QUESTION TO UD READERS: Professors of Highest Caliber Who Are Also Christian

_{William Dembski

February 25, 2010

Culture, Education}

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I’m trying to determine which Christian faculty would be regarded as absolutely tops in their respective disciplines but which would also be completely up front about their Christian worldview. Who would be on your top ten list? Of those on the list, how many would be supporters of or at least sympathetic to ID?

Please think objectively about these questions. ID is a hot button topic. Leave aside UD’s bias in favor of ID. Please limit your candidates to English-speaking countries. Thanks.

Comments

Andrew McIntosh, Professor of Thermodynamics at the University of Leeds, England. He is active in ID circles (for example having spoken at a conference with Stephen Meyer in Shrewsbury in March of last year) and founded the UK organisation "Truth in Science". He is also prominent in the field of biomimetics, for example having been featured on BBC Radio 4's science programme and the front page of the Institute of Physics magazine "Physics World" in April 2008, for his work on fluid delivery systems based on the design of the Bombardier Beetle.Eos Pengwern_{February 27, 2010
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Edwin Arthur ("Ned") Burtt, Susan Lynn Sage Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University and author of The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science. One of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century and a lifelong member of the Ithaca Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers), and an old and dear friend of mine, now passed on. Anyone who is interested in the metaphysical foundations of the modern sciences (especially physics, but also the natural sciences in general, including biology) should read his magisterial treatment of the subject. Burtt's views influenced those of Alexandre Koyre, Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, and MIchael Polanyi, among others. In addition to The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (also republished under the title The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science), Burtt also wrote The Metaphysics of Sir Isaac Newton (1925), Religion In An Age Of Science (1930), Principles and Problems of Right Thinking (1931), The English Philosophers, from Bacon to Mill (1939), Types Of Religious Philosophy (1939), The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha (1955), Man Seeks the Divine: A Study in the History and Comparison of Religions (1957), In Search Of Philosophic Understanding, (1965), and Light, Life, and Love (1980).Allen_MacNeill_{February 26, 2010
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I found this book on Amazon (written in 1998): Professors Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of Christian Faculty (personal essays: You can click on the book to look inside at the table of contents) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0830815996/tektonministries This following site looks to be an excellent resource for finding more information on this topic: Scientists of the Christian Faith: A Presentation of the Pioneers, Practitioners and Supporters of Modern Science http://www.tektonics.org/scim/sciencemony.htmbornagain77_{February 26, 2010
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Allen Bergin in psychology challenged therapists' claims of unbiased therapy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Bergin http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=270 He co-wrote "Casebook for a Spiritual Strategy in Counseling"Collin_{February 26, 2010
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re #9 above: I read: Professors of Highest Caliber Who Are Also Christian [+ pro ID] Reading on: Of course I can't say his college is a Christian faculty (any more).equinoxe_{February 26, 2010
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John Lennox at Oxford springs to mind.equinoxe_{February 26, 2010
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Walter Bradley http://www.leaderu.com/offices/bradley/ http://www.themysteryoflifesorigin.org/DLH_{February 26, 2010
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Donald Knuth is possibly the best-known computer science academic and among the most highly-honoured. He's an active Lutheran, and he has written two books relating to his Christian beliefs: 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated and Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About.anonym_{February 26, 2010
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Dallas Willard, Professor of Philosophy at USC, considered to be an expert in phenomenology and Edmund Husserl.toc_{February 26, 2010
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I wouldn't really know for sure, but I think J.P. Moreland ought to be on the list.CannuckianYankee_{February 26, 2010
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Alvin Plantinga is considered by some philosophers to be the top Christian philosopher. He is retiring or retired. William Lane Craig is top notch, esp. debate-wise. He would say Plantinga is likely the best.13atman_{February 25, 2010
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I'm not quite sure of the outstanding minds of the present day, but I was pleasantly surprised, as I was informed here on UD a few years back, to find that devout Christians of yore were at the base of the founding of every major branch of science. (save for Darwin of Evolution of course) also of note: Einstein's work on special relativity was not possible without the mathematical foundation that had been laid by James Clerk Maxwell who was a devout Christian. I have not yet thoroughly dug into present day breakthroughs, to search for a "Christian connection" I suspect at the root of breakthroughs, but I am aware that Charles H. Townes, the inventor of the laser is a Christian. A exchange of his reads: Bringer of light Excerpt: His professor at Caltech had teased him, saying "Charlie, you can't know that Jesus was the son of God." Most scientists were not religious-minded. "That doesn't bother me," he says. "One of the things my family taught me - I think very important in religion and science - is that you must be ready to stand up for what you think. Decide what you really think is best, and stick with it. If I had believed the chairman of the department, I would never have had the maser. You have to be able to stand up for what you think." http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/may/05/scienceinterviews.academicexperts I was also pleasantly surprised to find that many of the greatest inventors of history had a direct connection. For example, the Wright brothers, of airplane fame, were the sons of a clergyman, and the eccentric genius Nikola Tesla was born the son of an Orthodox Priest. It would not surprise me in the least to find that at the root of every major breakthrough would be intertwined a thoroughly Christian worldview. "The highest principles for our aspirations and judgements are given to us in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition." Albert Einsteinbornagain77_{February 25, 2010
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Roy W. Spencer, Ph.D., 961-7960, Principal Research Scientist, Earth System Science Center. University of Alabama, Huntsville http://essl.uah.edu/faculty_staff.html Premier scientist on satellite measurements of earth temperature & impacts on climate. http://www.drroyspencer.com/about/DLH_{February 25, 2010
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1. Charles Townes (Nobel Prize Physics) agrees with cosmological ID, somewhat dissmissive of biological ID 2. Henry Fritz Schaeffer, Quantum Chemistry. (should have gotten Nobel Prize if he handn't disproven the work of a former Nobel Laureate in Chemistry). Is on Barb Forrest's black list. 3. John Sanford, Cornell. At one time all genetically engineered crops were implemented via his gene-gun. 4. William "bill" Phillips (Nobel Prize Physics) not faculty, but well, he would be considered their caliber. Symathetic to Cosmological ID, not much to say about biological ID. 5. Mark Horstemeyer, Mississippi State, department chair Mechanical and CAVS Engineering.scordova_{February 25, 2010
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