I have no problem with religions that believe in a higher being. I teach astronomy, and when you can tell a compelling scientific story from the first moment of creation to the present, it is an amazing and beautiful thing. Science can do a fair job in telling that story. We now have the intelligence and technology to discover and tell that story. It is not, however, the same exact stories told by our early ancestors some thousands of years ago. They would not have had the common experiences or knowledge to comprehend the story that we can now tell. This is a story that requires thousands of intervening years of civilization, industrialization and an understanding of, among other things, particle physics. It has taken many brutal years of fighting against religious and cultural dogmas to be able to present a scientifically consistent story of creation, and the unfolding history of the Universe.

A recent Evolutionblog posting, on an article in Esquire led to interesting comments, per usual. Fred sums up the difference between science and Intelligent Design in this comment:

ID is not based on evidence, it’s based on opinions from limited knowledge. Science is very similar, but the key difference is that in science you try to expand your knowledge, whereas in ID you give up and walk away.

Michael Behe sees, for example, blood clotting and thinks it couldn’t have arisen naturally. He does no tests, he does no research. He just thinks, “Geez, that’s really complex! Ain’t no way that could have just happened on its own” and decrees that it was a higher being that designed it. Is that science to you? He’s even said that it’s not worth investigating further. Is that science? Whether it’s religion or not, it’s surely not science.

Science does nothing to inhibit religions that are open to interpret their moral stories, using modern concepts. It does, however, come to loggerheads when dealing with intransigent fundamentalism and outdated dogma. There are groups of people who go by the names, “Young Earthers” or “Creationists” who are opposed to the theory of evolution, plain and simple. They have built up a world-view that cannot be reconciled with evolution. They have been seeking some way to validate their opinions and stories handed down over many generations. They feel that it is valid to question ANY theory, because theories are not facts [this is not always correct], and they start from the answer they want, and try to “invent” a scientific way of supporting their beliefs. They call this Intelligent Design.

It is sad that the wonderful world we see around us, and measure with science and model with scientific theories, is not good enough for Creationists. They seek, it seems to me, to be looking for some way for science to confirm the existence of God. This, however, seems to run counter to their own belief system of basing belief in God in faith. It is also sad that the unfolding beautiful world and Universe that we now can explain better every day with science, cannot be embraced by those seeking intelligent design by a creator. There is nothing in nature that says, “God does not exist” only that it is flawed to try to prove things are true because that is how you interpret a story (i.e. the Earth is 6000 years old) and not believe evidence that says your interpretation is wrong. Yes, evidence. Beautiful evidence. Evidence which might support your general beliefs, if you were not so stubborn.

Another thing that gets me about those who take ancient moral stories too literally, is that they tend to attribute human motivations and emotions to a deity that created the Universe. That is like a painting trying to understand the mind of a painter. It makes no sense. Yet, religions continue to anthropomorphize God in their own desired image. That strikes me as human hubris. If there is one thing we humans (and scientists) know, it is how much we don’t know!

For interesting observations, and discussion in Intelligent Design, I suggest you visit Evolutionblog.

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