A fairly incredible admission indeed, especially when viewed in light of the usual, dismissive triumphalism presented publicly by the anti-ID movement. Ruse makes clear what most people have known all along: that the Darwinian movement is driven more by ideology and anti-religionism than by science.
William Dembski (who reprints the correspondence with Ruse's permission) notes the highlight of the exchange, with Ruse writing here to Dennett:
I think that you and Richard [Dawkins] are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design -- we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms -- what we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the issues -- neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to engage with the ideas -- it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard claims -- more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will.For his part, Dennett, in responding to some of Ruse's criticisms, gives quite a bit of inadvertent insight into how the Darwinian movement works--threats, power politics, and all:
I'm afraid you are being enlisted on the side of the forces of darkness. You may want to try to extricate yourself, since you are certainly losing ground fast in the evolutionary community that I am in touch with.It's interesting that the supposed science of Darwinism is so quick to excommunicate dissenting members. Is that how they encourage the pursuit of raw truth wherever it might lead?
(Hat tip: The Pearcey Report)
Related Tags: Michael Ruse, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Intelligent Design, Darwinism, evolution, Darwinian evolution, William Dembski
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