[inquest]

Let me just ask this: What serious attempt has been made to account for the bacterial flagellum before Behe's book? Was it even acknowledged as a problem for evolution prior to then?

[VadeRetro]

That same link contains a discussion of the earliest attempt, well before Behe: Cavalier-Smith (1987). The other mentioned theory, Rizzotti (2000), comes after Behe.

If that seems a sparse history, it took us a long time just to learn the detailed what of the flagellum before the how could be addressed.

[js1138]

Let me just ask this: What serious attempt has been made to account for the bacterial flagellum before Behe's book? Was it even acknowledged as a problem for evolution prior to then?

If you are asking whether people respond to challenges, I would have to say yes. I personally think the debate is healthy. I think it would be wonderful to have high school students know that there are problems remaining in science just as great as those solved in the 19th and 20th centuries.

ID advocates have been pretty good at pointing out gaps, but haven't added any tools for filling them. Some people on these threads seem to be arguing that's it's immoral to try to fill them, or blasphemous to believe they can be filled.