Weeks ago, President Bush said intelligent design should be
taught with evolution in classrooms. Intelligent design, at its
core, assumes that the complexity in the world, especially life,
cannot be achieved except by the design of a supernatural
intelligence. Therefore, I would like to develop an appreciation
for just how intelligent this designer is.
For instance, I think this alleged designer made a work of art
out of our abdomens. Sure, we may be completely exposed to gutting
by predators, accidents and warfare, but if there were any better
way to do it, he would have.
Also, I’m sure he understands the pain when males have
hernias because of the necessary holes in their abdominal lining
for their testicles to drop through (men are made in his image
after all).
And while women can’t be completely in his image (since
after all they are women), I’m sure this designer meant for
them and their children to risk death in childbirth because they
have to push a large head through a small pelvic arch.
I doubt fundamentalist Christians had any of the construction
problems of Homo sapiens in mind when they came up with the idea of
intelligent design.
Intelligent design can’t be scientifically proven. I
challenge everyone to prove there is an intelligent designer. But
since we already know the answer to that, I suggest the fundamental
tenets of science (the steps required to prove anything) be thrown
out.
After all, as a result of Christian fundamentalists insisting on
theology being taught in biology classes, the U.S. is already in
serious trouble keeping up with biological research in industries
where the research is in conflict with the theology ““ so why
not continue the trend?
For example, since almost two-thirds of Americans believe that
“human beings were created directly by God,” according
to a Harris poll released in July, this affects the perception that
voters have of the role the federal government should play in a
theological conflict. So when the federal government refused to
fund reasonable stem cell research, we began to see significant
advances in Asia instead of the U.S.
The effects of our government’s fledgling attempts at a
theocracy will probably be felt when an avian flu pandemic arrives,
since the World Health Organization is predicting that a new
version of avian flu is poised to explode into the world’s
populations. Does this sound like the act of an intelligent
designer or evolution? If it’s evolution, maybe we should
start stockpiling antivirals like England has done. If it’s
an intelligent designer, well then it was meant to be, and I
suggest you pray when you and everyone you know gets deathly
ill.
The worst diseases are the ones that have evolved and adapted to
thrive in humans. That’s why we need to understand the
process they go through when they evolve ““ and why the of
study evolution is so important.
Jensen is a doctorate student in earth and space
sciences.