> Having read (but not yet commented on) the posts on this system
>for some time, I am prompted for the first time to make a point. It
>appears to me that a number of comments have been truly ambiguous--that
>is, subject to viable alternative readings. The objective--one at
>least--is to clarify the intent in the ensuing discussion, not
>prematurely (and incorrectly) charge someone with making a "picky cheap
>shot."
I agree with Rich's point. If anything, this forum provides a study in the
distinctiveness between face-to-face verbal communication vs a written dialog.
> For example, my own reading of "... an atheist can reject
>evolution without doing damage to her faith" is quite different from
>Stan's. He says, "It seems very clear to me from his [Steve's] post that
>he was referring to the 'faith' of an atheist in the sense of her refusal
>to believe in God."
> Unfortunatley, it certainly isn't "very clear to me" and
>apparently it wasn't "very clear" to Art either. I ask the following
>questions not with intended humor or with sarcasm: "How can an atheist
>'reject evolution' and have it NOT 'do damage' to her 'refusal to believe
>in God'?" If an atheist 'rejects' evolution, what *are* the viable
>alternatives (other than entertaining seriously the abandonment of her
>atheism)? Aren't these legitimate and even significant questions?
I hope that my earlier posts in response to Art's question helps clarify
what I meant by my statement that Rich quotes above. To specifically answer
Rich--I think that many non-Christians hold to models of origins that are
not compatible with the science of evolution or the theology of creation as
understood by Christians. Therefore, it seems to me to be a relatively
simple matter for someone to reject evolution without it doing damage to her
refusal to believe in the Christian God. The non-Christian alternatives to
evolution that I mentioned earlier include reincarnation and New-age belief.
If I remember correctly, other religions have their own explanations for
origins that are not compatible with either creation or naturalistic evolution.
Steve
__________________________________________________________________________
Steven S. Clark, Ph.D. Phone: (608) 263-9137
Associate Professor FAX: (608) 263-4226
Dept. of Human Oncology and email: ssclark@facstaff.wisc.edu
UW Comprehensive Cancer Ctr
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53792
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to
search out a matter." Proverbs
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