Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Tu quoque: Evolutionists don’t have a full-fledged theory of biological form either!

Evolutionists are just as fond of quote-mining as their ID counterparts. A quote of Paul Nelson’s has lately been making the rounds, appearing even in the New York Times. At a meeting of Biola University last year, Nelson remarked, “Easily the biggest challenge facing the ID community is to develop a full-fledged theory of biological design. We don’t have such a theory right now, and that’s a problem”

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Congratulations Jonathan Wells

Of all my colleagues in the ID movement, the one evolutionists slime the most is Jonathan Wells. It is therefore gratifying to see his article on centrioles and their design characteristics (“Do Centrioles Generate a Polar Ejection Force?”) appear in the latest issue of a peer-reviewed biology journal. Here is the abstract to his article:

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Back to the Quote Mines

the usual reaction from evolutionists, for whom justifying evolution means supplying enough words and irrelevant details to cover their ignorance Read More ›

Intelligent Design at Baylor University: Chronicle of a Controversy

I have just made available on my designinference.com website the documents detailing the rise and fall Baylor’s now defunct Michael Polanyi Center (MPC). The MPC was the first ID think-tank connected to a major university and for about nine months was the focus of considerable media attention. The documents are of mixed quality, with a lot of chaff but also some gems (e.g., a letter by Antony Flew indicating his willingness to defend my academic freedom). There is also some material that has hitherto not been made public, including the original planning document for the MPC presented to the Baylor administration at their request. Also included for the first time is a memo and summary from May 2000 that underscores Read More ›

William Underwood — The New Baylor President

Ordinarily, I confine my comments on this blog to topics related to ID and evolution. This post is somewhat peripheral, though not entirely since Baylor was the first major university to set up an ID research center/think-tank (the now defunct Michael Polanyi Center). Robert Sloan, the Baylor president at whose instance I was hired to set up this center, resigned his presidency a few months ago, the resignation to take effect June 1 — he assumes the position of chancellor (which is a fundraising/public relations — not an administrative — position). Coincidentally, I move on to Southern Seminary June 1 to direct its newly formed Center for Science and Theology.

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Phillip Johnson Festschrift

Jed Macosko and I for the last two years have been working on a Festschrift volume for Phillip Johnson (he is 65 this June). The volume, titled A Man for This Season, is now in production with InterVarsity and should be published early 2006. For the introductory material to this volume, including our preface and Sen. Rick Santorum’s foreword, go here. For initial critical response, go here.