SEMINAR PROFILE

H42 -
God's Universe in an Age of Controversy

Fundamentalists at both ends of the creationist-atheist spectrum noisily argue that evolution is tantamount to atheism. The universe is undoubtedly teeming with habitats suitable for intelligent life, but simple life will not inevitably lead to intelligent life. Does evolution give us any clues? The points of tension between Darwin's theory and Christianity in the 19th century included the antiquity of the earth and the implied struggle for life long before Adam's fall from grace, the abhorrence of having apes as ancestors (and the question of when the soul arrived), and the denial of our purpose in the process of natural selection. Are these issues the same today?

Scholar:

Owen Gingerich

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

12/10/2008

H42 -	God's Universe in an Age of Controversy

	Fundamentalists at both ends of the creationist-atheist spectrum noisily argue that evolution is tantamount to atheism. The universe is undoubtedly teeming with habitats suitable for intelligent life, but simple life will not inevitably lead to intelligent life. Does evolution give us any clues? The points of tension between Darwin's theory and Christianity in the 19th century included the antiquity of the earth and the implied struggle for life long before Adam's fall from grace, the abhorrence of having apes as ancestors (and the question of when the soul arrived), and the denial of our purpose in the process of natural selection. Are these issues the same today?

		Scholar:	Owen Gingerich
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	12/10/2008