Still More Hard--but Right--Questions

At this point, the honest theist will acknowledge the problem of suffering, otherwise known as the problem of pain or in its ultimate form the problem of evil. Materialistic naturalism, in its specific form of Darwinism, allows an escape from this problem in that we would not expect a faceless, nameless, purposeless, disinterested process to account for suffering. Suffering, within Darwinism, just is. Theists cannot dismiss this lightly. There is a lot that has been written on the subject, much that is valuable. Making an honest attempt to grapple with these difficulties may go a long way in persuading someone of naturalistic beliefs that one is a serious thinker and not someone to disregard.

Then again, they may simply consign you to the ranks of the ignorant unwashed for having the temerity to question Darwinism in the first place.

An ancillary problem to which I've already dedicated some space here is the "problem" of faith. The false dichotomy between faith and reason that has marred so much of the thinking on this subject over the past two hundred years simply must be destroyed and swept out of the way of constructive discussion. We must press the issue of worldview, foundational assumptions, and axioms. Even the committed materialistic naturalist has to admit, when pressed, that he has no proof for his basic assumptions and that, indeed, he takes some things "on faith."