On Mon, 07 Jul 1997 14:40:02 -0600, Russell Stewart wrote:
>SJ>Johnson on a recent tape predicted that Darwinism will collapse
>in a few years, just like communism did when those who ran the
>system lost their faith.
RS>Oh, goody. A solid prediction that we can look back on and laugh
>about in a few years.
Yes, indeed "we can"! ;-)
RS>Of course, like the preachers who are always predicting the end of
>the world, I'm sure Johnson will "discover" an error in his
>calculations when his prediction doesn't come true, and I'm sure the
>truly faithful will never question his judgement, but it will at
>least serve to erode his credibility somewhat...
Actually, to be fair to Johnson, he said it half-jokingly, and he
added that it will take most of the next century to do finish the
job. He also warns that the collapse of Darwinism would not mean
that Christianity would enter the Promised Land. He sees the 21st
Century as a bit like the 1st Century, dominated by New Age mystical
thinking, and that may be no better for Christianity than
materialism.
My personal view is that Johnson may be too optimistic about
Darwinism collapsing. I doubt that Darwinism will collapse suddenly
like the Soviet Union, but I do believe that it will be unable to
prevent alternative views from gaining a fair hearing. Mind you,
that will be bad news for Darwinists who have had virtually a
State-funded monopoly in propagating their Materialist-Naturalist
philosophy, and yet can still only muster 9% of the population.
The big challenge is for theists in general and Christianity in
particular to make the best of the ensuing situation. It is
important that YECs and TE/ECs avoid polarising around comparatively
minor issues and emphasise the things they agree on. This is in fact
one of Johnson's major concerns.
It is also important that we have eirenic discussions with
non-theists like yourself Russell, in order to avoid erecting
unnecessary obstacles in the way of you moving towards (or at least
understanding) the broad theistic position.
Regards.
Steve
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