Ichneumon, I readily agree that there's no requirement for God to create hierarchies among living things, but there's also no reason why He couldn't or wouldn't. Minerals, after all, aren't living things so why concern oneself with hierarchy among them? God, as described in the Bible, is quite fond of hierarchy among the living.
And should we be surprised that evolution and hierarchy are compatible, given that the theory has to at least minimally conform to the observable natural world to be believable? The theory was designed to accommodate hierarchy. It isn't as if the theory was put forth and we later discovered hierarchy among living things, thus adding support to the theory.
Excellent point. I find that a most concise demonstration of why ID isn't and can never be a scientific theory. It's consistent with all outcomes and consequently can never be disproved nor confirmed.