Favorite Arguments from Paley I: Day & Night

Busy busy busy! To buffer against the death of my blog, my next few posts will focus on various arguments from Paley that I am particularly fond of (aside from the few arguments I discussed in my previous post). The first argument I chose is not related to intelligent design as we normally think of it; instead, Paley’s awe towards the relation of living organisms to the cycles of day and night evokes a wider sense of design in the universe than the narrowly constructed “God must have designed the bacterial flagellum.” Paley sees design in the construction of the heavens itself. As Paley points out, this relation is quite wondrous!

William Paley’s Intelligent Contrivance

It is no secret that intelligent design is a reiteration of centuries millienia old ideas. All that is really new is that its proponents are less than sincere in what they are peddling and perhaps ignorant of the history of natural theology.

While natural theology has a long history, it seems (to this newbie in the field anyway) it was most well-articulated by the late 18th century Anglican theologian William Paley. Paley was not known for his original ideas, apparently, but for his ability to write well and convey ideas to the public. His last book, Natural Theology (1802), historically speaking, seems like a triumphant last gasp of the field.

Terry Mortenson’s Creationist Claims! (Updated)

Some local churches from my lovely small college town of Morris, MN held an Answers in Genesis conference this past weekend. By “conference,” I mean they had a single speaker, Terry Mortenson, give 7 lectures over the course of 2 days. The second day has yet to begin, but here is a running list of the claims he has made thus far.

Sunday Morning Links (08/01/10)

Another edition of Sunday Morning Links, obviously. I apologize for not posting anything since Sunday – I promise posts this week on the ampliconic region of the Y chromosome as well as an article about mutation bias. Stay tuned!