Thank you for the invitation.
The question is this. Some Christians scientists affirm evolution but think God intervened, with varying levels of certainty, to guide evolution or created the first cells. These Christians are largely silent about their affirmation of God’s action. Why?
@eddie hypothesizes fear and cowardice of looking unscientific to their scientific peers. This might be true sometimes, perhaps most commonly among non-scientists though.
@Chris_Falter suggests that this better explained as “prudence,” in investing their authority carefully as representatives of science in the church, and because they think abiogenesis is not a central issue. This might sometimes be true too, though I wonder if scientists thoughtfully engaging their church with science are the exception, not the rule.
Briefly, I think that the reason is not precisely prudence or cowardice. I’m convinced their silence arises for many diverse personal reasons, and psychologizing this doesn’t lead to much understanding or much in the way of solutions. I think the overarching structural reason why scientists are (largely) silent about God’s action is different; there currently is no sensible framework to talk about God’s action in science. There are several frameworks out there, but they are not sensible. Scientists know this, and most will (either out of fear, cowardice, wisdom or prudence) keep their mouths shut till someone figures out and establishes a better framework, and models what it could look like to put it into practice.
So, if you are interested, I can explain what the current frameworks are and why they are not sensible. I can explain the framework I have been using, and how secular scientists and other Christian scientists have responded to it.
If we go down this path, I’m hoping that we can keep focused on understanding this first, before we go elsewhere. That means keeping responses short, and questions on task, until I get out the bulk of this. Perhaps it would be better if I started another thread? What do you think? Should I go on, or save it for later?