Friday, May 7, 2010

Man vs Richard Dawkins, Chapter 2

Photo:  Dad and me one day sharing more than just genetics, from 1969.

I am continuing my reading of The Greatest Hoax Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins, his attempt to prove evolution.  This is not really a book review or report, but journalling my experience of going through a book and interacting with an author both of whom I strongly disagree.

Chapter 2 covers common ground between evolutionists and Creationists - natural selection, if I may use that term.  What I mean is the gene pool.  Last Saturday, just before leaving for a church sponsored service project, I put my baseball hat on, glanced at the mirror, and saw my dad instead of me.  That kind of gene pool thing.

We creationists know that a species, or a "kind" from Genesis, adapts.  Noah's sons went their separate ways after the flood, and here we are, given a boost by God after the Tower of Babel.  Today's image bearer's namely humans, are somewhat different from our original created form, but we are still humans, bearing the image of God.  Unfortunately, some of the changes include a choice to sin, leading in corruption, leading to decay, leading to death.  Someday, in the future, we will change:  Because God Himself invaded time in space in human form a as Jesus, lived the perfect life we could never live, took the death we deserved, someday we who trust in the person and work of Jesus will have resurrected bodies.

Dawkins uses the examples of dogs, cabbages, and cows.  Anyone who breeds dogs performs "unnatural" selection (intentionally breeding for desired outcomes).  But they are still dogs.  So both evolutionists and creationists agree in natural selection, a "shuffling" of the "deck" of genetic "cards".  But:  I have a feeling Dawkins is trying to lull his readers into a quantum leap of faith:
But when there is a systematic increase or decrease in the frequency with which we see a particular gene in a gene pool, that is precisely and exactly what is meant by evolution.  The question therefore becomes:  why should there be a systematic increase or decrease in a gene's frequency?  That of course is where things start to get interesting, and we shall come to it in due course.  (Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth, page 33)

I'm on the lookout.  Dawkins also briefly mentions "mutations" in this chapter.  No doubt he's trying to use this observation to convince me that if I looked into enough mirrors, past my dad, past my grandfather, and past enough grandfathers, I'd see whatever common ancestor we and the primates have.  Instead, I look into the mirror of Scripture and see my Father who is in heaven.

2 comments:

  1. an amazing truth is that we are indeed created in the image of Christ...how cool is that?

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  2. I teach 12th grade Bible, and the students have seen several clips of Richard Dawkins during the course of the year. He is a third stage atheist: First Stage = "I don't know if there is a God." Second Stage = "I don't believe in God." Third Stage = "There is no God, and I am compelled to make fun of you for thinking there is one." All three are the same for all practical purposes. Of course, the truth is that "God doesn't believe in atheists." All humans, even Richard Dawkins, start out with an innate knowledge that God exists.

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