The value and authority of human reason was a point of significant tension between Protestants and Catholics during the sixteenth century, and Protestants were particularly skeptical of its power to illuminate spiritual truths. As Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558) shows, however, Protestants did not dismiss the value of reason altogether. Instead, it was viewed as useful and…

Yes, it is tenable to be a young earth creationist in the face of scientific evidence against it. I believe there are three lines of overlapping evidence to support the validity of young earth creationism in the face of evidence against it: 1) it is based on inerrant scriptural truth, 2) it has survived centuries…

The multi-year Creation Project at the Henry Center is part of a broader conversation that has been underway for a long time. The relationship between science and theology has been at the heart of a dialogue unfolding for centuries—or millennia, if you count the early rumblings in patristic and medieval Christendom. Ian Barbour reignited the…

In considering Pauline anthropology, one passage that brought out a range of interpretations was 1 Corinthians 11:7-10, as sixteenth-century exegetes sought to understand Paul’s statement that man is the image and glory of God, but woman the glory of man. Some argue that men and women share the image equally, others that women do not…

Thanks once again, Hans, for inviting us to this forum. I am also personally indebted that you allowed me to delay my response for family reasons. In my response, I would like to address the question that underpins your Redirect: Is it possible to have unbiased science on a topic that is pertinent to religion,…

Like Paul Nelson did earlier in the series, I will briefly restate and number the main questions and address them in chronological order as they appear in Hans Madueme’s redirect. Why Me? Question 1: Am I the exception that proves the rule? Why did I, as a former atheist and a naturalist, become convinced of…

  “The future is known. It is the past that keeps changing.” Thank you, Hans, for your thoughtful Redirect. I think these questions further the conversation. If I interpret them correctly, your basic concerns are as follows: 1) Is the neo-Darwinian model (NDM) really being challenged, or simply supplemented? 2) Do these new developments in…

My main point in my original essay was not that science has not been contaminated by taste, prejudices, and motivations. Of course it has been. My main point was that when judging a scientific theory, when debating its alternatives, when deciding which scientific interpretation is better, when demolishing bad theories, motivation is not a scientific…

In his exegesis of Romans 7:17, Italian reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) argues that with regard to sin, Aristotelian anthropology conflicts with the understanding of humanity found in Paul’s writings. Whereas Aristotle taught that the most important parts of the human mind innately tend to the good, Vermigli finds that Paul teaches that sin affects…

The nature of the created will was a constant point of conflict during the sixteenth century, both between the reformers and their Catholic opponents. Martin Luther’s (1483-1546) conflict with Erasmus over the bondage of the will was one of the defining debates of the early Reformation. As can be seen in his exegesis of Galatians,…

Let me focus on your main questions, which I have numbered for ease of reference: Is it true that motives are completely irrelevant? Why do scientists so strongly disagree on the central claims of the ID movement? How do you define the scientific theory of ID? We’ll start with (1), then turn to (2) and…

In working through the Pauline corpus, the reformers constantly wrestled with Paul’s emphasis on the nature of the fallen body, its need for redemption, and the implications of this for those living between Christ’s first and second comings. Catholic pastor Johann Wild (1495-1554) finds much to discuss as Paul speaks of offering the body as…