Interesting article:
Scientist at Work | Francisco J. Ayala
Roving Defender of Evolution, and of Room for God
By CORNELIA DEAN
Published: April 29, 2008
For a university professor, Francisco J. Ayala spends a lot of time on the road.
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Chas Metivier
SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY Francisco J. Ayala says that belief in evolution does not necessarily rule out belief in God.
"Let us permit science to enrich our understanding and appreciation of creation. But also let science permit us to still gaze up at the stars and feel the presence of God."
An evolutionary biologist and geneticist at the University of California, Irvine, he speaks often at universities, in churches, for social groups and elsewhere, usually in defense of the theory of evolution and against the arguments of creationism and its ideological cousin, intelligent design.
Usually he preaches to the converted. But not always.
As challenges to the teaching of evolution continue to emerge, legislators debate measures equating the teaching of creationism with academic freedom and a new movie links Darwin to evils ranging from the suppression of free speech to the Holocaust, ?I get a lot of people who don?t know what to think,? Dr. Ayala said. ?Or they believe in intelligent design but they want to hear.?
Dr. Ayala, a former Dominican priest, said he told his audiences not just that evolution is a well-corroborated scientific theory, but also that belief in evolution does not rule out belief in God. In fact, he said, evolution ?is more consistent with belief in a personal god than intelligent design. If God has designed organisms, he has a lot to account for.?
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/science/29prof.html?em&ex=1209700800&en=b8553f4d585213b4&ei=5087%0A