Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith
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Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith (ISBN 9781586172121) is a Christian theistic evolution book, written in 2007 by one Christoph Schönborn — an Austrian cardinal of the Catholic Church.
The main claim of the book is that science is "incomplete" without woo spirituality, and that specifically the Christian God (out of all potential deities) is somehow guiding all natural processes.[1][2]
Overview[edit]
In his book, Schönborn accepts evidence for evolution and common descent and claims that these scientific theories are compatible with Catholic belief. So far, so good.
Beyond that the troubles begin, however. Schönborn denies the "neo-Darwinian" interpretation of evolution, seeing evolution not as a random process, but as a directed one.[notes 1]
While Schönborn claims that his views do not conflict with the theory of evolution, his arguments essentially parallel those of your standard IDiot — most notably in his attempts to replace natural processes (read: scientific theories that actually have explanatory power) with "God".[3][4]
Reception[edit]
Schönborn is not only not a scientist, but indeed a faithful theologian.
As such, the book has been described not as a scientific, but a religious book — marketed towards Catholics who want to buy the conclusion that their Christianity still makes sense, whilst also (most wisely) accepting evolution.[5]
See also[edit]
- Random Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with the Creator
- Can You Believe in God and Evolution?: A Guide for the Perplexed
- Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution
Notes[edit]
- ↑ As if the theory of evolution is based on the idea that "it's all random, maan."