What Do New Atheists Actually Believe?

A while ago Larry Moran at Sandwalk asked: Let’s stop the whining about how “know-nothing” atheists are ignoring the very best arguments for the existence of God. Come on, all you theists and accommodationists, put your money where your mouth is. Give us something of substance instead of hiding behind The Courtier’s Reply. Let’s see the angels…I’m betting that [theists] haven’t the foggiest notion of any new and sophisticated arguments for the existence of God that the New Atheists haven’t already addressed. I’m betting they’re just blowing smoke in order to provide cover for their theist friends in the hope of saving them from intellectual embarrassment. Moran got 551 comments. Not one argument for theism satisfied him:

Meyer and Axe vs. Falk and Isaac at Vibrant Dance of Faith and Science

UPDATE 10/22/10: Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon we were informed by a conference organizer that the session featuring an exchange of views between Discovery Institute and BioLogos scientists was being canceled. The good news is that attendees will still be able to hear the same speakers at other sessions, and the rest of the conference is going forward. We hope that another forum for a public exchange of views can be found in the future. The conversation about God and Darwin is heating up. After several months of back-and-forth, the theistic evolutionists at BioLogos (notably attacking Stephen Meyer’s Signature in the Cell, in some cases without reading it) will meet and finally face intelligent design proponents, who are coming fresh off their Read More ›

Yet More “Junk DNA” Not-so-Junk After All

Proponents of intelligent design (ID) have long predicted that many of the features of living systems which are said to exhibit “sub-optimal” design will, in time, turn out to have a rationally engineered purpose. This is one of several areas where ID actively encourages a fruitful research agenda, in a manner in which neo-Darwinian evolution does not. One such area, and a field for which I have long held an inquisitive fascination for, is the subject of so-called “junk DNA,” and the non-coding stetches of RNA which are transcribed from them. Skepticism of the “junk DNA” paradigm is not a phenomenon which is limited to proponents of ID. This popular view of the genome — while still resonating as the Read More ›