Here’s an excerpt (translation follows) from a remarkable interview with Francisco Ayala by one of the most prominent media outlets in Spain. One wonders how a Catholic priest, even a former Catholic priest, can actually believe all this. In his book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion he calls me (a mathematician by training) a “sociologist.” Given his remarks below, apparently anyone who is not the right sort of scientist is, in Ayala’s view, a sociologist. Great to see the Templeton Foundation supporting him.
Source: http://www.abc.es/20100506/ciencia-/barbaridad-culpar-dios-disenado-20100506.html
Entrevista realizada al biólogo Francisco J. Ayala
Diario ABC, Madrid, 6 de Mayo de 2010
Entrevista: A. Grau, Nueva York
-Usted ha recibido muchos premios y reconocimientos en EEUU por su lucha sin cuartel contra el llamado creacionismo. ¿De donde saca su fuerza este movimiento?
-En realidad de poca gente. De los cinco o siete científicos a sueldo del Discovery Institute, sólo uno es bioquímico profesional, el resto vienen de las ciencias sociales. Ni siquiera es una cuestión de convicciones. Me consta que ellos no creen lo que dicen.
-Pero otra gente sí.
-Sí, hay gente que lo cree de buena fe, del mismo modo que toman la Biblia en un sentido literal, ingenuamente. El creacionismo es la mayor aberración que se puede concebir no ya para la ciencia sino para la fe. Es una barbaridad que trata de resolver el reto de la teodicea, es decir, de cómo conciliar la existencia del mal en el mundo con la de Dios, echándole a Dios la culpa de todo lo que va mal. Que no otra cosa es el diseño inteligente.
-Porque el mundo está mal diseñado.
-No puedo concebir nada más desastroso para la religión que el diseño inteligente. Según sus promotores Dios sería el responsable de los tsunamis, del terremoto de Haití, de las erupciones del Vesubio. Los defectos genéticos serían un castigo de Dios, así como la crueldad de la Naturaleza y de todo el mundo viviente. ¿Sabía usted que el 20 por ciento de los embarazos se malogran antes del tercer mes porque el canal de natalidad humano es muy imperfecto? ¿Y le parece a usted serio considerar que 20 millones de abortos al año pueden ser culpa de Dios?
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TRANSLATION:
Interview with biologist Francisco J. Ayala
ABC Journal, Madrid, May 6, 2010
Interview: A. Grau, New York
–You have received many awards and recognitions in the United States for your relentless fight against the so-called creationism. Where does this movement draw its strength from?
-In reality, from very few people. From the five or seven scientists in the Discovery Institute’s salary, only one is a professional biochemist, the rest are from the social sciences. It is not even a matter of conviction. I am certain that they do not believe what they say.
– But other people do.
-Yes, there are people who believe in good faith, in the same way that they take the Bible in a literal sense, naively. Creationism is the biggest aberration which can be conceived—not to science—but to faith. It is an atrocity that it attempts to solve the challenge of theodicy; that is to say, on how to reconcile the existence of evil in the world with that of God, pouring on God the blame for everything that goes wrong. What no other thing is intelligent design.
-Because the world is poorly designed.
-I cannot conceive anything more disastrous to religion than intelligent design. According to its promoters, God would be responsible for tsunamis, the earthquake in Haiti, the eruption of Vesuvius. Genetic defects would be a punishment from God, as well as the cruelty of nature and the living world. Did you know that 20 per cent of pregnancies are hindered before the third month because the human birth canal is very imperfect? And do you think it seriously to consider that 20 million abortions a year may be God’s fault?