Here, Jerry “Why Evolution Is True” Coyne attacks BioLogos (and its sugar daddy, the Templeton Foundation) for giving time to a young Earth creationist. First, the background:
With the departure of Biblical scholar Pete Enns from BioLogos, who had an official position as “Senior Fellow in Biblical Studies” (as well as a Ph.D. from Harvard in Old Testament studies and a considerable reputation for work on Biblical literalism/nonliteralism), it appears that the organization is cleaning house. What both Enns and Karl Giberson (also recently departed) had in common was their repudiation of the physical existence of Adam and Eve—something that angered the evangelicals, who desperately want to save that story to ensure that Jesus didn’t die for a mere metaphor. I would guess that both Enns and Giberson were shown the door because of this issue, and I predicted some time ago that BioLogos would fall apart.
Well, first, belief that Adam and Eve were real people does not mean accepting young Earth creationism, and Coyne should know that.
At UD News we’ve no idea why Enns left, but we think that Giberson was just a pothole too deep for BioLogos, and we said that months ago.
Anyway, Coyne advises,
The creationist is Aaron Daly, and he has a 2:49 video on BioLogos called ”A young earth creationist’s perspective.”
So?
UD News well remembers the outrage among Darwinists when we interviewed a well-known Muslim creationist. They were daily predicting we’d all be running around in burkas … They should have tried “denim” as a realistic slur.
Never occurred to them we just wanted to know why that guy risked so much worldwide disdain to say what he thought. (And, don’t forget, Turkey is an official “secular society,” not like the United States or Canada* – which make no such grand claims, and have remained free nations for centuries.)
Our firm policy has been to listen to anyone relevant to our concerns. As blogs slowly morph into the new media, it’s essential.
We’re not big fans of the BioLogos project around here, but we’ll happily giving them credit for telling that young-earth guy to grab a chair, siddown, and tell them what he thinks and why. It’s the heart of news gathering.
Jerry Coyne should try it. Listening to someone other than him would be fun, even for him.
Here’s BioLogos’ Templeton grant, courtesy Coyne. He thinks Biologos will fold if it is not renewed.
If so, dam. They were such good copy. The one thing BioLogos couldn’t stand was design in nature. Which suggests that view is right.
* Canada? Founded on “the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” Yup. One big theocracy? Not.