The complex and vitally essential ecology and biodiversity we find in nature today, at the top of the structural hierarchy of nature, suggest that many interacting organisms would have been required right from the beginning. Only a short-term creation would provide such ecosystem requirements.
If the stranglehold of naturalism can be weakened enough for open discussion of the philosophical issues, the resulting open-minded discussion of design vs. chance will be very beneficial to science. There is a great need of this openness in science. Science should be an open-ended search for truth, rather than a closed system that will not consider certain ideas.
The severe ecological crisis in which we live has been identified as a crisis of the present society values. The aim of this essay is to discuss the historical roots of the modern ecological crisis and its consequences in terms of paradigms that base Environmental Education actions.
Science/religion issues are important because they have to do with ultimate realities, with whether to "worship" the Creator or the creature (creation), with whether a supreme being is above the creation and can supernaturally intervene.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1998, covering topics such as boat-building by Homo erectus, biogeography of baobab trees, dispersal by hurricane, design in the genetic code, molecular machines, the problem of homology, peppered moths, lateral gene transfer, Antarctic fish hemoglobins, mammoth phylogeny, origin of life, diversity of Ordovician fossils, patterns of diversity in fossils, bryozoan carbonates, fossil insects and plants, fossil record of vertebrate tracks, body size in North American mammals, Precambrian sponges, Cambrian traces of dinoflagellates, fossil flowers, fossil bird taphonomy, decay of shrimps, catastrophic burial of dinosaurs, fossil whales, and Adam, death and sin. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.
A review of the book, Mere Creation: Science, Faith & Intelligent Design. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.
Ecology, or environmental science, is multidisciplinary. As such, it allows ecology to be integrated with other disciplines. It also allows us to tie it to faith.
As biological knowledge has increased, the argument for design has been revived and expressed in more sophisticated ways, such as the argument from “irreducible complexity.” The existence of certain features that could not survive in intermediate stages is evidence of a Designer. It is also evidence of a Designer God who created by special intervention—Creation—and not through a continuous process such as evolution.
It must be emphasized that Chemistry, like any other area of scientific knowledge, is neither good nor bad, but like everything else that was marred by the entrance of sin, man's ability to manipulate his environment has led to misuse. Instead of giving in to technicism, where technology sets the agenda for life on planet Earth, the ethics of the Bible should be the basis on which we make decisions on the value of life and on the conduct of life.
We need to develop ways to foster consciousness about the environment and a willingness to participate as good stewards of creation.
Ecofeminism enlivens and challenges Adventist spirituality to embody justice and empower others; challenge dualism and recenter humanity within creation and God's presence.
Survival on earth seems bleak as the environmental crisis worsens. Amidst the destruction, how should Adventists respond to the environmental crisis? Creation and incarnation dominate Christian understandings of ecology. However, I think that a third theological theme, the Resurrection, best illuminates the relationship of Christianity to the environment.
If we take the view that we are transients in an alien community, then our interest in the long-term welfare of the community will tend to be limited. If we see ourselves as fully embedded in a complex web of life, as an integral part of God's creation, and as responsible stewards of that creation, then our response to challenges such as the environmental issue will take on a distinctly different character.
Adventist colleges have long promoted a wholistic education. For this reason they have been committed to combining liberal arts and ethics. Including environmental education in this curriculum can make a significant contribution to shaping the sensitivities of young Christians.
In this essay I have attempted to outline the world as it is, reality as it is perceived through the lens of science and scripture in terms of the concepts of order and chance.
Because we are promised an earth made new, do we have the right to hasten the death of this one? In the years since college my questions have become more acute as I have learned about specific threats to the environment.
