Jay Richards

On this episode of ID the Future, we recognize the 75th anniversary this month of the publication of C. S. Lewis’s prophetic science fiction novel That Hideous Strength, with the first slightly abridged part of John West’s documentary The Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism. Several scholars were interviewed for the film, including Jay Richards, Angus Menuge, Victor Reppert, John West, and Michael Aeschliman. Scientism is the idea that science is the ultimate path to knowledge and wisdom — the only sure path — and that the spiritual realm is a mirage. Lewis never criticized science, only scientism, the abuse of science that bears an unexpected twinship with magic.

What do you know about eclipses? Join us today with this classic ID The Future episode from August of 2017, when a perfect solar eclipse was seen in the US. Here, CSC Senior Fellow Jay Richards explains how perfect solar eclipses are the tip of an iceberg-size design argument found in a book he co-wrote, The Privileged Planet. The conditions for a habitable planet (right distance from the right size star, a big but not too big moon that is the right distance away to stabilize Earth’s tilt and circulate its oceans) are also conditions that make perfect solar eclipses from the Earth’s surface much more likely. And perfect eclipses aren’t just eerie and beautiful. They’ve helped scientists test and discover things, and are part of a larger pattern: The conditions needed for a habitable place in the cosmos correlate with the conditions well suited for scientific discovery. As Richards notes, this correlation is inexplicable if the cosmos is the product of chance. But if it’s intelligently designed with creatures like us in mind, it’s just what we might expect.

A number of factors must be perfectly met for the possibility of complex life on earth. These include: proper distance from the sun, liquid water, that it be a terrestrial planet, having tectonic plates, protected by large planets, orbiting the correct type of star, has a large moon, a magnetic field, and is oxygen rich. Listen is as we see how the evidence points to intelligent design. For more information or to order a copy of The Privileged Planet

In this clip, God and Evolution editor Jay Richards discusses the problem of evil and why Darwinian evolution does not resolve it, contrary to claims by some theistic evolutionists. Home

Jay Richards discusses how the theory of intelligent design interacts with the doctrines of the Catholic Church. Read More ›

Jay Richards discusses the problem of evil for the theistic and theistic evolutionary perspectives. He notes the common answer that theists give: God allows man to have free will and this liberty brings evil into the world. Read More ›

Jay Richards notes that the Catholic Church has no qualms with evolution if its defined as change over time. But according to Pope Pius XII and other popes who have discussed evolution, Darwinian evolution specifically contradicts their holy text and tradition. Read More ›

Jay Richards, Stephen Meyer, David Klinghoffer, and John West discuss the questions they pose and answer in God and Evolution. They focus squarely on the implications of evolution as it pertains to faiths. www.faithandevolution.org