor causes occasional seizures,
resembling petit mal epilepsy, and there is no telling how long it
will be before the condition becomes crippling or life-threatening.
Facing so directly the fact of his own mortality doesn't seem to
have changed Will's stance towards the ultimate reality. He is
healthy in appearance, and still looks ten years younger than he
is.
---------------------------------------------------------
SC>I am sad to hear this. In any form, cancer is a nasty disease.
>But brain cancer is especially hard to deal with because it often
>changes who you are.
>
>On this reflector, I have often used the Nobel laureate, Howard Temin,
>as an example of the scientific process in work.
[...]
SC>He was very Jewish... I recall asking a Christian faculty group to
>pray for him, but since he was Jewish, there was some concern about
>how apropriate such prayer would be. I remain very disappointed in
>this attitude and I am convicted that it is wrong.
This is apalling. Why on earth would it be inappropriate to pray for a
non-Christian? I am very impressed by Steve's restraint. I would be
more than "disappointed" and there can be no doubt that it is "wrong".
SC>Therefore, I suggest that we all pray for Will. It would be
>appropriate to pray for his soul, and for peace for his family.
I totally agree. Why don't we Chistians on the Reflector pray for
Will Provine's healing in body and soul? The tragedy from a Christian
perspective is that he was once a Presbyterian, but lost his faith.
The touching thing about Provine is his very real affection for
Phil Johnson, as he says in his debate with him:
"I think it's wonderful that we are having a debate of this
sort. It's really good for Stanford, and good for people to get these
views out in the open. Phil is definitely a friend of mine, and
that's something you need to understand. We get up here, argue like
everything, and then have dinner and a beer together afterwards.
[...]
Finally, there is no reason whatsoever that ethics can't be robust,
even if there is no ultimate foundations for ethics. If you're an
atheist and know you're going to die, what really counts if friendship
-- and that's why I value Phil's friendship so much."
SC>This post has nothing to do with evolution, and I apologize.
No apology is necessary IMHO. It may have nothing to do with
"evolution", but it has everything to do with the tragedy of the human
condition, that affects us all - creationists and evolutionists alike.
Recently I have begun praying for Phil Johnson in my morning quiet
time. Now I am going to pray for Will Provine also.
God bless.
Stephen
----------------------------------------------------------------
| Stephen Jones ,--_|\ sjones@iinet.net.au |
| 3 Hawker Ave / Oz \ http://www.iinet.net.au/~sjones/ |
| Warwick 6024 ->*_,--\_/ phone +61 9 448 7439. (These are |
| Perth, Australia v my opinions, not my employer's) |
----------------------------------------------------------------