Dawkins, giraffes, and knowing God
Paul Garner just put up a new post on the laryngeal nerve of the giraffe. Dawkins has been using this example as evidence of evolution, but Paul says it could be explained by intrabaraminic diversification. You should read it; it's a good write-up. It should be noted that the laryngeal nerve takes an odd route in all mammals, but as Paul says, "the emphasis upon the giraffe means that that point tends to get rather lost."
A few of the numerous comments on that post are sort of interesting. (I'm so glad I don't deal with comments here!) A few points to note:
Do I think it's plausible that horses would travel around the world in 90 years? No, of course not. We're not talking about just migration, we're talking about dispersal. Is it plausible for a very small species of horse to disperse transcontinentally in less than a century? I don't see why not.
Saying that "I asked Todd Wood about these intermediate forms a while ago ... and he admitted that he could not account for them within a baraminological framework" is like saying that Darwin couldn't account for the eye. That's a terrible oversimplification of what I actually wrote.
Is baraminology falsifiable? Of course it is. Q.E.D.
On a happier note, here's a reassuring passage from my morning reading:
A few of the numerous comments on that post are sort of interesting. (I'm so glad I don't deal with comments here!) A few points to note:
Do I think it's plausible that horses would travel around the world in 90 years? No, of course not. We're not talking about just migration, we're talking about dispersal. Is it plausible for a very small species of horse to disperse transcontinentally in less than a century? I don't see why not.
Saying that "I asked Todd Wood about these intermediate forms a while ago ... and he admitted that he could not account for them within a baraminological framework" is like saying that Darwin couldn't account for the eye. That's a terrible oversimplification of what I actually wrote.
Is baraminology falsifiable? Of course it is. Q.E.D.
On a happier note, here's a reassuring passage from my morning reading:
My son, if you receive my wordsSee? Knowledge of God is exactly what I've been looking for.
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
(Prov. 2:1-5, ESV)