Monday, March 21, 2022

Let us join Pope Francis in prayer for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and all peoples, all children of God, one family of humanity sharing one common home.

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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Let us all join in prayer - in unity of mind, heart, and spirit - with Pope Francis and all the bishops of the world, pleading with Almighty God to consecrate Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and all their peoples and leaders through the Immaculate Heart of Mary to God, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the one Saviour of the world. 

Only in God can we find rest and lasting peace, in unconditional love and mercy - the same unconditional love and mercy that God, the Most Holy Trinity, has for us and shows to us most dramatically in Jesus on the Cross.

Pope To Consecrate Russia, Ukraine To Immaculate Heart Mary 

Set For March 25, 2022, Feast Of The Annunciation

Pope Invites Bishops To Join In Consecration Of Russia, Ukraine 

Consecration Set For Afternoon Of Friday, March 25

Pope to Russian Patriarch: 'Church uses language of Jesus, not of politics' 


The suffering Body of Christ in Ukraine - 
UPDATED DAILY – Briefings of His Beatitude, Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk


Lord, we are encouraged by the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the love of her Immaculate Heart, to join her in pleading with You to have mercy on your daughters Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Grant your heavenly grace, wisdom, and charity to all your children in Europe; that they may recognize one another and treat one another kindly as brothers and sisters of one family. 


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At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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© 2004-2022 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2022 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Thursday, February 11, 2021

Yes to palliative care available to all, but no to euthanasia under the name "medical aid in dying"

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Québec


Approaching Death in the Company of Christ - 👉 download the letter 

Pastoral Letter (December 8, 2015) 

End-of-life Care in the Light of God's Word - 👉 list of documents to download 

a Journey of Reflection in Five Steps 

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH LETTER 
👉 SAMARITANUS BONUS 
on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life

👉 On Suffering and the End of Life - CCCB 

👉 Decoding Life with Archbishop Christian Lépine 

End of Life 

In today’s society, the end of life is seen by many as a time of prolonged suffering that must be shortened as much as possible, without waiting for natural death to occur. Why suffer, if the physical and emotional suffering serves no purpose and has no meaning? For Christians, on the contrary, the end of life—including the associated suffering—is considered a privileged time during which God wants to fill us with his love.

On the 👉 Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11, 2021,

here is the thirteenth pastoral letter of the Archbishop of Montreal,
Most Reverend Christian Lépine. 


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At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Palestinians and Israelis - Learning Each Other's Historical Narrative

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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LEARNING EACH OTHER’S HISTORICAL NARRATIVE: Part One 

Palestinians and Israelis - This is a preliminary draft of the English translation

LEARNING EACH OTHER’S HISTORICAL NARRATIVE: Part Two 

Palestinians and Israelis - Peace Research Institute in the Middle East

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"Learning Each Other's Historical Narrative" in Israeli and Palestinian Schools

A Joint Palestinian and Israeli Curriculum Development Project 

January, 2002 - December 2007

Prof. Sami Adwan, Bethlehem University - Prof. Dan Bar-On, Ben Gurion University

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BY H. S. LINFIELD, PH. D.,
DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND STATISTICS
OF THE BUREAU OF JEWISH SOCIAL RESEARCH - 1920-1926 

JEWISH POPULATION OF EUROPE IN 1933: POPULATION DATA BY COUNTRY

REMAINING JEWISH POPULATION OF EUROPE IN 1945 
Before the Nazi takeover of power in 1933, Europe had a vibrant, established, and diverse Jewish culture. By 1945, most European Jews—two out of every three—had been killed.

Vital Statistics: Jewish Population of the World
Jewish Virtual Library (1882 - Present)

World Jewish Population 1970 

World Jewish Population 2001 

World Jewish Population 2018 

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U.N. Demographic Yearbook 1948 

U.N. Demographic Yearbook 1955 

U.N. Demographic Yearbook 1965 

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At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Thursday, December 14, 2017

EUTHANASIA - Various issues around death & dying, suffering, the meaning of life, and palliative care

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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Here follow only glimpses - follow the LINKS to read the complete articles 

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Killing people is not compassion – religious leaders unite against assisted suicide 

Ottawa, Canada, Nov 3, 2015 / 12:36 am MT ().- As Canada moves toward legalizing assisted suicide, Catholic bishops and a large Protestant coalition – along with Jewish and Muslim leaders – have joined together to reaffirm the need to help the suffering without killing them. “On the basis of our respective traditions and beliefs, we insist that any action intended to end human life is morally and ethically wrong. Together, we are determined to work to alleviate human suffering in every form but never by intentionally eliminating those who suffer,” the joint statement said.

The Declaration on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide is a joint statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, a coalition of over 40 affiliated denominations. The statement, released Oct. 29, also has support from more than 30 other Christian denominations as well as 20 Jewish and Muslim leaders. “Humanity’s moral strength is based on solidarity, communion and communication – particularly with those who are suffering,” the statement continued. “It is personal attention and palliative care and not assisted suicide or euthanasia that best uphold the worth of the human person.” “It is when we are willing to care for one another under the most dire of circumstances and at the cost of great inconvenience that human dignity and society’s fundamental goodness are best expressed and preserved.”

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DECLARATION AGAINST EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE  
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Wednesday, January 13 2016 - CCCB-EFC Joint statement This past October 29, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) launched a joint Declaration on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. At the launching of the Declaration at the National Press Gallery in Ottawa on Parliament Hill, the CCCB and EFC were assisted by Rabbi Dr. Reuven P. Bulka, C.M., from the Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa, and Imam Samy Metwally from the Ottawa Main Mosque / Ottawa Muslim Association. At the time of its release, the Declaration had 56 signatories from Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Jewish and Muslim faith leaders across Canada.

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MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING: A PATIENT CENTRED APPROACH  
Report of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying - Hon. Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie and Robert Oliphant Joint Chairs - FEBRUARY 2016 - 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION (70 pages) - (Pages 59-60) New Democrats see these issues as not only intrinsically linked to the issue of medical aid in dying, but fundamental to a successful model of public healthcare in Canada for the 21st century. Canadians want better access to primary care, as a well as a stronger continuum of care, including home care, long term care and palliative care. They want greater equality of access and outcomes, regardless of their postal code. They want a government that not only strongly supports the Canada Health Act, but that is committed to ensuring its full implementation from coast to coast to coast. And they want to see the shameful deficiencies in on-reserve healthcare addressed and Aboriginal peoples respected as full partners in the development and implementation of health programs. 

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Canadians will regret legal assisted suicide, Cardinal Collins predicts
By Kevin J. Jones - Toronto, Canada, Apr 17, 2016 - The coming legalization of assisted suicide in Canada will threaten the vulnerable, hide killing with euphemisms, and threaten the consciences of those who oppose it, Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto has said. On Thursday the Canadian government introduced legislation to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia under the federal criminal code. “We’re all deeply concerned that this is a sad day for Canada,” the cardinal told CNA April 14. While people see assisted suicide as a “simple solution,” he said, once people begin to consider what the practices really means to society, and its threats to the vulnerable, “they begin to realize that this is not the way to go.” Catholics, Evangelical Protestants, Jews, Muslims and the Salvation Army, all opponents of legalization, will hold an April 19 press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the Canadian capital. “The very people who are most involved in helping people by the bedside while they are dying or while they are suffering are the ones most opposed to killing those entrusted in their care,” Cardinal Collins said. The gathering would say to Parliament: “thus far and no further. This is just not right. It’s not right.” He characterized the effort as “the ecumenism of practical love.”

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June 20, 2016: Statement from Cardinal Thomas Collins
...on Passing of Bill C41 on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
        
Previous Statement from Cardinal Collins--April 2016On April 14, 2016, the federal government introduced legislation that, if passed, will amend the criminal code to make euthanasia/assisted suicide legal in Canada. At a time when our priority should be fostering a culture of love, and enhancing resources for those suffering and facing death, assisted suicide leads us down a dark path. At first sight it may seem an attractive option, a quick and merciful escape from the suffering that can be experienced in life, but fuller reflection reveals its grim implications, not only for the individual but for our society, and especially for those who are most vulnerable. Such fuller reflection is sorely need now. Just days ago, Pope Francis stated, “Care and concern for the final stages of life is all the more necessary today, when contemporary society attempts to remove every trace of death and dying…Euthanasia and assisted suicide are serious threats to families worldwide.”

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The Euthanasia Deception - 1 Hr. Documentary                 Belgium’s 15 year experiment with euthanasia has gone terribly wrong. This film is a dire warning for the rest of the world. The Euthanasia Deception is a one-hour documentary featuring powerful testimonies from Belgium and beyond - of those devastated by the false ideology of ‘mercy killing’. Director Kevin Dunn sets out to expose three main deceptions of doctor assisted dying: First, that euthanasia and assisted suicide are a form of compassion. The second is the myth of autonomy: that decisions made between doctor and patient operate in a vacuum. And finally, that government ‘safeguards’ can truly protect the vulnerable.

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Dutch want right-to-die for people who feel 'their life is complete' 
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Oct 15, 2016 / 03:02 am MT ().- The Dutch government is set to legalize euthanasia for people who don’t want to live anymore but are not necessarily terminally ill or experiencing extreme suffering. In a briefing to parliament on Wednesday, the health and justice ministers said that people who “have a well-considered opinion that their life is complete, must, under strict and careful criteria, be allowed to finish that life in a manner dignified for them.” The option would be limited to “the elderly,” though the briefing did not define an age limit. The move is the latest expansion of the country’s euthanasia policy, which critics have already have said does not protect vulnerable populations, including children, the disabled and those with mental illnesses.

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The dark side of a DC bill that no one wants to talk about  
By Matt Hadro - Washington D.C., Oct 18, 2016 / 05:15 pm MT ().- Treatable depression, financial gain from a patient's death, doctors who can write a fatal prescription with little knowledge of the person it's for – all things that supporters of physician assisted suicide in the District of Columbia would perhaps prefer not to discuss. But as the city council in the nation’s capital may soon legalize the procedure, both the Church and local citizens have taken up arms to label it as prejudiced against the “most vulnerable.” The bill is immoral, unethical, and unjust, said Dr. Lucia Silecchia, a law professor at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, and a D.C. citizen. 
“Thus, while the Catholic and Christian understanding of the dignity of human persons, made in the image and likeness of God undergirds the moral critique of such statutes, the medical opposition long predates Christ, and the legal objections should compel anyone who observes how easily disregard for the life of one spreads,” she stated to CNA. On Oct. 18, the city council for the District of Columbia voted to put legalization of physician-assisted suicide on their legislative agenda. The bill was introduced in January 2015 by council member Mary Cheh. In the summer of 2015, citizens of the city showed up in large numbers to support or oppose the bill; a public hearing went on for hours as many advocates, one after another, insisted that the city not legalize the measure. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington has been outspoken against the measure, and other assisted suicide measures that have been introduced in states around the country in what he called “a concerted aggressive campaign…which plays on people’s darkest fears and exploits their vulnerabilities to advance ideas and practices that have long been understood to be grave infamies opposed to human dignity and which poison human society.” What is at stake is nothing less than how society views human life, he maintained.

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Lack of love behind euthanasia, assisted suicide 
By PAUL PAPROSKI, OSB - The Prairie Messenger HUMBOLDT, SK — The legalization of suicide and euthanasia in Canada is more a sign of a culture dying for lack of love than a nation being open to choice, said Jackie Saretsky at a Dying Healed workshop held mid-November at St. Augustine Parish hall in Humboldt. The sick and the elderly may actually have less choice and feel pressure to end their lives prematurely, said Ms. Saretsky, chaplaincy co-ordinator with the Diocese of Saskatoon. Modern attitudes about independence and success have led many to believe that their lives are worthless or have less value as they age or become ill. People feel they have become burdens to their families or society when they are unable to work or need the assistance of others. Saretsky recalled a conversation with a patient who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was terrified at the thought of needing help to bathe or use the bathroom. The idea of wearing a diaper was humiliating. "At what point in life do we become undignified?" Ms. Saretsky asked. 

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A Lesson in Dying - Margie Harper (1919-2017)
 
Sisters find joy, tears, and renewed faith thanks to palliative care - 
Posted in Archdiocesan News By Archdiocese Communications - By Thandiwe Konguavi, Staff Writer - Margie Harper entered the hospital this year on the first day of Lent, her forehead still bearing a dark smudge from the Ash Wednesday Mass. At first, her daughters Margo Harper and Carolynn Bilton thought their mother had pneumonia and that she would recover. But it quickly became clear that she would not be going home to Paintearth Lodge, the seniors home in the central Alberta town of Castor where she had lived her last years. So Margo and Carolynn settled into the palliative care room of Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital for the longest sleepover they’d had with Mom since they were children — and a life-changing Lenten journey by her side. “At one point in Mom’s last days, she asked … if we were all together in hospital on a spiritual retreat,” said Margo. “We didn’t know it then, but Mom, the answer is yes. ‘Yes we were, and yes we are.’” Margie died on April 1, a full 30 days after entering the Castor hospital. She was 97. Her end-of-life journey was featured in Lasting Impressions, the 2017 annual report to the community by Alberta-based Covenant Health, Canada’s largest Catholic healthcare provider. The story underscores the significant impact that palliative care — the practice of alleviating pain and suffering for patients as they near death — can have on a person and their family. It’s a growing discipline in medicine, but one to which the majority of Canadians have no access.

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EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE: WHY NOT? QUICK ANSWERS TO COMMON ARGUMENTS - Catholic Organization for Life and the Family 

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At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Friday, October 16, 2015

Men and women are complementary – but what does that look like in practice? By Hillary Mast

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/men-and-women-are-complementary-but-what-does-that-look-like-in-practice-41476


Washington D.C., Oct 16, 2015 / 03:25 am MT (CNA).- The idea that men and women are different and complementary has been part of the Catholic Church from its beginning.

But what exactly does this mean for the Church today? What does it imply for women serving in the Church – Should they fill the exact same roles as men? Should there be a quota for each sex in service to the Church?

Not at all, according to Mary Hasson, editor of the book, “Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church.”

“The point isn’t to tally up how many women are where … and at this level versus that level, the question is … have we integrated women fully so that we are living that complementarity in the way that God intends?”

After the Holy Father’s call for a deepening of the “theology of women,” a group of Catholic women under the leadership of George Mason law professor Helen Alvare gathered to discuss women’s role in the Church, with a particular emphasis on the idea of complementarity between the two sexes.

To read the full article go to the link : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/men-and-women-are-complementary-but-what-does-that-look-like-in-practice-41476

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At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Sunday, March 15, 2015

Countries With The Largest Muslim Populations (2015)

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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Islam              European Muslim Population             The Arab/Muslim World

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/countries-with-the-largest-muslim-populations

Muslims number 1.8 billion people worldwide (2015), representing 24% of global population. The overwhelming majority (87-90%) of Muslims are Sunnis; about 10-13% are Shi’a Muslims.

The countries with the five highest Muslim populations are all in South and Southeast Asia or in sub-Saharan Africa, rather than the Middle East. In India, which has the second-largest Muslim population, Islam is a minority religion (making up 15% of the country’s population) and Hinduism is the majority faith

 2015 Muslim Population% of Country that is Muslim% of World's Muslim Population
1
Indonesia219,960,00087%13%
2
India194,810,00015%11%
3
Pakistan184,000,00096%11%
4
Bangladesh144,020,00091%8%
5
Nigeria90,020,00050%5%
6
Egypt83,870,00095%5%
7
Iran77,650,000100%4%
8
Turkey75,460,00098%4%
9
Algeria37,210,00098%2%
10
Iraq36,200,00099%2%
     
 Subtotal1,143,200,000 65%
 Subtotal Rest of the World609,420,000 35%
 World Total1,752,620,000 100%

*Muslim population figures are notoriously inaccurate; Muslims cover a broad range of ancestries, such as Asian, African and Middle Eastern and they all have different practices and political outlooks.


Source: Pew Research Center;

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At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Monday, January 19, 2015

At BioLogos, Stephen Meyer Clarifies the Disagreement Separating Intelligent Design from Theistic Evolution - David Klinghoffer - January 19, 2015

At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus.  G.S.

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https://evolutionnews.org/2015/01/at_biologos_ste/

At BioLogos, Stephen Meyer Clarifies the Disagreement Separating Intelligent Design from Theistic Evolution

David Klinghoffer           January 19, 2015, 4:53 PM

DebatingDDsmall.jpegThe theory of intelligent design has supporters and detractors both among religious believers and among atheists and agnostics. An atheist sympathizer like Thomas Nagel, the renowned New York University philosopher, is an interesting case. No less so are those Christians and Jews who dislike the idea, despite the fact that traditional theism prompts us to expect objective evidence of design in nature.

Regarding the latter and their style of critique when it comes to ID, I think you could advance a two-part hypothesis: Religious believers who are not familiar with the relevant science feel free to criticize ID on scientific grounds. However those who do know the science are more likely to reject ID not on scientific but on theological or philosophical grounds. That is rich with implications.

Currently at the theistic evolutionary website BioLogos, Discovery Institute’s Stephen Meyer helps clarify this. BioLogos published a series of critical reviews of Meyer’s book, Darwin’s Doubt, and graciously invited him to reply. Dr. Meyer writes:

I have especially appreciated how the reviews in this recent series have unexpectedly clarified the nature of disagreement between proponents of the theory of intelligent design (ID) and the proponents of theistic evolution (or evolutionary creation) associated with BioLogos. I — and many others — have long assumed that the debate between our two groups was mainly a scientific debate about the adequacy of contemporary evolutionary theory. Surprisingly, the reviews collectively have shown that the main disagreement between ID proponents and BioLogos is not scientific, but rather philosophical and methodological.

In particular, the reviews have revealed that the central issue dividing the BioLogos writers from intelligent design (ID) theorists concerns a principle known as methodological naturalism (MN). MN asserts that scientists must explain all events and phenomena by reference to strictly naturalistic or materialistic causes. The principle forbids postulating the actions of personal agency, mind, or intelligent causation in scientific explanations and thus limits the explanatory toolkit of science to strictly material processes or physical causes. The principle of methodological naturalism is, of course, not a scientific theory nor an empirical finding, but an allegedly normative methodological rule, against which I have argued in depth, both in Darwin’s Doubt (see Chapter 19) and in my earlier book, Signature in the Cell (see Chapters 18 and 19). My colleagues have also argued against MN in their responses to some of the BioLogos reviews of Darwin’s Doubt (see, for example, here and here).

Recall that Darwin’s Doubt argues that intelligent design provides the best explanation for the origin of the genetic (and epigenetic) information necessary to produce the novel forms of animal life that arose in the Cambrian period. In making this case, I show first that neither the neo-Darwinian mechanism of natural selection acting on random mutations, nor more recently-proposed mechanisms of evolutionary change (species selection, self-organization, neutral evolution, natural genetic evolution, etc. — see Darwin’s Doubt Chapters 15-16) are sufficient to generate the biological information that arises in the Cambrian period. Instead, I show — based upon our uniform and repeated experience — that only intelligent agents have demonstrated the power to generate the kind of functional information that is present in biological systems (and that arises with the Cambrian animals). Thus, I conclude that the action of a designing intelligence provides the best ("most causally adequate") explanation for the origin of that information.

Now, one might have expected that Ralph Stearley, a paleontologist, and Darrel Falk, a geneticist, both of whom have extensive knowledge of evolutionary theory, would have critiqued the main scientific argument of Darwin’s Doubt on scientific grounds. In particular, one might have expected that they would have argued that either the neo-Darwinian mechanism, or some other evolutionary mechanism, does have the creative power to produce the information necessary to build new forms of animal life. Instead, except for raising a few minor objections about incidental scientific matters, both acknowledged that evolutionary theory has left the problem of the Cambrian explosion unsolved — i.e., that the mutation/natural selection mechanism lacks the creative power to account for macro-evolutionary innovations in the history of life.

As Stephen Meyer notes, the difference between ID and theistic evolution, as articulated by theistic evolutionists who are also scientists or philosophers of science, centers on an issue apart from the science:

Of the three reviewers, Wheaton College philosopher of science Robert Bishop was the least persuaded by DD‘s arguments — but, interestingly, he was also the most explicitly committed to the principle of methodological naturalism. Indeed, he objected to the thesis of the book precisely because it openly rejects (and violates) the principle of methodological naturalism.

Consequently, his four-part critique, by far the longest in the BioLogos series, said very little about my scientific arguments. (He did argue that I was wrong to claim that newer models of evolutionary theory represent significant deviations from neo-Darwinian orthodoxy. Yet, notably, biologist Darrel Falk’s review affirmed my assessment of these newer theories over and against Bishop’s.) In any case, Bishop focused his critique on what he called my "rhetorical strategies," giving particular attention to philosophical issues concerning the legitimacy of design inferences in biology.

In Bishop’s judgment, intelligent design flagrantly violates the rule of methodological naturalism — a rule that he regards as normative for the practice of all natural science because he believes (incorrectly, as it turns out) that "methodological naturalism is the way scientific investigation has been done since before the time of the Scientific Revolution." Indeed, as my colleague Paul Nelson pointed out in his response to Bishop’s critique, Bishop badly misreads the history of science. The design arguments developed by Isaac Newton — in the Opticks and the Principia, for instance �– alone contradict Bishop’s claims.

You sense that between the view of Stephen Meyer and Robert Bishop there is room for a fascinating and profound discussion — not so much about the science, though, as about philosophy. Meyer observes:

Unfortunately, methodological naturalism is a demanding doctrine. The rule does not say "try finding a materialistic cause but keep intelligent design in the mix of live possibilities, in light of what the evidence might show." Rather, MN tells you that you simply must posit a material or physical cause, whatever the evidence. One cannot discover evidence of the activity of a designing mind or intelligence at work in the history of life because the design hypothesis has been excluded from consideration, before considering the evidence, by the doctrine of methodological naturalism (and the definition of science that follows from it).

Nevertheless, having a philosophical rule dictate that one may not infer or posit certain types of causes, whatever the evidence, seems an exceedingly odd way for science to proceed. Scientists tend to be realists about the power of evidence, but skeptics about philosophical barriers — which, if it is anything, the rule of MN surely is. Placing the detection of intelligent design out of the reach of scientific investigation, before the evidence has had a chance to instruct us, looks like rigging a game before any players have taken the field.

Exactly. Still, an in-depth conversation between Meyer and Bishop would be something to watch. When it comes to religious folks who don’t know the science, it’s different. There the discussion tends to circle back on itself very quickly. In a blog for the Jerusalem Post, for example, writer R.P. Nettelhorst swings wildly:

I’ve disliked the Intelligent Design concept since I first heard about it several years ago. From the theological standpoint, I believe that the theory is deeply flawed.  It is simply a new version of a very old error: the God of the Gaps fallacy.  To put it simply, the God of the Gaps fallacy argues that God is to be defined as mystery.  Where there is mystery, there is God: if we find something in the world we don’t understand, the explanation is always the same: God did it. 

This is an incredibly lazy approach to the world.

"Lazy," you say? But obviously, as anyone knows who has followed the debate about ID, that’s not at all how intelligent design advocates argue, not remotely close. I tweeted to Nettelhorst, who teaches Bible at Quartz Hill School of Theology in Southern California, to ask how deeply he had studied the science behind ID, to allow him to judge it so harshly as science and as theology. The answer: Not too deeply. What books has he read by ID advocates?

All right, so he read a book several years ago. That probably puts him at an advantage compared to Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman, of the group Sinai and Synapses.

Reactions to the fantastically popular Eric Metaxas article in the Wall Street Journal, arguing for intelligent design at the cosmological level, attracted criticism from Rabbi Mitelmanamong others, writing at the Huffington Post. From his credentials, Rabbi Mitelman sounded like he must be a thoughtful guy. I tweeted with him too, and received a variety of comments on ID’s inadequacy as science.

See here for Casey Luskin on peer review and other signs that ID has the upper hand. As for not wanting to hear about ID from anyone associated with the intellectual hub of the ID movement, that would clearly handicap any scientific exploration he chose to do. But okay, I asked, how about physicist and Nobel laureate Charles Townes? No comment from Rabbi Mitelman.

What has he actually read on the subject?

If there was an answer on that, I missed it. I urged him to study up a bit, since the frontier of science and religion is advertised as his area of expertise. The best I could get from him was an agreement that informing himself, despite a priori objections, would do "no harm."

On ID as testable, falsifiable science, see herehere, and here for an introduction.

So there you have it. When they’re familiar with the science underlying the design inference, they give you philosophy. When they don’t know the science, they talk about the science, or simply make a hash of the two. Speaking of inferences, you can draw your own.

I’m on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.


https://evolutionnews.org/2015/01/at_biologos_ste/

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