Evolution, design, and faith

Recognition of an Intelligent Designer is a key idea in our Faith, but the phrase is problematic in public discourse because of creationism. We address Design and some of its implications, seeing creationist assertions as both bad science and bad theology, not supported in 'Abdu'l-Bahá’s statements about evolution. We then address the utility of belief in a personal God and the impact this has on our overall framework of understanding, arguing that this will, in future, prove to be a critical background assumption in the social sciences, and ultimately in the natural sciences as a whole.

  • Science And Religion

  • Robert Sarracino

    Robert Sarracino has a PhD in physics from the University of Victoria, BC, in the field of General Relativity. He has had a life-long interest in the harmony of science and religion and has been a faculty member for the Wilmette Institute course on Science, Religion and the Bahá’í Faith since 2008. He became a Bahá’í in 1968 while an undergraduate student in Corvallis, Oregon and lived in Botswana from 1970-1974 and Lesotho and South Africa from 1984-2005 in service to the Bahá’í Faith.

  • Roger Neyman

    Since retirement from software engineering in 2012 Roger has turned his energies to service and to scholarly work relating to a life-long and passionate concern with harmony between science and religion. This includes writing on the topic as well as serving as part of the faculty team for the Wilmette Institute course "Science, Religion and the Bahá’í Faith." His main channels of service are via the Wilmette Institute, community anti-racism work, and support of regional junior youth activities.

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45th Annual Conference

In the Footsteps of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá: Contributing to the Discourses of Our Time

3,000

The views expressed in this recording are those of the presenters and do not necessarily represent the views of the Association for Bahá’í Studies, nor the authoritative explications of Bahá’í writings.