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Listen: Bohlin, Hunter on a Parachute Operation into Discussion with Theistic Evolutionists

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The Christian theistic evolutionary site BioLogos has a somewhat confusing feature, its Open Forum, covering a range of topics. Some headings sound random (“Joe claims ID is not anti-evolution“) while others seem to promise a crisp discussion of a major subject, but then meander off into hundreds of comments, some relevant, some not, some serious, some just snarky or condescending put-downs.

I find it difficult to follow some of these threads, but I know that other readers do so and are troubled by what they read. That being the case, much credit goes to our biologist colleague Cornelius Hunter who often parachutes into the discussions to correct misinterpretations of the evidence on evolution.

He did so recently under the heading, “What Is Universal Common Descent?” and is debriefed on the experience by fellow Discovery Institute biologist Ray Bohlin in a new episode of ID the Future.

Download the episode by clicking here:

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The discussion began with one reader quoting another reader who took aim at an earlier statement by Dr. Hunter (“There is a vast amount of evidence against common descent”). By the time we reach comment #166 the focus has shifted and Dr. Hunter is taking issue with a claim by BioLogos biologist Dennis Venema concerning research “where a new protein binding site was evolved while scientists watched it happen,” namely “The novel binding between lambda phage protein J and OmpF, which required 4 amino acid substitutions within protein J.”

And they’re off. What’s it all about it? What’s at stake? Has Venema disproved Michael Behe? Does the immune system prove evolution? The BioLogos folks win kudos for engaging in the debate. Frankly, though, I find it easier to follow this one from our ID the Future podcast. Give it a listen.

Photo credit: kenalston, via Pixabay.

I’m on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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