ID the Future Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast
Author

John G. West

IDTF 2016 John West Stockholm Syndrome Reading - Evangelizing For Darwin Post Graphic
Remixed from an original image by Ezio Gutzemberg / licensed through Adobe Stock.

Evangelizing For Darwin: Dr. John West Reads From Stockholm Syndrome Christianity

Why do so many evangelical Christians reinvent their theology to make it consistent with undirected Darwinism? On this ID The Future, Dr. John West reads an excerpt from his new book Stockholm Syndrome Christianity: Why Christian Leaders Are Failing And What We Can Do About It. As Exhibit A of an influential evangelical Christian that has been captivated by scientific materialism, West unpacks the work and troubled legacy of Dr. Francis Collins. During his tenure as director of the National Institutes of Health, Collins has led a years-long crusade to de-legitimize fellow Christian scientists, scholars, and laypeople who are supportive of intelligent design or skeptical of Darwinian evolution. This effort to reduce the range of voices allowed to pursue truth in science has confused many people and retarded scientific progress at precisely the time America should be taking the lead in scientific research and discovery. Listen to this compelling excerpt and then read the book! Read More ›
wolf-in-a-flock-of-sheep-with-wool-clothing-wolf-pretending-524681617-stockpack-adobe_stock
Wolf in a flock of sheep with wool clothing. Wolf pretending to be a sheep concept.
Image Credit: funstarts33 - Adobe Stock

How Stockholm Syndrome Christianity Hinders Scientific Progress

When Christians in science embrace scientific materialism over historical biblical teaching, they mislead their fellow believers and hinder scientific progress. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes a two-part conversation about this problem with Dr. John West, author of the new book Stockholm Syndrome Christianity: Why Christian Leaders Are Failing and What We Can Do About It. In Part 2, Dr. West describes three biblical beliefs that have been corroded by theistic evolution. He discusses the flawed theology and troubled legacy of Dr. Francis Collins. He also stresses the importance of disagreement and open debate in science. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
hmsdiscovery_wolf_amongst_frolicking_sheep Nate Prep Image Cropped

When Christians in Science Embrace Scientific Materialism

What if American culture isn’t collapsing because of crusading secularists? What if it’s failing because leading Christians identify more with secular elites than with their fellow believers? Those are the provocative questions posed by Dr. John West's new book Stockholm Syndrome Christianity, which exposes how influential Christian leaders are siding with their anti-Christian cultural captors on everything from biblical authority and science to sex, race, and religious liberty. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a two-part conversation with Dr. West unpacking examples of how Stockholm Syndrome Christianity is harming the scientific enterprise and what can be done to repair the damage. In Part 1, West explains how Francis Collins, one of the most celebrated evangelical Christian scientists in America, has fallen prey to Stockholm Syndrome Christianity. Read More ›
Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in Disneyland
Image courtesy Konstantin Yolshin - stock.adobe.com

Walt Disney’s Views on Science and Its Dangers

On this episode of ID The Future from the archive, John West, Associate Director of the Center for Science & Culture and author of Walt Disney and Live Action, talks about how science is portrayed in Walt Disney’s films and theme parks. Disney’s worldview was an interesting blend of 19th century morals with a 21st century vision for science and technology. A futurist, Disney was given to techno-utopianism and his works tended to reflect this, but they have also offered warning messages about the dangers posed by both science and technology. John West explores these interests both in Disney’s exhibits and his film works. Dig Deeper

Reagan at National Prayer Breakfast 1988 Video Still

Ronald Reagan’s Deeply Personal Argument for Intelligent Design

On this ID The Future marking the anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's death, we're delighted to share Discovery Institute Vice President Dr. John West's recent conversation with radio host Michael Medved discussing Reagan’s deeply personal argument for intelligent design. During remarks given at a National Prayer Breakfast event in 1988, Reagan shared his argument for intelligent design in unscripted, humorous fashion. But as Dr. West explains, Reagan’s commitment to intelligent design went much deeper than a few off-the-cuff laugh lines. Reagan fought against atheism and materialism in his diplomacy as president and even in his role as a father. Read More ›
CS Lewis John West Scientism Interview Part 2 Graphic Option 3 Figure Cut Out in Gold Color with Photo Credit
Image licensed from Alamy

Thus Saith the Science: C.S. Lewis on the Dangers of Scientism

Progress is an appealing idea, but what happens when we do not all desire the same things? On this ID The Future, we mark the 60th anniversary of the death of British writer C. S. Lewis as host Andrew McDiarmid concludes a conversation with Dr. John West about Lewis's prophetic warnings to us about science and scientism. Dr. West explains how scientism harms real scientific progress and leads to moral relativism. And he discusses how we can bring science back into alignment with older, deeper human truths. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
CS Lewis John West Scientism Interview Part 1 Graphic with Photo Credit
Photo licensed from Alamy

C. S. Lewis’s Prophetic Legacy on Scientism

What happens when science leaves human values behind? Or when governments become governed by scientists? On this ID The Future, we mark the 60th anniversary of the death of British writer C. S. Lewis as host Andrew McDiarmid begins a conversation with Dr. John West about Lewis's prophetic warnings to us about science and scientism. Dr. West discusses what scientism is, what happens when science neglects deeper human truths, and how Lewis warned against the rise of technocracies. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
Ales Hrdlicka_SIA2009-4245
Ales Hrdlicka
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Ales_Hrdlicka)_SIA2009-4245.jpg

The Washington Post Exposes the Smithsonian’s Racist Brain Collection

On today’s ID the Future, host Michael Medved talks with Human Zoos film director John West about a recent Washington Post series exposing how the Smithsonian Institution collected hundreds of brains from indigenous peoples as part of an early-20th century effort to promote Darwinian racism. The motivation for the brain collection was to document how some people were supposedly lower on the evolutionary ladder than others. As West notes, many of these brains are still stored in steel vats at a non-public Smithsonian facility in Maryland. Tune in as West and Medved explore this disturbing topic and how it all ties into Darwin’s theory of evolution. And to watch the segment from the Human Zoos documentary detailing this gruesome collection and the man behind it, Aleš Hrdlička, click here.

DarwinComestoAfricaBKGRND_Wide(FULL)
Darwin Comes to Africa text-free cover; Olufemi Oluniyi book

When Darwinian Racism Came to Africa, and the West

Today’s ID the Future features another reading from scholar Olufemi Oluniyi’s new book, Darwin Comes to Africa. In this excerpt we learn how Darwin himself laid much of the groundwork for social Darwinist ideas, primarily in his book The Descent of Man, and how those ideas were energetically developed in the ensuing decades by various mainstream scientists. Oluniyi further details how their work fueled pseudo-scientific racism against black Africans and other indigenous peoples outside the West. To learn more about this neglected corner of modern Western history, and for the good news that the flow of evidence has turned against Darwinism and, with it, social Darwinist principles, pick up Oluniyi’s book here.

DarwinComestoAfricaBKGRND_Wide(FULL)
Darwin Comes to Africa text-free cover; Olufemi Oluniyi book

When Darwinism Came to Africa, Horrors Ensued

On today’s ID the Future, hear a Nigerian voice-actor reading from the opening pages of Nigerian scholar Olufemi Oluniyi’s new book, Darwin Comes to Africa. In this section from the preface, Oluniyi explores the relationship of Darwinism to Social Darwinism, and some of the ways Social Darwinism fueled and justified horrific ideas and actions among European thinkers and colonizers. Oluniyi tells the story of Russian scientist Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov, who, guided by Social Darwinist thinking, “sought to produce a race of super-soldiers for Stalin’s army by impregnating French Guinea women with the sperm of a dead chimpanzee—black African women, mind you, who were presumed to be less highly evolved and thus closer to chimpanzees than were white European women.” As Oluniyi Read More ›