Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
...Collins doesn't believe in god-guided evolution though, more god-initiated.
So like gravity god created gravity but doesn't intervene in the motions of the planets constantly rather just lets gravity do its thing, same with evolution, god established evolution but doesn't tweak and guide things, just lets it take it's course. That's how I understand Collins' view anyway (I have his book, but haven't fully read it yet, I lent it out), I could have it wrong.
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I have not engaged with Collins' ideas, so I can't really offer an opinion on them one way or the other, but it seems to me from your summary of them here that he is akin to a deist.
At present, I am attracted to deism as it seems to be the most reasonable position for those of us who believe in God, but are also committed to naturalism. However, more recently, I find myself less enthused about deism a few months ago, as it still presumes that God is a transcendent outside agent. I am much more interested at present in working my way through a philosophical system that sees God as an active agent within my reality: a much less transcendent God, and a much more naturalistic one. Of course, such a concept of God must utterly do away with such cardinal Christian theoological ideas as omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, infinity, etc. This is okay as far as I am concerned; I find it much more stimulating to interact with a God who is not so alien.
As for the numbers in the first post, they provide for some optimism if the numbers of "true believers" is actually gradually in decline.