March 5, 2010
David Scharfengerg of The Phoenix, Boston recently wrote an article about Brown University’s biology professor and author, Kenneth Miller. Miller is known for his attempt to connect Darwin’s theory of evolution with belief in God. New Atheists are not impressed with Miller’s attempts and Jerry Coyne, University of Chicago biology professor, attacks Miller and colleague Karl Giberson, BioLogos vice president, in a recent The New Republic essay.
Coyne writes, “By discussing science and religion together and asserting that science more or less points you to evidence for God, he blurs the boundaries between science and faith. Boundaries which I think have to be absolutely maintained if we’re going to have a rational country and we’re going to judge things based on evidence rather than superstition.” Coyne and other New Atheists hold fast to the notion that only pure science can be used to understand evolution, and there is no room for God in the process.
Miller believes that quantum indeterminacy allows for God’s existence; however, New Atheists feel Miller’s explanation sounds too much like the “God of the gaps” arguments that ID proponents endorse. The article explores attacks on Miller from conservative fundamentalists and the New Atheists who think Miller is doing harm to the scientific community.
In the article Scharfenberg surveys Miller’s religious beliefs and the journey he took to discover the harmony between evolution and his faith. To read more on review, click here.