Evangelical scholar expelled!


Michael Behe is a professor at Lehigh University. He’s also a crank, marginalized and mocked and belittled in academia, and regarded as an ignorant ideologue. But he’s still holding his position and he’s still allowed to express himself. That’s the principled position we hold in academia — he’s allowed to speak even stupidly, and we’re allowed to fire back.

That’s not the way creationists work, though. Bruce Waltke is apparently a respected Old Testament scholar who used to work at the Reformed Theological Seminary. Not any more, though. He made the mistake of speaking in a BioLogos-sponsored seminar, saying that you could be a Christian, you could even believe the Bible was inerrant, and you could also believe in evolution. He was promptly shown the door, but not because what he said was irrational and incoherent, but because evolution is a proscribed subject.

But while Milton insisted that this provides for “a diversity” of views, he acknowledged that others are not permitted. Darwinian views, and any suggestion that humans didn’t arrive on earth directly from being created by God (as opposed to having evolved from other forms of life) are not allowed, he said, and faculty members know this.

This is a tough one for me. The article is full of opinion from loons affiliated with BioLogos and the Templeton Foundation, organizations that I think are dangerous because they willfully poison science with superstition, so it hurts to agree with them at all, especially since they only endorse the compatibility of religion and science as a tool to smuggle lies into the search for truth…but they are right to condemn the closed-mindedness of these theologians.

Of course, I also have a tiny amount of sympathy for the theologians. Their beliefs are so ridiculous (and I include the beliefs of Waltke and the followers of BioLogos and Templeton) that any introduction of reason and evidence-based thinking risks inducing the meltdown of the elaborately rickety structure of their belief. The RTS should be reassured, though: BioLogos and Templeton both show that at least some people’s stupidity can perennially persist even in the face of facts that show they are wrong.

Comments

  1. James F says

    Prof. Waltke, as quoted in the article:

    “If the data is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult … some odd group that is not really interacting with the world. And rightly so, because we are not using our gifts and trusting God’s Providence that brought us to this point of our awareness….”

    If more evangelical theologians promoted this view, especially people as respected as Waltke, it would be a huge blow to creationism – I would argue a far more damaging one than any of us scientists could deal. More power to Prof. Waltke.

  2. Glen Davidson says

    What? I thought they wanted to teach more, and were only concerned that we were promoting dogma one-sidedly. That ID only needs to be allowed a voice, and would be content to simply compete in the free market of ideas (their censorship notwithstanding — huh, guess that should have tipped me off).

    More seriously, they can teach their dogma and hire only people stupid and/or intellectually dishonest to believe it. And Behe would never have gotten tenure if Lehigh knew he was going to be a major crackpot down the road.

    With those caveats down in electrons, who cares? The real point is that ID/creationism can only survive wherever it stamps out real science, and it has no chance in any free marketplace of ideas.

    One wonders if Waltke really understood how needful it is to stamp out and censor any opposing viewpoint in most religions. I am sorry for him, but there really is no honor among thieves, or most committed theists.

    Glen D
    http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p

  3. WCorvi says

    This is the poorly knitted sweater of a few weeks ago. If you pull one loose end, the whole thing unravels (in a FUNDIE’S words). That is why no strings can be pulled.

    But, it is clear from the bible that the earth does not rotate on its axis or revolve around the sun. Yet, even the Catholic Church has admitted now that it does (in the late 1990’s). So, doesn’t the rest unravel now? I think what is so offensive is not the loonie claims, but the refusal to investigate further, for fear of what we might find.

  4. jerthebarbarian says

    See the problem is that he wasn’t at a university, where diversity of opinion is if not always appreciated at least expected. You expect to have different viewpoints and you expect to be able to argue about them, in public, via publications or panels or whatever.

    But he was at a seminary which is not a university. A seminary is a trade school for pastors, not an institute of open learning and exploration. Dissent is neither expected nor tolerated when it comes to the theology of a seminary – you toe the line of the religion that sponsors the seminary or you expect to walk.

    I’m surprised that Waltke stuck his neck out like that. Part of me wonders if he was intentionally making a political statement, but I suspect that it might be more that he didn’t quite realize the implications of making a statement like that in a forum that was being posted to the Internet. Theologians jump through a lot of hoops to justify their beliefs to themselves, and the little snippet that set off this bluster didn’t really give him the chance for the nuance and justification and qualifications that theologians usually publicly give when they make a statement like that.

  5. Deen says

    I wonder how long before some accommodationist will claim that this is proof that accommodationism works. After all, they got someone like Waltke on board, right?

    But it’s even more clear that even with all the nice, welcoming, fluffy BioLogos-talk, some people will still reject evolution, and will still cast others out for their belief in evolution.

  6. Zifnab says

    The article is full of opinion from loons affiliated with BioLogos and the Templeton Foundation, organizations that I think are dangerous because they willfully poison science with superstition, so it hurts to agree with them at all, especially since they only endorse the compatibility of religion and science as a tool to smuggle lies into the search for truth…

    They’re very zealous God-of-the-Gaps worshipers, but at least they acknowledge evidence at hand. You don’t see guys from Templeton parading around a million year old fossil and crowing about how it proves Noah’s Ark, or setting up big plastic replicas of The Flintstones to illustrate how Genesis was literally true.

    You can have a serious conversation about engineering or astronomy or pharmacy with these guys. But you can’t do that with a lunatic band of luddites that refuse to acknowledge even discussing what evolution is (even in a discussion littered with Jesus-y buzz words).

    The Theologian ejected for acknowledging evolution was ejected for recognizing tangible, verifiable evidence. I can at least comprehend a religious scientist waving off the distant past or the unexplained middle steps of a process as “God” because he can’t wrap his brain around distant or minute events. I can’t comprehend a theologian living in a word with stem cells and cloned sheep and metric tons of fossil evidence and family planning available at the genetic level, refusing to even discuss the fundamental theory behind why you look like your parents.

  7. MetzO'Magic says

    Damn. Saw Behe’s name there in the very first sentence and jumped to the conclusion that it was him that got the shove. Should have realised that:

    Michael Behe != evangelical scholar

  8. Kevin says

    @MetzO’Magic:

    Yeah, me too. I was getting all giddy. Then I was disappointed.

    I wish Waltze luck, since he seems to have at least more than one brain cell working.

  9. dutchdoc says

    any suggestion that humans didn’t arrive on earth directly from being created by God … are [SIC] not allowed … and faculty members know this

    Errrr, weren’t the creationists fierce advocates of ‘equal time’?

    Oh right, I forgot: “equal” time for THEIR ‘myths’!

  10. dutchdoc says

    #11: Meant to add:

    Now it’s OUR turn to demand “TEACH THE CONTROVERSY” ..

    (Well.. not quite… of course)

  11. knutsondc says

    Perhaps Professor Waltke’s new friends at Bio-Logos and Templeton will find him a new job at a less deranged institution.

  12. Brownian, OM says

    From the article:

    On the BioLogos website, Falk posted a statement Thursday called “On the Courage of Bruce Waltke.” He closed the statement this way: “Decades from now, when the Evangelical Church has come to terms with the reality of evolution, we hope she will look back at those who were the pioneers on its journey toward a fuller understanding of the manner by which God has created. I could list other pioneers, a number of whom are good friends and colleagues.[Emphasis mine]

    He’s gonna name names! No more jobs for them, and no more delivery from Hop Sing’s!

  13. --PatF says

    Good.

    Let the seminaries fire their version of accomodationists and let the whole world see them for what they are – power hungry, narrow-minded bible thumpers intolerant of a smidgen of difference.

    No matter how much the seminary gussies up its excuses with words like

    Milton said that Waltke would “undoubtedly” be considered one of the world’s great Christian scholars of the Old Testament and that he was “much beloved here,” with his departure causing “heartache.” But he said that there was no choice.

    eventually people will see the reality of their wishing for an iron-fisted rule.

    What really got to me was the phrase:

    Nor do I have a freedom that would allow me to express my views in such a way to hurt or impugn someone who holds another view.

    Baloney. These bastards will come down hard on anyone disagreeing with the in-crowd power structure but would be happy impugn the veracity of any scientist who might happen to have a fact on his side.

    I have some sympathy for a man who worked hard for an organization that was willing to throw him out for a minor disagreement but I think he is better off without these jerks. We would all be better off without these jerks.

  14. raven says

    That’s not the way creationists work, though. Bruce Waltke is apparently a respected Old Testament scholar who used to work at the Reformed Theological Seminary. Not any more, though.

    Waltke got off easy. In times past he would have been burned at the stake as an apostate or heretic.

    What happened to Waltke is pretty common in fundie circles. They are always having purges, witch hunts, and wars among themselves. Tolerance is a bad word to them.

  15. raven says

    Old post on persecution of normal people by fundie religious kooks. The list is out of date, need to add Dawkins in Oklahoma.

    The fundies declared Chapter 51, Moral Bankruptcy decades ago.

    The real story is the persecution of scientists by Fundie Xian Death cultists, who have fired, harassed, beaten up, and killed evolutionary biologists and their supporters whenever they can.

    This is, of course, exactly the behavior of zealots who long ago forgot what the Christ in Christian stood for. These days, fundie is synonymous with liar, ignorant, stupid, and sometimes killer.

    http://www.sunclipse.org/?p=626 [link goes to Blake Stacey’s blog which has a must read essay with documentation of the cases below.]
    As usual the truth is the exact opposite. The creos have been firing, beating up, attempting to fire, and killing scientists and science supporters for a while now. They are way ahead on body counts.

    Posting the list of who is really being beaten up, threatened, fired, attempted to be fired, and killed. Not surprisingly, it is scientists and science supporters by Death Cultists.

    I’ve discovered that this list really bothers fundies. Truth to them is like a cross to a vampire.

    There is a serious reign of terror by Xian fundie terrorists directed against the reality based academic community, specifically acceptors of evolution. I’m keeping a running informal tally, listed below. They include death threats, firings, attempted firings, assaults, and general persecution directed against at least 12 people. The Expelled Liars have totally ignored the ugly truth of just who is persecuting who.

    If anyone has more info add it. Also feel free to borrow or steal the list.

    I thought I’d post all the firings of professors and state officials for teaching or accepting evolution.

    2 professors fired, Bitterman (SW CC Iowa) and Bolyanatz (Wheaton)

    1 persecuted unmercifully Richard Colling (Olivet)

    1 persecuted unmercifully for 4 years Van Till (Calvin)

    1 attempted firing Murphy (Fuller Theological by Phillip Johnson IDist)

    1 successful death threats, assaults harrasment Gwen Pearson (UT Permian)

    1 state official fired Chris Comer (Texas)

    1 assault, fired from dept. Chair Paul Mirecki (U. of Kansas)

    1 killed, Rudi Boa, Biomedical Student (Scotland)

    Death Threats Eric Pianka UT Austin and the Texas Academy of Science engineered by a hostile, bizarre IDist named Bill Dembski

    Death Threats Michael Korn, fugitive from justice, towards the UC Boulder biology department and miscellaneous evolutionary biologists.

    Death Threats Judge Jones Dover trial. He was under federal marshall protection for a while

    Up to 12 with little effort. Probably there are more. I turned up a new one with a simple internet search. Haven’t even gotten to the secondary science school teachers.

    And the Liars of Expelled have the nerve to scream persecution. On body counts the creos are way ahead.

  16. LeftAhead says

    As a former student of Bruce Waltke, I’m amazed to the point of shock that any institution pretending to credibility anywhere in the Christian academy could ever ask him to leave. Leave?? I barely ever had the courage to ask him a question! I’ve since dropped Christianity, but I’ll always respect Waltke’s formidable knowledge and information base. Asking Bruce Waltke to leave for doctrinal variance is like asking God to leave for doctrinal variance.

  17. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    So fundies feel “teach the controversy” only works in one direction.

  18. Phiwilli says

    I wholly endorse LeftAhead’s (#24)comments. I took 2-3 courses from Waltke at Dallas Theological in the late 50’s, long before I gave up on religion, but I vividly recall him as one of the most insightful, intellectually honest, knowledgeable-in-his-field, scholarly, and all-round good persons I have ever encountered. From the little I have found about his career in the ensuing years, it appears that those characteristics still apply.

    When the fundies kick out people like that (see #23) . . . words fail me.

  19. raven says

    Falk:

    when the Evangelical Church has come to terms with the reality of evolution, we hope she will look back at those who were the pioneers on its journey toward a fuller understanding of the manner by which God has created. I could list other pioneers, a number of whom are good friends and colleagues.[Emphasis mine]

    Umm no. Falk is being diplomatic here. They aren’t pioneers, they are martyrs.

    Cthulhu, it’s been 2,000 years. One would think the xians could think of something better to do.

    At least they haven’t been thrown to the lions. Yet. In these degenerate secular times, the Sierra club, Greenpeace, and the ASPCA would be all over them.

  20. raven says

    Well look at it on the bright side. Many of my close relatives were born into the Xian Reformed church.

    AFAIK, none of them are still there. IIRC, they all left that church as soon as they could

  21. DaveWTC says

    @#9 Yes, I almost wet myself when I saw Behe’s name. BUt I guess it’s not Xmas yet. I’m trying to decide if “evangelical scholar” isn’t a contradiction in terms?

  22. DaveWTC says

    @#9 Yes, I almost wet myself when I saw Behe’s name. But I guess it’s not Xmas yet. I’m trying to decide if “evangelical scholar” isn’t a contradiction in terms?

  23. DLC says

    I personally hope that Prof. Waltke is correct, and evangelical Christianity becomes nothing more than a marginalized cult.

  24. monado says

    Now why does that remind me of David Frum speaking truth to Republicans about their recent misguided tactics and getting booted out of a conservative think tank? I guess tolerance and listening is only OK when they’re the ones doing the listening.

  25. monado says

    Sorry, I’m having editing problems.

    I guess tolerance and listening is only OK when they’re the ones doing the talking and we’re the ones listening.