This is the first in a series of occasional linked blog entries.
I quite often get emails and letters from readers of my books, and recently was contacted by someone who I shall call Sandy (because that’s his name). He had one or two questions about my book on quantum entanglement – The God Effect which I was pleased to answer.
At the end of our short discussion, because of the ‘God’ word in the title he asked me about my religious beliefs and went on to offer me a book exploring the arguments for intelligent design. In the end, he very generously sent me two books and a DVD.
What I’d like to do in this short series of blog entries is explore whether reading these books and watching the DVD has any effect on my attitude to evolution and intelligent design. If my mind is changed, I want to share the experience, and ask for words of wisdom from those who know more about these matters than me. If my mind isn’t changed, that too shall go on record.
To set the scene, I am someone whose opinion can be swayed by argument – for example, I’ve voted for all three major parties in the UK in my time. Religiously, I’m neither an atheist nor a fundamentalist believer in any of the religions. Scientifically I am currently of the opinion that evolution is sufficient to explain what we see out there without resorting to intelligent design. So here we go. Fasten your seatbelts.
Continues:
Station #2
Station #3
Station #4
Station #5
So, what are the books and DVD?
C’mon Bob – this is a series. It’s a gradual reveal. I’ll be starting on the first book in my next post.
Oh you tease!
I was intending to review a creationist text (“Genetic Entropy and the Mystery of the Genome”) this week, so I don’t know if we’ll overlap.
This is a bit like reviewing a crime fiction novel, where you are not allowed to give away the ending (even after n posts).
I’m concerned about the title. Did the Road to Damascus have Stations, like the District Line? The road that Jesus took to Calvary has stations, 14 in all (I think). I remember once following a group of African pilgrims through the Old City of Jerusalem, station-to-station, as it were.
Let’s not start all that Mornington Crescent stuff again, simply too exhausting.
Brian, such a pity you didn’t call your book The Good Effect. Then you could have avoided all this ID stuff.
I quite often get emails and letters from readers of my books
You poor sod.
Maxine – it was a reference to The God Particle so would lose impact as ‘good’.
Henry – they are often very nice. There are only a few (especially the five pages typed single-spaced manual typewriter one I got once) that inspire fear and trembling.
I’m concerned about the title. Did the Road to Damascus have Stations, like the District Line? The road that Jesus took to Calvary has stations, 14 in all (I think).
Henry – are you accusing me of mixing metaphors? I was using ‘station’ in the literal sense of stops along the way, not in any metaphorical sense.
Henry – are you accusing me of mixing metaphors? I was using ‘station’ in the literal sense of stops along the way, not in any metaphorical sense.
You need churchin’ up, bro.
I know, Brian, it was just my feeble attempt at humour, but I lack Henry’s touch.