On Wed, 2 Oct 1996 10:06:33 EST5EDT, HVANTILL@legacy.calvin.edu wrote:
[...]
HV>Are there gaps in the fabric of Creation's developmental
>capabilities? Did God withhold a few selected form-actualizing
>gifts from his Creation, and is the science of biochemistry now on
>the verge of detecting those missing gifts? Did God have to
>forcibly assemble some of the creatures that he had earlier planned?
>I think not. Given the increasing rate at which we are becoming
>more aware of the remarkable robustness of the Creation's gifts for
>actualizing potential forms and structures, I see no reason
>whatsoever to expect that the Creator chose at the beginning to
>withhold a few specific gifts so that a succession of extraordinary
>acts of form-fabrication would then, in the course of time, be
>required to bridge those developmental gaps. As a Christian trained
>in science, then, I choose not to search for gifts withheld from the
>Creation, but to recognize the Creator's generosity in each
>creaturely gift that the sciences are privileged to discover. I
>wish to have no part in Behe's search for gaps in the developmental
>economy of the Creation.
[...]
>3. Comments on Behe's rhetoric:
Sorry Howard, it is *your* argument here that is based on "rhetoric"!
:-) It is *entirely* carried by loaded words like "fabric",
"withhold...gifts", "missing gifts", "forcibly assemble", "Creator's
generosity". Of course if gaps in creation are defined as "missing
gifts" and the presence of such gaps is construed as evidence against
the "Creator's generosity", then *by definition* either 1. there can
be no gaps or 2. God is not good. But take away the loaded words and
your argument loses its force.
Moreover, what this overlooks is that God is a *free Person* who is
not obliged to supply to man every "gift" from the very beginning, or
even ever. God is perfectly entitled to have *planned* to intervene
at strategic points in His creation, such as in the origin of the
cosmos, first life and life's major groups. These interventions
would then be seen as part of the overall "gift" package.
A far-sighted Father is perfectly entitled to "withold" (your words)
some "gifts" from His sons, to be given at a later date. Jesus by His
lesson in Mt 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!", saw no contradiction
between God's Fatherly goodness to His children and the witholding of
some gifts from them to be given later. Indeed, such temporary
witholding of "gifts" by a wise Father only helps His children to
appreciate Him more.
It seems that your whole argument is based on a confusion between the
"gifts" themselves (ie. created things), and the manner and timing
of their giving! :-) It seems that, according to your view, a "gift"
that is not given from the very beginning is no "gift" at all?
[...]
God bless.
Steve
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