Scientifiction

Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron have cooked up something in the lab that is bound to give Parker Bros a run for their money, Intelligent Design vs Evolution: the boardgame.  The scientific dogma of my institution is sure to crumble once I start showing up at departmental parties with this little guy in tow.

A friend clued me into a current debacle in the evangelical subculture:  John Piper using the phrase “God kicks our ass” at Passion ‘07 in reference to the Lord disciplining us for our sanctification (Heb 12:4-13).  Piper has posted something of an explanation/apology.  Wayne Grudem has also responded to Piper’s explanation.  I found both to be insightful.  I admire Piper’s post for its transparency, rational, and humilty, and I think Grudem’s words are deeply wise; I really do think wisdom wins the day when it comes to this issue.

Two years ago, my good friend, Mr. Andrew Nyvall, commemorated my birthday with the truly magnificent and revolutionary work of art you see here, entitled ‘Magic Iceberg Paradise’.  Scott Rank drew my attention to a cheap Danish replica today.  Now if this man can fund a red iceberg knock off, I’m sure we can write a few letters and get adequate resources to realize a genuine pièce de résistance.

In about an hour I will be heading east in seach of a colder climate in which to weather the holidays.  I will be in Iowa from Dec 21st until about Jan 3rd and it simply wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t get to see you.  So give me a call and lets hangout. 

I recently read an interesting study wherein fruit fly geneticists were able to demonstrate a genetic mechanism for the courting behaviors of flies.  The investigators did this by expressing a male-specific genetic mechanism in otherwise female flies, and vice versa.  These males and females attempt to initiate mating with the same sex, though copulation is anatomically impossible.  Additionally, the researchers engineered a mechanism to express a female phermone in males flies, such that the afore mentioned females now court males in a complete reversal of normal fly sexual roles.  

The study goes a long way in demonstrating that sexual orientation has a significant genetic influence, an idea that a lot of conservatives and Christians have argued strongly against.  This position was aimed at destroying the notion that non-heterosexual behavior could be justified on the basis of an individual’s nature (that is, natural inclinations - ie, the “no one is born that way” argument). 

So where does information like this leave us?  Not anywhere considerably new in as much as I can see.  With studies already demonstrating genetic predispositions toward everything from alcoholism to violence, this study and others that will follow it come as no real surprise.  A predisposition toward any behavior is never a reason to justify action.  No one would condone violent crime simply because someone is inherently predisposed toward it.  In fact, now that our understanding of the physical world includes the mechanics of living things at a molecular level, we should expect to see a consistent representation of and explanation for the things we are seeing in the macro world.  The idea of a world corrupted by sin must mean an entire world corrupted by sin (Romans 8:20-21) if it is going to remain a viable view of the world rather than becoming an abstract psychological idea.  If this is the case, findings like this should remind us that those of us who are Christians have made an allegiance that disposes us to fight against any behavioral motivation in our life that is aberant from the standard the bible makes clear, the standard God made the world to function within.  Our hope is that God has not only offered us justification, but is also working to make all things new,  enabling us to fight, especially by giving us his Spirit (2 Peter 1:3-4).    

Thoughts?

Note: I realize that this is a highly controversial topic.  As such, and especially since I do not know the extent of my reader base, I wanted to state that this post is aimed at generating thought and discussion on an important moral topic in life and in our society, not at forming an attack against the homosexual community. 

I recently flew on Sun Country, a low-budget airline based out of Minneapolis and I was placed in the exit row.  As anyone who has ever traveled via airliner knows, there are certain duties of considerable magnitude that accompany such a seating assignment.  Not wanting to be ill equipped to perform my exit row responsibilities should our flight so necessitate, I pulled out the safety card from the seat pocket in front of me and began scanning it at the stewardess’s request.  What I found was so amusing I snapped a picture. 

Now I could be mistaken, but isn’t that Willy Wonka escaping from the plane in step 5 (I know of no other character flamboyant enough to wear a purple 19th century tuxedo and top hat to so mundane an occasion)?  And what’s up with the girl in the ballerina outfit on the left side of the second picture demonstrating the appropriate posture for a water landing?   

While Pope Benedict XVI, September controversy in tow, may not have what it takes to pacify 1400 years of east-west division, a new and unexpected unifier just might: ID theory.  Though westerners may not have seen it coming, Turkey - a predominantly Islamic nation now politically secularized for just under a century - seems to be emerging as a base for ID support.  Strong Islamic identity has prevented the growth of naturalistic atheism, while the economic and political health of a secularized republic have produced an incubator where infrastructure and pro-design thinking are growing happily together.  

A recent Reuters article (‘Creation vs Darwin takes Muslim twist in Turkey’) quoted Turkish Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik sharing a strikingly rational comment on CNN Turk regarding ID and education:

“If it’s wrong to say Darwin’s theory should not be in the books because it is in line with atheist propaganda, we can’t disregard intelligent design because it coincides with beliefs of monotheistic religions about creation.”

For as much as we pat ourselves on the back in the west for being the self proclaimed world champions of logic, the clarity of thought in Mr. Çelik’s remark - not to mention the fact that Turkish scientists haven’t responded with a lynch mob - should send shivers down our collective spine.  If the US Department of Education released a statement like this, it would precipitate supreme court action at best, riots at worst.  Don’t miss the irony here: in the west, ID advocates have been working hard to make legitimate design arguments by playing in bounds with the pro-darwinism-charged academic atmosphere; in Turkey, design is embraced as a scientifically-argued projection from a theistic baseline.  Though the infrastructure and technology in Turkey may not be on par with the US yet, Turkish scientists aren’t living in the dark ages: the university educated Turks I met this summer could hold their own scientifically against any American college student I know.  Here we have a unique extra-western perspective from legitimate scientists and thinkers in another socio-cultural context that serves as yet another reference to the dramatic philosophical bias in the western academic community.  The modest, yet significant dissent against darwinsim that has emerged in faculty worldwide hints that the history of science and its accompanying philosophies might be circularizing back to its theistic roots.  If that turns out to be the case, then Turkey may be leading the way by driving in reverse down the shoulder rather than sitting in the naturalistic traffic jam with the rest of the west.  Anyone who has risked their life taveling by taxi in Istanbul knows we should have expected as much.  

Note: I recommend taking a look at Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish columnist also quoted in the above Reuters article.  He has some very articulate views on ID in Turkey, as well as a slew of other topics. Check out his blog at http://www.thewhitepath.com/. 

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one,and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength,not one of them is missing. 

Isaiah 40:25-26

The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.

Intelligent Design theory has stirred up notable controvery in the last few years.  This clash is nothing new.  Those who remember the recent fiasco at Iowa State regarding ID will recall John Patterson, professor emeritus of engineering.  In the name of all that is objective, Dr. Patterson emerged as one of ID’s key antagonists and Hector Avalos’ primary sidekick in fighting evil creationists bent on world domination.  Anyone who has taken time to openly consider the claims and arguments in ID theory has probably experienced some form of backlash from the scientific community. And anyone who has experienced firsthand opposition from the modern academic machine will know that one of its’ defining graces is a commitment to objectivity (…and by “objectivity”, I mean compliance with the canon of scientific majority beginning about 100 years ago).  If you are beginning to feel uncomfortable…you are not alone.  There are dramatic philosophical biases that undergird mainstream scientific thinking and spawn some unfortunante double standards.  Take for example, this statement by Dr. Patterson in an article that appeared in the Creation/Evolution Newsletter in 1984:

“Yes, creationism is discriminated against, but this is precisely as it should be. It is the responsibility of teachers and school officials to discriminate against incompetently conceived subject matter and also to discriminate against anyone who advocates that such materials be given positive cover in science classes. I’m glad this kind of discrimination is finally catching on, and I hope the practice becomes much more vigorous and widespread in the future.”

Or how about this gem taken from a letter by Patterson in the same year to a writer for the journal Origins Research: 

“Suppose the student gives the correct scientific answers in his or her science course and suppose he/she also knows and gives the correct scientific arguments and reasons for the follow-up questions, but still insists on rejecting all this for reasons of incompatibility with his/her religious beliefs? In this case, I would prefer to pass the student strictly according to the usual scoring criteria but with the proviso that his religious reasons be noted on his transcript of grades.”

Patterson is gracious enough here to recommend students be allowed to pass courses regardless of their belief system, permiting they consent to a scarlet letter on their university records.  In other writings (see article referenced below) he openly petitions university officials to adapt policies restricting students from recieving passing grades without consent to evolutionary theory, regardless of their ability to demonstrate understanding of the course material.  There is no need to extrapolate the outcome this direction of thinking.  Those of us whose ”incompetency” has blinded our ability to see reality should clearly be grateful for Chairman…I mean Dr. …Patterson’s willingness to lead us into the light.   

While these particular articles were authored several years before ID emerged as a formal theory, they provide valuable insight into the dogmatic thinking that is common in the field.  Patterson champions ideas that, if acted upon, cross the railroad tracks from intellectual suburbia into the ghetto of blatant oppression.  More recent exchanges in response to Guillermo Gonzalez’s book, The Priviledged Planet, have propagated the same position.  Don’t worry Dr. Patterson, if these incompetent Americans don’t wake up to your clarity of thinking soon, I’m sure you can find an opening for your compelling and unbiased views in North Korea’s glorious ministry of education.  

Note: Patterson quotes were obtained from an article by The Apologetics Press which I recommend reading.  It can be obtained here.  While I am not familure with this group, the reporting seems to be legitimate and well documented.  As such (and as a member of the scientific community), I believe it provides accurate insight into a very pervasive view in modern academia.

But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

II Corinthians 8:7-9

Southern California has only one season, and to the excitment of most and the chagrin of a few, it is not winter.  I am happy to report, however, that we compensating for this holiday handicap as best we can with one resource we aren’t short on: free market economy.  As I made my way home through the metropolis a few days ago, I passed a store with an elaborate Christmas makeover already in place.  Now it goes without saying that retailers appealing to our felt need for Christmas spending weeks before even Halloween has passed is a sure omen of the impending downfall of western civilization.  None the less, we are left with the question of how to respond to a society that is gorging itself on material goods and is, as John Piper has noted, in danger of entertaining itself to death. 

Lucklily enough, God has given us, among others, K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia, an organization that has championed the native missionary movement and challenged Americans to think about how they can be apart of supporting global outreach in immediate and practical ways.  Not only has Mr. Yohannan managed to aquire the attention of western evangelicals in regard to the regions of the world least influenced by the gospel, he has also managed to make it more fun than a puritan revival.  The latest thing to be cooked up in the GFA lab is a Christmas gift catalog where one can purchase a wide variety of presents for asian missionaries and those to whom they are reaching out.  

The genious of GFA is their insight to allow the patron to individually shape his or her gifts: they have built more customizable options into supporting native missionaries than Lexus has into its’ latest sport sedan.  For example, for a modest fee you can put a water buffalo under the proverbial Christmas tree of a rural Indian family.  Or maybe you would prefer to procure a bullhorn for a missionary to impliment in street evangelism, or purchase a vocational training scholarship for a poor Sri Lankan to learn welding or sewing.

 All joking aside, the last thing we need is more junk this Christmas while a very large portion of asia’s population attempts to subsist on less than a cup of rice a day. With a myriad of great organizations working to meet the needs of the third world and advance the gospel where it isn’t known, lets not follow cultural suit this december by buying things for one another out of a sense of seasonal obligation.   

Note: Sarah McLachlan makes a great sound track for and inspiration to your GFA Christmas catalog shopping.