Getting ID Around the Censor
Intelligent design (ID) is the theory that many things in nature bear clear signature of design. However, there is an ongoing debate on whether or not ID can be counted as “real” science, and the opposition comes mainly from those who want to make Darwinian naturalism the only game in town. Part of ID deals with the evidence from science that supports design. Another part of the debated concerns the philosophy of science, which addresses questions like whether or not Darwinian evolution is the only theory on the origins of life, and whether or not a theory on design constitutes legitimate “science.” ID also brings up debates in the academy on whether or not it can be part of science curriculum, and whether or not scientists and science majors can question the Darwinian dogma without risking censure and/or tenure. To help Christians unravel these complex issues, William Dembski and Jonathan Witt have put together a great book entitled Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the Controversy (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2010). Written at the lay level it is an excellent resource for every Christian library.
Dembski and Witt open their book with a spin on the Fantastic Voyage’s adventure through inner-space, but on an even more a minuscule scale, into the very information rich DNA molecule, which introduces their general thesis: The point being that the ninetieth century Darwinian dogma of a gradual evolutionary process of random mutations from which produced the diverse species of life on this planet goes contrary to what twenty-first century science has discovered about life, particularly in the irreducible complexity of life at the molecular level, namely the complex double helix structure of the DNA molecule.
What intelligent design challenges is not science or scientific research; rather it challenges the beliefs of the philosophical materialist. Philosophical materialism “holds that the material realm is all there is, ever was or ever will be,” and is “the polite name for atheism” (23). Akin to this is a methodological materialism that says “we can believe whatever we want in our personal life, but when we’re doing serous academic work, we should only consider and defend explanations fully consistent with philosophical materialism” (23-24, emphasis in original).
Darwin’s On the Origin of Species purported that the all species of life came as the result of a gradual blind evolutionary process from a single cell life form, a sort of glorified blob f Jell-O, which diversified through a process of random mutations. Darwin’s theory ultimately became foundation for a worldview that explains the universe without the necessity of a divine creator. Of course, methodological materialism, forces arguments against Darwinian evolution, say intelligent design, out of the realm of scientific inquiry.
Intelligent Design Uncensored offers readers answers to common objections to ID, including: The firing-squad fallacy—changing the subject when it comes to explain why the universe is fine tuned (33-34); The gambler’s fallacy—appealing to the idea that there are myriads of universes, and our universe won the lotto for the one with the parameters for supporting life (34-35); The minority report—rejecting intelligent design because is not what many experts believe (35-36); The sin of significance—rejecting intelligent design for its religious, philosophical, and political implications; of course the same does not go for philosophical materialism (38); Design detectives—rejecting design theories on the basis of “straw men” argument, such as painting an ID advocate as an unimaginative simpleton (39-40); Dams, aliens, and cheats—relegating design outside the realm of science (40-41).
Intelligent Design Uncensored also presents brief overviews of the research in microbiology demonstrating clear signs of design and the concept of irreducible complexity as a way of testing whether or not something is a product of a designer (random coin flipping vs. a method of relaying an encrypted message via Morse code).
The last few chapters of Intelligent Design Uncensored addresses the socio-political dynamics of philosophical materialism as a worldview ideology. Ideas have consequences, and Dembski and Witt point out how the logical extension of the philosophical materialist worldview leads to unsavory ideas like eugenics, a decline in meaningful art, and genocide. They also point out the fallacies of theistic evolution. Perhaps the most helpful element in the book is the last chapter’s advice on what students, scientist, and citizens can do in the political arena on sharing intelligent design in the public arena, such as supporting “a strengths and weaknesses” approach to addressing Darwinism in a public education classroom.
Intelligent Design Uncensored, as mentioned above, is a must read and something for every Christian library.
Dembski and Witt open their book with a spin on the Fantastic Voyage’s adventure through inner-space, but on an even more a minuscule scale, into the very information rich DNA molecule, which introduces their general thesis: The point being that the ninetieth century Darwinian dogma of a gradual evolutionary process of random mutations from which produced the diverse species of life on this planet goes contrary to what twenty-first century science has discovered about life, particularly in the irreducible complexity of life at the molecular level, namely the complex double helix structure of the DNA molecule.
What intelligent design challenges is not science or scientific research; rather it challenges the beliefs of the philosophical materialist. Philosophical materialism “holds that the material realm is all there is, ever was or ever will be,” and is “the polite name for atheism” (23). Akin to this is a methodological materialism that says “we can believe whatever we want in our personal life, but when we’re doing serous academic work, we should only consider and defend explanations fully consistent with philosophical materialism” (23-24, emphasis in original).
Darwin’s On the Origin of Species purported that the all species of life came as the result of a gradual blind evolutionary process from a single cell life form, a sort of glorified blob f Jell-O, which diversified through a process of random mutations. Darwin’s theory ultimately became foundation for a worldview that explains the universe without the necessity of a divine creator. Of course, methodological materialism, forces arguments against Darwinian evolution, say intelligent design, out of the realm of scientific inquiry.
Intelligent Design Uncensored offers readers answers to common objections to ID, including: The firing-squad fallacy—changing the subject when it comes to explain why the universe is fine tuned (33-34); The gambler’s fallacy—appealing to the idea that there are myriads of universes, and our universe won the lotto for the one with the parameters for supporting life (34-35); The minority report—rejecting intelligent design because is not what many experts believe (35-36); The sin of significance—rejecting intelligent design for its religious, philosophical, and political implications; of course the same does not go for philosophical materialism (38); Design detectives—rejecting design theories on the basis of “straw men” argument, such as painting an ID advocate as an unimaginative simpleton (39-40); Dams, aliens, and cheats—relegating design outside the realm of science (40-41).
Intelligent Design Uncensored also presents brief overviews of the research in microbiology demonstrating clear signs of design and the concept of irreducible complexity as a way of testing whether or not something is a product of a designer (random coin flipping vs. a method of relaying an encrypted message via Morse code).
The last few chapters of Intelligent Design Uncensored addresses the socio-political dynamics of philosophical materialism as a worldview ideology. Ideas have consequences, and Dembski and Witt point out how the logical extension of the philosophical materialist worldview leads to unsavory ideas like eugenics, a decline in meaningful art, and genocide. They also point out the fallacies of theistic evolution. Perhaps the most helpful element in the book is the last chapter’s advice on what students, scientist, and citizens can do in the political arena on sharing intelligent design in the public arena, such as supporting “a strengths and weaknesses” approach to addressing Darwinism in a public education classroom.
Intelligent Design Uncensored, as mentioned above, is a must read and something for every Christian library.
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