"Intelligent Design"

I intend for this post to be relatively short, as it is so late. However, I did want to start to chime in on this subject, as I it has huge implications for this country and our place in the world.

First let me say that I am both a trained, degreed chemist with a fair amount of work in the biological sciences (I originally was hoping to become an MD, but life took another path). As such, I am trained and currently practice the scientific method in my daily work life. I am also an ordained elder in the church of my chosen faith, have served on the main governing body of our congregation, and have studied the Bible with varying intensity over the years and pray regularly.

I am neither a top-flight, "Carl Sagan"-type of scientific intellectual, nor am I a Biblical scholar. However, I do have more than superficial knowledge in both areas and feel I can responsibly consider, and comment on, both points of view.

That said, Intelligent Design (or "ID") is one of the single biggest concerns I have about our educational system and, possibly eventually the fabric of who we are as a country, at present. Let me give just a couple of examples why:

• One of the fundamental claims of ID is "there are natural systems that cannot be adequately explained in terms of undirected natural forces and that exhibit features which in any other circumstance we would attribute to intelligence." In terms of my faith, I absolutely agree. There are things in the design and mystery of the universe that we will never understand, were never meant to understand (otherwise we, ourselves, would be very nearly god-like), and we have to simply take on faith while living out our lives.
• However, proponents of ID then throw out the concept of Darwinian evolution based on this claim. Without understanding and testing through scientific means, the "irreducible complexity" (a term to be discussed in later writings) of biological systems, IDers discount evolution. I happen to think that God is having some fun with us, and is testing our abilities to think critically. Evolution, in all its complexity, subtlety, and grace, is just the kind of thing that God would rejoice in creating and then watching us struggle over.
• The wording of any writings by proponents of ID, particuarly including those involved in influencing public policy, purposely use ambiguous, secular language. Why? Because anything overtly theistic would automatically be rejected by legislators and the judiciary as a blatant violation of the separation of church and state. By using neutered, vague language, the Religious Right is trying to subvert the separation clause in the Constitution.
• IDers cannot accept the scientific theory that the universe is in the neighborhood of 16-18 billion years old. It flies in the face of the assumption that what is in the Bible is infallibly true and, based on Biblical scholars' calculations, the earth is only about 10,000 years old. I, for one, am not so conceited to think that we understand God's timeframe based on our 24-hour, solar day, and lifetimes of, on average some 60-70 years. Maybe God's time is on a whole different time scale and he choses to use words that our puny little brains can understand. Look to the Bible itself for problems with time - in Genesis 5, Adam lived to be 930 years old, those in the first 9 generations following Adam regularly lived about as long, and Noah himself didn't become a father until he was 500, and didn't build the ark until he was 600!

Does any of this invalidate the Bible? Of course not. I have taken a vow to do nothing to harm the church, and I live that vow every day. The Bible is one of the world's preeminent sources of information of what God wants us to know in order to live well on this earth and to prepare for the glorious reward to come at our deaths.

However, the Bible was written down by humans, with all their fallabilities. We cannot possibly understand all that there is in the universe solely through the Good Book, so there are things we have to accept by faith. However, attempting to force religious education on our children, in public schools, is Constitutionally un-American. Learning about God, how to communicate with Him, what it means to have a personal relationship with Him, and to accept Him as your personal Saviour through Christ are very personal issues. These should properly be taught at home and in your chosen place of worship, as was properly envisioned by the fathers of this nation.

Suffice it to say, I will have more to say on this issue. Religious dogma, whether or not it's wrapped up in sheep's clothing, is still religion. There are many, many false assumptions and distortions used by IDers, and I intend to shine a spotlight on those I deem most relevant.

The "Religious Right" (you don't know how much I despise that moniker) must be exposed for its true motivations and dirty tactics.