events
In Philadelphia, Science & Faith Conference Will Explore Human Origins
Debating at Biola University, Discovery Institute Scholar John West Will Ask What C.S. Lewis Really Believed About Evolution
Jonathan Wells Dispels The Myth of Junk DNA to Packed House in Seattle
Tuesday night biologist Jonathan Wells gave a talk on his brand-new book, The Myth of Junk DNA, at the EMP’s JBL Theater in Seattle.
Read More ›Northwest Premiere of Short Documentary Film Darwin’s Heretic May 24th
Discovery Institute invites you to the Northwest Premiere of Darwin’s Heretic, plus Q&A with Author Michael Flannery, Tuesday May 24th at the Washington State History Musuem.
Read More ›William Lane Craig Debates Lawrence Krauss Tonight, Takes on Sam Harris Next Week
Darwin v. Design Conference Coming to Oklahoma to Address Debate Over Science and God
Mike Behe Visits Glasgow
Last night, I watched as Mike Behe presented a talk at Glasgow Caledonian University’s Carnegie Lecture Theatre. The lecture was titled, Darwin or Design – What Does the Science Really Say?. The event was organized by the Centre for Intelligent Design UK (event website here).
The lecture theatre was filled almost to capacity (about 500 people). Behe was on form, presenting a powerful cumulative, yet accessible, case for design in biological systems. He presented the bare bones of his two core theses, articulated and defended in Darwin’s Black Box and The Edge of Evolution. Behe talked his audience through some of the criteria which we use — as part of our everyday experience — to come to the conclusion of design, arguing that design is immediately recognisable when one encounters a complex and functionally-specific assemblage of parts. Arguing that the appearance of design is not really in dispute at all, he pointed to Richard Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker, in which Dawkins asserts that biology is the study of complicated things which have the appearance of having been designed for a purpose. If life gives the overpowering appearance of having been designed, argued Behe, then one is rationally justified in adhering to one’s intuitions unless and until a compelling reason is given to suggest that it the appearance of design is only apparent — that is, illusory.
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Darwin, Racism, and Eugenics in Detroit
Last week I participated in a stimulating panel discussion on Darwin, scientific racism, and eugenics at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Other participants included distinguished evolutionary biologist Morris Goodman of Wayne State University, historian Damon Salesa of the University of Michigan, and biology professor Jerry Bergman of Northwest State College in Ohio. The moderator was author and broadcast journalist Edward Foxworth. The Charles Wright Museum is the world’s largest institution devoted to the subject of African American history, and it’s well worth a visit.
The museum’s presentation of the African American experience is outstanding; its galleries place you in the very midst of history, including a slave ship, plantation life, and early twentieth century Detroit.
The evening’s event was serious, thoughtful—and civil.
Read More ›Discovery-BioLogos Conference Session Canceled
Yesterday morning ENV reported about a forum at the upcoming Vibrant Dance of Faith and Science Conference that would feature an exchange of views from leading scientists from Discovery Institute and the BioLogos Foundation. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon we were informed by a conference organizer that the session in question was being canceled. The good news is that attendees will still be able to hear the same speakers at other sessions, and the rest of the conference is going forward. For my part, I earnestly hope that another forum for a public exchange of views can be found in the future.