Intelligent design founder argues against evolution

Four day symposium continues today, Sunday

Saturday, February 18, 2006

By CHRIS ETHERIDGE

The Register-Mail

GALESBURG - The father of intelligent design says his child is not ready for school.

The hypothesis of intelligent design, while being developed, is not complete enough to be taught in the classroom, Phillip Johnson, professor emeritus of law at the University of California at Berkeley, said during a lecture at Knox College Friday. Johnson is widely recognized as a founder of the intelligent design movement.

His statement disappointed some in the audience, but was welcomed by others.

While his wife and son both think intelligent design should be a part of science classes, George Tanner, a former school counselor and supporter of intelligent design, said he was not disappointed to hear Johnson say the hypothesis is not ready for the classroom.

Tanner said he thinks students have enough to handle in their curriculum today. Still, he said it could be mentioned as an alternative.

The presentation Friday was a part of a four-day symposium on intelligent design. Johnson participated in a series of events Thursday and Friday at Knox College, sponsored by the Knox chapter of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. He will also be at Bethel Baptist Church, 1196 N. Academy St., for events today and Sunday.

Johnson has written several books on intelligent design and evolution, including "Darwin on Trial." The book, published in 1991, established Johnson as one of the foremost critics of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

"When Darwin published 'Origin of Species' in 1859," Johnson said, "there was no proof of natural selection."

He said common examples of evolution, such as selective breeding in livestock, are not good proof of Darwin's theory.

"Domestic animal breeding is really an example of intelligent design," he said, because it requires an intelligent being to select which animals breed.

His argument Friday against evolution was, in part, based on the lack of observed macroevolutionary events, such as witnessing the development of new species.

But Don Blaheta, a computer science professor at Knox, said the lecture showed him that Johnson does not have a solid understanding of probabilities and Johnson's argument is "developed from a misunderstanding of statistics."

Blaheta explained that when dealing with large numbers such as measuring events over billions of years, small mutations in a human lifetime that may seem insignificant can dramatically change the probability of another mutation.

Others, like Liz Soehngen, a first year Knox student, weren't convinced by Johnson's claims.

"(Johnson) is playing in a ballpark, but won't play by the rules," she said, arguing that the lecture lacked scientific citations or retestable proof of his claims.

And she complained that much of what he said later in the presentation was a repetition of his earlier arguments.

But The Rev. Lee Johnson, an organizer of the event, explained that the reason the 65-year-old former law professor seemed to ramble is that two serious strokes in 2002 left him without the ability to recognize how much time has lapsed when he is talking. He now speaks with the assistance of a moderator to guide the conversation.

Lee calls Phillip Johnson's pre-stroke writings ingenious and was disappointed that the author could not speak in Galesburg before his strokes.

If you go

- Today, Bethel Baptist Church, Sanctuary

9 a.m.: Making the Case for Intelligent Design

10:45 a.m.: Intelligent Design and Our Public Schools

- Sunday, Bethel Baptist Church, Sanctuary

8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.: What Intelligent Design Means to the Christian

6 p.m.: Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds