Is Intelligent Design a Bad Scientific Theory or a Non-Scientific Theory?

Tech Central Station ^ | 11/10/2005 | Uriah Kriegel

[Junior]

Who are you to determine whether they are Christians or not? They claim to be, just as you do.

[zeeba neighba]

More power to them. So, what did God say today?

[plain talk]

Dave, intelligent design and creationism are NOT necessarily separate models depending on one's view of who the designer was. I suspect most who believe in ID are Christians.

[PokeyJoe]

That Big-Ol' Church in Houston with the young wippersnapper preacher doesn't make a profit? Hell ya - I can do that.

[zeeba neighba]

If God is talking to you, you must be a modern prophet, in which case, don't be shy about it. Tell us what He said.

[Junior]

The normal stuff: don't yell at the other drivers, don't piss off your wife -- and my all-time favorite: "What did you expect? You brought that on yourself."

God's definitely Jewish.

[zeeba neighba]

Just as I suspected, it's not God who's talking to you.

[RunningWolf]

Those last 2 paragraphs

It is sometimes complained that IDers resemble the Marxist historians who always found a way to modify and reframe their theory so it evades any possible falsification, never offering an experimental procedure by which ID could in principle be falsified. To my mind, this complaint is warranted indeed. But the primary problem is not with the intellectual honesty of IDers, but with the nature of their theory. The theory simply cannot be fashioned to make any potentially falsified predictions, and therefore cannot earn entry into the game of science.

None of this suggests that ID is in fact false. For all I've said, it may well be pure truth. But if it is, it wouldn't be scientific truth, because it isn't scientific at all. As such, we shouldn't allow it into our science classrooms. At least that's what the Constitution says.

You could invert that with evolution and say the same thing.

Wolf

[RunningWolf]

These debates are more an insight into psyche than they are anything else JMO.

Wolf

[zeeba neighba]

And we can see who will contend publicly and unabashedly for the faith once given to the saints.

[JohnnyM]

I see your point

JM

[Junior]

Why would I be a prophet? Why would anyone think I was anything but a stark raving nutter? Hell, I think I'm loony, too, but I live with it.

[YHAOS]

"To the same extent as Jimmy Swaggart, you betcha."

What's holding you back? Give that hypothesis a test. Don't you want to see if it's falsifiable?

[zeeba neighba]

I feel sad for you that you think you must apologize for being a believer. I think you care too much for what your friends here will think about you.

God does indeed talk daily with His flock. You should only be proud of it and deeply humbled.

[Junior]

So you say. I'm sure God speaks to you in CAPITAL LETTERS a mile high. Mostly He just converses with me throughout the day. We have our disagreements, but it's a comfortable relationship -- and He's done me a couple of favors in the past that I owe Him big time for.

It may not be God; it may just be a voice in my head. But He seems to be an all right sort and He's never directed me to do anything anyone would consider evil like burning non-believers at the stake or denouncing other folks.

[Junior]

Naw. I've got a decent paying job as it is.

[zeeba neighba]

denouncing other folks

like creationists?

[jennyp]

placemarker

[xzins]

Research show it varying between 30 and 70 percent of the population just in the area of infidelity.

I wouldn't call either of those small.

I'm guessing that in a lifetime hardly anyone can say they haven't stolen something at one time or another.

So, I'd say that the numbers of the population doing these things are near total.

[Junior]

Links, please.