Ah, back to the ID thing again are we? ;)
I certainly don’t deny that many supporters of ID do so because of their religious beliefs.
Who else would support ID if not for religious folks?
What interests me most about intelligent design is whether or not we could tell if some intelligent force has influenced the development of life on earth. That is where the critics of intelligent design tend to bother me. Rather than addressing if we could know, or how we could know they seem on the whole to be demanding that it is impossible that it could have happened. I think the meta questions of how we could know are important even if it didn’t happen and the refussal to even address those questions strikes me as being profoundly anti-scientific.
The question of whether or not some intelligent force has influenced the development of life on Earth is indeed interesting, it's just not science, it's metaphysics. It raises questions that cannot be explained by science, therefore, these are not scientific questions.
Many religious folks are trying their darnedest to move ID into the scientific community. I would think that if any remote ounce of ID were based on scientific facts that they would bring this to the table in their argument. Since we have never seen any such data, it pretty much means there isn't any to be found. Not yet at least.
If ID is not provable to be a science-based study, then it should remain out of the scientific community, and yes, that means our children's science books. Trying to force scientists to add ID into their books does not make it science, it makes followers of ID very questionable.
Go study ID and ask your questions all you want to. Who's stopping you? When you get something worthwhile, come back and talk to us. Until the time comes when you bring real scientific evidence to the table about ID, stop trying to shove this man-made fairytale down our children's throats and passing it off for real science.
Although the questions that the possibility of ID brings to the discussion are interesting, I choose not to waste my time with them because I don't feel they are relevant any more then trying to prove the existence of the Galactic Chicken or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Our time on this Earth is limited, and spending time studying mythological pursuits seems to be a waste when so many other things need to be studied.
Spending your time studying cures for diseases is a more lofty use of your time then memorizing every phrase of a book based on tales to scare unbelievers. Heck, just using that time to spend with my daughters is infinitely more appealing then wondering how Moses parted the Red Sea.
I'm not saying people should not study the idea of ID if that's what floats their boat, I just don't want it forced onto others. It seems throughout history many religions have tried to force themselves on others. We're currently knee-deep in a war for that very reason.
In the past entire cities have been destroyed right down to the women, children and animals because people did not believe how others thought they should believe. By forcing your belief system into our schools and government you are following in the footsteps of others that have come before you. The argument that ID belongs in our science classes is nothing short of attempted brainwashing.
Christians have been freaking out recently because people are trying to make this country more generic when it comes to religion, and Christians are afraid they will lose their foothold as the dominant religion. They are in a state of panic because apparently allowing others to practice their religious beliefs, or at least stepping aside so others have a chance to worship how they like, is a bad thing.
All religions function by trying to make themselves desirable for followers to join. It's all about marketing. When competition comes along then historically religions pull out all the stops to prevent their flocks from dwindling.
Here's a question for you to ponder. If Christians are secure in their belief and know that it is the only path we should follow through life, why do they try so hard to remain in our government and schools? Why not just be content to worship in their churches and not try so hard to force their way into society as a whole? Because like any organization they need numbers to retain power. Small numbers mean less of an influence on just about everything.
Religion is a business. They collect money, buy property, and find loopholes to operate “in the black”. Without a steady source of income, their flock, they will shrivel up and waste away. Sure you will go to Hell if you don't give to your church, but what they really mean is that if you don't give they will disappear, not you.
Want to climb up on your soapbox and beat the drums of how ID should be allowed into our school science classes now? Go ahead, but you'd better bring something more substantial to your discussion other then the question of “whether or not we could tell if some intelligent force has influenced the development of life on earth“.
My two cents in the grand scheme of life on Earth. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment