James C Moyer
winchester VA 22601
Someone of Fundamentalist origin wrote a clever story defending yet again the fallacy of Intelligent Design and so I had to respond with a story of my own.
Herewith...
Somewhere once upon a time there was a professor who enjoyed the debate sparked by Intelligent Design. In fact most of his students came from parents who believed in Intelligent Design. He worked in a Christian private school.
One day several of the students challenged this teacher why he even discussed the possibility of merit in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, when everyone at this school knows that only an intelligent creator could be the maker of this universe and in no way could it have arisen this way randomly by forces of natural selection.
This teacher was unafraid of this challenge and enjoyed the interest of these students on this matter. Their interest was key. In fact their interest in challenging him was the point of the whole class and his whole reason for being in this job. He wanted them to be interested. He wanted the questions, the challenges. He wanted them to want to think.
In the end, any faith or principle you have in life is deepened by such questioning and thinking. In the end, faith and principle are enhanced by such discourse, not threatened.
In the end any assumption that we are full of error because of a lack of faith and because of a lack of right thinking is really the result of not going through the process of debate and discovery. In the end this process can only enhance and deepen any faith you have.
He said to his students that the Bible teaches many things. Some of the stories of the Bible are obvious and others subtle and some could even say contradictory if one has no wisdom. Or humility.
And that last attribute, humility, is an over-arching, recurring theme in the Bible, as it is in most religions.
Take for example, the story of the Tower of Babel and in mid-sentence was cut off, just like that wonderful Biblical story in and of itself. “Wait a minute,” a student stood up leading the charge. “You are not answering how Darwin’s Evolution has any merit.”
The student persisted. “Remember that professor who challenged the atheist in his class by creating a model of the universe with balls and wires? And remember when the atheist didn’t believe that professor when he said that model of balls and wires were created by last week’s storm that accidentally created it all?”
“I remember,” the teacher said.
“But who are we to say how this universe was created?!!!”
“Who asked that question? ,” the teacher asked, wondering how to interpret the meaning of that question.
Another student arose. “It was I who said that. Who are we to say what process or even who created this universe? Who is to tell us?”
“Good questions,” answered the teacher. The teacher dwelled there a moment.
But that’s all the time it took for a multitude of hands to spring up clamoring to answer that question.
The bell rang just then. And class was over for that day.
winchester VA 22601
Someone of Fundamentalist origin wrote a clever story defending yet again the fallacy of Intelligent Design and so I had to respond with a story of my own.
Herewith...
Somewhere once upon a time there was a professor who enjoyed the debate sparked by Intelligent Design. In fact most of his students came from parents who believed in Intelligent Design. He worked in a Christian private school.
One day several of the students challenged this teacher why he even discussed the possibility of merit in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, when everyone at this school knows that only an intelligent creator could be the maker of this universe and in no way could it have arisen this way randomly by forces of natural selection.
This teacher was unafraid of this challenge and enjoyed the interest of these students on this matter. Their interest was key. In fact their interest in challenging him was the point of the whole class and his whole reason for being in this job. He wanted them to be interested. He wanted the questions, the challenges. He wanted them to want to think.
In the end, any faith or principle you have in life is deepened by such questioning and thinking. In the end, faith and principle are enhanced by such discourse, not threatened.
In the end any assumption that we are full of error because of a lack of faith and because of a lack of right thinking is really the result of not going through the process of debate and discovery. In the end this process can only enhance and deepen any faith you have.
He said to his students that the Bible teaches many things. Some of the stories of the Bible are obvious and others subtle and some could even say contradictory if one has no wisdom. Or humility.
And that last attribute, humility, is an over-arching, recurring theme in the Bible, as it is in most religions.
Take for example, the story of the Tower of Babel and in mid-sentence was cut off, just like that wonderful Biblical story in and of itself. “Wait a minute,” a student stood up leading the charge. “You are not answering how Darwin’s Evolution has any merit.”
The student persisted. “Remember that professor who challenged the atheist in his class by creating a model of the universe with balls and wires? And remember when the atheist didn’t believe that professor when he said that model of balls and wires were created by last week’s storm that accidentally created it all?”
“I remember,” the teacher said.
“But who are we to say how this universe was created?!!!”
“Who asked that question? ,” the teacher asked, wondering how to interpret the meaning of that question.
Another student arose. “It was I who said that. Who are we to say what process or even who created this universe? Who is to tell us?”
“Good questions,” answered the teacher. The teacher dwelled there a moment.
But that’s all the time it took for a multitude of hands to spring up clamoring to answer that question.
The bell rang just then. And class was over for that day.