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Retorts

Never the Twain

I see Bernard Howard and Renton Maclachlan are still at cross purposes. They are so far apart philosophically that they are probably doomed to always be so.

Like many working scientists, Bernard is content to leave the why and wherefore of the universe to theologians and philosophers, and to get on with describing it, and finding out how it works and got to be like it is, starting from the basic assumption that there are rational answers to these questions.

This basic assumption has a necessary corollary that there are no exceptions, no special cases. Interestingly, this seems to be in contradiction to the dictum of "Treasure your exceptions".

As a committed Christian, Renton starts with the basic assumption that man is a special case, with a special covenant to the creator. True dialogue across this gulf is not possible. Darwin showed special divine intervention was not necessary for human evolution. For Renton this is basic.

Pat Palmer, Christchurch