I just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone who might be interested in evolution. Human Events has posted a 5 part, videotaped interview with Dr. David Berlinski. The bulk of the interview is concerning questions about his book The Devil's Delusion, Atheism and it's Scientific Pretensions. To begin viewing the interview put out by the Hoover Institution, just click here.
EDIT: Youtube has a large part of the DVD The Incorrigible Dr. Berlinski here.
4 comments:
Yes, I saw this too. Throughout most of the interview he always seemed to stop short of calling himself a believer, choosing to say that the evidence points toward a solid argument for God, but certainly not a proof, which is out of the realm of science anyway. Fair enough.
There is also an interesting followup interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_YnV_4JL3g
In any event, it was very fascinating. I would like to get the book but would rather wait til it comes out on Kindle.
The book/interview reminded me of a similar title of a book I also highly recommend: "Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and its fashionhable enemies" by David Bentley Hart.
I got to speak with Berlinski a couple of years ago at a small venue in which he was the featured guest. He is a self-described agnostic.
I came away from the encounter with the impression that the question of whether or not God actually exists is rather low on the list of priorities for Berlinski. I really think that he doesn't even care.
However I would also add that he is at least intellectually honest enough to realize that taking that extra step and proclaiming 'God does not exist' is foolhardy and a position that is impossible to prove.
It was Immanuel Kant who convinced me of the futility of attempting prove either His Existence, or the existence of "free will". And I always loved Isaiah Berlin's classical-liberal arguments against determinism (historical and/or otherwise). Of course, Plato's arguments for a Creator held up well, in my book, at least until Chesterton's "The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists, as the mother can love the unborn child." that popped THAT bubble for me. Ah, the "nuance" of language.
But then, I'm studying Augustine again, so who knows where I'll end up? I have no doubt that there is much Love in the universe, my only problem lies in that I believe it originates from "separation."
And as Tennessee Williams once remarked, "time is the longest distance between two places." ;)
MDC and Speedster,
If you have a couple of moments and would like a hearty belly laugh, check out the first 6 minutes of this video in which Dr. Berlinski basically makes Barry Lynn (of Americans United for the Seperation of Church and State) look like an ass. Link.
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