Re: Looking for Intelligence in Intelligent Design

I agree with some of the points in my classmates blog posting, Looking for Intelligence in Intelligent Design. The United States should not be considered a Christian country and the statements by Bush at the end are ridiculous. The concept of seperation of church and state from the first amendment states “"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. I don’t believe it would violate this amendment by mentioning the very common belief of intelligent design and discussing that it is an ongoing debate. In fact I think it would give younger students a more complete education. However it would be seemingly impossible to teach in detail in a public classroom without delving into interconnected religious beliefs that are not appropriate in that setting. That is the job of parents, churches and religious schools. I think it is also approriate to note that many religious people do aggresively seek to push their beliefs on others and would agree with forcing students of different religions to learn a different religion’s beliefs since they feel they are so correct and beyond debate. For these reasons it is probably best that intelligent design is kept out of classrooms at this point.

I disagree that intelligent design is not a theory however. Intelligent Design does in fact fit the definition mentioned by my classmate, “A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena”. Intelligent design is a valid theory; regardless of if how absurd a specific group of people might feel it is. Certain specifics of evolution are not proven but are believed by scientists to be likely due to surrounding circumstances. The same can be said of Intelligent Design. The fact that the circumstances of the Earth are exactly such that it can sustain life similarly makes intelligent design a rational and probable belief. You don’t have to “search for intelligence” in it, the intelligence is obvious.