Why the "How" is Important

How important is the "how" of origins to you? Since we live in a world in which Darwinian evolution is considered an established fact by the power structures, many believers have concluded that the "how" must be a non-issue and only the "why" is important. They therefore accept the doctrine of "theistic" evolution -- that God somehow worked through the materialistic means of natural selection to create the diversity of life we see around us.

My concern is that those who accept theistic evolution wind up accepting the two-story view of truth (the dualism or dichotomy) that Nancy Pearcey is warning us about in "Total Truth" (See the blog below). Pearcey traces the various flavors of segmented truth (upper and lower story dichotomies) throughout history up to the present time (Ch 3, Keeping Religion in it's Place beginning on page 106, the "Intellectually Fulfilled Atheists" where she describes the FACT/VALUE dichotomy and page 107, the "Secular Leap of Faith")

I ran across an interview with Francis Collins yesterday, which I found confirming of Pearcey's analysis. Here is an excerpt of that interview:

You have said that DNA is "God’s language." Do you mean that in a literal, or more metaphorical, sense?

A little of both. I believe that the universe was created by God with the specific intention of giving rise to intelligent life. Given that we observe DNA to be the information molecule of all living things, one can regard therefore it as the "Logos" that God has used to speak life into being. Don’t misunderstand me, it is clear that the process of evolution by natural selection over hundreds of millions of years is the "how" that explains the marvelous diversity of life. But that doesn’t provide the answer to "why." I think God provides that answer.

As a scientist, you test your assumptions and beliefs. But as a Christian, you have said that you took "a leap of faith." Why the two different paths?

Maybe they aren’t that different. Both science and faith are ways of seeking the truth. Science seeks truth about how the natural world works, and faith seeks answers to more profound questions such as, Why is there something instead of nothing?, or What is the meaning of life?, and Is there a God? All require a certain element of faith—you can’t be a scientist unless you have faith in the fact that there is order in nature, and that nature will behave in reproducible and predictable ways.

When I was an atheist and I decided to explore the rational underpinnings of belief in God, I expected to find none—and was astounded to discover that there are strong arguments from nature and philosophy that point to God’s existence. But those do not constitute a proof—apparently God intended to leave it up to us to make this decision. Perhaps such a leap of faith sounds rash to a committed materialist—but can you prove beauty? love?

Clearly Collins has a two-story view of truth requiring a "leap of faith" to get from the "fact" lower story into the "value" (or "faith") upper story. I would think that any theistic evolutionist would have to take that irrational leap.

Pearcey's segment, "Leftovers from Liberalism," beginning on page 115 then explains the connection between the segmentation of truth and the drift into liberal theology which "rips Christianity from its roots in historical fact and casts it into the upper story, where it is demoted to subjective, content-less symbols and metaphors. It then becomes, in practice, little more than spiritualized window dressing for some other, more substantial system of thought. This segmentation of the concept of truth is completely alien to historic Christianity, which teaches that spiritual truths are firmly rooted in historical events...But the point is that the two are not partitioned off from one another: An event that did not occur can have no spiritual implications. The orthodox Christian holds a unified field of truth, because the God who acts in our hearts is also the God who acts in history."

I believe that (as illustrated by Collins) accepting Darwinian evolution as the "how" requires a segmented truth (two-storied with a leap of faith) rather than a unified (total) truth in which our faith is integrated with the facts.

This is why I think it's important to point out that far from being an established fact (as evolutionists claim), Darwinian evolution is on the ropes. (See my blog, "On the Ropes" below.)

On the Ropes

When proponents of a theory resort to actively suppressing dissent, it might be on the ropes. When proponents of a theory go back to the drawing board, it might be on the ropes. Darwinian evolution might be on the ropes.

On April 18, "Expelled" will debut in theaters accross the land exposing the way in which proponents of Darwinian evolution actively suppress any and all criticism of the theory and actively persecute its critics. Please view the super trailer of "Expelled" here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3ujGafAK8

In July of 2008, a group of 16 "rock star" evolutionists from around the world will meet in Altenberg, Austria to go back to the drawing board. If all were well in the world of Darwinian evolution, I can guarantee you that the so-called "Altenberg Sixteen" wouldn't be meeting this summer. The fact is that all is not well. And it will never be well as long as our creator is left out of the equation. You can read Paul Nelson's blog on the Altenberg Sixteen here...http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/the-altenberg-sixteen/

Regardless of what the true believers say, Darwinian evolution is on the ropes.

JR

German Saying

Susan and I have received many cards this week expressing sympathy for my father's death last week. One of them contained the little card that is pictured here. It has such a beautiful message, I wanted to post it for others to see. It simply says, "Those who live in the LORD never see each other for the last time." So let's live in the Lord!

JR

Total Truth

While visiting John and Margie Keiser a while back (Matthew's parents), I noticed a book lying on an end table. I picked it up, browsed through it and concluded it would be worth reading. John Keiser was studying the book in a medical group he belongs to and recommended it to me. The book is Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.

I purchased the book and am a little over half finished with it. It is a "World View" book along the lines of Francis Schaeffer's Trilogy, "The God Who is There," "Escape from Reason," and "He is There and He is Not Silent." Like Schaeffer's books, Total Truth is difficult reading in places, but is well worth the effort and I highly recommend it. It provides an analysis of the alternative world views impacting our culture and a path forward for reclaiming our culture for Christ.

Here is a synopsis of Total Truth...
Does God belong in the public arena of politics, business, law, and education? Or is religion a private matter only—personally comforting but publicly irrelevant?

In today’s cultural etiquette, it is not considered polite to mix public and private, or sacred and secular. This division is the single most potent force keeping Christianity contained in the private sphere—stripping it of its power to challenge and redeem the whole of culture.

In Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey offers a razor-sharp analysis of the public/private split, explaining how it hamstrings our efforts at both personal and cultural renewal. Ultimately it reflects a division in the concept of truth itself, which functions as a gatekeeper, ruling Christian principles out of bounds in the public arena.

How can we unify our fragmented lives and recover spiritual power? With examples from the lives of real people, past and present, Pearcey teaches readers how to liberate Christianity from its cultural captivity. She walks readers through practical, hands-on steps for crafting a full-orbed Christian worldview.

Finally, she makes a passionate case that Christianity is not just religious truth but truth about total reality. It is total truth.