chapter and verse on design

> Fair enough, Michael. I don't have a lot of such quotations handy, but I
> suspect there are quite a few more. Let me offer a very prominent one, from
> Behe, Darwin's Black Box, pp. 193-4:
[...]
> I think I can find a few more, but surely this one is explicit enough,
> yes?

Unfortunately for the credibility of ID, there are also quotes that clearly deny design in natural processes. E.g., Johnson's assertion that one is either created by design or by mindless molecular processes. As billions and billions of molecular processes go into the development of each human, and no molecule is known to have a mind, this assertion implies that God is not involved in human development and growth.

Similarly, a moderately recent post quoted Dembski as saying that evolutionary continuity is OK, yet he has also recently boasted that molecular evolution will be dead in the water in a few years. This ridiculous claim not only demonstrates an opportunity to learn from Ahab's advice on premature boasting but also totally ignores the scope of molecular evolution. Even the most rabid antievolutionists admit the ongoing intraspecies evolution, and some are not ignorant of the many examples of new species currently evolving. Thus, even if enough gaps were found to make Johnson happy, there would still be a large role for molecular evolution; a model like Behe's would give a very large scope for molecular evolutionary studies.

Such self-contradiction to me suggests an effort to say whatever seems likely to go over well, without regard for truth, rather than a careful effort at deception. However, neither is acceptable.

    Dr. David Campbell
    Old Seashells
    University of Alabama
    Biodiversity & Systematics
    Dept. Biological Sciences
    Box 870345
    Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA
    bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com

That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa
Received on Wed May 25 13:51:01 2005