In the initial years after Darwin’s theory was proposed, most theistic evolutionists believed that God guided the evolutionary process to specific ends. However, as the Darwinian view of the undirected nature of evolution gradually solidified in the scientific community, defenders of theistic … » Go
Philosopher of science Philip Kitcher is the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. In his book Living with Darwin, Kitcher attacks strident atheists among evolutionists for “hectoring” their opponents and for presenting their arguments “without charity” and “without … » Go
Theistic evolution is the effort to reconcile Darwin’s theory of undirected evolution with belief in God in general and Christian theology in particular. Analogous terms to theistic evolution include “evolutionary creation,” “fully gifted creation,” and “biologos.” Theistic … » Go
Although the idea of “theistic evolution” receives plenty of attention from the newsmedia, it clearly represents a fringe position among leading biologists. According to a 1998 survey of members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), nearly 95% of NAS biologists identify themselves as … » Go
Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.Biologist Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker.1 Is Darwinian evolution compatible with faith in God? The nation’s preeminent pro-evolution lobbying group, the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), would have people … » Go
No. The idea that human beings can observe signs of intelligent design in nature reaches back to the foundations of both science and civilization. In the Greco-Roman tradition, Plato and Cicero both espoused early versions of intelligent design. In the history of science, most scientists until the … » Go
Theistic evolution proponents who do not openly deny that God guided the development of life typically insist that His guidance is unobservable in biology. Francis Collins proposes this view in The Language of God, suggesting that from God’s perspective the outcome of evolution could “be … » Go
Evolution was back in the headlines this week as the Texas State Board of Education voted 13-2 to require students to “analyze and evaluate” major evolutionary concepts such as common ancestry, natural selection, and mutations, as well as adopting a critical thinking standard calling … » Go
It’s impossible to isolate Darwinian theories from their societal consequences. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has been one of the most politically and culturally consequential ideas of the past 200 years. Yet many defenders of evolution do their best to downplay … » Go
There must be something deeply ingrained in the human psyche about going on pilgrimages, for when I had a chance last year to take my wife and two small children to visit New England after speaking at a conference, I jumped at the opportunity. What could be more worthwhile than showing my … » Go
The United Methodist News Service (the official news service of the denomination) has published an article about the UMC's ban on Discovery Institute from having an information table at its upcoming General Conference. I give a lot of credit to reporter Heather Hahn for being willing to … » Go
Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute. When I was being interviewed last week on Dennis Prager's radio show, Dennis commented that he thought atheists would be more open-minded than United Methodist officials about … » Go
Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute. We have recently been highlighting the decision by officials at the United Methodist Church (UMC) to deny Discovery Institute an information table at the UMC's upcoming General … » Go
Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute. United Methodist Bishop Michael Coyner, based in Indiana, has published an online missive chastising the many United Methodists and others who have been contacting him over the … » Go
Take action now: Contact United Methodist officials and urge them to overturn their ban on Discovery Institute. As previously reported, United Methodist Church (UMC) officials have banned Discovery Institute from sponsoring an information table at its upcoming General Conference in May … » Go
Ten years ago today, an activist federal judge in Pennsylvania tried to kill intelligent design by court order. In Kitzmiller v. Dover, Judge John Jones declared that teaching about intelligent design was unconstitutional because intelligent design was religion rather than science. The … » Go
Former National Center for Science Education activist Nick Matzke has just published an utterly inane article in Science about academic freedom bills. In the article, he constructs a "phylogenetic tree" to show that various academic freedom bills are related to one another. If the … » Go
Physicist Karl Giberson used to be a serious participant in discussions of issues related to science and faith. A co-founder of the BioLogos Foundation with Francis Collins and Darrel Falk, and a frequent contributor to Books & Culture, Giberson is the author of several notable books. But … » Go
In an essay in the journal First Things earlier this year ("The Church of Darwin," June 2015), I discussed how debates over science and faith might have played out much differently had the scientific community embraced a guided form of evolution rather than Darwin's blind and unguided … » Go
I got back on Friday from the Anthem Film Festival and FreedomFest in Las Vegas, which screened The Biology of the Second Reich. In case you missed the film, you can see it on YouTube (find it at the bottom of this post). The screening venue was the "Sin City Theater" at the Planet … » Go
