Conference alerts: Why rake leaves when you could be a conference-ista!

October 28, 2006, the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture at the University of Portland will host a panel titled "Evolution, Intelligent Design and God: The Conversation Continues."

The panel discussion is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 in Buckley Center Auditorium on the University of Portland Campus, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Panel members will be John Haught, Peter Dodson, and Michael Behe, all who participated last year in a popular and spirited series titled “Evolution, Intelligent Design, and God: A Conversation.” The series, also hosted by the Garaventa Center, was held on successive weekends and drew overflowing crowds, prompting University officials to move the second presentation into the Chiles Center.

November 2-5, 2006, in Nashville,"Nature, Science and Wisdom: The Role of the Philosophy of Nature" will feature a variety of perspectives, including Michael Behe, Edward Oakes, S.J., Mark Ryland, and Bryan Cross. About 10 of the 50 presentations will address the debate over evolutionary theory. One panel will discuss Prof. Larry Azar's book, Evolution and Other Fairy Tales, recommended by Prof. Dennis Bonnette, author of Origin of the Human Species, which contains a new forward by Michael Behe.)

January 3-9, 2007, a conference on the Evolution of Religion in Hawaii offers another kick at the idea that religion can be explained via Darwinism, materialism, or whatever:

Talks will review specific new advances in the naturalistic study of religion. Participants include internationally recognized researchers and scholars from a broad spectrum of disciplines, including cognitive and evolutionary psychology, anthropology, population genetics, and experimental economics. These talks will center on the results of specific research programs and will engage new understandings of religion and religious culture emerging from a range of empirical and theoretical approaches.

Ann Coulter would probably call these latter people Godless. But maybe the surf is good.

If you like this blog, check out my book on the intelligent design controversy, By Design or by Chance?. You can read excerpts as well.

Are you looking for one of the following stories?

My U of Toronto talk on why there is an intelligent design controversy.

A summary of tech guru George Gilder's arguments for ID and against Darwinism

A critical look at why March of the Penguins was thought to be an ID film.

A summary of recent opinion columns on the ID controversy

A summary of recent polls of US public opinion on the ID controversy

A summary of the Catholic Church's entry into the controversy, essentially on the side of ID.

O'Leary's intro to non-Darwinian agnostic philosopher David Stove’s critique of Darwinism.

An ID Timeline: The ID folk seem always to win when they lose.

O’Leary’s comments on Francis Beckwith, a Dembski associate, being granted tenure at Baylor after a long struggle - even after helping in a small way to destroy the Baylor Bears' ancient glory - in the opinion of a hyper sportswriter.

Why origin of life is such a difficult problem.

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