The Brown & White

It is puzzling that a man such as Professor of Biochemistry Michael Behe should be harangued for holding to "irreducible complexity" in light of the biological evidence. ("Professor shares his controversial views on evolution, Nov. 13, 2009)

Do the critics at Lehigh have any idea of the university's history?

In 1869, Bishop William Bacon Stevens delivered a speech in Packard Lab. The speech, "The Lehigh University: Its Origins and Aims," could only be delivered by him as he was the primary architect of Lehigh's academic structure. See an excerpt here at http://tinyurl.com/Lehighorigins.

Unfortunately, this document has been lost to history, though it has been recently republished and copies are available for free.

Stevens was no wild-eyed religious zealot, but a medical doctor, author and historian, as well as Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania.

He was also apparently a bit of a prophet. Listen to his words: "Though there can be no science without God, no laws of nature without him, no nature itself aside from Him, yet human science too blindly constructs its theories and schemes totally apart from God, leaves Him out altogether, as if the presence of God was the great disturbing factor in the region of their study."

Thank you for bringing to light Michael Behe's views. He is a courageous scientist and a credit to Lehigh's past, present and future. I commend him for finding this thread of truth and hope he continues to pursue it.

Too bad some of his peers find him an embarrassment. I find him an inspiration, and Lehigh's founders would too.