Intelligent Design Further Flak

I just got a "I don't believe in this crap" style letter on "why the h-e-double-toothpicks" is Faith Inkubators messing with Intelligent Design. I answered it something like:

I've been fascinated by the complexity of the universe all my life - from the micro to the macro. I've also been dismayed by folks who don't think I have a functioning brain if I question the universe creating itself and others who don't I'm a proper Christian if I don't believe the earth was created in six literal 24 hour days.

As someone who has worked with teens and people who work with teens for 30 years, I've also enjoyed a myriad of late-night around the campfire discussions and cafeteria debates over whether or not (now this enters the realm of philosophy) all of this is some kind of random cosmic accident.

If there is a God, it is incredible. If there is no God, that's incredible, too.

In my experience, teens love to talk about this. That's why we've spent the better part of two years creating a "Why God?" weekend with four themes - the universe, the origin of life, the human brain, and the question of the existence or non-existence of the soul. Whether or not people believe this belongs in the schools, in the churches, or in realm of science fiction, it's a hot topic right now and I believe and it shouldn't be ignored or bypassed by people working with senior high youth. A good discussion on the complexity of the universe and the philosophy of how it may or may not have happened is usually worth the time with kids.

This may be an angle to the discussion that will draw flak from the left and the right, but I believe it’s a reasonable course to take, and the right time in the debate to add our take to the mix.

Comments

[elisabeth]

It seems to me that so much of society isn't willing to look at any middle ground. It is all black and white, right or wrong. I firmly believe that the truth is most often in the gray areas, but the gray isn't as news worthy, and sadly that is what informs so many people.

Do I believe that God created everything? you bet I do! Do I believe that evolution occurred? you bet I do! Where does that leave me? Hoping that someone much smarter about science than I am instructs my children at school, and that at home and at church my children learn that in "7" days God created the heavens and the earth. And that as a family we continue the dialog about what that means to us......

[Richard]

I agree with you, Rich. We don't need to wait until some perfect model is out there before we should start talking about it. I have found in robust and open debate that both sides end up leaving enriched, even if they don't end up agreeing.

For example, my wife and I are at day 19 of Rick Warren's 'Purpose Driven Life' book. There have been a couple of chapters that I wholeheartedly disagreed on. Should we then throw away the whole book? Of course not, even those two chapters served to spark an in depth discussion on the topic and so served a good purpose.