Name: Phillip Johnson
Why you should know him: Johnson is one of the leading members of the Intelligent Design movement
Position: Emeritus Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley
Previous: Clerk for California Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Traynor; clerk of Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren; visiting professor at Emory University; visiting professor at University College, London
Education:
AB, Harvard University,
JD, University of Chicago Law School,
Areas of expertise/interest: Criminal Law, Naturalism, Intelligent Design
Blog: http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/philjohnson/
Books: Darwin on Trial (1993); Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law, and Education (1995); Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds (1997);
Objections Sustained: Subversive Essays on Evolution, Law & Culture (2000); The Wedge of Truth (2002); The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate (2002)
Assessment: Johnson is often referred to by both friends and foes as the Intelligent Design (ID) movement’s chief architect and guiding light. In 1992, he brought his legal expertise on evidence and reasoning to critique Darwinism in his book, Darwin on Trial. With the publication of the broadside against methodological naturalism, Johnson established himself as the primary advocate of the burgeoning are of ID. The next year he organized a private meeting of potential leaders in the ID movement at Pajaro Dunes,
south of San Francisco and established a listserv that he ran from the Berkeley server, establishing a loosely formed support network. Over the subsequent decade, Johnson further established himself as both a leader of the ID and the chief critic of naturalism.
Related:
- "Doubting Rationalist" from the Washington Post (via Dr. John Mark Reynolds)
- Stephen E. Jones' complete web links index of Johnson articles and information
- Internet Infidels critique of Johnson
(This is #33 in the Know Your Evangelicals series.)
2
Berkeley University? Wow...I am surprised to see him working there. Then again, where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. :)
posted on 05.20.2005 2:54 PM3
Nook:
I'm quite sure that Johnson was not a Christian when he started at Berkeley. I would also find it hard to believe that Christians would get hired at Berkeley.
posted on 05.20.2005 7:52 PM4
Do you have some background on Johnson's rebirth? And isn't the modifier "evengelical" a little premature? Just wondering?
posted on 05.21.2005 12:52 AM5
As a Christian attorney, Phil Johnson is an inspiration of mine. I read Darwin on Trial, and saw him lecture.
By the way, he was hired at Berkeley before his conversion; it's a fact.
Great choice, Joe.
RICHARD
posted on 05.21.2005 1:23 AM6
That's right, jd, if you're a Methodist or an Episcopalian, Berkeley won't hire you. It's in the by-laws.
posted on 05.21.2005 11:39 AM7
I've found Johnson to be the type of author who is both able to stretch your mind and keep you entertained. I'd recommend his books to any interested party (though admittedly I've read only two). I agree... good choice, Joe.
OT: apparently the Berkeley connection has the diverted prescription drug peddlers circling overhead... :-)
8
Not a scientist. Mistakenly believes that science = atheism. Skilful lawyer - doing his best in a losing cause (successful political machinations are not wins).
posted on 05.22.2005 4:40 AM9
tristero:
No. It's probably only Methodists and Episcopalians that are allowed in the bylaws
posted on 05.22.2005 2:56 PM10
I have no doubt that Philip Johnson is a true Christian, but an evangelical? Not according to anything I've read.
posted on 05.22.2005 11:19 PM11
Yes, he's an evangelical. Presbyterian, by his own description. I can't remember which book mentions that he is currently a Presbyterian (I have four, and don't want to dig that hard), but "The Wedge of Truth" is dedicated to the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, CA.
Ah, here's something. He's an elder in the PCUSA. A generally liberal denomination, to be sure, but certainly known to have individual conservative churches and/or pastors, particularly in the west (Mark D. Roberts, for example). Anyway, here's an article about his Christianity:
http://www.touchstonemag.com/docs/issues/15.5docs/15-5pg40.html
posted on 05.23.2005 2:28 AM12
Do you have some background on Johnson's rebirth? And isn't the modifier "evengelical" a little premature? Just wondering?
First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley is what is known as a confessing church, so the church could properly be labelled as Evangelical. Johnson's conversion started in 1977 when he took his daughter to a Presbyterian VBS the night his first wife announced they she was leaving him.
But what about the other leaders in ID?
1. Behe, Roman Catholic
2. Dembski, Antiochan Orthodox
3. Berlinski, Jewish
4. Wells, Moonie
I find it somewhat strange that we will go to the mat for a movement that is not that altogether Evangelical. On the other side are Evangelical scientists such as Keith Miller (just Google the Kansas controversy or see my blog) and Francis Collins the head of the Human Genome project.
The one thing about Johnson I find most frustrating is the co-opting of the phrase intelligent design, implying that by denying ID's proofs means denying a Creator or an Intelligent Designer. Johnson's wedge not only seperates Evangelicals from atheistic materialists but also separates other Evangelicals who would otherwise support the underlying thesis of an intelligent design. Even though Johnson is a lawyer rather than a scientist he should recognize from his training the fallacy of the excluded middle.
posted on 05.23.2005 5:51 PM