Facts Don't Support ID Case

Scott Weber (Letters 6-18) always attempts to present something as science but without scientific evidence! His recent letter (Source Jun.19) pans evolution and supports Intelligent

July 02, 2008

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Scott Weber (Letters 6-18) always attempts to present something as science but without scientific evidence! His recent letter (Source Jun.19) pans evolution and supports Intelligent Design (ID). His first three paragraphs are merely cribbed from the referenced paper of Harris and Calvert! No scientific evidence is presented in support of ID. To be science, it must have conclusive evidence, not opinion. I'm aware of only one known fact for ID, The great guru, Biochemist Michael Behe, said under oath that the designer is God! It's disguised "creationism." Harris and Calvert relied heavily on Behe's "expertise."

Curiously, Weber does not respond to the scientific information I presented in my letter from renowned scientists.

The second half of his letter relates to William Harris and John Calvert, but he neglects to identify them. Harris has a PhD in nutritional biochemistry. Calvert is a lawyer with a B.A. in Geology. They wrote a paper entitled "ID: The Scientific Alternative to Evolution." Very simply, there is no scientific alternative to evolution. I've read their paper and it lacks evidence to back it up. The most telling lack is that the paper was not submitted to the scientific community, it was published in the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Autumn 2003, prior to Behe's admission that God is the designer. Under "evidence supporting ID", they say the "compelling evidence for design is the appearance of design in living systems." "Appearance" is as unscientific as one can get! "Evolution has not been observed or stimulated." Nonsense. Renowned Geneticist Steve Jones says: "Every AIDS patient is a monument to the theory of evolution. Natural selection alters the identity of the virus as the disease progresses."

Weber suggests that I'm "ignorant of, or just plain foolhardy regarding a major paradigm shift that is going on in science today." I accept that I'm "ignorant of any paradigm" shift in science, none exists. The shift is the religionists. It's a desperation attempt to rationalize "creationism." I leave the "foolhardy" with Weber.

Weber believes his dog Koosah was ID'd. If Koosah could talk he would say: Wrong! I've evolved from the wolf! My challenge to Weber is, when was Koosah designed and by whom?

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Bob Bates, Bend

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