On the other side of the analogia entis question
Dr. Ayala is an evolutionary geneticist at McGill University in Montreal who has a new book out. The book is called Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion. Here are the interesting bits liberally quoted from the New York Times:
Dr. Ayala, a former Dominican priest, said . . . that evolution is a well-corroborated scientific theory, but also that belief in evolution does not rule out belief in God. In fact, he said, evolution “is more consistent with belief in a personal god than intelligent design. If God has designed organisms, he has a lot to account for.”
Consider, he said, that at least 20 percent of pregnancies are known to end in spontaneous abortion. If that results from divinely inspired anatomy, Dr. Ayala said, “God is the greatest abortionist of them all.”
Or consider, he said, the “sadism” in parasites that live by devouring their hosts, or the mating habits of insects like female midges, tiny flies that fertilize their eggs by consuming their mates’ genitals, along with all their other parts.
[. . .]
“Science and religion concern nonoverlapping realms of knowledge,” he writes in the new book. “It is only when assertions are made beyond their legitimate boundaries that evolutionary theory and religious belief appear to be antithetical.”
[. . .]
Nevertheless, Dr. Ayala will not say whether he remains a religious believer.
“I don’t want to be tagged,” he said. “By one side or the other.”
Its still hard for me to see how one can believe in a theory of "pure" evolution and not be an athiest. If I had to venture a guess, I know how I'd "tag" him. . . .
Dr. Ayala, a former Dominican priest, said . . . that evolution is a well-corroborated scientific theory, but also that belief in evolution does not rule out belief in God. In fact, he said, evolution “is more consistent with belief in a personal god than intelligent design. If God has designed organisms, he has a lot to account for.”
Consider, he said, that at least 20 percent of pregnancies are known to end in spontaneous abortion. If that results from divinely inspired anatomy, Dr. Ayala said, “God is the greatest abortionist of them all.”
Or consider, he said, the “sadism” in parasites that live by devouring their hosts, or the mating habits of insects like female midges, tiny flies that fertilize their eggs by consuming their mates’ genitals, along with all their other parts.
[. . .]
“Science and religion concern nonoverlapping realms of knowledge,” he writes in the new book. “It is only when assertions are made beyond their legitimate boundaries that evolutionary theory and religious belief appear to be antithetical.”
[. . .]
Nevertheless, Dr. Ayala will not say whether he remains a religious believer.
“I don’t want to be tagged,” he said. “By one side or the other.”
Its still hard for me to see how one can believe in a theory of "pure" evolution and not be an athiest. If I had to venture a guess, I know how I'd "tag" him. . . .
posted by timothy at 4:56 PM
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