Evolutionists and clergymen are fallible; they perceive their data or their God as through a glass darkly; yet their pronouncements can change history. The Galapagos Islands have occupied a central position in history of evolutionary thought, but how were these uninhabited islands perceived by the first Christians to visit them? Devout adherents to natural theology,…
Review of: RELIGION AND SCIENTIFIC NATURALISM, OVERCOMING THE CONFLICTS, by David Ray Griffin. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2000. 345 pages, index, notes, bibliography. Softcover; $25.95. ISBN 0-7914-4563-1. David Ray Griffin, Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Theology at Claremont, a prolific writer on issues of science and religion, has written a…
Metanexus: Views 2001.08.27. 4419 words Today, Dr. Edward J. Larson, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his book __Summerfor the Gods__ (1997) brings to us an essay on that Mecca of naturalhistory, organismal biology, and evolutionary theory–namely, the GalapagosIslands. The pivotal historical role played by the Galapagos in the creationof Darwin’s own thinking is well…
Metanexus VIEWS 2001.08.16. 2473 words Below is “A Primer on Human Embryonic Stem Cells” written by Scott Gilbert, a Professor of Biology at Swarthmore College. The Q&A format isexceptionally clear and deals with scientific, historical, and ethicalissues. As always, you are encouraged to forward this to your friends,colleagues, and students, something which in this case…
“We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time” – T.S.Eliot, Little Gidding In any enterprise that has been underway for some time, there comes a point at which it is wise to stand back a little and view…
In day-to-day life, there all kinds of non-zero-sum games that people play. Robert Wright sees this as “the secret of life.”
I have been deeply indebted to Huston Smith over the years for his books and films, which I have used in many of my classes. I first came to know him 35 years ago in a group that met for several years for a weekend of discussion on science and religion. I edited some of…
Review of Robert Rosen’s book Life Itself by Sarah Voss About half a year ago a book called Life Itself (Columbia University Press, 1991) by Robert Rosen came to my attention, and I have been reading and rereading it ever since. Rosen, who died in December, 1998, was a student of Nicholas Rashevsky and a…
Suppose you are a potato grower and you have a big contract to supply McDonald’s with prepared french fries. It would be really great if they could come packaged with their own fat for frying, and that all one had to do was pop them into the microwave. So, you go to the Pork Producers…
Does the history of our species show any evidence of higher purpose?