On Atheism and Intelligent Design.

This week I watched two view worthy documentaries on atheism and intelligent design.  (I also watched a documentary called The God Who Isn’t There but it well lacked the scholarly weight of the two I am recommending).

The first, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed was written from intelligent design perspective of the always witty Ben Stein.

The second, Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus, was hosted by the likeable and friendly atheist Randy Olson (I mean that).

Both documentaries are available on netflix. They pair to make a nice viewing from two opposite perspectives. Both hosts are guys with whom you would generally love “to hang.” Watching these reminds me of the degree of faith that both sides must use in defense of their case. It also spurred me to further reading as I go back and revisit the subject of philosophical atheism. I am reading at the far ends of the spectrum. Click the book cover to view in Amazon. Save paper and shelf-space with a Kindle.

One book by a former evangelical pastor who turned atheist.

Another by one of the foremost former defenders of atheism now turned theist.

_________

One book by a respected astronomer on intelligent design.

One re-reading of a book by a vehement evangelist of atheism.

________

And finally one by a renowned scholar who argues for the veracity of the Gospels based upon the fact that they are eyewitness accounts and not merely the gathering of distant oral traditions. This because so many atheists and Jesus Seminar types still lean on the legacy of form criticism to doubt the historical reliability of the Gospels as redacted to serve only the faith communities’ interest regardless of truth.

Of course I am doing a lot of Bible reading alongside these with a bit of lighter-fun reading so I don’t lose my mind or my soul in the process..ha!

I will review some of these here after I complete them or point to other solid reviews. I will also recommend a couple of more works that I have already read or plan to read soon on this topic in the next few days.