Reciprocating Bill
Posts: 4265
Joined: Oct. 2006
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What a strange discussion.
The bald fact is that some Christians have no difficulty reconciling their Christian faith with the facts of evolution (Heddle and Wesley, among others, on this board come to mind), while others do. Is there any doubt that there are countless persons who find the two systems compatible, countless others who embrace one view and dismiss the other, and some number who have switched teams due to felt dissonance?
Individual instances of persons finding the facts of evolution incompatible with their Christian faith (or not), and therefore loosing or abandoning that faith (or not) need only reflect contingent psychological facts, not logical or absolute incompatibility, accounting for this variation, and have no bearing upon the question of absolute incompatibility. Nothing about the logical compatibility between the assertions of Christianity and the facts of evolution may be established by examining individual cases, even those of considerable notoriety.
So, why not take the other tack, and focus upon the supposed inherent logical/absolute incompatibility of your interpretations of these viewpoints and skip the pointless hashing over Darwin, Wilson, and others?
To FL: I agree with you in many respects. But it is not 'evolution as competing belief system' that presents the many of main assertions of Christianity with a severe challenge. It is the indisputable main facts of natural history, including the clear absence of teleology in that history (as you point out), that present that challenge. So far as I am concerned, to the extent there is such a conflict then so much the worst for Christianity. In my view*, many of the most important assertions of Christianity are utterly and ridiculously untenable in light of current scientific world picture generally and the facts of natural history specifically. Although your aim here seems to be a demonstration of absolute incompatibility so that those asserting otherwise will question their "allegiance" to current evolutionary thinking, IMHO the opposite result is compelled to the extent that you are successful.
*Some very, very smart people disagree with me, as noted above.
BTW, please, PLEASE do us all a favor and drop the use of boldface for emphasis. You are hurting my backward retinas.
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Myth: Something that never was true, and always will be.
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."
- David Foster Wallace
"Here’s a clue. Snarky banalities are not a substitute for saying something intelligent. Write that down."
- Barry Arrington
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