Steno

Thomas Jackson observes that Richard Dawkins’s view of science is really one born out of Protestant principles. Richard Dawkins, the Protestant atheistDawkins does not recognise that experimental science is not value-free but deeply enmeshed with a Protestant myth There have been a number of other books over recent years by Peter Harrison The Fall and the Foundations of Science & The Bible, Protestantism, and the rise of Natural Science, that have pointed to the Protestant influences in the development of science.

Martin Down has written an interesting piece in the Church of England newsletter, Martin Down – The Evolution Sceptics He concludes; “The fact is that the scientific evidence that we have is full of holes, or mysteries. At one time people believed in the God of the Gaps and then retreated from that position because the gaps seemed to be getting smaller and smaller and threatened to close up altogether. But that is not the case today: the gaps are getting bigger and bigger; the chances of the world that we live in happening by accident are vanishingly small. The chances of a strand of DNA assembling itself by accident are infinitesimal, too small to be worth considering. The world Read More ›

Alister McGrath makes some interesting comments on the need for prediction in science, noting that a natural theology may be possible on the basis of accommodation within an ‘inference to the best explanation.’  He writes; ‘…some theories concern entities or situations in which predictions may seem inappropriate or simply impossible. If natural theology rests primarily upon accommodation [and not prediction], it is in good scientific company.’ McGrath, (2009) A Fine Tuned Universe, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, p.60 McGrath is still a keen Darwinist and not really a friend of ID, but it does imply that ID can be justified on the basis of accommodation and need not necessarily seek justification on the basis of explanatory power.

I have recently come across the work of Michael Sudduth on Natural Theology. This very interesting book is published by Ashgate The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754661757 Looks like essential reading for those concerned about intelligent design and Reformed theology. Reviews by Richard Swinburne, Alister McGrath and Alvin Plantinga  (Although it is not cheap).

There are a number of comments on Hawking’s claim that science disproves the existence of God over at the science and values blog. Plus some further reviews of Dawkins’ UK TV programmes on More4. http://science-and-values.blogspot.com/

Timothy Larsen has written an interesting piece in The Times Higher Education supplement Opinion: Stop turning the other cheek – The US academy should treat discrimination against Christian students or scholars as seriously as it would racism or sexism He writes; “Nevertheless, scholars ought to be concerned that Christians often report that the academy is a hostile environment. Are academics generally glad that such a perception exists? If not, how might it be dispelled? If it is based on genuine experiences, what can be done about a climate that tolerates religious discrimination? If the two stories presented here are merely assailable, anecdotal evidence, then why not gather information on this issue more systematically? Do academic institutions ever try to discover Read More ›

There is an interesting news story in the Guardian about the tadpole shrimp Triops cancriformis that has managed to exist unchanged since the Triassic. Its life cycle involves a short breeding season with eggs laid in the mud. These eggs can survive for long periods as the mud dries out periodically. Guardian – World’s most ancient creatures found in Scottish field – 29 July 2010

A recent Oxford conference has celebrated the long service to science and religion by John Polkinghorne. This Guardian ‘Comment is Free’ blog post by Mark Vernon is of interest because it discusses Polkinghorne’s belief about causal gaps with top down intentional causality. Chaos Theory Polkinghorne and God Vernon comments that “it’s not an epistemological gap that’s being appealed to in John Polkinghorne’s work, but rather an ontological causal openness. Hence the possibility, at least, of making the link with divine action.” Science and Values

I have been informed about a couple of articles in the UK press recently. Guardian 19th March 2010 – Why everything you’ve been told about evolution is wrong: What if Darwin’s theory of natural selection is inaccurate? And from last year in Timesonline – The Selfish Genius: How Richard Dawkins Rewrote Darwin’s Legacy by Fern Elsdon-Baker

Ruse asks us to believe that morality is subjective, a product of our genes. We only believe it is objective because our genes determine that is better for us. Let’s be frank, atheism kills morality, and any attempt to get it up and running in a godless system is futile. He writes in this article;

God is dead. Long live morality: Morality is something fashioned by natural selection. That doesn’t diminish its usefulness, or its comfort

‘God is dead, so why should I be good? The answer is that there are no grounds whatsoever for being good….Morality then is not something handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is something forged in the struggle for existence and reproduction, something fashioned by natural selection….Morality is just a matter of emotions…So morality has to come across as something that is more than emotion. It has to appear to be objective, even though really it is subjective.’

There a number of angles to respond to Ruse. Firstly, what is moral? It isn’t enough to say that evolution can make us moral, we have to ask what is good morality. Read More ›

Fred Pearce in the Guardian asks whether Climategate will lead to changes in the way science is reviewed, from peer review to open access review. ‘Climategate’ was PR disaster that could bring healthy reform of peer review – Peer-review was meant to be a safeguard against the publication of bad science but the balance is shifting towards open access

Fred Pearce in the Guardian writes: Climate change emails between scientists reveal flaws in peer review He comments – “A close reading of the hacked emails exposes the real process of science, its jealousies and tribalism” It is clear that the process of peer review is a far from perfect way to establish truth in science. I have added some more comment on Climate Change over at the Science and Values blog

The UK Government’s chief scientist has called for honest dialogue on climate change. Quoted from the Timesonline Science chief John Beddington calls for honesty on climate change 27/01/10 “” “The impact of global warming has been exaggerated by some scientists and there is an urgent need for more honest disclosure of the uncertainty of predictions about the rate of climate change, according to the Government’s chief scientific adviser. John Beddington was speaking to The Times in the wake of an admission by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that it grossly overstated the rate at which Himalayan glaciers were receding. Professor Beddington said that climate scientists should be less hostile to sceptics who questioned man-made global warming. He condemned Read More ›

Dawkins is back from his Christmas break – a shame he didn’t listen to the message of Christmas about peace and goodwill to all men but launches into another ill informed attack on religion. Dawkins in the Times Of course for Dawkins a world without religion would be a better one. But when ever atheism has been tried out it leads to great tyranny – a shame he doesn’t mention Hitler, Stalin, Lennin, Pol Pot in his article. But Dawkins is a man of doubt and depressing hopelessness for all mankind. Atheism destroys the basis on which to make value judgements about right and wrong and leads to the tyranny of relativism in ethics. Out of the frying pan into Read More ›

I want to kick-off a discussion here following Bill’s very interesting interview on Premier Radio. Premier Radio I’ll add my first thoughts below.