Mission: Imperative!
Perhaps this is a term you’ve heard before. Some people make the mistake of thinking that intelligent design (or ID) is the same thing as biblical creation. It’s NOT! Here’s why….
Darwinian evolution is called a science theory. As such, it MUST be held to the rules of science. The basic rule of a science theory is that it must be testable. You have to be able to actually test a science theory in laboratory conditions to see if it works or not. Darwinian evolution, in all the details, has been tested for a very long time –over 160 years! To many (if not most) scientists, the tests show that this theory does NOT even come close to explaining either the origins of matter or living things on the earth, nor how they developed into very complex living things! Therefore, after becoming aware of these results, many scientists admit that evolution is not the answer. But, they’re still left with the basic question: If not by evolution, then where did complex living things come from? Their answer is simply that there must have been an intelligent designer …somehow…somewhere!
Please note that intelligent design offers no information as to who or what the intelligent designer was or is, and how or when it happened. It is also not a science theory in and of itself, since there is nothing specific to test. There are certain aspects that can be tested, of course. For example, scientists have put together a formula for proving the existence of intelligence. These tests can certainly be done in laboratory conditions, but all they reveal is the presence of intelligence, and not who or what or when or how.
Biblical creation, however, is very specific. The Bible teaches that there was indeed a creation “in the beginning”. Furthermore, it specifies who the designer is (Jesus)and it specifies when He did it, how long it took, and to a degree, how He did it. Creation is not a science theory because the act of creating is not available to be tested in laboratory conditions. Creation is a biblical assertion. Intelligent design only presents the conclusion that there was indeed a designer, but nothing else.
Intelligent design is a threat to evolution–especially in schools –not because it acknowledges Jesus as the Creator, but because it doesn’t exclude the possibility that there MIGHT have been a deity involved in original design. Many evolutionists cannot tolerate that. They don’t want to acknowledge the existence of God, or at least His involvement with man, especially on the sin issue. Therefore, many of them will loudly proclaim that those who want to teach ID in the classroom are trying to get “young earth creationism” into the schools. WRONG! Teaching ID in schools is simply being honest about the scientific problems related to evolution theory.
(By the way, many evolutionists do believe in God, claiming that He was somehow involved in the evolutionary process. This is false. God would never have used something so inefficient and painful as evolution to do His creating.)
Thanks for the clear and clarifying article Mike. I have heard and seen a number of people confusing the Intelligent Design movement with Creation Science. Obviously there is overlap, but this does not equal identity. By the way, I was born and raised in South Africa, near JHB, but have lived in the U.S. for 16 years. I have lived Creation Science since my university days at UCT, Cape Town. Blessings!
Thank you for this article. It’s not that “God would never use something as inefficient and painful as evolution”…but that He couldn’t! If He had, it would mean death, and therefore sin, came before the creation of man, and that all things were NOT good at creation.Man brought about sin and death, so evolution is an impossibility based on God’s Word. Hope this helps, in case some people may wonder WHY God couldn’t use something that was inefficient or painful…
Thanks for this great article! Though of course there is some overlap between the ID movement and Biblical Creationism, they are by no means identical. Yes, ID might lead a person to think seriously about how life came to be, but it is too vague and respectful of the secular timeline, that serious thinking may never lead them to Jesus. By the way, I was born and raised in JHB, SA and have been fascinated by creation science ever since I found the book “What is Creation Science?” in the University of Cape Town library. Keep up the great work brother!
I have always thought that proponents of ID are also Biblical Creationists. I thought that the proponents of ID are only proposing ID as alternative to evolution because schools don’t want any mention of God. Is it possible that some proponents of ID might be Biblical Creationists but are afraid to say so because they might lose their jobs or positions? Anyway, thank you so much for your article. It clarifies a lot of misconceptions.
I agree with the comments made in this post. Creation emphasizes that there was a Creator and identifies this Creator as being the God mentioned in the Bible. Intelligent Design approaches the subject of origins from a scientific perspective, without identifying who the Creator might be. From this approach, the public school system (nor college professors) should not object to Intelligent Design. Evolutionists falsely claim that this approach will lead to teaching creation. If a student comes to the conclusion that there is a Creator, it would be the conclusion reached by the student, not what was taught. If the evidence leads one to conclude that matter, the universe or life could not have originated by natural causes, there is nothing wrong with that. I believe that all the facts should be taught (not just those that may appear to support evolution) and that the conclusion should be reached by the student. Hiding many of the facts that disprove Darwinian evolution is not science but is only protecting the unsubstantiated claims that the universe and life originated by natural causes.