Judge Strikes “Intelligent Design” Stickers from Georgia Textbooks

US District Judge Clarence Cooper has made a decision regarding biology textbooks used in schools in the state of Georgia that will mark him as an enemy of Christianity, God, and decency by people who worry about such things without the advantage of understanding. Unable to teach “creationism” (Biblical cosmology) as a science, the forces of the Counter-Enlightenment are now pitching “intelligent design” – old wine in new bottles. They should relax, because although it can’t be science, it isn’t necessarily untrue.

The sticker, which appeared in Cobb County textbooks in 2002, read "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered." The first sentence is a matter of fact, the last is excellent advice in all matters intellectual. The second sentence, though, is worthless because it isn’t even wrong.

Evolution is a theory – absolutely. Yet to deny its basis in fact is to misunderstand the scientific use of the word “theory.” It is not an unverified assertion or idea; that is the meaning of the word “hypothesis.” A theory, as understood by those who do science, is “an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena.” And when scientists say “knowledge” they mean verifiable by experiment and observation. In short, to a scientist, evolution is verifiable using, DNA, animal and plant breeding, population studies and other means. Alternatively, "a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory."

The Counter-Enlightenment, though, holds that the Book of Genesis is a better source of knowledge about the creation than all of mankind’s observations and reasonings. Or as a comedian once put it, "Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" Genesis as science doesn’t pass scientific muster, but that doesn’t make it untrue because the methods of science are not suitable for the question of God’s existence.

In order for intelligent design to be scientific, one would have to be able to test is underlying premise – that there is too much order in the universe for it to occur without an intelligence guiding it. This simply can’t be proved by experiment. It is, in the strictest sense, a matter of faith. And for those of a religious bent, it is important that God remain outside the limits of science. If God’s existence were proved empirically, the human race would lose a great deal. The introspection and meditation that occurs because one contemplates God in the absence of proof are the basis of a spiritual life. And that is a whole lot worse than any high school biology class could ever be.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.

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