Religion

On this episode of ID the Future, Andrew McDiarmid reads the afterword to Michael Aeschliman’s newly revised and expanded The Restoration of Man: C. S. Lewis and the Continuing Case Against Scientism. As Aeschliman explains, Lewis neither deified nor defied science, but he did insist that science idolatry was the grave and present danger of our age. In this excerpt, Aeschliman, professor of Anglophone Culture at the University of Italian Switzerland (Lugano), focuses on Lewis’s brilliant critique of scientism in The Abolition of Man and elsewhere in his work, and on some key thinkers, past and present, who joined Lewis in the fight. It’s a battle, Aeschliman explains, against “the vanity of reason unhinged from ethics,” amidst “a culture that Read More ›

On this episode of ID the Future, Andrew McDiarmid continues his conversation with science historian Michael Keas on myths of science and religion, based on Keas’ new work from ISI Books, Unbelievable: 7 Myths About the History and Future of Science and Religion. This time the myth comes not from the past but the future. That is, it’s the supposedly scientific belief that ET is coming, and when it comes, it will look just like a god to us. It will replace earthly religion with an advanced, more ethical alternative, and we’ll finally achieve enlightenment. It’s just as much a myth as any other, yet it’s shaping people’s worldviews anyway. Please consider donating to support the IDTF Podcast.

On this episode of ID the Future, hear about a few cases of scientism acting as a quasi-religion. For many people, science — and evolution in particular — gives their lives a sense of meaning, providing an overarching vision of something larger than themselves. These recent pieces of science news illustrate exactly how evolutionary thinking can serve in the role of religious faith as scientific claims are made that go far beyond the evidence. For more on C.S. Lewis’ warnings against scientism, watch the short documentary The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case against Scientism

On this episode of ID the Future Casey Luskin takes a critical look at Thinking Evolutionarily, a new book by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences that is geared towards helping teachers teach evolution. This book contains typical exaggerations of the importance of Darwinian evolution for an understanding of science, and at the same time maintains that accepting evolutionary theory means recognizing a “fundamental randomness and unpredictability, a lack of grand design.” Such a statement is revealing of a fundamental conflict between Darwinian evolution and religion.

On this episode of ID the Future, host David Boze interviews Casey Luskin about the controversy surrounding the passage of Tennessee’s Senate Bill 893. This bill supports academic freedom in the classroom by protecting the rights of teachers to discuss scientific controversies, including the controversies over Darwinian evolutionary theory. However, there are those that denounce the bill as merely a medium for putting religion in the classroom. Is this a legitimate accusation? Listen in as Casey explains the true content and purpose of TN Senate Bill 893.

On this episode of ID The Future, Dr. John West, Associate Director for Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, discusses the attempts by many Darwinists to relegate intelligent design to the humanities, equating it with creationism so as to avoid discussion of its scientific merits. West also talks about the mistaken notion that science and faith are incompatible: “Regardless of whether someone happens to be religious or not, they have the right to participate in the public life, and that includes in science and the arts.”

On this episode of ID the Future, Anika Smith interviews Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Jay Richards about the bizarre claim made by certain atheists that intelligent design is bad theology. Read Dr. Richards’ “Is Intelligent Design Bad Theology?” here.