When Christians in science embrace scientific materialism, they mislead their fellow believers and hinder scientific progress. On a new episode of ID the Future, I conclude a two-part conversation about this problem with Dr. John West, author of the new book Stockholm Syndrome Christianity: Why Christian Leaders Are Failing and What We Can Do About It. The discussion focuses on how Stockholm Syndrome Christianity harms the scientific enterprise and what can be done to repair the damage.
In a nutshell, theistic evolution is the attempt to reconcile belief in God with the standard evolutionary account of life’s origins. In Part 1, Dr. West delved into the implications of theistic evolution and the historical roots of scientific materialism, culminating in a critique of Darwin’s influence on modern scientific thought. In Part 2, West describes three foundational biblical beliefs that have been corroded by theistic evolution. As an example of the theistic evolution perspective, West discusses the work of Dr. Francis Collins, arguably the most celebrated evangelical Christian scientist in America. In his bestselling book The Language of God, Collins proposed that God may have made evolution look random and undirected. West calls this poor theology but a brilliant tactic: “If you have that belief, well then you’re going to be a lot less offensive to the Darwinian materialist.”
Unfortunately for Collins, The Language of God hasn’t aged well scientifically since its release a decade ago. West provides compelling examples. He also breaks down the BioLogos Foundation, a multi-year initiative co-founded by Collins that aims to convince evangelical Christians of the theistic evolutionary perspective. West concludes with the reminder that science thrives and advances with disagreement and vibrant, open debate: “If you don’t have the right to say the emperor has no clothes, if you don’t have the right to argue for dissenting views, you get static ideology, not science…You don’t actually progress into a better understanding of the world.”
Download the podcast or listen to it here. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Listen to Part 1.
Dig Deeper
- Order Dr. West’s book and find practical tools to help you resist captivity and stand for truth at StockholmSyndromeChristianity.com.
- More from Dr. John West: “Francis Collins’s Troubling Record at NIH.”