Free Science e-Newsletter, September 2006
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What's Inside
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From The Editor
When it comes to discussing origins, one of the hottest issues in science for decades, there's been some confusion, especially in public circles, over what Intelligent Design (ID) is. Most people, especially politicians and political cartoonists, assume that ID is Biblical Creationism repackaged for the sciences taught and learned in academia. Intelligent Design, at least the modern ID movement, is quite a different animal from Biblical Creationism, as Pam Sheppard and Dr. Georgia Purdom detail in our main article this month.
Dr. Purdom, who has a DVD on the ID movement, recently told me, "[ID] has some major problems for Christians and unfortunately many Christians are very eager to accept ID without considering the consequences." While many of the arguments produced by ID thinkers have been helpful for dismantling Darwinism, their inability to define the creator, or his/their intentions in the design, limits ID thinkers' ability to articulate a complete response. Their premise is based on a negative response to a Darwinist assumption that nature is all there is. ID claims there is more at work than natural forces. As such, ID leaves the door open to all religious creation accounts, including Hinduism and New Age beliefs. It also allows evolutionary processes as a means of producing life.
On the other hand, perhaps the biggest benefit to ID for the Biblical Creationist is that it has exposed Darwinism's religious tenets. It has dared to poke around the foundations of Darwinism and found it soft and crumbling: the impossible odds of chaos producing life, the irreducible complexity of some organisms, etc.
In other words, ID is a wrecking ball for Darwinism, not a construction crew for Biblical Creationism. When addressing origins, homeschooling parents need to bring up all points of view, including ID, but they need to be aware of the risks and weaknesses.
Steve Walden
Senior Editor, Free Science e-Newsletter
 | Steve Walden lives in Colorado and, together with his wife, homeschools their three children, ages 10, 7, and 3. He is a freelance writer and editor with articles appearing in The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, Focus On Your Child: Discovery Years and Familymanweb.com.
When he's not blogging at Dad's Corner on www.HomeschoolBlogger.com, he's searching for new opportunities to write about homeschooling, parenting, and connecting with God. His dream is to operate a retreat center in Colorado that promotes the concept of rediscovering God as our first love and the source of our strength. |
Intelligent Design: Is It Intelligent? Is It Christian?
By Pam S. Sheppard, staff writer, AiG-USA
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When it comes to intelligent design (ID), one thing is for certain--the mere mention of it stirs up much controversy. Whether it was President Bush telling reporters last fall that students should be taught ID alongside evolution or Judge Jones III ruling against the teaching of it in the landmark Dover (Pennsylvania) case, ID has become a major player in the creation/evolution battle.
Without question, ID has gained an increasing amount of recognition and publicity over the last several years at local and national levels. But just where does ID fit in the battle? It really depends upon whom you ask.
"I think people don't really know where to place the ID movement (IDM) as far as worldviews go," says Dr. Georgia Purdom, adjunct AiG-USA lecturer, researcher and author of chapter 9 of War of the Worldviews.
"Those within the ID movement try to maintain a middle ground so as to not bring wrath from either creationists or evolutionists. They have a 'big tent' approach where everyone lives happily in the middle. However, the ID movement is experiencing criticism from both camps for either going too far or not far enough in their explanations of who the designer is and what he has done," she adds.
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In order to understand the controversy behind ID, a person must first understand what is behind the ID movement. Is it religious ... is it science ... and is it intelligent?
In this chapter, Purdom answers these questions about ID, which holds that "certain features" of living things were designed by an "intelligent cause" as opposed to being formed through purely natural means.
ID affirms that living things are designed (it doesn't claim that everything is designed) and show irreducible complexity. As Purdom explains, determining whether or not a feature of a living organism displays design can be made by using what is called an "explanatory filter" which includes the following levels of explanation:
• Necessity -- did it have to happen?
• Chance -- did it happen by accident?
• Design -- did an intelligent agent cause it to happen?
While some of the ideas from this movement help support a creationist worldview, they fall short, says Purdom. For one, ID does not attempt to explain all designs. Only certain features are designed and evolutionary processes are not ruled out.
The ID movement does not oppose an old age for the earth and even allows evolution to play a vital role once the designer formed the basics of life. By allowing for evolution, it also allows ID supporters to distance themselves from the problem of evil in the natural world.
Without the framework of the Bible and the understanding that evil entered the world through man's actions (Genesis 3), God appears sloppy and incompetent. Because the ID movement does not acknowledge God as Redeemer, there seems to be no final solution for the evil in this world.
Although much of the media might say otherwise, the ID movement is very careful not to associate itself with Christianity or any formal religion. By doing so, some think it will stand a better chance of gaining acceptance as an alternative to Darwinism in the schools because it does not violate the so-called "separation of church and state," Purdom points out.
In fact, many are attracted to the ID movement because they can decide for themselves who the creator is--a Great Spirit, Brahman, Allah, God, etc. The current movement does not have unity on the naming of the creator and focuses more on what is designed.
This divorce of the Creator from creation is the central problem of the theory. As Purdom points out in the book, the Creator and His creation cannot be separated; they reflect on each other. All other problems within the movement stem from this one.
In summary, ID has many good tenets, such as the idea of irreducible complexity, but it purposely separates the Creator from creation. God has a dual role of both Creator and Redeemer. An understanding of both these roles can only be accomplished using both general revelation (nature) and special revelation (the Bible).
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More about Intelligent Design, Biblical Creationists, and Darwinism
Please note that these links are provided for informational purposes only. The Old Schoolhouse®, LLC, is not responsible for content maintained on other sites.
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