"Naturalistic evolution is consistent with the existence of 'God' only if
by that term we mean no more than a first cause which retires from further
activity after establishing the laws of nature and setting the natural
mechanism in motion."
This claim logically applies not only to evolution but to everything
that naturalism applies to, including electricity, ecology, gravity,
weather, optics, and very nearly everything else. Johnson effectively
sets up a false dichotomy of rejecting all of nature or all of God.
The claim has been rejected by serious Christians (and devout members
of other religions) since evolution was first proposed. They believe
that God and nature are not incompatible, that God can work in ways
consistent with evolution. For example, some people believe that God
provides strength and inspiration on a personal level.
Johnson's view of God effectively rejects God. He says that
supernaturalism is an essential aspect of God: Since nothing
supernatural is happening around me, God is not part of my life. If I
were to adopt Johnson's view of God, I would call myself an atheist.
A god that is active supernaturally brings the problem of evil to the
forefront. It means that God created suffering and could eliminate it
if he wanted to. Through his inaction, God becomes responsible for
evil.
Further Reading:
Pennock, Robert T. 1996. Naturalism, evidence, and creationism: The case
of Phillip Johnson. In: Intelligent Design Creationism and Its
Critics, ed. R. T. Pennock, MIT Press, 2002. Orig. pub. in Biology
and
Philosphy 11(4): 543-549.
Ruse, Michael. 2001. Can a Darwinian be a Christian? Cambridge
University Press.
