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Professor Newman says, "Intelligent Design Not Based on Religion."
Posted on 07/04/2009 3:39:53 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Next time someone tells you intelligent design is “based on religion,” you might point him to American Founder Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence. As I explain in a special July 4th edition of ID the Future, Jefferson not only believed in intelligent design, he insisted it was based on the plain evidence of nature, not religion.
Ironically, the critics of intelligent design often think they are defending the principles of Jefferson. The National Council for the Social Studies, for example, claims that intelligent design is religion and then cites Jefferson’s famous Letter to the Danbury Baptists calling for a “wall of separation” between church and state. The clear implication is that Thomas Jefferson would agree with them that intelligent design is religion. A writer for Irregular Times goes even further, insisting that “the case of Thomas Jefferson makes it quite clear that there was not a consensus of support among the authors of the Constitution to allow for the mixing of religion and government to support theological doctrines such as intelligent design.” In reality, Jefferson did not believe that intelligent design was a religious doctrine. In a letter to John Adams on April 11, 1823, he declared:
(Excerpt) Read more at evolutionnews.org ...
ping!
This is “a keeper”. Thanks 3G.
Appeal to authority.
TJ was one heck of a great thinker. But since TToE was penned pretty much 100 years after his life he wasn’t in a position to comment on it any more than he was in a position to comment on 2VL vs. 3VL.
Whether he did or didn’t think of ID as religion (it is) is irrelevant except for those who stoop to “appeal to authority” — and not even an authority on theology.
Happy July 4th.
I hereby give you the gift of my response.
You’re welcome.
Your linkage even provides a LISTEN option:
http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/enclosure/2008-07-04T19_24_48-07_00.mp3
What's next?
Professor Newman says, "Intelligent Design Not Based on Religion."
The motto for intelligent design should be “Surrender, Lest Ye Succeed”.
The evidence given in this piece is beautiful support for the point that ID is perfectly explained by the anthropic principle. Note that Thomas Jefferson was pointing out that people feel like there's a design, whether there was one or not!
He nicely explained how the human mind works...looking for design where it does not exist...just like the nuts who think that a cloud--or a rock formation on Mars--looking like a human face MUST have been designed that way.
Yep...Evolution just happens.
Yep...Evolution just happens.
Dear SirYou go, Tommy!
-- The wishes expressed, in your last favor, that I may continue in life and health until I become a Calvinist, at least in his exclamation of `_mon Dieu!_ jusque a quand'! would make me immortal. I can never join Calvin in addressing _his god._ He was indeed an Atheist, which I can never be; or rather his religion was Daemonism. If ever man worshipped a false god, he did.
Whilst Thomas Jefferson did believe that the vast majority of thinkers of history believed in a Creator and he would accept that idea as a Deist, it's a mistake to use this letter as support for the claim that he would be in favor of Intelligent Design based on what we know today. The man was very intelligent and would have updated his views based on what has been learned since his life, and would therefore, by the reasoning used in this letter, eschew ID today.
If it didn't, you wouldn't be here to make that observation or argue against it. :-)
I don't think that ID is a religion, any more or less than SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). In each case, it is claimed that we can distinguish between what is natural and what is intelligently designed.
Labeling ID as religion is a transparent attempt to censor ID. That is not a good sign. Why censor? Why not discuss and debate?
The basis for censoring ID is supposed to b "the separation of church and state" which appears in one unofficial letter by Jefferson. Even in that one letter, it only meant that religion would be protected from attack by the state. The founder's, including Jefferson's, never meant to exclude religion from the public sphere.
Long before there was "intelligent design," there was "general revelation:"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_revelation
There is certainly some overlap or some relationship between ID and general revelation. For this reason, I don't see why anyone who is religious would object to ID. But even an atheist should be able to entertain the idea of ID, whether it is as SETI, or in some other context.
If Jefferson was a Deist why did he pray to God? Per Deism, God is indifferent to the world, so it would make no sense whatsoever for a Deist to pray.
and nature is the product of creation - God’s creation - a perfect creation
Thanks....I needed a laugh today.
“God’s creation - a perfect creation”
Is creation actually perfect?
Thomas Jefferson ~ Born 1743 Died 1826
Origin of Species published November 1859
The fact that Thomas Jefferson died 33 years prior to the origination of the theory of evolution shows the Discovery Institutes entire argument to be disingenuous
I guess they are still busy researching this challenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkED8cWRu4Q
God's creation is perfect - mankind, the world provides the imperfection.
Ideas of evolution, even if not so named, existed long before Darwin wrote his views down and long before Jefferson just as did the idea that one could look at the earth and detect a designer in the design, an obviously intelligent designer.
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