Richard Dawkin’s Lecture at Randolph College October 5th 2011
My thoughts:
Scientifically sound.
Intellectually stimulating.
Humorous, but sometimes coarse.
“In your face” rah-rah session for atheists.
Public scorn and ridicule of virtually all (and especially Christian) religious folks.
Culturally enlightening.
Overall profoundly sad.
Sally and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening out together. The campus was beautiful and the warm still Virginia evening was spectacular. As we made the 30-minute drive over to the other side of Lynchburg, the Blue Ridge Mountains rose up to our left with the sparkling orange-red rays of the setting sun radiating from their oscillating peaks. Awesome. Illinois and Michigan views just don’t compare. We met Kathy, a biology faculty member from Randolph college with whom I have become acquainted at her office. She kindly helped us find the lecture hall – a high-vaulted ceiling with an overhead balcony. We arrived early, and chose seats in the balcony right over the lectern – a great vantage point of the event.
The lecture venue and college setting reminded us of another time we had attended a lecture at the University of Kansas in the fall of 1976 – a creation/evolution debate.
Following a short series of songs by a university choral group, there was a ten-minute pre-lecture by Sean Faircloth. Sean is a colleague of Dawkins at the Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason. He has written a book entitled, “Attack of the Theocrats.” His short presentation promoting his book made it very obvious that he has no use for religion and, in fact, views religion as an evil influence on American culture. He inserted his not-so-subtle “digs” at the local Liberty University fundamentalists several times.
Dawkins was much less antagonistic and used the time to talk about several chapters in his new book (just released this week), “The Magic of Reality.” This book is geared toward younger readers and addresses questions such as: What is reality? What is Magic? Who was the first person? Why do we have winter and summer? How did everything begin? Are we alone in the universe? What is a miracle?
The first question he addressed was, “Who was the first person?” He argued that there was no “first” person (No Adam and Eve), but rather that each person arises from a previous set of parents virtually the same as them. Then using a time- machine analogy, he described how the fossil record shows evolution and speciation events, and that if we followed the trail backward we would, 4000 generations (24 years per generation) in the past, observe a great-grandfather very similar to ourselves. At 50,000 generations ago, the great-grandfather would be homo-erectus. 250,000 generations ago reveal chimpanzee-like ape grandfathers, and so on all the way back through the evolutionary history of life on Earth. Dawkins is very confident of this data – as is the general scientific community.
In contrast, in addressing the second question, “Are we alone in the universe?” Dawkins is humble and openly admits that he does not know the answer. He did provide some very interesting facts regarding the number of solar systems that might have planets similar to Earth in the universe. The numbers are mind-numbing – billions and billions. So his tentative thought is that, given the enormous number of possible ‘Earth-like’ planets possible, he thinks it likely that we are not alone. That is interesting to consider, but it is depressing as well, since if Albert Einstein was right that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, even traveling at these rates, the “intelligent life planets” are so far removed from one another, they would never be able to contact one another.
The sold-out audience was an enthusiastic and engaged crowd, with frequent applause accompanying any derogatory reference to God, religion, Christians or Liberty University. During the question and answer period, one individual identified himself as a former Liberty University student who has now become a committed atheist. The crowd burst into applause at this personal confession, and Dawkins was quick to congratulate him in his ‘deliverance’ from the evils of Christian fundamentalism. Afterwards, while Sally and I waited in line to purchase books, I listened to the conversations of college students and locals who had attended. Mockery and derision toward religion and Jesus and Christianity were core elements of some of these conversations. Given the antagonism I had sensed during the evening, when I finally talked to Professor Dawkins one-on-one I asked him, “Do you believe all religion is harmful, or is it that you personally just have no use for it?” I told him the reason I asked this was because, as a lifelong Christian, I had seen so much good done in name of the faith it did not seem justified to say, in a blanket statement sort of way, that religion was primarily harmful. His response was, “You don’t have to be religious to be good.”
Sally and I were among the last to leave, and it was quite late. The night was quiet as we walked across the empty moonlit campus grounds to the parking lot. The lecture had been interesting and we were both glad we had made the effort to attend. But I was troubled by something.
It wasn’t the accuracy of the science: That was fine. It also wasn’t the fact that Dawkins is an atheist and that the message of the night had been primarily an atheistic message. No, what was troubling me, and that which struck me most profoundly was the extent of the pent-up anti-Christian fervor and hostility that we sensed in the audience. The intensity of this response really was something that I had not anticipated. As we talked, we wondered about the source of this anger toward Christians that was so pervasive in the crowd. You could sense there was more than just anger; there was personal and emotional pain.
Then it hit me. I turned to Sally and said, “They have been hurt.”
Maybe I am wrong, but I must confess that I departed both the 1976 creation/evolution debate and October 2011 event profoundly disappointed and, in each case, for the same reason – the failure of Christians to successfully articulate and live out a Jesus-modeling faith that welcomes and draws people rather than alienating and excluding them.
Hopefully there is a better future for the faith.
[[I wrote this piece a couple years ago as part of an on-line discussion in which the participants were trying to make the case that "science and religion" or "biology and the Bible" need never be at war. From my many years of experience teaching students in a Christian college setting, I was asked to make a contribution. It was also published on the Biologos Web Blog.]]
Molecular Marvels and Miracles of Life
Ripken James Colling
On this momentous day celebrating the arrival of our 7th grandchild, Ripken James Colling, it stirs deep emotional recollections of times gone past. It seemed appropriate to share the opening text from my book Random Designer excerpted from Chapter 20 and 16 respectively.
From Chapter 20: Something magical and even sacred seems to surround the creation of a brand new human being. On a sub-cellular level, a microscopic tango is initiated within the nucleus of living cells, where replicating chromosomes, which provide the instructions for making living cells and determining a person’s unique individual characteristics, reside. As sperm cells in males and egg cells in females are formed, these information-packed chromosomes vibrate, jostle, and slip over one another in an apparent disorganized heap within the nuclear confines of the reproductive cells. Following this delicate but deliberate dance, the chromosomes then randomly segregate from one another, miraculously finding their way into the newly-formed sperm or egg cell.
Later, at the instant of conception when a sperm and egg productively collide, a completely new and absolutely unique human genetic identity possessing unimaginable potential comes into existence. In fact, using the term unique to describe this new living being is a huge understatement. Other than identical twins (and even these are not truly identical), no one else on the planet is put together in precisely the same way as you or me – never has been and never will be. The mathematical odds against such a genetic event are simply too great.
From Chapter 16: I remember the vivid event as if it were only yesterday, although twenty-six years have passed since the arrival of our very first son. Everything happened so fast. It started with a positive pregnancy test for my wife, Sally. The test was followed by regular prenatal visits to the doctor, horse-sized vitamin pills, regular physical exercise, baby showers, a baby crib, and lots of tender loving care from the father-to-be. The weeks and months went by like a blur. Then, before we knew it, he was here.
As he gasped for his first breath in this new world, I saw his bright eyes light up with life and energy. He did not cry, but rather whimpered softly as the doctor passed him to the kind delivery room nurse, who then placed this brand new human creation into the waiting and loving arms of an incredulous young mother. Our emotions in that moment were overpowering. Though Sally was totally spent physically, all the discomfort and pain preceding the delivery instantly vanished from her face. “Look at my baby! Look at my baby! Oh, look at my beautiful beautiful baby!” She exclaimed over and over and over again. As I looked into her soft blue eyes, tears streamed like torrents down our smiling faces. Gently, I held the arm of this beautiful mother as we gazed in awe upon this tiny creation we had just brought into the world – our first son, Jeremiah, a miraculous mixture of us.
The powerful images of that day are burned indelibly into my memory and consciousness. They are so vivid that even now, after all of these years, the emotions of that rainy morning in October return to me in full force as I think and write about them.
And the tears are flowing again right now as I write this on July 23, 2011!
Landon and Amber, as you nurture your new son, Ripken James, may God bless you and grant to you the same sense of joy and fulfillment that your mother and I have been privileged to experience in raising and being a part of each/all of our sons from that moment of conception until today.
Life is good. And each of our sons, daughters-in-law and now grandchildren make life the most amazing miracle and joy ever! We are blessed and we are thankful for these many blessings. You complete us.
Love, Mom and Dad