As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“without this value (of upholding truth) the institution of science would soon sink into a morass of lies and deception. It’s obvious, but where does this value come from? You can’t prove it scientifically.” - Reasons
“Our diverse ways of seeing reality will never, and should never, meld into a monolithic worldview” - Scientific American
“…in addition to the traditional areas of scientific inquiry and expertise, such as chemistry, physics, and medicine, many now even look to science for guidance on moral questions—and many scientists and science boosters are eager to claim they can provide it.” - TGC
“Paul Gould’s new book Cultural Apologetics addresses these issues by setting forth a fresh model for cultural engagement, rooted in the biblical account of Paul’s speech on Mars Hill, which details practical steps for reestablishing the Christian voice, conscience, and imagination.” - Breakpoint
“Even the decision to embark on the scientific enterprise is underpinned by something preceding the scientific method: the reasonable conviction that there is truth, we can know it, and, above all, that it is good to know the difference between truth and error.” - Acton
“There is a double surprise in store for Aeschliman’s readers. It is alarming to learn how the rise and growth of a scientific culture has been linked with the most blatant subjectivism. It is a joy to be introduced to the ‘great central tradition’ of witnesses to the true meaning of words and defenders of human reason.” - National Review
“Theologians and ethicists, playwrights and lyricists, therapists and politicians, historians and pundits—like everyone else in society—all could have their say. But more and more, each would have to face up ultimately to the supposed precision of the scientist, who among them all seems to have a lock on reality, or at least on the tools for discovering reality.” - WORLD
J. P. Moreland is a seasoned Christian philosopher who has provided the Church with some very good tools in defense of the Faith and the Christian Worldview. He has been Professor of Philosophy at Biola for many years. This timely book is most welcome as it engages one of the most pernicious false ideas that has arisen from man’s innate hatred of God (Rom. 1:18-25).
Readers of Stephen Meyer’s two important books, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt, will know the name of Douglas Axe. Axe’s work on probability theory and gene folding feature quite prominently in those works. This book is a compliment to Meyer, but it is also a companion to William Dembski’s books, like The Design Inference and No Free Lunch. I suppose the nearest thing to it is Dembski’s book Intelligent Design.
But Undeniable is not simply a repetition of the type of arguments one will find in those books. In the first place, Axe’s main concern is to provide Joe Public with an assuring and accessible guide on his own ability to detect invention no matter what the Science pundits tell them.
This book tries to get behind the sane intuition all of us have that incredibly complex functionality is not, and can never be, a result of any kind of unguided randomization. It never is, in our day to day experience of living. Only in the imaginings of those who cannot see the difference between a scientific pronouncement and a metaphysical one does the idea gain currency and the power to veto competing ideas.
Discussion