God & Evolution

We’ll be exploring what the discovery of evolution potentially means for religion. Is evolution evidence against theism? If so, why? Is it incompatible with Christianity, as some Christians maintain? What is the conceptual landscape vis-à-vis evolution and theism—as in, what is the range of potential options available to a religious believer when it comes to …

Michael Behe’s Massive Own Goal

The intelligent design movement is not terribly concerned with experimental testing or scientific progress. Their main activities consist of public relations, political lobbying, and constructing arguments against Darwinism. In other words: influencing public opinion, influencing the government and education, and attempting to give their views a scientific veneer by attacking their main naturalistic rival. Their …

Wolves, Dogs, and Belyaev’s Foxes

In the 1950s, the geneticist Dimitri Belyaev succeeded in domesticating the Russian silver fox. His work was described by The New York Times as “arguably the most extraordinary breeding experiment ever conducted,” and according to Scientific American’s Jason Goldman, Belyaev “may be the man most responsible for our understanding of the process by which wolves …

Irreducible Complexity Revisited

Some of Behe’s fans have found the anti-ID episodes I’ve made recently, and I’ve noticed that according to them, no one is ever quite representing Behe’s position fairly. But he has an annoying habit of “addressing” criticism without really addressing it. He’ll acknowledge that critics of irreducible complexity invoke exaptation, and he writes something that …