(Thanks to Einsteinshrugged for this…)
CNN.com – ‘Intelligent design’ compared to ‘Big Bang’ theory – Oct 19, 2005
‘Intelligent design’ compared to ‘Big Bang’ theory
Professor: Politics drives the evolution debate
‘Intelligent design’ compared to ‘Big Bang’ theory
Professor: Politics drives the evolution debate
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) — A leading critic of evolution accused two scientific organizations Tuesday of politics and misleading the public in their rejection of “intelligent design.”
Michael Behe, a biochemistry professor at Lehigh University, also compared intelligent design — which holds that nature is so complex it must have been the work of a creator — to the “Big Bang” theory.
“The National Academy of Sciences treats intelligent design in a way what I consider utterly misleading. Talk about scholarly malfeasance!” Behe testified.
Behe also criticized the American Association for the Advancement of Science in testimony in a federal lawsuit brought by 11 parents who are challenging a central Pennsylvania school district’s practice of introducing intelligent design to science classes.
The trial pits Christian conservatives, who say nature is so complex it must have been the work of a God-like creator, against teachers and scientists who favor Darwin’s theory of evolution.
The case, seen as a major test of the issue, has echoes of the famed Scopes Monkey trial of 1925 when lawyers squared off in a Tennessee courthouse over the teaching of Darwin’s work.
The parents suing the Dover Area School District say intelligent design is based on religion and therefore violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
The trial is being watched in at least 30 states where similar initiatives are being considered.
Behe personally believes the designer was God but said that belief was not part of his intelligent design theory. He refuted the Academy’s statement that intelligent design theory attributed the complexity of nature to “the hand of God.”
“I advocated none of those ideas,” Behe said. “I take this as a political statement unsupported by any references.”
Behe also accused the American Association for the Advancement of Science of issuing a “political document” when it stated that intelligent design should not be taught in high school science classes.
Behe repeatedly compared intelligent design to the “Big Bang” theory of how the universe began, saying it took several decades for scientists to accept it.
“You can’t say that because you don’t have a natural explanation for something now, you won’t in future,” he said.
A lawyer for the parents produced an article by Behe saying the theory of intelligent design would be undermined without the existence of God.
Earlier in the day, Behe denied intelligent design was equivalent to creationism.
“Creationism is a theological concept but intelligent design is a scientific theory,” Behe said. “One can be a creationist without any physical evidence. That’s 180 degrees different from intelligent design.”
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