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A Funny Thing About Critics of Intelligent Design


Medved-Banner8.jpgDiscovery Institute’s Stephen Meyer was first-rate just now talking on the air with Michael Medved about Meyer’s forthcoming book, Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design (HarperCollins; pre-order here for your limited-time 43% discount plus free shipping).
Under fire from callers on the new weekly “Science and Culture Update,” Dr. Meyer was crisp, cool and concise. A gentleman from Everett, Washington, was typical of ID critics in fuming that Steve Meyer and other advocates of the theory of intelligent design hold that the source of intelligence that guides nature’s development is God.
This, in another caller’s accusatory view, makes Dr. Meyer a “preacher” not a man of science. Meyer replied that while he (and others) may hold theistic views, that’s a personal and private conclusion drawn from philosophical and other considerations entirely independent of the science behind ID.
Intelligent design considers the evidence of nature and infers the activity of a designer. But science does not say who or what that designer is. It just doesn’t, much as some believers might wish it did. On claims about the supernatural, ID is simply agnostic. It must be. Why can’t these people understand that? See Casey Luskin’s excellent essay on the subject, bluntly titled, “ID Does Not Address Religious Claims About the Supernatural.”
Isn’t it interesting how often, confronted with scientific evidence and arguments for design in nature, ID critics respond with theological countercharges. And they call folks like Stephen Meyer “preachers”?

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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