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Refuting Behe’s Critics, Meyer Gives Four Reasons the Flagellum Predates the Type III Secretory System

Michael Behe’s signature argument in Darwin’s Black Box would be seriously bruised if it turned out the bacterial flagellar motor had a simpler evolutionary antecedent. Critics of intelligent design thought they had identified such a precursor in the form of the Type III Secretory System, found in some bacteria.

Behe and others have since shown why it’s far likelier that the flagellum is the precursor, thus leaving Dr. Behe’s argument intact. In response, the critics either simply repeat their claim as if it hadn’t been refuted, or they go silent — an implicit admission they were wrong, and Behe was right.

How exactly do we know the flagellum came first? In a 12-minute video discussion, Stephen Meyer explains that we know this for four good and independent reasons. Watch for yourself, and if you’re still not convinced, let me know why not. (Reach me by clicking on the orange EMAIL US button at the top of this page.)

Mike Behe’s case for ID from irreducible complexity has stood the test of fire by scientists and others whose picture of reality depends on denying that biology bears evidence of design. We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Darwin’s Black Box with a new hour-long documentary written and directed by John West, Revolutionary: Michael Behe and the Mystery of Molecular Machines. Get your copy of Revolutionary, on DVD or Blu-ray, today.

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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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