Intelligent Design

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20

God’s handiwork, His magnificent design, is clearly seen in His creation. For the Creationist this is self evident. But Intelligent Design and Creationism are not equivalent. Intelligent Design is a scientific methodology that detects and analyzes design in the universe. As a scientific methodology it does not, nor does it require the postulating of the identity of the designer, it merely identifies that design has occurred. This distinction is in keeping with the tenants of science.

One of the greatest things the Intelligent Design movement has brought to science is a “common sense” approach to the analysis of scientific data. For instance if one saw leaves and twigs scattered on the ground one would assume they had ben blown there by the wind or some other natural phenomena. But if those same leaves and twigs, etc. were sitting on a tree branch in a circular shape with a hollowed out center one would immediately conclude a bird had plied its skills in making a nest. It is common sense to understand that such things do not organize themselves in nature, since it has never been seen to occur. So we naturally suspect the bird. Intelligent Design asks the question “Why not apply the same deductive reasoning on the bird itself?” Are there aspects of the existence of the bird that lie outside the laws of chance in nature that would indicate the design of an outside intelligence? The answer to this question is yes, and Intelligent Design shows why this explanation is a better fit with the scientific evidence.