Does Nature have an intelligent designer? Well, yes, but….
Are the gaps in evolution? Well, maybe, but…..
Currently in the USA Intelligent Design (ID) is on trial.
Is it science or is it religion?
ID questions natural selection and Darwinism. It suggests that natural selection couldn’t occur in the way that is generally assumed and therefore an intelligent designer must be responsible. That designer isn’t necessarily God, but by definition would have to be a deity or Supreme Being of some sort. Most of the proponents seem to be American fundamentalist Christians. Which shouldn’t get my hackles up immediately. Unfortunately it does. It doesn’t help that George Dubyah supports it… However, lets try to look at this objectively.
There is a universe. Well, lets start small – Earth exists. So far so good. Was it designed or was it not? The arguments for a non-religious start to the earth are well discussed and known; Evolution, asteroids, Bangs, suns etc. Natural selection theory does seem to work. It does seem to fit the way in which we can see the world around us operating.
A religious/Christian perspective can be that God created the earth, the universe, and all in it. There is a God who can influence the fabric of the universe; who can make things happen; who can change the world.
However, I’m fully aware that this is a belief. As much as I know it to be true I can’t persuade that to someone who is not willing to take the leap of faith and accept that there might just be a God. In addition I don’t see that there are any difficulties between the two philosophies. I can be a Christian and believe in evolution/natural selection with some intervention/steering from God at times.
So ID is another way of looking at things. Yes.
Is it Science? No.
Science is something that comes with fact and evidence. That a cynic can look at and understand (I’m not saying that the end result is agreement with the assumptions) but how can something be science when it starts from a basis of a leap of faith? That doesn’t mean that it’s not true and by all means talk about it, discuss it, but not in the same way as science is discussed, and not in science lessons in school.
God is present in all things. God is an intelligent creator. But that doesn’t mean that evolution is not possible. To be Christian does not mean that I do not have common sense. We have free will!
I await the outcome of the trial with interest.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I don’t think that they’re trying to explain away the existence of God. Looks more like they’re trying to put God into the science classroom but in through the back door so that ‘the establishment’ don’t notice. Hence not calling the supreme being ‘God’.
I could be wrong, but that seems to be the issue on which the trial is hanging..
Is it creationism or not? And creationism is religious.. so if it’s creationism it’s religious and not appropriate for science lessons based on the educational principles of the USA of keeping science and religion separate.
What'll these people do if someone closes up all the gaps in Darwinian Thoery?
How can we disprove ID?
The first question shows why ID is bad theology, the second that it is bad science.
Tim
How is ID bad theology? Evolution might easily be the way it is because something or someone created it that way. The two theories are only mutually exclusive if you take the "created in 7 days" metaphor literally. Which it was never intended to be, of course.
In my opinion it is bad theology because it says that there are things science can't explain, and that this leaves room for God.
As a physicist I'd never do the same with, for example, Heisenberg.
Tim, I think you might need to clarify further...
Theolgy is the study of the nature of God so to hold an opinion regarding his impact on creation 'filling in the gaps in evolution' isn't necesary bad theology is it?
However, It is an opinion. And it is based on the assumption that evolution cannot be proved to fill those 'gaps' itself.
Hence my disquiet about teaching it in a science lesson.
No, I think that plugging the gaps with God is bad theology because it only allows God to be where Science wont work.
Post a Comment