Tag Archives: Philosophy

Posted on

True Reason and the Reason Rally

Whose side is reason really on? A new book ($2.99) will help you think through these issues for yourself:

“The New Atheists are convinced that good thinking means disbelief in God and that their leaders are models of good reasoning. They’re planning a “Reason Rally” for March 24. Richard Dawkins heads up a “Foundation for Reason and Science.” Sam Harris is founder and chairman of “Project Reason.” The American Atheists define atheism as “the mental attitude which unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason . . .” John Loftus tells us “Faith and Reason are Mutually Exclusive Opposites.”
In this they are quite mistaken. 

They are wrong because their claims to good reasoning do not match the evidence of their performance. Dawkins’ book The God Delusion is rife with logical fallacies and demonstrably anti-scientific prejudice. Sam Harris devoted most of a recent debate to avoiding logic, advancing an argument based on emotional appeals instead. John Loftus says that his “Outsider Test for Faith” shows that belief is irrational, when his test actually demonstrates the opposite. 

They are also wrong because Christianity is built on a foundation of evidence and thought. The Bible is a record of what God has done. It tells us through and through to see what he has done, and to trust him based on what we know to be true of him. Jesus requires his followers to love God with all of their minds. The Apostle Paul reasoned in the synagogues and with the Greek philosophers. Down through history, many of the world’s greatest thinkers have been Christians. It’s still true today. 

And they are mistaken in not seeing how Christianity leads people to treat each other reasonably. Sure, there have been exceptions, but on the whole Christianity has been the world’s greatest force for freedom, peace, human rights, and of course the highest good of all: knowledge of God. 

This is not the party line. Even Christians may not know this is true. If any of this seems surprising to you, then it’s time for you to discover True Reason.”

Learn more and order the book here…

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
Posted on

Epigenetics and the Image of God

I recently came across an article in the Huffington post that caught my eye. It dealt with genetics and the image of God. To be honest, I was expecting the typical reductionism that seeks to reduce humanity to our genetic information. But I was pleasantly surprised to find something else going on. Here is an excerpt:

“The reality is that recent genetics research has continued to move steadily away from any notion of genetic fatalism, highlighting the sheer complexity of the genome, and providing some fascinating examples of the ways in which our choices impact upon our own genomes. There is no gene “for” any complex human trait because in fact genes encode proteins or other types of information-containing molecules, and thousands of genes collaborate together during human development in interaction with the environment to generate the unique human individual that each person represents….Epigenetics adds further layers of variation and complexity. This refers to the chemical modifications of the DNA that cause genes to be switched on or off. It is such epigenetic modifications that generate the 220 specialized tissues of our bodies.” 

Now there are many things to comment on in this article, but let me just make two brief but crucial observations.

First, DNA is not destiny. Dr. Francis Collins (former head of the human genome project) has said as much. Genes don’t tell our whole story–environment and our choices matter. Genetic Fatalism is false.

Second, the mention of Epigenetics is important. There must be something beyond (epi = over) DNA that is doing the work that is programmed with the design-plan or body-plan of organisms. DNA is the paintbrush. But the epigenes (which don’t seem to be a physical substance) serve as the painter. It will be very interesting to watch this field develop. Some sort of organizing principle is necessary to arrange the DNA and turn the genes on and off at the “right” times. In my view, this is yet another example of design at work. Teleology was banished from biology thanks to Charles Darwin. But could these epigenes indicate that there is a design plan after all? Stay tuned…

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
Posted on

What If Most Everything You’ve Been Told About the Scopes Trial in 1925 Was a Lie?

“A New Film, Alleged, Tells the Real Story of the Scopes Trial. It would be hard to underestimate the power that one film, Inherit the Wind, has had in shaping — and distorting — the evolution debate. In a comment that would be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic, Judge John E. Jones of Kitzmiller v. Dover fame explained that in getting himself up to speed for the trial he watched ITW to get a sense of the “historical context.” What if someone made a dramatic film that actually told the truth about the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925?”

Someone just did.


Discover the truth, order the DVD today:

Official Movie website

More at evolution news and views (H/T)


Posted on

Prof. John Lennox Talks About His New Book Seven Days That Divide the World

Lennox discusses ways of interpreting scripture that don’t compromise its authority. “I don’t want to say anything less than what scripture says, but I don’t want to say anything more,” says Lennox. Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University and Fellow of Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College, Lennox has lectured on science and religion and related themes around the world.

Listen to his interview at ID the Future

John Lennox’s Website

Check out his new book. He presents some very important distinctions and observations about the Biblical text, authority, and science.