Consider the Lilies

This blog does not usually lend itself to photographs. But I wanted to share two of them with you. Jesus referred to the “lilies of the field,” which were wildflowers that lived in the brief rainy Mediterranean springtime, then died before the long dry summer. Their lives are so short, and yet they are invested with such exquisite beauty: “Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.” As even one of them. The world is not God’s efficient machine, but is the evolutionary playhouse in which organisms prosper, and produce flashes of beauty, during brief opportunities.

The first photograph is Linanthus montanus, a type of phlox that grows in the Sierra Nevada. It is only a few inches high, with tiny leaves and a spindly stem. They live on granite outcrops. They bloom in June; by July, their seeds have fallen and hardly a trace of them remains. Even at their prime they look like a pink mist over the granite rocks and gravel.

The second photograph is a flower of the genus Clarkia, a type of evening primrose that hides among the grasses of the southern Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range of California. They are even more spindly than the grasses that surround them, and after June hardly a trace of them remains. I apologize that Blogger insists on turning this photo on its side no matter what I do.

Confessions of an Oklahoma Evolutionist

I gave a presentation last Saturday afternoon in Tulsa. There were 35 people in attendance. It was every teacher’s dream. Not every lecturer’s dream: if your idea is that the audience will just passively absorb what you say, then this audience was not for you. But they were actively engaged in my presentation, and then asked questions for a half hour afterwards. While I think my presentation was good and had many valuable insights, the best part was clearly the audience discussion. In particular, I was not always the person to answer the question. I was ready for disagreement, but it turned out there was none. Convened by the Humanist Association of Tulsa, the audience seemed to consist mostly of Unitarians. But they were very knowledgeable people, including some who were retired scientists and science writers.

Briefly, my point was that evolutionists cannot ignore religion. Religion evolved and may be an instinct. Religion can be good or bad, and we should facilitate the good things and oppose the bad things. I focused on my own experiences, and those of my ancestors in Oklahoma. It was a very personal story, long on experiences and short on science, as appropriate for this audience. A PDF of the script from which I extemporized is at my website. The direct connection is here.

The audience brought up some interesting things to discuss. If I get a chance to post video clips from this session (which I will announce later), I hope to include some of the audience dynamics. One person wanted to know whether technology speeds up or slows down natural selection. Another wanted to know about the humanity and intelligence of the Neanderthals. Another wanted to discuss the origin of languages and the possible pivotal role of women in this process. While I had a lot to say from my extensive reading and writing on these topics, I was happy to defer to my wife, Lee Rice, who has studied and taught linguistics. She took a break from being a camera-person to leading a brief discussion. Thanks!

Julie Angle, on the education faculty at Oklahoma State University, was present, and whenever there was discussion of teaching evolution in Oklahoma, I was able to ask her to help. I said that if I have questions about science education, I would turn to her. I did not plan her presence; it was a lucky blessing. Thanks!

It is always a pleasure when a speaker, even one dressed up like Charles Darwin, can let the audience keep a good discussion going. I tend to be a control freak, but I have learned to deliberately let discussions take on a life and an evolutionary trajectory of their own.

Thanks to Larry Roth and the Humanist Association of Tulsa for sponsoring this event.

Darwin presentation in Tulsa on Saturday

Here is an announcement of my presentation in Tulsa on Saturday:

OESE president-elect Dr. Stanley Rice will give a presentation titled "Confessions of an Oklahoma Evolutionist: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" on Saturday, Feb. 16 in the Harmon Conference Room of the Genealogy Center at 2901 S. Harvard Ave. in Tulsa at 2:00 PM. For details, visit the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association online here.

But that the World Might Be Saved

According to John 3:17, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.

Well, if this is what God intended by “sending” Jesus, then it has been an utter failure. At least, according to conservative religious people. This is because the overwhelming majority of humans who have ever lived have not adhered to the strict set of religious beliefs that conservatives think are necessary for admission into heaven. And (see previous entry) it appears that a belief in the sanctity of gun ownership is one of those essential beliefs. According to conservative beliefs, liberal Christians (and apparently non-Republican Christians) will not be welcome in Heaven.

Therefore, for all eternity, there will be a relatively small number of people in Heaven (a few hundred million, perhaps) and uncounted billions in Hell. This would give God, who intended to save the world, a 99% failure rate.