Man's Selection: Charles Darwin's Theory of Creation, Evolution, And Intelligent Design

By Marc Watson and Barbara Angle

Man's Selection sets the scientific record straight by taking a fresh look at Charles Darwin's theories of Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design. In The Origin of Species, Darwin stated that "the Creator" originated one or more life forms, established the laws governing nature, and produced works that were superior to those of man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781936883141

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Man’s Selection: Charles Darwin’s Theory of Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design

Copyright ©2017 by Marc Watson, all rights reserved.

Afflatus Press

ISBN: 978-1-936883-12-7 (soft cover edition)

ISBN: 978-1-936883-13-4 (hard cover edition)

ISBN: 978-1-936883-14-1 (electronic edition)

ISBN: 978-1-936883-16-5 (Student Guide)

eISBN: 978-1-936883-14-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017900437

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This book is dedicated to

Our children,

our children’s children,

and all future generations,

who will seek greater understanding

of the Intelligent Design of the Universe,

the Wonders of Nature, and

the Miracle we call Life

through the

Power of Singular Intelligence

and the

Force of Mind

PREFACE AND INTERESTING TIDBITS

*What is the Theory of Intelligent Design?

*Do You Believe in Evolution?

*Darwin on Religion

*A Call to Action

*About this Book

*Referenced Works

*The Free Exercise of Religion - a God Given Right

INTRODUCTION

Introduction: What Darwin Wrote

Inquiry: Should students in public school science classes consider all of Charles Darwin’s observations when studying evolution science and his theory of Natural Selection?

Including: The Two-Sided Coin of Evolution Science, Darwin vs. Darwinism, The Courts - Arbiters of Science

SECTION 1: DARWIN’S OBSERVATIONS

Chapter 1: Darwin on Man’s Selection

Inquiry: What powerful principle did Charles Darwin claim was the key to understanding his theory of Natural Selection?

Including: The Other Selection Process; Selection by Man; A Process of Intelligent Design; Can Nature Do What Man Does?; The important study of Man’s Selection.

Chapter 2: Darwin on Variation 31

Inquiry: What is the catalyst for the Creation and Evolution of life?

Including: Variation; The Catalyst for Creation and Evolution; Individual Variation; Spontaneous Variation; The Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics; Correlated Variation; Knowing that We Don’t Know.

Chapter 3: Darwin on Creation and Selection

Inquiry: How do Darwin’s observations regarding evolution address the creation of all living things?

Including: Create, A Simple Word - A Complex Concept; Darwin’s Observations on Creation, Selection; The Creative Force Behind Nature; Structure and Behavior: Biology and Ethology; The First Cause; Abiogenesis: The Ultimate Creative Process; Evolution: A Multi-Choice Response.

Chapter 4: Darwin on Natural Selection

Inquiry: Is Natural Selection the exclusive means of evolutionary modification, or is it one part of a system of processes acting upon variations effected either through fixed laws or direct interaction?

Including: From Man’s Selection to Natural Selection; The Struggle for Existence; Polymorphism; Extinction; Spontaneous Variation in Nature; Natural Selection: Difficulties of the Theory.

Chapter 5: Darwin on Difficulties with the Theory of Natural Selection

Inquiry: Does the scientific evidence of Revolutionary Evolution conflict with Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection?

Including: Difficulties with and Objections to Natural Selection; Revolutionary Evolution; Life Begins - Abiogenesis and the Prokaryotes, Complex Cells -The Eukaryote Eruption; The Cambrian Explosion; Revolutionary Behavior; The Great Giraffe Mystery; The Inner Perfecting Principle.

Chapter 6: Darwin on Domestication

Inquiry: Can purposeful creations be produced by Nature through a process analogous to Man’s Selection?

Including: Leading with Intelligence; The Modern Horse - A Purposeful Creation; Wild versus Domestic; Intelligent Design - Guiding a Higher Purpose; Too Much of a Good Thing; Intelligently Designing Our Best Friend; A Purposeful Creation; How Much We Don’t Know; Question Everything.

SECTION 2: EVOLUTION, CREATION, AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Chapter 7: Evolution - Reducing Humanity

Inquiry: Can the creation and evolution of modern humans be attributed exclusively to Natural Selection?

Including: The Descent of Man; Reducing Humanity; Greg and Galton; Eugenics, Social Darwinism, and Scientific Racism; The MESS - Evolution Science Today.

Chapter 8: Creation - Elevating Humanity

Inquiry: Could modern humans be a domestic species purposefully created through a process analogous to Man’s Selection?

Including: Modern Humans: A Revolution in Evolution; Behavioral Modernity; The Domestication of Humans; The Force of Mind - Singular Intelligence; The Resurrection of Humanity.

Chapter 9: Intelligent Design - The Force of Mind

Inquiry: Are Singular Intelligence and the Force of Mind evidence of Intelligent Design?

Including: Singular Intelligence: The Force of Mind; Intelligent Design - the Scientific Debate; Nature by Intelligent Design; The One; Science, Philosophy, and Theology - Three Pillars of Learning; Singular Intelligence -Natural Right or Supernatural Responsibility.

SECTION 3: AN EVOLUTION SCIENCE INQUIRY

Chapter 10: S.M.A.R.T. Learning

Science, Math, Art, Reason, and Tradition

Including: An Inquiry-Based Evolution Science Curriculum allowing students to consider Charles Darwin’s work in evaluating Darwin’s theory of evolution.

A Student Guide to Man’s Selection: Charles Darwin’s Theory of Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design.

CONCLUSION: WHY THIS STUDY IS IMPORTANT

HIGHLIGHT BOXES

DARWIN ON RELIGION

THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION - A GOD GIVEN RIGHT

THE LONGITUDE PRIZE

THE ACLU DEFENDED TEACHING THE SCIENCE OF EUGENICS

VARIATION - THE MISSING LINK

FROM DARWIN TO THE MODERN EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE SYNTHESIS

EYES IN THE FRONT OF OUR HEADS: A REVOLUTION IN EVOLUTION

A PUBLICATION TIME LINE OF THE DARWIN TRILOGY

THE TIMING OF GENETIC EVOLUTION

EXAGGERATING THE POWER OF NATURAL SELECTION DARWIN’S CANDID ADMISSION

PTOLEMY’s ALMAGEST: 1500 YEARS OF INCORRECT SCIENCE

SCIENTISTS’ BELIEFS AFFECT SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS

This section contains some tidbits of information that you may find informative as you attempt to tackle the hotly debated science of Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design.

A grand and almost untrodden field of inquiry will be opened, on the causes and laws of variation, on correlation, on the effects of use and disuse, on the direct action of external conditions, and so forth. The study of domestic productions will rise immensely in value. A new variety raised by a man will be a more important and interesting subject for study than one more species added to the infinitude of already recorded species. Our classifications will come to be, as far as they can be so made, genealogies; and we will then truly give what may be called the plan of creation.

Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species, page 426.

The question is of course wholly distinct from the higher one, whether there exists a Creator and Ruler of the universe; and this has been answered in the affirmative by some of the highest intellects that have ever existed.

Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man, page 94.

What is the Theory of Intelligent Design?

A Scientific Definition

The Theory of Intelligent Design, also referred to as the Case for Design, may be defined in various ways. Generally it is the theory that the Universe and everything within have been purposefully created by an Intelligent Force, what Charles Darwin referred to as - the Creator. Darwin was convinced that the study of Man’s Selection would truly give what may be called the plan of creation. Darwin made other observations supporting the Theory of Intelligent Design.

•The Creator established fixed laws governing the behavior of matter;

•The Creator breathed life into one or more original forms of life;

•The Creator uses intellectual powers beyond human understanding to guide Nature; and,

•The works of the Creator are superior to anything man can do.

The alternate theory to Intelligent Design, and the only theory offered in many public school science classrooms today, is the Case for Chance, or creation without purpose or meaning. This theory offers no specific cause or explanation for the origin of the Universe, the laws of nature, or the creation of life. It simply rejects any theory that considers the existence of an Intelligent Creative Force beyond human comprehension.

A Matter for Scientific Study

Intelligent Design is a valid scientific theory. This theory is neither new nor the result of religious tradition. It is a scientific theory developed over thousands of years through observation, experimentation, and reason. One of the greatest rocket scientists of the 20th Century, Dr. Wernher von Braun, strongly supported the study of the Case for Design as an alternative to the Case for Chance. The world renown physicist Dr. Max Planck asserted that behind the force that controls all matter is a conscious and intelligent Mind. Dr. Albert Einstein wanted to know how God created the world…. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.

This book will demonstrate that the Theory of Intelligent Design is a matter for scientific study, and that furthering our understanding of Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design offers the best opportunity to solve the myriad challenges facing humanity.

Do You Believe in Evolution?

Wait! Don’t answer. It’s a trick question.

This is analogous to an officer of the law asking Have you been drinking?

That’s a stupid question. Is he an idiot? Of course I’ve been drinking. Everyone drinks. If you don’t drink, you die.

Wait! What do you mean by drinking?

The question regarding one’s belief in evolution is generally framed relative to one of two extreme positions on this subject. Most often it is posed seeking a simple Yes or No answer to this very complex topic. Rarely is the inquirer trying to provoke a thoughtful discussion on the creation of life or mutability of species. Unfortunately, if you provide a simple yes or no response you may be immediately branded as either a heretic or a lunatic.

Evolution science is complex and relatively new. There is more that we don’t know than we do know. Much of the debate over evolution science is anchored by a staunch defense by extremists bent on limiting study to their specific religious beliefs. Right or left. Black or white. Yes or no!

The No extremists insist that God created by divine act each and every plant or animal species that has ever populated the earth during a relatively brief time period: and that these species are immutable. In other words, once created by God, each species remains unchanged.

The Yes extremists reject any action of a divine Creator, instead insisting that the creation of life was an unplanned happenstance and that all of life started with one simple single-cell life form. Based on the evidence of the mutability of species, these extremists further insist that every variant and species that has ever lived descended from that initial single-cell life form exclusively through the process of Natural Selection.

Two hundred years ago public scientific study was restricted to the first extreme. Today, public school science study is restricted to the second extreme. Why should scientific inquiry and our search for answers to complex questions of life be restricted to either extreme?

Many people, including many scientists, find that the answer to this question does not require choosing one of these two extremes. The truth regarding creation and evolution rests somewhere in the gray area between the extremes. Evolution science embodies a number of observations, some of which you may accept and others you may not. Advancing our understanding of evolution and seeking the truth regarding humanity and the human condition therefore requires that we not limit scientific inquiry to either extreme.

Charles Darwin, who discovered the theory of Natural Selection concurrently with Alfred Russel Wallace, was not an extremist. In fact, he made a number of observations regarding evolution science that might surprise those who espouse conviction to either extreme. Darwin was searching for truth in the gray areas and his work is as relevant today as it was when first introduced in the mid-19th century. Here are a few of Darwin’s observations regarding evolution science that you might find interesting (and which you may never have heard.)

1. Life was initiated by an intelligent Creator in one or more original forms. The Creator also established a set of fixed laws that drive a secondary creation process called Selection.

2. The secondary creation process of Selection includes at least three types; Methodical Selection, Unconscious Selection, and Natural Selection (which may be augmented by Sexual Selection.) Methodical Selection and Unconscious Selection are related, and both are independent of and even compete with Natural Selection.

3. Methodical Selection is driven by the accuracy, skill, and judgment of an intelligent agent while Natural Selection is driven by the competition to survive.

4. Variations, such as Individual, Spontaneous, or Correlated, are the catalyst for evolution and are governed by various complex laws, some unknown.

5. Human exceptionalism, the highest part of our nature, is a result of agencies more important than Natural Selection.

This book will start where Darwin started: Man’s Selection. We will reintroduce his observations in the search for truth regarding Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design. Reading Darwin’s work anew may refresh our understanding of how modern humans came to be and where we may be going. It may also open our eyes to new solutions to the challenges facing humanity.

So, the next time someone asks you whether or not you believe in evolution, consider the following response:

Wait! What do you mean by Evolution?

Darwin on Religion

This book is a study in science, not religion. So why should we be concerned with Charles Darwin’s religious beliefs?

Scientists are human. Like everyone else, they are influenced by their wants, needs, philosophies, experience, traditions, reason, and acquired knowledge - in short, their beliefs. Our beliefs color the way we see the world; the observations we make, the data we record, the postulates, theories, and concepts we formulate, and the conclusions we reach. Such is the case for the various theories regarding evolution science.

Darwin was initially a Monotheist following Christian traditions. However, his disbelief in such traditions grew to a point where he could not subscribe to a personal God. However, he also refused to disavow God, or to align with the religion of Atheism. His scientific observations remained relatively neutral with regard to religious influence.

When you read Darwin’s works, his many letters, and his unabridged autobiography published by his granddaughter in 1958, you get a sense of his struggle with faith and his changing beliefs. However, when it came to his scientific observations regarding evolution, Darwin was probably as non-religious as anyone who has ever tackled the subject. Darwin did not have religious work and secular work - he had scientific work. For this reason, all of his work should be considered in the study of evolution and creation.

It is best to let Darwin describe his religious beliefs in his own words, through a letter he penned late in his life to John Fordyce.

Dear Sir

May 7th 1879

It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist.- You are right about Kingsley. Asa Gray, the eminent botanist, is another case in point - What my own views may be is a question of no consequence to any one except myself. - But as you ask, I may state that my judgment often fluctuates. Moreover whether a man deserves to be called a theist depends on the definition of the term: which is much too large a subject for a note. In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of God. - I think generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.

Yours faithfully,

Ch. Darwin

The following passage is from a lecture delivered by Dr. Max Planck in Germany in 1937, as the Nazi Party’s rise to power threatened the stability of not only the European continent, but the entire world. Dr. Planck was one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. He won the 1918 Nobel Prize for his work in quantum physics and is the name sake of the famous Max Planck Institute.

The young generation of our own era, which in any case is sharply critical, toward traditional views, no longer permits itself to be bound innerly by doctrines which it regards as contradictory to the laws of nature. And the spiritually most gifted members of the young generation in particular, those destined to be the future leaders of their nation and who not seldom harbour a burning desire for religious satisfaction, are the ones most painfully hit by such incongruities. They are the ones who must suffer most heavily if they are sincere in seeking a compromise between their religious and their scientific beliefs.

Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that the atheist movement which calls religion an arbitrary delusion invented by power-hungry priests and which has nothing but words of derision for the pious faith in a supreme power above man, is eagerly taking advantage of the progress of scientific knowledge; allegedly in alliance with natural science, the movement continues to spread at an ever quickening pace its disruptive influence over all nations and classes of mankind. I need not go here into a more detailed discussion of the fact that the victory of atheism would not only destroy the most valuable treasures of our civilization, but - what is even worse - would annihilate the very hope for a better future.

Max Planck, Religion and Natural Science, a lecture delivered in May, 1937, as translated by Frank Gaynor in Scientific Autobiography and other papers, Philosophical Library, New York (1949), pages 155-156

What does this quotation from a long-forgotten lecture delivered nearly eighty years ago have to do with the subject of Intelligent Design today? A brief journey through the parallel advancement of natural science and the religion of Atheism may shed light on this question. I will try to make this journey through history succinct and only moderately painful!

During the Age of Enlightenment, the field of study we now call science began to tear itself away from its siblings, philosophy and theology. By the early 1800’s, Sir Isaac Newton’s natural philosophy had been transformed into natural science, and in the 1830’s the Anglican priest William Whewell introduced the term scientist to describe those who studied natural philosophy or who were otherwise considered men of science.

During this same period, Atheism was being strongly promoted by German philosophers such as Karl Marx, Max Stirner, Friedrich Engels, and Bruno Bauer. All four participated in the left-wing Young Hegelians, a group of radical liberal intellectuals who seized selected works of the famous German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel to instigate social change in what was then Prussia. A major focus for the Young Hegelians was the complete renunciation of Christianity. Bauer went so far at to argue that Jesus Christ was a mythological construct blended from Jewish, Greek, and Roman theologies.

In 1859, Charles Darwin’s publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, provided a scientific platform for the advancement of the religion of Atheism through the philosophies of Naturalism and Materialism. In The Origin of Species, Darwin presented evidence for the evolution theory of Natural Selection, which he and Alfred Russel Wallace had been developing concurrently for over a decade. Darwin’s work was at once controversial, pitting Naturalism and Materialism against Dualism and Idealism. He anticipated a backlash from traditional scientists and theologians. Natural Selection contradicted widely-held scientific theories such as teleological evolution, and was a direct assault on the theological tradition of Divine direction. Some feared that Darwin’s theory might undermine the foundation of Monotheism. Darwin anticipated this scientific and theological blow-back, yet he did not shy away from the evidence he observed. Darwin did not however anticipate how his work would be exploited by another religious philosophy: Atheism.

Shortly after the publication of The Origin of Species, Thomas Huxley, who was referred to as Darwin’s Bulldog, formed the X Club: a group of highly influential English intellectuals devoted to science, pure and free, untrammeled by religious dogmas. The X Club recognized that Darwin’s publication created an opportunity to reduce theological influence over scientific study. Huxley was particularly keen on removing Monotheistic cause and effect from science education.

Despite Darwin’s protests, his scientific theories were parsed, redacted, and misappropriated to develop an atheistic evolution philosophy called Darwinism, and its radicalized social science offshoot Social Darwinism. Huxley’s X Club used Darwinism to advocate an aggressive Agnosticism (a term Huxley had coined). Edward Aveling, an English biology instructor borrowed heavily from Darwinism to promote Atheism and Marxism. Darwin’s cousin, Francis Galton, took Darwinism a step further to advance one of the most horrendous social science theories every proposed; Eugenics. Social Darwinism and Eugenics applied the survival of the fittest philosophy, proposed by X Club member Herbert Spenser, to explain human evolution and behavior.

After Darwin’s death, Darwinism morphed into neo-Darwinism, accelerating the controversy over evolution. This was particularly true in the growing field of social science, which was increasingly aligning with Social Darwinism. During this highly disruptive period of philosophical and social thinking, another new voice emerged; that of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche was highly influenced by Bauer and Darwinism, and in his book The Gay Science, famously declared that "God is dead." Nietzsche advanced more radical Atheistic social science theories such as Nihilism and the Ubermensch (super man), as a counter to Monotheistic concepts of God.

By the early 20th Century, the principles of Social Darwinism and Eugenics, based on Natural Selection and the Survival of the Fittest, had become synonymous with evolution. These principles, which advanced a concept called Scientific Racism, became the foundation of evolution education in Europe and the United States (see the highlight box on page 12). Social Darwinism and Eugenics, bolstered by Marx’s Communism and Nietzsche’s Ubermensch, fueled the fervent racism and Fascism sweeping through Europe during this period. These scientific principles were a major factor in the philosophical foundations of Nazi Germany and Soviet Communism, leading to Stalin’s purges of unproductive societal resources (excess population) and the genetic engineering promoted by Adolf Hitler to achieve his master race.

Dr. Planck clearly recognized that the practitioners of the religion of Atheism were "eagerly taking advantage of the progress of scientific knowledge" to fan the flames of social unrest and gain political power.

Our brief journey through history is finished. I believe most would agree that the social science experiments of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were bad science!

Fast forward to the 21st Century and we find that many of the tenets of neo-Darwinism are embedded in evolution science curriculum in U.S. public schools. Yet, neo-Darwinism often contradicts what Charles Darwin observed and wrote. For example he insisted that Natural Selection was NOT the sole evolutionary process. Darwin protested such distortions but to no avail as the philosophy of Materialism and the religion of Atheism became the foundation of evolution science. Today, students are often taught that all living things that have ever existed are the result of Natural Selection. Further, students may be instructed that all of life flows from an initial single-cell form resulting from an unintentional, random, accidental, happenstance; without meaning or purpose. Why have some of Darwin’s most phenomenal observations been redacted from evolution science curriculum in order to comport with Materialism and Atheism?

To answer this question, we need to look at the governance of science education. According to a 1998 report by Edward Larson and Larry Withham published in Nature, 76.7% of the members of the U.S. National Academy of Science have a personal disbelief in God. Another 23.3% are either agnostic or doubt the existence of God. Charismatic evangelists for Atheism and Materialism fill influential positions in some of the finest Universities and have used these academic platforms to publish best selling books such as God: The Failed Hypothesis, by Victor Stenger, The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, and A Universe from Nothing, by Lawrence Krauss. These supposed scientific treatises appear heavily influenced by the authors’ Atheistic or Anti-Theistic religious beliefs.

In 2011, the internationally renowned physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking proclaimed that science, particularly physics, had become the supreme authority over our quest for knowledge regarding the fundamental questions of being.

But almost all of us must sometimes wonder: Why are we here? Where do we come from? Traditionally, these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead. Philosophers have not kept up with modern developments in science; particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.

Stephen Hawking, speech at Google’s Zeitgeist Conference, 2011 as reported by Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor, The Telegraph, 17 May 2011.

Dr. Hawking made his position even more definitive in a 2014 interview.

Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. What I meant by ‘we would know the mind of God’ is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.

Stephen Hawking quotation reported by Alan Boyle in the article ‘I’m an Atheist’: Stephen Hawking on God and Space Travel, Sept 23, 2014, nbcnews.com

Dr. Hawking’s impressive credentials notwithstanding, his categorical rejection of theories or viewpoints outside of his personal frame of reference demonstrates a bias often seen in theoretical scientific postulation, particularly regarding questions about the universe and human existence. Dr. Hawking is certainly entitled to his personal beliefs and to argue his theories. However, in the interest of science, he should be accepting of and even encourage divergent thought and broad-minded debate. The establishment of scientific theory based on the religious beliefs of such elite scientists as Dr. Hawking and Dr. Dawkins is indicative of the parochialism Charles Darwin confronted with the publication of The Origin of Species.

This book is not an indictment of evolution science. To the contrary, this book clearly supports the mutability of species and Charles Darwin’s observations, including his theory of Natural Selection. In fact, an open inquiry, study, and discourse in the various theories of evolution science does not pose any threat to religious freedom. In the purest sense science, philosophy, and theology are all seeking the same thing - truth. However, when scientific study is limited to a specific belief system, learning and discovery are stifled; and humanity takes a step backward in its quest for greater understanding of our universe, life, and the human condition.

This book is not an indictment of Atheism. Atheism (from the Greek atheos), like Monotheism, is a foundational belief that is the basis of various religious traditions. Buddhism and Taoism are sometimes classified as atheistic or non-theistic. The New Atheism movement is spawning congregational groups with their own traditions. Just as practitioners of other religious faiths, Atheists are certainly entitled to practice their faith and espouse their beliefs. However, Atheism is not synonymous with either science or secularism. The enforcement of Atheistic beliefs on public scientific study is bad for science. It is also absolutely unconstitutional.

The United States of America: In God We Trust

Restricting scientific study to theories aligned with Atheism is especially inappropriate in the United States. The constitutions of all fifty U.S. states affirm the existence of God. The founding principle of our great nation is the concept of inalienable rights - referred to in the U.S. Constitution as the "Blessings of Liberty". In 1956, the United States adopted the official motto In God We Trust. These constitutional affirmations and fundamental concepts are essential truths; foundational principles upon which our nation has developed and continues to progress. These statements do not require any individuals to subscribe to any specific religion.

To the contrary, while affirming the existence of God, every state also affirms an individual’s right to freedom of belief. We each have the personal right to believe in God or not to believe in God; to worship God in any way we choose or to not worship God at all. The U.S. even protects an individual’s right to openly disavow the existence of God and to organize religions that do not accept God’s existence in any form. However, this cherished individual right to freedom of religious belief, including the right to disavow God, does not negate every state’s acknowledgment of the existence of a single God, a Creator, as a matter of fact. By analogy, people have the right to burn the U.S. flag. However, their right does not require that we disavow the flag or remove it from public forums, even though it may offend those who would burn it.

Scientists who disavow God should not be allowed to restrict scientific study to theories, hypothesis, or inquiry that align with their religious beliefs. Scientific study may include theories that posit Intelligent Design as well as theories that offer alternative explanations. Even Dr. Dawkins, an evangelist for Atheism, recognized that both are valid scientific hypotheses.

The anthropic principle, like natural selection, is an alternative to the design hypothesis. It provides a rational, design-free explanation for the fact that we find ourselves in a situation propitious to our existence. I think the confusion arises in the religious mind because the anthropic principle is only ever mentioned in the context of the problem it solves, namely the fact that we live in a life-friendly place. What the religious mind then fails to grasp is that the two candidate solutions are offered to the problem. God is one. The anthropic principle is the other. They are alternatives.

Dawkins, Richard; The God Delusion; Houghton Mifflin, New York (2006, 2008)

The Theory of Intelligent Design is a valid scientific consideration. It can be compared and contrasted with the alternate hypothesis that there is no design or plan to nature. As a matter of science and for science, Dr. Planck’s observations