[[If you want to have a conversation with scientists, you can’t just say “God did it!” No more than they can just say, “(Random) nature did it.”]]
Oh, I aggree with htat- I was just freeing myself from the constraints of being ‘politically/scientifically’ compliant for a bit
[[And that’s what’s so spectacularly engaging about this book I’ve been citing recently, Divine Action and Natural Selection.]]
Sounds liek maybe they too are freeign htemselves from the constraints of political/scientific compliance too- Sounds liek it might be a very telling book to see how they think behind hte restrictive mask of naturalism
Naw. They're not doing that. There are some "food fights" in these pages worthy of some of the FReeper evo/crevo threads I've been privileged to witness over the years! LOLOL!!!
To understand this book — and what this diverse body of scientists is doing in "dialoguing" with one another — it helps to understand its pre-publication history, some of the details of which are known to me because my friend Dr. Grandpierre wrote Chapter 28: "Fundamental Complexity Measures of Life," and kept me posted on the work's progress.
Divine Action and Natural Selection is a collection of 45 articles written by eminent scientists who, at bottom, are tasked to address the question of whether faith and reason, science and religion, can be reconciled, or if not, why not. Darwinian evolution vs. Intelligent Design (seen by many of the contributors as "creationism") is the lens through which many of the participants have envisioned their individual contributions.
Anyhoot, evidently this was the original plan for the book, as organized by its editor, Joseph Seckback, a biologist specializing in the fields of enigmatic microorganisms and life in extreme environments at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. About a year ago, Seckback brought on Richard Gordon, professor of radiology, University of Manitoba, as co-editor. Gordon came with two interesting proposals for "improving" the project. The first was to retitle the book. But after much angst, it was decided to retain Seckback's original title, which is what made it to press. [Gordon's proposed title was: "So God Did It, Eh???"]
The second proposal was sheer genius, however (IMHO): Gordon proposed that there be "peer reviews" appended to each article. That way, "opposing views" could be presented timely.
This second proposal was implemented, to the glory of the book. Oftentimes, the "peer review" would light off a dialogue between the author and the reviewer. And though all disputants were held accountable to the book project's main rule — that everybody be nice to one other, respectful, courteous, civil, polite, etc. — this was precisely where all the truly glorious "food fights" took place. :^)
Especially if the Turks were involved. This is truly an international work, involving eminent scientists (including lotsa physicists!) from America, Israel, Europe, and the Near East. The "Turkish creationist elaboration" drew particularly harsh criticism from certain (but not all) American and Israeli Darwinists, religious and atheist alike.
It turns out that one of the most thorough elaborations of creationist theory ever (read: explicitly anti-Darwinian) has been worked out by the Turkish academy; moreover, this elaboration of the origin and evolution of the world of nature has effectively been "blessed" as authentic Islamic doctrine in recent times. Yet to the scientists who object to it, it is simply "not science."
But this isn't the only instance of "cultural difference" that can be found in this marvelous book....
Anyhoot, it's amazing what you can learn from listening to the disputes among eminent working scientists! When I read this work, I feel like a fly on the locker-room wall, privileged to hear the most serious conversations emanating from the inner sanctum of the highest precincts of modern-day science.
May God ever bless each and every one of those 45 contributors and their critics!