Physical Science and Mathematics

The Act of Creation: Bridging Transcendence and Immanence William A. Dembski: Any act of human creation is always also a divine gift. The ancients understood this. Thus Homer would invoke the Muse to help him compose his poetry. This paper describes how our contemporary culture can recapture the sacred in human creativity.
Alchemy and the Emergence of Complex Systems William A. Dembski: Alchemy and the Emergence of Complex Systems. Appeared as Metaviews 158 (www.meta-list.org). 1999/11/30.
Another Way to Detect Design? William A. Dembski: Another Way to Detect Design?
Are We Alone in the Universe?: NASA scientists claim that a Martian meteorite contains signs of life on Mars. Is the evidence credible? If life is found on Mars does in invalidate Creation? These questions and more are answered by a trained Christian scientist.
Because It Works. That's Why! William A. Dembski: Book review of "The Concept of Probability in Statistical Physics" by Y.M. Guttmann. Reviewed by William A. Dembski.
Being a Christian in Science Rich Milne: Walter Hearn, both a Christian and a scientist, has written an excellent book giving perspective and advice on how to be a Christian in the science field.
The Bible Code Rich Milne: How should thinking Christians respond to purported information embedded in the Bible?s original language? There is more to "The Bible Code" than first meets the eye.
Bible and Science First Things, March 1997: Fr. Stanley Jaki's "Bible and Science" acknowledges that biblical authors held a primitive view of the natural world. But it is their understanding laid the foundation for later scientific inquiry. Reviewed by Stephen M. Barr.
Catholic Frogs Jean L. Bertelsen Pond: If all truth is God's truth how can science ever be in conflict with faith? What are the problems and issues here for the Christian educator?
The Caused Beginning of the Universe A Response to Quentin Smith: Quentin Smith has recently argued that (I) the universe began to exist and (II) its beginning was uncaused. In support of (II), he argues that (i) there is no reason to think that the beginning was caused by God and (ii) it is unreasonable to think so. I dispute both claims. His case for (i) misconstrues the causal principle, appeals to false analogies of ex nihilo creation, fails to show how the origin of the universe ex nihilo is naturally plausible, and reduces to triviality by construing causality as predictability in principle. His case for (ii) ignores important epistemological questions and fails to show either that vacuum fluctuation models are empirically plausible or that they support his second claim.
The Chance of the Gaps William A. Dembski: The keynote address given at Society of Christian Philosopher's in Boulder, Colorado, October 2001. This is an Adobe Acrobat PDF file [PDF - 217K]. Statistical reasoning must be capable of eliminating chance when the probability of events gets too small. If not, chance can be invoked to explain anything. Scientists
Climbing Mount Improbable & Darwin's Black Box First Things, October 1996: Two books which take opposite views on Darwinism are examined by reviewer Phillip E. Johnson. "Climbing Mount Improbable" by Richard Dawkins presents the orthodox case for evolution. On the other side, "Darwin's Black Box" by Michael Behe challenges thi
The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory (Book Review) First Things, November 1997: For years, physicists did little to connect the mind with physical reality. In "The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory," author David Chalmers admits this while still embracing a pure materialistic view. Reviewed by Stephen M. Barr.
Contact: A Eulogy to Carl Sagan Dr. Ray Bohlin: The movie "Contact" was a well-crafted eulogy to Carl Sagan and a faithful demonstration of his world view: that science triumphs over irrational Christian faith, but that there is a place for humanistic faith in extra-terrestrial life. His world view is critiqued from a biblical perspective and found inconsistent.
Converting Matter into Mind: Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone in Cognitive Science William A. Dembski: Cognitive science condones an unhealthy alliance between philosophy and science. The philosophy driving cognitive science is a materialism committed to explaining man via computation. To justify this philosophy the cognitive scientist writes computer programs that attempt to capture intelligent human behavior. Computers are not cheap, however. To justify sizable research grants, cognitive scientists often make promises they cannot keep. The result is a conflict of interest. Overstatement, sloppiness, and tendentious jargon come to blur the distinction between genuine scientific progress and spurious philosophy. This essay examines the scientific and philosophical merits of cognitive science in light of the historic Judeo-Christian position on mind and body. (This paper appeared in the December 1990 issue of
Creation and Big Bang Cosmology Dr. William Lane Craig: Recent discussions have raised the issue of the metaphysical implications of standard Big Bang cosmology. Grunbaum's argument that the causal principle cannot be applied to the origin of the universe rests on a pseudo-dilemma, since the cause could act neither before nor after t=0, but at t=0. Levy-Leblond's advocacy of a remetrication of cosmic time to push the singularity to - involves various conceptual difficulties and is in any case unavailing, since the universe's beginning is not eliminated. Maddox's aversion to the possible metaphysical implications of the standard model evinces a narrow scientism. Standard Big Bang cosmogeny does therefore seem to have those metaphysical implications which some have found so discomfiting.
The Creation-date Controversy The Real Issue, September/October 1994: Dr. Hugh Ross discusses the question "Does the Genesis creation account force a wedge between faith and science?" Millions of devoted Christians find themselves painfully torn in the controversy surrounding the age of the earth.
DNA: The Message in the Message First Things, June/July 1996: How might one, creationist Christian or not, explain the origin of the complex message structure in DNA? The author briefly reviews recent literature on the subject. Current researchers basically attempt to explain the genetic code phenomena strictly in
Darwinism and Theism Darwinism: Science or Philosophy: No abstract available for this article
Darwinism's Rules of Reasoning Darwinism: Science or Philosophy: No abstract available for this article
The Design Inference William A. Dembski: How can we identify events due to intelligent causes and distinguish them from events due to undirected natural causes? If we lack a causal theory, how can we determine whether an intelligent cause acted? This book presents a reliable method for detecting intelligent causes: the design inference.
Design as a Research Program William A. Dembski: Contrary to popular accusations by critics, intelligent design theory suggests a number of questions that can be pursued as part of a research program. This article contains fourteen such questions.
The Designed 'Just So' Universe Walter L. Bradley, Ph.D.: This article provides a clear indication of what is meant by design and then summarizes the factual basis from cosmology that our universe is indeed uniquely designed as a habitat for life in general and humans in particular.
Designed or Designoid Walter L. Bradley: Not every facet of nature that appears designed is merely a designoid, but rather nature includes facets that may rightly be regarded as designed. From Chapter 1 of the book "Mere Creation: Science, Faith, and Intelligent Design," edited by William A. Dembski.
Detecting Design?: A First Response to Elliott Sober William A. Dembski: In The Design Inference (Cambridge, 1998), I argue that specified complexity is a reliable empirical marker of intelligent design. Not everyone agrees. Elliott Sober holds that specified complexity is exactly the wrong instrument for detecting design. In this piece I want to consider the main criticisms of specified complexity as a reliable empirical marker of intelligence, show how they fail, and argue that not only does specified complexity pinpoint how we detect design, but it is also our sole means for detecting design.
Disbelieving Darwin--And Feeling No Shame! William A. Dembski: Whether intelligent design is the theory that ultimately overturns Darwinism is not the issue. The issue is whether the scientific community is willing to eschew dogmatism and admit as a live possibility that even its most cherished views might be wrong.
Evidence of God in Human Physiology Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A cursory examination of human physiology reveals: 1) the complexity of man and what it suggests about man's origins, 2) the efficient and versatile operation of man compared with machine, and 3) the depth of our ignorance about how man's physiological systems operate.
Evolution's Big Bang Dr. Ray Bohlin: The Cambrian explosion of life has long befuddled evolutionists. New data have only deepened the mystery and caused a critical rethinking of cherished evolutionary concepts.
Explaining Specified Complexity William A. Dembski: Does nature exhibit actual specified complexity? This article explores the concept of specified complexity.
Fallacy of contextualism William A. Dembski: The fallacy of contextualism is to suppose that because all human knowledge occurs within contexts that therefore human knowledge cannot transcend contexts. This fallacy is behind the perspectivalism of Nietzsche, the skepticism of postmodernity, and the relativism of neo-pragmatists like Richard Rorty. This paper provides a refutation of the fallacy of contextualism.
A Federalist's Approach to Protecting the Environment: A governor reflects on the proper understanding of environmental protection that is consistent with limited and constitutional government.
Finding Ken Miller's Point William A. Dembski: Dembski responds to criticisms of his work in Ken Miller's "Finding Darwin's God." "Finding Darwin's God" is currently the best critique of intelligent design in book form, but still comes up short. My concern here is with two references to my own work in Miller's book, references which to my mind cut to the heart of Miller's critique of intelligent design, but also point up his need for further careful thinking.
The Fire in the Equations: Science, Religion, and the Search for God First Things, August/September 1996: "The Fire in the Equation: Science, Religion and the Search for God" was written by Kitty Ferguson. It is reviewed here by Stephen Barr. This book seeks to reconcile religion and science. A non-scientist herself, the author is generally able to to br
A Frog with No Legs A layman's rebuttal to Jean L. Bertelsen Pond's "Catholic Frogs": Author Tim Ganstrom, BSE, rebuts Jean L. Bertelsen Pond's "Catholic Frogs" article advocating that scientific propositions and Christian beliefs have no bearing on each other.
The Future of Belief First Things, May 1996: The author considers the current possiblities for knowledge and belief in this age of skepticism. He pursues this inquiry by reflecting on the effects of modern philosophy, experience and technology.
Global Warming: Fossil fuel emissions are unfairly being blamed for global warming. The Kyoto Protocol is based on questionable science, and will cause unnecesssary economic hardship.
God and the Initial Cosmological Singularity A Reply to Quentin Smith: Quentin Smith contends (i) an atheistic interpretation of the Big Bang is better justified than a theistic interpretation because the latter is inconsistent with the standard Big Bang model and (ii) his atheistic interpretation offers a coherent and plausible account of the origin of the universe. But Smith's argument for (i) is multiply flawed, depending on premisses which are false or at least mootable and a key invalid inference. Smith's attempt to demonstrate the plausibility of the atheistic interpretation on the basis of its greater simplicity is based on false parallels between God and the initial cosmological singularity. Smith's effort to prove that the atheist's contention that the universe came into being uncaused out of absolutely nothing is coherent rests upon a confusion between inconceivability and unimaginability and assumes without argument that the causal principle could not be a metaphysically necessary a posteriori truth. In any case, there are good grounds for taking the principle to be a metaphysically necessary, synthetic, a priori truth, in which case the atheistic interpretation is incoherent.
The Grand Canyon and the Age of the Earth Ray Bohlin, Ph.D.: Young-earth creationists need to be able to explain earth?s geological features as the result of a year-long flood only a few thousand years ago. The Grand Canyon is one of the few areas of the world that allows them to attempt to show that their model fits reality.
H2O - or Water of Life? A Scientist's Thoughts on the Christian Faith Professor Lothar Weber: Professor Weber explores the thirst for life.
Hasker on Divine Knowledge William Lane Craig: William Hasker has presented influential arguments against divine foreknowledge and middle knowledge. I argue that his objections are fallacious. With respect to divine foreknowledge, three central issues arise: temporal necessity, power entailment principles, and the nature of free will. In each case Hasker's analysis is defective. With respect to divine middle knowledge, Hasker presents four objections concerning the truth of counterfactuals of freedom. Against Hasker I argue that such propositions are grounded in states of affairs belonging to the actual world logically prior to its full instantiation and are contingently true or false.
How Not to Analyze Design William A. Dembski: How Not to Analyze Design
How to Sink a Battleship The Real Issue, November/December 1996: Phillip E. Johnson issues a call to separate materialist philosophy from empirical science. This article is edited from the final address at the Mere Creation Conference.
Human Fossils: "Just So" Stories of Apes and Humans Dr. Ray Bohlin: The study of human evolution suffers from too few fossils, tunnel world view vision, powerful personalities, and too much media misinformation. This article tries to sort out the data from a creationist perspective.
ID as a Theory of Technological Evolution William A. Dembski: In Aristotle's distinction between art and nature lies the central issue in the debate over biological evolution. The central issue is whether nature has sufficient resources in herself to generate all of biological diversity or whether in addition nature requires art to complete what nature alone cannot bring to a finish.
Idols of the Century First Things, March 1996: The author discusses the academic influence of Marx and Freud in this century. Their claims of scientific authority have all been debunked. What is the current intellectual fashion for secularists?
Intelligent Design Coming Clean William A. Dembski: I hope with this essay to reassure our culture?s guardians of scientific correctness that they have nothing to fear from intelligent design.
The Intelligent Design Movement William A. Dembski: Intelligent design is now poised to supplant Darwinian evolution. This article describes the progress that's been made in the last 15 years to reinstate design and oust Darwinism. The intelligent design movement is increasingly gaining momentum. Look for Darwinism in the next 10 years to crumble in much the way that Marxism crumbled in the late 80s
Intelligent Design as a Theory of Information William A. Dembski: For the scientific community intelligent design represents creationism's latest grasp at scientific legitimacy. Accordingly, intelligent design is viewed as yet another ill-conceived attempt by creationists to straightjacket science within a religious ideology. But in fact intelligent design can be formulated as a scientific theory having empirical consequences and devoid of religious commitments. Intelligent design can be unpacked as a theory of information. Within such a theory, information becomes a reliable indicator of design as well as a proper object for scientific investigation. In my paper I shall (1) show how information can be reliably detected and measured, and (2) formulate a conservation law that governs the origin and flow of information. My broad conclusion is that information is not reducible to natural causes, and that the origin of information is best sought in intelligent causes. Intelligent design thereby becomes a theory for detecting and measuring information, explaining its origin, and tracing its flow. (A condensed version of this paper appeared in the September 1997 issue of PERSPECTIVES ON SCIENCE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH.)
Intelligent Design is not Optimal Design William A. Dembski: The design in nature is actual. More often than we would like, that design has gotten perverted. But the perversion of design--dysteleology--is not explained by denying design, but by accepting it and meeting the problem of evil head on. The problem of evil is a theological problem. To force a resolution of the problem by reducing all design to apparent design is an evasion. It avoids both the scientific challenge posed by specified complexity, and it avoids the hard work of faith, whose job is to discern God's hand in creation despite the occlusions of evil.
Is God Unconstitutional The Real Issue, Introductory Issue: Dr. Phillip E. Johnson brings his acute legal mind to the many issues surrounding Darwinism. He exposes the deeply philosophical bias for faith in evolution held by the theory's advocates.
Is God Unconstitutional? (Part 1) The Real Issue, September/October 1994: Dr. Phillip E. Johnson brings his acute legal mind to the many issues surrounding Darwinism. He exposes the deeply philosophical bias for faith in evolution held by the theory's advocates.
Is God Unconstitutional? (Part 2) The Real Issue, November/December 1994: Dr. Phillip E. Johnson brings his acute legal mind to the many issues surrounding Darwinism. He concludes his exposition of the deeply philosophical bias for faith in evolution held by the theory's advocates.
Is Intelligent Design Testable?: A Response to Eugenie Scott William A. Dembski: A response to Eugenie Scott's key criticism against intelligent design, that intelligent design is untestable.
Is Science a Threat or Help to Faith? The Real Issue, November/December 1994: Dr. J. P. Moreland responds to the question "How are we to understand the relationship between science and Christianity?"
Johnson, Phillip E. Law, Author of Darwin On Trial and other books: Phillip Johnson has been a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, for 26 years. He received his B.A. from Harvard and his J.D. from the University of Chicago. Johnson is the author of Darwin on Trial, Reason in the Balance, and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Since the writing of his books, Johnson has spoken and debated extensively with other experts on these issues.
The Last Magic William A. Dembski: Book Review of "The Applicability of Mathematics as a Philosophical Problem" by Mark Steiner (Harvard University Press, 1999). Reviewed by William A. Dembski.
Luther and Science Donald H. Kobe: Modern science developed during the Renaissance and the Reformation. The role of the latter on the development of science has sometimes been said to have been negative. In this paper the views of Martin Luther and his followers toward science, especially astronomy, are examined. Although they have been criticized as being negative and obstructionist, this criticism is without justification.
Mere Creation: Science, Faith & Intelligent Design William A. Dembski: In November 1996, Christian Leadership Ministries sponsored Mere Creation, a conference on origins which gathered 180 scientists and scholars from the growing "intelligent design," or ID, community. Now the 19 papers from this conference, with revisions and two additional essays, are available in this new volume.
Mere Creation: Science, Faith, and Intelligent Design [Book Review] Reviewed by Jim Miller: A review of "Mere Creation: Science, Faith, and Intelligent Design," written by William A. Dembski and published by InterVarsity Press (Downer's Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1998. 475p.). This review is by Jim Miller.
On Creation and Big Bang Cosmology A Response to Grunbaum: In response to my article "Creation and Big Bang Cosmology" Adolf Grunbaum argues against God's being a simultaneous cause of the Big Bang and against the inference that the Big Bang had a cause. His critique of simultaneous causation, once validly formulated, is based on an obviously false premiss, namely, that in order for simultaneous causation to be possible we must have a generally accepted criterion for discerning such causes. His most important reason for rejecting the causal inference with respect to the Big Bang is predicated on a B-Theory of time, which I find good reasons to reject.
The Origin And Creation Of The Universe A Response To Adolf Grunbaum: Adolf Grunbaum argues that the creation, as distinct from the origin, of the universe is a pseudo-problem. Grunbaum, however, seriously misconstrues the traditional argument for creation and his three groups of objections are therefore largely aimed at straw men or else misconceived. His objections to the scientific argument for creation are based on idiosyncratic definitions or deeper presuppositions which need to be surfaced and explored. He therefore falls short in his attempt to show that the question of creation is not a genuine philosophical problem.
The Origin of the Universe Rich Milne: What is the newest evidence for the Big Bang? The cosmic background radiation is exactly what was expected if the universe began as an immensely hot event 10-20 billion years ago. But the universe that was created is "just-right" for life. Dozens of factors are exquisitely fine-tuned for life to be able to exist, at least on our planet.
Our "Tailor-made" Universe: New Scientific Study Begs the Philosophical Question, "Who's the tailor?" Nancy Pearcey: Cosmology is at a surprising crossroads. The evidence for design in the physical universe is so strong that cosmologists today openly discuss philosophical questions, as Nancy Pearcey shows in this September 2, 2000 World article.
Pascal: The First Modern Christian First Things, August/September 1999: Oakes gives an account of the impassioned life and work of Blaise Pascal and his original defense of the faith.
Pennock's Convenient Distortion William A. Dembski: William Dembski responds to Robert Pennock's misquote in Books & Culture (Sep/Oct 99, p. 31). It makes a huge difference whether one refuses friendship with an idea or with a group of people. As a design theorist I disagree with theistic evolution but value theistic evolutionists not only as persons but also as dialogue partners.
Pigliucci's Intemperate Remarks William A. Dembski: Massimo Pigliucci's review of "The Design Inference" appeared on the Internet and is supposed to be appearing in BioScience. Rather than rebut it myself, I leave it to one of Pigliucci's fellow skeptics, Mark Vuletic, to rebut it. This article contains links to both Pigliucci's initial review and Vuletic's response.
The Possibility of Extra-Terrestrial Life Leadership University Special Focus: The Pathfinder's exploration of Mars, following on the heels of the Roswell anniversary, has turned our attention and imagination to space once more. The question of extraterrestrial life looms again as an issue of great interest. Underlying questions about the origin of the of the universe and its relation to the God of faith are being raised again with renewed vigor. Leadership University offers a special focus to discuss some questions relating to these issues.
Prof. Grunbaum on Creation William Lane Craig: Adolf Grunbaum claims that the question of creation is a pseudo-problem because it is incoherent to seek an external, prior cause of the Big Bang, which marks the beginning of time. This claim is unwarranted, however, for the theological creationist has a number of options available: (i) The Creator may be conceived to be causally, but not temporally, prior to the origin of the universe, such that the act of creating is simultaneous with the universe's beginning to exist; (ii) The Creator may be conceived to exist in a metaphysical time of which physical time is but a sensible measure and so to exist temporally prior to the inception of physical time; or (iii) The Creator may be conceived to exist timelessly and to cause tenselessly the origin of the universe at the Big Bang singularity. Grunbaum also claims that theological creationism is pseudo-explanatory because it is in principle impossible to specify the causal linkage between the cause and the effect in this case. At best this objection only shows that theological creationism is not a scientific explanation. In fact Grunbaum's objection strikes not against theology per se, but against all appeals to personal agency as explanatory, which evinces a narrow scientism.
Randomness By Design William A. Dembski: At an interdisciplinary conference on randomness at Ohio State University back in the spring of 1988, Persi Diaconis concluded the conference on an inconclusive note by saying, "We know what randomness isn't, not what it is." This unsatisfying conclusion is the point of departure for this paper. This paper argues that randomness is never fundamental but always provisional, and that randomness must be understood in the first instance in terms of what is nonrandom. This claim makes perfect sense in the light of Christian theism, which assumes that God and not the primeval chaos is fundamental. (This paper appeared in the NOUS, 25(1), 1991: 75-106.)
Reason in the Balance First Things, February 1996: This is a review essay of the book "Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law and Education" by Phillip E. Johnson. Reviewed by Nancy R. Pearcey. This book traces the influences of Darwinism over the last century.
The Religion of the Blind Watchmaker The Real Issue, September/October 1992: Phillip Johnson has authored Darwin on Trial, contending theories of evolution are based on philosophical naturalism. Dr. Stephen Jay Gould responded to Johnson's book. This is Johnson's reply.
Response: "Conflating Matter and Mind" William A. Dembski: Once one accepts that human mentality reduces to computation, there is no chance to recover the fullness of the human personality. This paper supplements Dembski's earlier "Converting Matter into Mind.
Ruse "Gives Away the Store" The Real Issue, November/December 1994: Dr. Michael Ruse stunned his listeners at the 1993 annual AAAS meeting in Boston by announcing that he had recently come to view evolution as ultimately based on several unproven philosophical assumptions.
Science and Religion Chris Stamper: Despite evidence of God's creation, the newest worldview may be closer to paganism than to the Bible.
Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation First Things, November 1996: John F. Haught's book "Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversion" is reviewed by Stephen Barr. This book attempts to theologically refute the anti-Christian message behind the philosophy of scientific materialism. This book is not, however, add
Scientific Facts and Christian Faith: How Are They Compatible? Otto J. Helweg: Explores the battle between science and Christianity. The causes of the science versus Christianity battle may be traced to three errors. First, the proponents on both sides often fail to define the term, "evolution." Second, both sides have failed to see science as a product of a Christian world view. And, finally, both sides confuse the realms (limits) of science and theology.
Scientific Facts and Christian Faith: How Are They Compatible? Dr. Otto J. Helweg: One would think the unnecessary battle between science and Christianity had long ago been resolved; however, recent statements by both scientists and theologians belie that thought.
Scientifice Evidence for the Existence of God The Real Issue, September/October 1994: Dr. Walter Bradley explores the overwhelming evidence from modern science for the existence of God. He considers three areas: 1) evidence for design in the universe; 2) the origin of the universe; and 3) the origin of life.
Scientists and Their Gods Dr. Henry "Fritz" Schaefer: Dr. Henry F. 'Fritz' Schaefer, the Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia, explores the Christian faith of early scientists.
Special Edition: Faith and Science The Real Issue, September/October 1994: Rich McGee explains his purpose is twofold: 1) provide helpful information on the complex interface between faith and science and 2) motivate readers to develop their own evangelistic lectures from their fields.
Special Edition: Faith and Science The Real Issue, November/December 1994: Rich McGee explains his purpose is twofold: 1) to provide valuable information from leading thinkers whom God is using and 2) to inspire Christian professors to combine this with their own research to develop scientific apologetics presentations.
The Special Theory of Relativity and Theories of Divine Eternity Dr. William Lane Craig: Contemporary analyses of divine eternity often make explicit appeal to to the Special Theory of Relativity in support of the doctrine of divine timelessness. For example, two fundamental tenets of Leftow's theory, namely, (i) that temporal things exist both in time and in timeless eternity and (ii) that the timeless presence of all things to God in eternity is compatible with objective temporal becoming, depend essentially upon the legitimacy of the application of Einsteinian relativity to temporal events in relation to God. I argue that the first of these rests upon category mistakes, presupposes a reductionist view of time, and seems incompatible with a tensed theory of time. The second involves the same conceptual mistakes, but also hinges upon a particular interpretation of STR which, though widespread, is by no means the most plausible.
The Star of Bethlehem Ray Bohlin: What WAS the Star of Bethlehem? Some people suggest it ws an astronomical conjunction of planets or stars. But it might have been the Shekinah Glory, a physical manifestation of God?s presence on earth.
Stephen Hawking, The Big Bang, and God (Part 1) The Real Issue, November/December 1994: Dr. "Fritz" Schaeffer makes comments on Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time."
Stephen Hawking, the Big Bang, and God Henry F. Schaefer III: Dr. "Fritz" Schaeffer, the Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and the director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia, makes comments on Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Although Dr. Schaeffer notes some areas in which he disagrees with Hawking, he concludes, ". . . the reason for Hawking's success as a popularizer of science, is that he addresses the problems of meaning and purpose that concern all thinking people."
Sympathetic Attractions First Things, May 1997: Patricia Fara studies the historical development of science in a society in her book "Sympathetic Attractions: Magnetic Practices, Beliefs, and Symbolism in Eighteenth Century England." Reviewed by Hugh Ormsby-Lennon.
Teaching Intelligent Design -- What Happened When?: A Response to Eugenie Scott William A. Dembski: A response to Eugenie Scott's posting in Metaviews (METAVIEWS 008, 02.12.01). The clarion call of the intelligent design movement is to "teach the controversy." There is a very real controversy centering on how properly to account for biological complexity (cf. the ongoing events in Kansas), and it is a scientific controversy. Eugenie Scott regularly pretends that it will only confuse students to teach intelligent design in public school science curricula. In fact, what confuses students is to be taught only the party line while being aware that the party line is under serious critical scrutiny.
Teaching intelligent design as religion and science? William A. Dembski: It is a mistake to teach intelligent design as religion. Intelligent design is properly a scientific research program. To teach it as religion is not only to confuse what it is, but also to give up an incredible advantage in the culture wars. Intelligent design is the key to dislodging the materialism in our culture. It needs to be taught correctly and in the correct context, namely, in a science classroom.
The Truth About "Inherit the Wind" First Things, February 1997: The author summarizes and comments on the play "Inherit the Wind" by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. This drama is based on the 1925 "monkey trial" which took place in Dayton, Tennessee.
The Unraveling of Scientific Materialism First Things, November 1997: Is Darwinian evolution an irrefutable fact or materialistic philosophy disguised as science? Professor Johnson addresses this question as he considers the writings and career of Carl Sagan with regard to this matter.
Very Intelligent Design Joel Belz: Article by Joel Belz from World magazine concerning Phil Johnson and the 1996 Mere Creation Conference.
What Would Real Little Green Men Us About Evolution -- and God? Paul A. Nelson: Book Review of "Are We Alone? Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life" by Paul Davies.
What every theologian should know about creation, evolution and design William A. Dembski: Scientists think intelligent design is bad science. Theologians think intelligent design is bad theology. In fact, intelligent design is just what the doctor ordered for both science and theology. This paper shows how design is the linchpin of the creation-evolution controversy.
What is the Evidence For/Against the Existence of God? A Debate between Dr. William Lane Craig and Dr. Peter W. Atkins: Dr. Craig argues the affirmative and Dr. Atkins argues against the affirmative in this classic debate. Moderated by William F. Buckley and originally held in The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia, April 3, 1998, this debate is available online in RealAudio and RealVideo formats.
Who's Got the Magic? William A. Dembski: Rebuttal to Robert Pennock in "Tower of Babel." Pennock wants to explain the appearance of design in nature without admitting actual design. That's why Richard Dawkins begins "The Blind Watchmaker" with "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose," whereupon he requires an additional three hundred pages to show why it is only an appearance of design.
Why Evolutionary Algorithms Cannot Generate Specified Complexity William A. Dembski: Why Evolutionary Algorithms Cannot Generate Specified Complexity
Why Natural Selection Can't Design Anything William A. Dembski: Why Natural Selection Can't Design Anything [PDF - 214K]. Society of Christian Philosopher's keynote address - Boulder, Colorado, October. In "The Fifth Miracle," Paul Davies suggests that any laws capable of explaining the origin of life must be radically different from scientific laws known to date. The problem, as he sees it, with currently known scientific laws, like the laws of chemistry and physics, is that they cannot explain the key feature of life that needs to be explained. That feature is specified complexity. Life is both complex and specified.
Witnesses for the Prosecution Joel Belz: Article by Joel Belz from World magazine concerning Phil Johnson and the 1996 Mere Creation Conference.
The World View of "Jurassic Park" Dr. Ray Bohlin: The book and movie "Jurassic Park" were more than just great entertainment. There was a specific attempt to alter the way you think about Nature, its use and potential abuse.