We generally prefer not to rip peoples religion. But we would have to in order to use ID as a punching bag. This punching should be done in philosophy classes after the students have a basic understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of science.
Bottom line untill someone comes up with a test that would prove ID false you can't call it science.
The equivilant test of evolution is finding a highly developed fossil in rock strata too old for it. Creationists attempted to disprove it with foot prints of men and dinosaurs in the same fossilized mud flat. Of course it turned out to be a big fat self-rightous creationist lie. Someone will be along shortly to claim it's all true.
We generally prefer not to rip peoples religion. But we would have to in order to use ID as a punching bag.
***So it would appear that the scientific community is refraining out of politeness? Would you mind commenting on JS1138's post:
Actually character assassination is part of any competitive enterprise. In sports it's called trash talk. Science is extremely competitive. If you want religion tossed int this environment, be my guest. It's about time religion got the chip off its shoulder and started duking it out in an arena where only physical evidence counts.
***It looks to me that the ID folks are ASKING for the chance to duke it out. I say, Let them in. Have at it.
This punching should be done in philosophy classes after the students have a basic understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of science.
***I agree completely. Teach science in science classes, and philosophy in philosophy classes.
Bottom line untill someone comes up with a test that would prove ID false you can't call it science.
***I see it as a kind of analogy. Both sides are armies meeting across a river. Whichever army ventures across to the other side will have the extreme disadvantage. On the creat/ID side, they use inductive reasoning, a form of spiritual frequency domain. On the haps side they like to use deductive reasoning, not trusting that inductive stuff. But the haps army has the high ground and decides to dam the river every once in awhile, taking water for themselves & not leaving water for the other army. This is considered bad manners.
The equivilant test of evolution is finding a highly developed fossil in rock strata too old for it. Creationists attempted to disprove it with foot prints of men and dinosaurs in the same fossilized mud flat. Of course it turned out to be a big fat self-rightous creationist lie. Someone will be along shortly to claim it's all true.
***Well, so far no one has chimed in to claim that it's all true so maybe the ground rules have changed enough to have an intelligent debate with those folks. I'm not quite sure.