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Norfolk vicar takes on Darwin theories
 AUG 07With the release of his latest book 'Deluded by Darwinism: Intelligent Design and the Reappearance of God' Norfolk vicar Martin Down (pictured right) led a teaching day at The Well Christian Centre, Ashill, on Saturday September 1 from 10am – 3.30pm.
The morning was about arguments for Creation and Intelligent Design, and the afternoon about the Flood and Geology. Bring your own lunch – drinks/refreshments will be provided and there is no need to book say organisers.
Martin is not a professional scientist, but a Church of England vicar, but one, who, in his own words, has for 40 years ‘taken as intelligent an interest as I can in the advancements of science, and especially as these have had a bearing on the question of origins, the origin of the universe, the origin of the Earth, and the origin of species, including us human beings.’
In his latest book, Deluded by Darwinism, Martin presents the evidence for Intelligent Design for the ordinary reader. This book brings the debate about Evolution out of the laboratory and into the canteen and the classroom.
For 150 years there has been a conflict of ideas between scientists, like Darwin, who believed that the world was self-explanatory, and fundamentalist Christians who believed that the world was the creation of God. Today, the astounding discovery of evidence of Intelligent Design in the universe means that there is a new dimension to this old debate. Science itself could be leading to the reappearance of God. Martin invites his readers to consider the evidence.
The Well Christian Centre is on Swaffham Road, Ashill, Thetford, Norfolk, IP25 7BT. For more information please contact 01760 336492 or email info@fountainoflife.org |
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| | | gary (Guest) | 28/08/2007 18:18 | be nice to beleive that the Bible is able to stand alone without all the add ons! too much humanism id entering basic beleifs and that we have to somehow defend God words. its survived a great deal over the years with out this complex lets explain everything approach. I feel we must remember that its all about faith...things which we dont see or even find hard to accept. if the good book says that God di it, then thats enough for me!
| | | | (Guest) | 29/08/2007 14:47 | But let's remember Gary, that the Bible doesn't stand at all unless we interpret it (hopefully under the Spirit's guidance). Without the act of interpretation the Bible stays as ink and paper. So change that to "I INTERPRET the good book to say....". As soon as we truthly admit that we only see Biblical truths through the act of interpretation then we admit that our interpretations are our personal property, available for critical scrutiny and examination. Therefore any attempt to read the Bible and make sense of it automatically falls under the "complex lets explain everything approach" whether we like it or not. So to imagine you can short cut your own views out of the intellectual accountability process is an illusion that belongs to the authoritarian world of religious cults.
| | | | gary (Guest) | 29/08/2007 16:50 | so we interpret it in any way we want and thats it?? WOW!
what happened to accepting by faith like creation the way its written down in the bible? we seem to adding a lot of cleverness to explain to a wordly audiance when we should be the authority of Gods very own word!
As for bible not standing unless you interpretit i sorry to say that you are wrong...the word of God is living and active abd full of life and power. Have a good read and see what you think.
| | | | (Guest) | 29/08/2007 18:26 | Interpreting the Bible the way we want? Who said that except you gary? That’s what they call creating a strawman – that is, outrageously distorting what someone is saying and then using this distortion to impugn their spiritual position.
I said, and let me repeat, “we only see Biblical TRUTHS through the act of Interpretation”. There are such a things as RIGHT and WRONG interpretations, so it’s certainly not a case of interpreting it the way we want.
And that is precisely what the Word is living and active about – that is, in illuminating the RIGHT interpretations. This is where the power of the Holy Spirit makes itself felt – by guiding us through to the RIGHT interpretation.
So are you telling me that when you read the Bible your mind isn’t going through a highly complex process of language translation, a process that calls on enormous and highly complex mental resources, resources that are in the hands of creative providence? Are you telling me that when you read the Bible your mind stays completely blank? However, if you admit that you do have thoughts when you read the Bible (hopefully the RIGHT thoughts) then those thoughts, since they never have the authority of the Word itself, categorize as an interpretation.
Can you see that even this ‘interpretation’ issue is not a simple one that can be decided by a knee-jerk vehemence and few off-the-peg and entirely inappropriately applied references?
If Gary you are going to accuse someone of suggesting we can interpret the Word the way we want, or of denying the power of the Word you had better have some very good reasons ready to make such outrageous and slanderous charges stick.
|  | | Adrian Miller (Guest) | 31/08/2007 16:15 | I wonder, is it possible for us in the UK to avoid the awful polarisation that has occurred in the US, whereby Christians find it very hard to understand one another? Is it because this area is still quite taboo, that when we do get to discuss it, it quickly turns a bit fisty-cuffs?
| | | | Adrian Miller (Guest) | 31/08/2007 16:16 | PS Well done, Martin, for a thought-provoking book, and for getting people talking. That's what needs to happen.
|  | | timothy v reeves (Guest) | 02/09/2007 17:21 | A discussion can’t polarize if it is polarized from the outset: If one party (or both) comes to a forum with the preconceived notion that the other side hold their position because they are compromising spiritual retards with bad consciences and malign sinful motives and not worth even engaging, then some of the postings above are a small sample of the course things will take.
I am currently in discussion with an American friend (via e-mail) who is a young earth creationist. Although I favour the old-earth position the spiritual maturity of my friend has help ensure that the debate is a mutual learning exercise.
|  | | gary (Guest) | 03/09/2007 07:16 | sounds like you'd be fun to be with tim...take a chill pill sonny!
|  | | Timothy V Reeves (Guest) | 03/09/2007 10:55 | I cool enough Gary.
| | | | Timothy V Reeves (Guest) | 03/09/2007 10:57 | I'm cool enough Gary (erratum correction)
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