Let me direct your attention to a new blog listed on this site- William Li's Travels. Will is journeying to Japan to spend one year there studying. The dude has a heart for Jesus and a passion to spread the gospel to the world. While his intention is to study in Japan, he believes God will use him for more than that during his time there. I will be frequenting this site to see how his time goes.
In the epilogue, Johnson updates the reader on the impact the book has made in the scholarly community as well as in the public domain. He asks the questions: what is a critic of evolution and why is criticism so unusual? He emphasizes that for him it is not a Bible versus science debate. He is interested in what scientific investigation has to tell us about the origin and history of life. The main argument of his book has been to recognize that we know a great deal less than has been claimed in evolutionary science. He points out that he is a critic of evolution because he distinguishes between naturalistic philosophy and empirical science and that he opposes the former when it comes cloaked in the authority of the latter. He poses that naturalistic evolution is not merely a scientific theory; it is the official creation story of modern culture.
Johnson brings up Stephen Jay Gould’s responses to much of these questions and notices how dangerously close he comes to admitting bias and prejudice in conducting scientific study. Gould unwittingly laid into destroying the argument of Darwin on Trial, but Johnson was elated because he realized he had struck a nerve in America’s most prominent Darwinist. In one place Gould was even self-refuting on the relationship of science and religion. Johnson goes on to retell his interaction with Michael Ruse, a philosophical Darwinist, where they debated on the campus of Southern Methodist University. About a year later, Ruse was asked to speak at conference about Darwin on Trial, without the presence of Johnson, in which he mentioned his previous discussions with Johnson to be “quite constructive.” The audience it seems was stunned with silence. They obviously did not know what to do with his statement. To this Arthur Shapiro remarked that Ruse was fully conceding to Johnson. Johnson notes that Shapiro’s remarks illustrate a misconception about theism as though one has to abandon science to recognize supernatural reality. His primary goal in writing Darwin on Trial was to legitimate the assertion of a theistic worldview in the secular universities. Johnson is certain that one can not be a theistic evolutionist because the mind can not serve two masters. People need to be willing to challenge false doctrines with clear-minded, reasoned arguments.
To read more of this summary, email me.
The biblical data leaves no option for a Christian to hold to any version or aspect of Darwin’s theory of evolution. A healthy acknowledgement of the many and diverse views on origins in the past and in the 21st Century presents the theistic evolutionist with a problem. Even prior to the biblical data, the current challenges to evolutionary theory present the theistic evolutionist with a problem. The theistic evolutionist faces the issue of integrity when it comes to these problems. Still, for the theistic evolutionist, who insists on keeping their position, the biblical data denies the right to maintain a middle ground between biblical Christianity and the theory of naturalistic evolution. When it comes to naturalism and the Bible, there can be no “theoretical Switzerland.” The biblical data has demonstrated that theistic evolution is an unsatisfactory view of the origin of the universe on at least five important points (mentioned above). Finally, in light of the biblical data, theistic evolution is not a viable framework through which a Christian may view the origin of the universe.
To read more, email me.
Josh
Looking back on the past two years of my life, I feel almost like Chris Farley in that awful movie Almost Heroes - where he falls down the mountain and gets to the bottom and replies, "What was that all about..." or something like it. That feeling he had at the bottom of the mountain is the feeling I have had before. The beauty of it is that God was the one who kinda shoved me down the mountain. He was waiting at the bottom, too. I am glad that I took that tumble though. Just like Chris' character, I collected an experience by hitting rocks, dirt, and grass. I have often wondered when I share our story if people think, "so was Boston a failure then?" Or "was Tennessee a failure?" OR "was Texas a failure?" I can't help but chuckle, because it is really me asking those questions. Someone asked me once "did you follow God?" Yes, was my reply. Yes I believe that we followed God from PCB to Boston and from there to TN and then He moved us to Texas and now He has us here in North Alabama. Following God is not failure. The author of the book of James says that anyone who hears God's words and does not do them is like a man who doesn't remember what his face looks like. It's not that he can't it's that he doesn't remember. The thing about remembering is that it requires some mental struggle. How hard is it really to remember what your face is like after looking in a mirror? Being obedient to the word of God then, after hearing the Truth plainly, was never the difficult part. The difficult part is convincing others that you're not crazy. I have discovered that obedience is not glamorous or even the thing that looks good. I desire to glorify God with my life. That means that I have to die to myself and my selfish desires. Especially when they look like they going to please other people. That is terrifying to a people pleaser. But, God has really helped me to walk 1 Thessalonians 2:4. The problem with truly trying to walk in this truth is that you can hurt people who love you. It's usually people who don't understand the call of God or the way He does things that get confused and angry. God's people have for the most part loved us through these difficult times. I have no idea why I had to move to Boston for God to get me 375 miles from where we were in 2005. All I know is that I met some great people, had a great adventure and have grown in a deeper understanding of the Way of Jesus. The Way of Jesus is difficult. I am glad He shoved me.
