Undeception

As Scott Bailey points out, America’s Evangelical Christian subculture assumes that everything generated by the world at large needs a more definitive Christian version.  Yesterday BioLogos released a video that discusses the pitfalls of trying to have a “Christian” version of science.

Another key point made in the video is how Intelligent Design advocates like Stephen Meyer misunderstand the nature of DNA “information” Scientists David Ussery and Sean Carroll make the point that speaking of genetic material as a “blueprint”, “language”, or “code” must be recognized as metaphorical (unfortunately perpetuated by the title to Francis Collins’ book). The structure of genes aren’t bits of intrinsically interesting data; rather, says Carroll, “it’s not the genes you have; it’s how you use them.” And different organisms will often end up using them in different ways:

And so these genes, which are involved in building bodies, you can sort of think of them like a carpenter’s toolkit. That while everyone may have a hammer and a nailgun and a whole set of wrenches… how you use them over time determines what structure you build, whether you build a hope chest or a whole house.

So despite what your religious authority or the “expert” approved by your religious authority tells you, the scientists most directly involved in studying DNA are not at all troubled by the claims of Intelligent Design, except insofar as they continue to be accepted as (almost literally) the gospel truth among the faithful, the committed evolution-deniers.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: devout evangelicals will never be able to come to terms with evolution as long as they believe that it denies the existence of an historical Adam with an historical Fall. As goes creationism, so goes Christianity. Some will cling to their Christianity so tightly that they will never entertain any beliefs that contradict it; others cannot live with the cognitive dissonance and will eventually call it quits on Christianity once they recognize that universal common descent is, for all intents and purposes, indisputable.

The issue is why Jesus had to die if there were no original sin. Why do we need the second Adam if there was no first Adam? What did Jesus do if he didn’t undo the sin that came in because of Adam? At various times and places on this blog I have offered my answers to those thoughts, which include understanding the nature of the Bible and alternative views of the atonement, most especially. But I have often felt and occasionally expressed exasperation that there were no high profile Christians grappling with this problem, which is surely on the short of list of the most problematic issues in Christian theology.

The BioLogos Foundation has done a good job of turning that around, especially since bringing on Dr. Peter Enns as senior fellow. But he has really outdone himself this time. The next time I have someone ask me about the Adam problem for evolution, I will ask that person to carve out 50 minutes to watch the following presentation. In it, Pete Enns manages to lay out the finest explication of the narrative motivations behind Genesis and Paul’s use of the Adam story that I’ve heard in quite some time. Enjoy, and spread it around.

Hard link

H/T I Think I Believe

Ok, this is the beginning of a series I’ve been meaning to start up for quite some time.

My mission: I’m going to post a lyric that attempts to make theological/philosophical observations I find interesting. I may or may not choose to highlight my own specific thoughts on the subject (but you’ll probably be able to get some idea from looking at the post tags).

Your mission: Tell us what you think of the message of the lyric. For instance, tell what you think the lyricist(s) observations were, what you think of those observations, or how well they performed lyrical artistry in this song. Don’t concentrate so much on why you do or don’t like the artist/musical genre, etc.

Electric Train

written by Larry Tagg, recorded by Bourgeois Tagg on Bourgeois Tagg

In the beginning…I had nothing to do
I was all alone in a big empty room
So I decided to build myself an electric train
It took six days’ time, things were never the same

Monday I built the track
It looked straight but it came right back
‘Cause it curved so slow if you leave from here
You go far as you can go and you’ll be back in a year

Monday, Tuesday, line the railway
Wednesday, Thursday, make it straight
Friday, Saturday, watch out that day
Saturday could be a big mistake

Chorus:

Monday, Tuesday, line the railway
Wednesday, Thursday, make it straight
Friday, Saturday, watch out for Saturday
That day could be a big mistake

Friday I took my train
I shined it, I greased it, I shined it again
I set the groove of the wheels on the rail
But it only moved when I pushed it myself

So by Saturday evening I wasn’t alone
‘Cause I took it and gave it a mind of its own
It’d grease its own wheels, it’d make its own way
I said to myself, “This train is gonna run ’til judgment day.”

Monday, Tuesday, line the railway
Wednesday, Thursday, make it straight
Friday, Saturday, watch out that day
Saturday could be a big mistake

Monday, Tuesday, line the railway
Wednesday, Thursday, make it straight
Friday, Saturday, watch out for Saturday
That day could be a big mistake

Sunday was my day of rest
I sat back and watched it go
It went backwards and forwards, it went too fast
It heated up the track ’til it started to glow
And pretty soon the rails were fried
My electric train jumped the track
And there it was, it lay on its side
All twisted and burnt black

Monday, Tuesday, line the railway
Wednesday, Thursday, you gotta make it straight
Friday, Saturday, next time no Saturday
That day was a big mistake

I’ll make it again, work out the kinks
You can’t win with a train that thinks