Saturday, April 21, 2007
All That Glitters is not Gold
Quick question: Without exception what follows an assertion by biblical literalists that there's massive evidence for intelligent design in the natural world?
Answer: Anything but evidence.
Statements like this, from Roger Parks, a Spanish lecturer at SMU, "mainstream science has chosen, a priori, to ignore massive evidence... of a designer, or creator... " tease the reader with the promise that some small portion of that massive evidence will be enumerated in the following sentences and paragraphs.
But, that promise, like the proverbial check that's in the mail, is never, ever forthcoming.
If you take a biology class, read a scientific book about evolution, or attend a public lecture by a working scientist, you will be treated to cross section views of geological strata and the characteristic fossil flora and fauna associated with each. You will be shown fossils. You may be shown slides showing the evolutionary history of genes that document common ancestry in widely separated species of animals.
In short, as thunder follows lightning, you will be provided with evidence that you can hold in your hand and see with your own eyes.
You will get none of that at a Discovery Institute event such as the Darwin vs. Design prayer session at SMU.
Test it for yourself. Next time you hear a supporter of intelligent design tell you about all the "massive evidence" look closely at what follows immediately after. You will get one of five things:
Answer: Anything but evidence.
Statements like this, from Roger Parks, a Spanish lecturer at SMU, "mainstream science has chosen, a priori, to ignore massive evidence... of a designer, or creator... " tease the reader with the promise that some small portion of that massive evidence will be enumerated in the following sentences and paragraphs.
But, that promise, like the proverbial check that's in the mail, is never, ever forthcoming.
If you take a biology class, read a scientific book about evolution, or attend a public lecture by a working scientist, you will be treated to cross section views of geological strata and the characteristic fossil flora and fauna associated with each. You will be shown fossils. You may be shown slides showing the evolutionary history of genes that document common ancestry in widely separated species of animals.
In short, as thunder follows lightning, you will be provided with evidence that you can hold in your hand and see with your own eyes.
You will get none of that at a Discovery Institute event such as the Darwin vs. Design prayer session at SMU.
Test it for yourself. Next time you hear a supporter of intelligent design tell you about all the "massive evidence" look closely at what follows immediately after. You will get one of five things:
- The bald, unsupported assertion that it's just too, too complex to have happened without the intervention of a designer.
- Some blather about gaps in the fossil record.
- A long lecture on the amorality of atheism or "Darwinism."
- A piece of evidence, such as the bacterial flagellum that's interpreted one way by scientists who actually work in the field and another ID "theorists" who are almost without exception lawyers, philosophers, theologians, or engineers who can't tell an opsin gene from a hole in the ground.
- Or, some mention of Mt. Rushmore, a mouse trap, or the fantastic "micromachinery" found inside the cell.
