[shuckmaster]

Dover update ping.

[ravingnutter]

One of the biggest problems with the scientific viability of intelligent design is there is no way to experiment with the presence of a supernatural being because science only deals with the natural world and theories that are testable, Miller said.

IOW...the denial is merely job security.

[tamalejoe]

This is a Ferrari engine. ID is the theory which says that when you see something like that, you figure it was designed and engineered. Evolution is the theory which says that things like that just sort of happen.

[joesnuffy]

There is only one truth..

All else is counterfeit

[eastsider]

Some people might suspect divine intervention last year when the Boston Red Sox came back to win the World Series after losing three games in a row to the New York Yankees in the playoffs.

It wasn't divine intervention, it was a test of the Yankees by letting the devil have his way for a season. God is still a Yankees fan ...

[RightWhale]

evolution is only a theory, "not a fact."

And that is a fact.

That evolution is not a theory is also a fact.

[King Prout]

It seems to me that ID is not only unscientific, even anti-scientific, but is in fact a weak cop-out.

every ID argument I have yet read centers on the notion that IF humans cannot explain an extremely complex "something", THEN there MUST be a "designer"

There are a couple of idiotic assumptions in this notion.
1. the assumption that because humans cannot explain something NOW equates to humans not being able to explain it EVER
2. the assumption that ALL natural processes MUST be explainable through use of the human intellect
3. those facts and processes which cannot be explained in infinite detail right the hell now by natural scientists MUST automatically be considered the fruits of a superior being's efforts

hrmn...

Let's step away from speciation for a moment and examine another complex event, applying the assumptions: the particulars of lightning strikes.

Natural science cannot (right now) explain why lightning hits this tree over here but not that tree over there.
Natural science cannot (right now) explain why one lightning strike yesterday killed this guy on this slab, but another lightning strike today just blew this gal's clothes off and knocked her out.
Natural science cannot (right now) explain why a lightning strike on a soccer field knocked down a bunch of players, but only put one of them in a serious bucket of hurt.

hrmn...

Going by the assumptions inherent to ID, this "proves" the existence of a capricious and aim-impaired Jove.

It's hogwash, pure and simple - whether dealing with the breakdown of atmospheric dielectric or the sum history of mutations and selections.

[ex-snook]

So how did the Universe and all its predictability evolve? Inquiring minds want to know that first.

[RightWingAtheist]

"Intelligent Design is Creationism"

It is? What's next, will they tell us that Richard Simmons is gay?

[narby]

On one side of the aisle, several plaintiffs packed themselves in wooden benches behind a row of attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Pepper Hamilton LLC and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

You know, I really dislike these people. It's too bad they've been thrown a slow pitch right over the plate that they'll knock out of the park. It gives them respectability that I wish they couldn't get.

When a few protestant Christian denominations started preaching this creationism/ID silliness, they really shot themselves in the foot. They just haven't figured it out yet.

[Publius6961]

Biology expert testifies. Professor: Intelligent design is creationism.

Another one for my "they've got to be kidding me!" file.

This is what gives academics a bad name.The latter part of this headline is clearly and unambiguously an opinion, not a fact; and just as clearly beyond the ken of a "biology expert".

[Windsong]

Miller, whose resume is several pages long and includes a stint as a professor at Harvard University

Stopped reading about there.

If youre smart enough to get into Harvard, you should be smart enough to stay out.

[spetznaz]

Intelligent design IS creationism by a different name.

It would be like calling evolution 'progressive adaptation,' and trying to pass it off as something different.

[xzins]

The prof's a political hack saying what he said for partisan purposes.

ID is not creationism.

It doesn't even say that the Intelligent Designer has to be sentient.....it could be an organizing principle.

[untrained skeptic]

"Some people might suspect divine intervention last year when the Boston Red Sox came back to win the World Series after losing three games in a row to the New York Yankees in the playoffs. It may have been, but that's not science, he said."

Someone should ask this so called scientist why the theory that divine intervention caused them to win is not a valid scientific theory.

You can't have a scientific process without forming a hypothesis and attempting to prove and disprove it.

The theory of evolution has never been proven. There is a lot of evidence that appears to support it, though the evidence really leaves a lot to blind faith.

Intelligent design is also an unproven theory. It explains many things that haven't been explained well any other way, but it also leaves a lot to blind faith.

These are the two leading theories on this topic, and it appears that a great many people believe that a combination of the two might be more accurate.

Teaching evolution as fact, not a theory, does a disservice to people. People who discount intelligent design and push evolution are not doing so based on science, but based on a strongly held belief that God does not exist, that they are unwilling to have questioned.

That's dogma, not science.

[Mister Da]

Hey creationists & ID'ers. I have a couple of problems with your "direction".

In one way, ya'll seem like a man so busy trying to get out the door that you don't notice the GRIZZLY BEAR on the stoup. If creationism or ID are accepted & taught in PUBLIC schools, which one will it be? Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Aztec, Cherokee, Apache, Seminole, and on and on and on. Which one, or all? How many religions/creators are there in Africa right now? Anybody know, or care.

Do you really want your kids coming home with stories of the sun god & human sacrifice? Do you really want the public school bureaucracy teaching religion? They do such a swell job with readin', 'ritten, & 'rithmetic now! And what kind of creationism will be taught by that muslim or hindu biology teacher? Probably NOT the kind you had in mind! Duh!.

My other problem with ID. Why can't religious people accept that evolution was part of the "design" from the very first "day"? Seems like a pretty cleaver design, too. And from a designers point of view, far more interesting than a static world where nothing ever changes.

[Coyoteman]

Grammar Analysis Reveals Ancient Language Tree

You don't need bones! You can trace many thousand years into the past with just words. For those who may have been stuck here, there is a good post over at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1492262/posts

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

From Discovery.org:

In Dover Trial, ACLU’s Expert Witness Mischaracterizes Intelligent Design

[11th_VA]

This thread started at noon today and you haven't got over 1000 posts yet? You all takin' the night off ???

[connectthedots]

But Miller countered that no scientific theory is a fact...

A significant admission early on in the cross examination.