Intelligent Design - Is It True?

In reference to Steve Hemler's article on Intelligent Design (Intelligent Design - Is It True?), Shani Serrao writes:

I am sorry to inform you that your article on intelligent design was sorely misguiding in that it implied that evolution is simply not a plausible theory. The arguments are either taken out of context and/or not all aspects of the arguments are taken into context.

Just to let you know, Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II believed in evolution and stated that in no way was is against the creation story in Genesis. In the encyclical Humani generis, it states: "The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, insofar as it inquiries into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter."

In fact, in Genesis, it says that God created the world in 6 "days"....who is to say that they were 24-hour days....remember that all the books were written by men who interpreted it a certain way. If you study the evolutionary chart, it follows the creation scheme of Genesis.

There are so many arguments supporting God and evolution together......there is no reason that there has to barrier between those two topics; God is the ultimate biologist, he could have guided evolution to go the way he wanted.....hence the creation of Adam and Eve (and the DNA of the mitochondria in women can be traced back to a single woman in Africa or "Eve").

I think it is time that you and other Christians stopped being so ignorant and actually learned what each point of view dictates. I hope you take this into consideration and correct your mistake.

Steve Hemler responds:

Many thanks for reading my article on Intelligent Design and for taking the time to reply. I also encourage you to read my previous article on Genesis and you will see how we totally agree on that. Also, you are right of course that living organisms have changed over time and that God could clearly have guided that process.

However, as you know, many of the most vocal proponents of evolution are strongly committed to a naturalistic philosophy that leaves no room for God's action in the development of living organisms, including human beings. For example, Oxford Biologist Richard Dawkins has gone so far as to say evolution makes it possible to be "an intellectually fulfilled atheist." Unfortunately, this naturalistic view of evolution is what is taught in schools even though it has been repeatedly rejected by the Vatican and others. I'm sure you will agree that naturalistic philosophy should not be allowed to mascarade as objective science. I'll discuss more about this in my next article entitled, "Is Evolution True?"

I encourage you to take the time to learn more about the theory of Intelligent Design. A good place to start is www.discovery.org. Many, many PhD scientists are now questioning much about what is claimed regarding the THEORY of evolution. I am sure you will agree that natural selection as the only mechanism that could possibly explain all the complexity of life is just a theory and not a proven fact.

Intelligent Design is merely pointing out some things in nature that cannot be readily explained by the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection. I am confident that you will find much of what has been written in the Intelligent Design literature to be a real "eye opener"! I especially encourage you to buy the DVD entitled, Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

Again, thanks for your comments.