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What Gives?

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In my essay here, paragwinn asks, “You’ve been quite prolific lately with these testimonials. What gives?”

Note the 136 comments at this writing, which eclipses most all recent posts by an order of magnitude. This is not an atypical consequence of my posts at UD.

So, what gives? What gives is a sea change in the history of science. For centuries it was thought by the “scientific” elite that materialism (i.e., chance and necessity) would eventually explain everything, and there was (what turned out to be ephemeral) evidence that this might be the case, as a result of the advancements of science and technology in the 19th and 20th centuries.

But something happened in the latter half of the 20th century. Suddenly, the science upon which a materialistic worldview depended was turned on its head. The fine-tuning of the laws of physics for the eventual production of living systems was elucidated, and the information-based nature of living systems was discovered.

Another commenter on the thread referenced above thought that I was somehow proud of my militant-atheistic past. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am hideously ashamed of it.

The reason for my passion is that reason and science liberated me from the nihilism of materialism. The irony is that a materialistic worldview is not only destructive of the human soul, it is destructive of legitimate scientific investigation.

Comments
BA: This is one of the most significant things you have ever shared at UD. I intend to use this. Thank you. GEM of TKIkairosfocus
October 1, 2011
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Steve: The ever so predictable trifecta fallacy pattern so beloved of darwinist objectors to design theory is getting well past sell-by date. What I find REALLY interesting, is that a pattern like that -- distract, distort, denigrate -- that has no redeeming features whatsoever, is resorted to in thread after thread after thread, regardless of pleas to stop. And meanwhile, the really serious matters on the merits on design theory issues, are seldom cogently addressed by objectors. Telling. Looks like we know who has a serious case on the merits [try here for a summary start . . . and I will forever draw attention back there . . . ], and who is habitually resorting to distractive rhetoric that spews out a cloud of squid ink to escape behind. Ever so telling. GEM of TKIkairosfocus
October 1, 2011
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I think Gil shares is story to serve a noble purpose, not, as was suggested, to call attention to himself. Notice, though, how the motive mongering shifts the discussion from a spiritual rags to riches story to the perceived predelictions of the story teller. Some of us are on to that game. That is why I encourage him to continue on as if nothing had been said on the matter.StephenB
October 1, 2011
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I hope that Gil ignores the Darwinist pretext that he relates his story too often or that “he presumably likes writing about himself.”
It is a matter of opinion as to whether repeating the same story every few weeks is interesting or not. But do you think that Gil does not like writing about himself?markf
October 1, 2011
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KF, Yes. In keeping with your point, I hope that Gil ignores the Darwinist pretext that he relates his story too often or that "he presumably likes writing about himself." --just as VJT ignores the Darwinst pretext that his posts are too long --just as you ignore the Darwinist pretext that you quote Lewontin too often. Notice that in every case, the complaint is calculated to provide a special advantage to our adversaries. Sincerity are fairmindedness are not nearly so one sided.StephenB
October 1, 2011
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Stephen: My own thought is that UD probably needs to move to a situation where current debates are tied to major references and foundational discussions so that currency and substantiality are balanced. (That is in part why I have developed the IOSE.) GEM of TKIkairosfocus
October 1, 2011
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kellyholmes Would my suggestion in 3.1.2.3.2 above have worked for you? It seems a bit of a waste effort for Gildodgen to have to repeat his life story regularly - although presumably he likes writing about himself.markf
September 30, 2011
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Sadly, an all too common tactic here at UD on the part of Darwinist objectors: distract, distort, demonise & dismiss. Observe how this thread has largely been side tracked and where that too often ends up.kairosfocus
September 30, 2011
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W: Are you aware that the heart of "spiritual warfare" as described by the Apostle Paul, in one of the key classic texts in which he actually speaks of warfare, 2 Cor 10:4 - 5, was about addressing critical [but often cosmetically plastered over] cracks in worldview foundations, misleading rhetorical tactics and resulting destructive socio-cultural agendas that hinder people from sound knowledge? GEM of TKIkairosfocus
September 30, 2011
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Paragwinn states:
And here I forsook religion and superstition on the basis of science and rationality,
and You used the transcendent logic of the mind to prove that you don't have a transcendent mind that can use logic rationally??? And the irony is missed by you how???
The Mind and Materialist Superstition Michael Egnor - Neurosurgeon and Professor Excerpt: Matter has third person objective existence. The mind, as experienced, has first person subjective existence. Superstition is "a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary." The foundation of the scientific revolution is the repudiation of the inference that matter has will, emotions and desires. If there is anything that modern science has demonstrated beyond dispute it is the gulf between objective and subjective ontology -- between matter and mind. Yet the materialist superstition isn't completely gone. It persists in its modern scientific manifestation -- the inference that the mind is entirely caused by the brain -- which is a superstition. http://www.evolutionnews.org/2008/11/the_mind_and_materialist_super013961.html
bornagain77
September 30, 2011
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And here I forsook religion and superstition on the basis of science and rationality, which I have found to falsify religion and superstition. I am neither outaraged nor irrational regarding your 'apostsy'. Go figure.paragwinn
September 30, 2011
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Grunty, I reproduced the math in my link above about combinatorial mathematics. Please read it. This is junior high school stuff.GilDodgen
September 30, 2011
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There's that obvious word again... I can see there are many mysteries about evolution that aren't not understood. And maybe it is completely wrong. Don't know. But to make this huge leap that because we have such gaps in our knowledge that somehow a designer is involved, is really very speculative. Interesting, but ultimately speculative. I think it makes an interesting hypothesis, but not one I could attach too much certainty too (although many here seem to have an extremely high degree of certainty, don't they?). I know I'm going to get jumped on all over the place here - but the main issue for me, is if there is Intelligent Design, there's an Intelligent Designer, so it's reasonable to ask, well, what are the possibilities. Most here have settled that question; I have not and find those particular options untenable for a variety of reasons. That then leads us to an "Alien" designer - possible I suppose, but is there really the slightest bit of evidence for that?woodford
September 30, 2011
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Partisans do not make suggestions in order to provide aid to their adversary but rather to gain an advantage, evade the issue, blunt the point of an argument, or shut down discussion. Either side has the ability voluntarily to engage in a search for common ground. Since no one "wins" these discussions, it makes sense to leave a trail of honest effort to define terms and reach agreement at least at the level of definitions.
Petrushka
September 30, 2011
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For an ID proponent to follow the "helpful" advice of a Darwinist is similar to a Republican following the helpful advice of a Democrat. Partisans do not make suggestions in order to provide aid to their adversary but rather to gain an advantage, evade the issue, blunt the point of an argument, or shut down discussion.StephenB
September 30, 2011
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I have a suggestion. Rather than repeat your life story every couple of weeks why not put it under "resources" as a constantly available inspiration to fellow UDers? Then you would be free to use your posts to supply information and arguments about ID.markf
September 30, 2011
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There are times and places that require debate and philosophical speeches. And others to flip a table.junkdnaforlife
September 29, 2011
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markf:
I suspect the reason they often lead to a lot of comments is that they effectively become open threads for anyone to discuss whatever interests them.
Holy mackerel! (How a mackerel could be holy I've not yet discerned, but that's how the saying goes.) I just noticed that comments at my post https://uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/science-and-freethinking/ are up to 260. I have a different explanation for this phenomenon than yours, Mark. I think I put pebbles in shoes.GilDodgen
September 29, 2011
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--Timbo: "In those 15 are you including the sarcastic and mocking reviews of stories in the science media by “News” that mostly attract 0 to 1 comments?" Recently, I have noticed that the latest news about ID science and Darwinistic non-science has taken center stage as the most prominently displayed theme. However, I don't think that this new development can, by any stretch of the imagination, justify the claim that UD's main theme is about "spiritual warfare." Since we have more posts per day (and more viewers) than we once did, it follows that each post would generate fewer comments. As an ID supporter, I would be interested in a sociological study that could measure the relative influence of more threads with a short life span vs. fewer threads with a long life span.StephenB
September 29, 2011
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Gil: "I’ll give it consideration, with discernment." naw, keep swinging. Your words resonate.junkdnaforlife
September 29, 2011
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...this whole topic has more to do with spiritual warfare than science.
In my opinion it obviously has to do with both. That's why passions run high. I think what really inspires my detractors to go into fits of rage and irrationality is that I apostatized from their religion of atheism, to a great extent on the basis of science and rationality, which they presume to be the foundation of their faith, and which I found to falsify it.GilDodgen
September 29, 2011
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Who knows how many people out there visit this blog only once or twice, and it will be their only chance to hear about your militant atheism gone kaput.
Good point. I'll give it consideration, with discernment.GilDodgen
September 29, 2011
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In those 15 are you including the sarcastic and mocking reviews of stories in the science media by "News" that mostly attract 0 to 1 comments?Timbo
September 29, 2011
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Woodford, The philosophical implications of design versus the Darwinian thesis that mud turned into Mozart by accident (with the bad accidents thrown out by natural selection, and the good accidents preserved) are obvious. What matters is what is true and what actually happened. I find the Darwinian thesis to be hyper-irrational and even anti-scientific. As far as logical arguments in favor of my position are concerned, you might like to visit the links I provided above.GilDodgen
September 29, 2011
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I just did a quick scan of the latest 20 threads. Based on my interpretation, 15 of them are about science. I suspect that if we checked on the last 500, a similar pattern would emerge. Since we deal in multiple themes, and since one theme (science) is more prevalent than all others combined, it seems evident that we are not getting too far afield from the analysis of ID science vs. Darwinistic non-science. With respect to atheism, I hold that most people who embrace that world view do so because they would prefer a universe in which no God exists. There is certainly no intellectual justification for such a position since it entails the illogical notion that something (universe, life etc.) can come from nothing. If you spend much time on our site, and I hope you do, you will find that Darwinism has, indeed, turned out to be completely wrong. There is not one shred of evidence to support the notion that Darwininstic mechanisms can generate all biodiversity. At best, such forces as random variation, natural selection, genetic drift etc. can generate small changes, nothing more--certainly nothing like a new bodyplan.StephenB
September 29, 2011
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Well I suppose you're right, why not talk about these other things, after all if we only stuck to ID Science, then we wouldn't have all the 8-9 postings a day we see on UD nowadays (which I think personally has got a bit too much, the signal to noise ratio has definitely gone down). It's interested though you think people invoke "Darwinism" as a basis for a lifestyle. I guess at least for myself, not only would I not even think of labeling myself a "Darwinist", I certainly don't think about it all that much other than occasionally reading blogs like this. In fact even with my atheist friends we rarely talk about it. So here then is a personal story if you like, just about every person I know is an atheist not because of Darwinism, but usually for many other reasons. That's my story too, I became interested in science and evolution long after I had become an atheist (and the reasons for that have really nothing to do with science). And honestly, if Darwinism turned out to be completely wrong, I have no problem with that. Without sounding glib, it's really not all that important - I'm too busy living my life! I guess my money's still on a natural explanation, although maybe the Designer may show up one of these days and spill the beans (after all one would hope as an Intelligent Designer it would also be an Intelligent Communicator to, although so far it seems rather a Coy Communicator...)woodford
September 29, 2011
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In fact, UD is "about" anything the author chooses to discuss, including ID science, Darwinistic non-science, TE schizophrenia, current affairs, philosophy, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, or political correctness, or personal experiences. This thread happens to be about a personal story. For my part, I would welcome the personal tesimony of any Darwinist, especially one who embraced Darwinism in order to justify a libertine life style.StephenB
September 29, 2011
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Wrong, as usual. If Gil wants to bang on about his conversion, that's his prerogative. What I deplore is the lack of evidence from him as to what caused him to convert. For example: Gil has occasionally mentioned that it was "high school math" that convinced him evolution was wrong, yet depsited repeated requests he has never reproduced that math. It ought to be easy enough - it's only high school math after all.Grunty
September 29, 2011
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Absolutely agree. News just comes across as anti-science.Grunty
September 29, 2011
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StephenB,
He understands that new readers are finding this site every day and will likely not know about his life-changing experience unless he shares it from time to time.
Indeed, as a relatively new reader and indeed commenter it's the first time I've read it so I don't know what the fuss is about.kellyhomes
September 29, 2011
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