Dear Ed, Danielle, and anybody who wants to read my little rant: "Finding Darwin's God" is a good call for you Danielle. As both a die-hard christian and a biology freak, I appreciate anything that helps people clarify the two. Ken Miller's tone and aim wouldn't make this the greatest book to recommend to (or give to) many creationist buddies of yours -- they'd feel totally attacked if they were not completely and utterly willing to listen, and other resources that explain what evolution is (and isn't) would be more appropriate to start with. One good starting place would be Ernst Mayr's "What Evolution Is" and some good old Doug Futuyma. About the history of the debate, and how a novel set of ecological theories got so mixed up in religious and popular thought, "The Evolution-Creation Struggle" by Michael Ruse is a gem.
Remember, comparing a "Science is True" view to a "Science is sometimes True" view is like comparing apples and oranges. It's difficult to have any worthwhile discussion between the camps. Even at a large ASA (american scientific affiliation, http://asa3.org/) conference about a year ago, attended by christians devoted to good science, ID types, and some good-natured bystanders, the ID types and the evolutionists spoke, agreed to disagree, and repeatedly approached the discussion in their own ways. I guess the point of such discussions is to inform, not to persuade. ID types wishing to be better informed might respond well to Miller, but he takes a chapter or two to crush some of their most cherished works too, like the whole "irreducible complexity" thing Michael Behe came up with. Might be interesting to get the feed from that conference: Behe and Miller spoke gentlemanly, ended up shaking hands, and maintain their original points. I think only that sort of mutual respect can be the basis for a truly informative discussion, but there's still always this feel of "not getting anywhere" when talking with creationists. Miller's "Finding Darwin's God" approaches 1. young-earth creationism, 2. old-earth creationism, 3. intelligent design, and some other oddballs from the point of view that good evolutionary biology and biblical christianity not only coexist but complement one another well. We went through the book in a Senior Seminar class at the christian college I attended (Gordon College): It's a good starting place for those who already basically understand how evolution works, want to understand what the big deal is with various anti-evolutionary factions within the christian religion (other faiths too, of course, but none so loudmouthed as the three mentioned above), and want to see some good reasons for throwing out the idea that things haven't evolved. Personally, I don't think it makes much sense to say that scientifically-derived knowledge could support or deny God's existence, but rather it can only inform whatever we can understand about God in other ways. (I think this will still be true if/when the ID people change the meaning of the word "science" in America's schools. Science education is going down the toilet.) Because of what I see in nature, I think God is awesome and extremely creative -- how beautiful is evolution? I could never come up with something so intricate that actually works and perpetuates itself like that. Very elegant. But I don't think that any amount of awe or confusion or overwhelmed-ness I feel when studying nature verifies the existence of God. I believe in God for other reasons, but I appreciate God's creativity and sovereignty because of what I learn when studying plants and ecosystems. What irks me to no end is when a lack of knowledge (How exactly did the first "cells" come to be? When did the conscious arise? etc) is taken as support for God's necessary intervention. Silliness. Just wait five minutes and somebody will answer the question. Another thing that bothers me is selective research: when writers of the resources you'll see when Googling "peppered moth" base their prose on tiny bits of outdated findings, basted in their own agendas. That's bad science, bad writing, and in very bad taste. I wish to never be associated with it. That's enough out of me. Good luck out there. Email if you want to commisserate or share resources: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lauren Noyes Science Tutor, Northern Essex Community College On 9/4/06, Edward Sismour <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Danielle, > 'Finding Darwin's God: A scientist's search for common ground between God > and evolution' by Kenneth R. Miller is an excellent book that discusses the > various forms of creationism, explains why they fail in their attempts to > undermine evolutionary theory, and argues that evolution and religion need > not be in conflict. Whether you agree or disagree, if you want a better > understanding of the scientific evidence that refutes creationist claims, it > would be worth your time to read this book. > > Ed Sismour > > Finding Darwin's God: A scientist's search for common ground between God > and evolution. Kenneth R. Miller. 1999. Harper-Collins Publishers. ISBN > 0-06-017593-1 (hardback) ISBN 0-06-093049-7 (paperback) > > <snip>
