What do some people think that the theory of "intelligent design" and "evolution" cannot coexists?

Question

Anybody realize that they are 2 different arguments? The theory of evolution does not say that we descended from monkeys, that is just bull. Why are people debating this without knowing what "inteliigent design" means and what is the theory of evolution?

satansawaitin: I'm not a christian and I believe in the theory of evolution.

I stand corrected, there is no such thing a theory of "Intelligent design". Rather I meant the concept of "intelligent design" and the theory of evolution.

Answer 1

i agree with you from what i understand your argument to be. a few months ago i use to be one of those that disagreed with evolution because i am Christian. i think because the rumor of evolution was that we came from monkeys or tadpoles or whatever and that just does not go with our beliefs but thats what many christians and preachers think of evolution to be. but i asked the question a few months back and got some positive answers that changed my mind.

Answer 2

I believe that part of the problem here is a confusion among different notions of what constitutes a "theory". In general conversation, a "theory" is something more like a guess or conjecture. Scientifically, a "theory" often refers to something more substantial. In particular, in science proper theories are conceptual models of a phenomenon supported by observational findings with some measure of predictive power.

Scientifically, theories vary in their completeness. Modern physics is so incredibly refined that many phenomena can be simulated and predicted with incredible precision, and sometimes we have to go a long way and do some very exotic things to push the boundaries to test current theory.

Clearly evolution lacks that degree of precision. We cannot state precisely every event that led to our own evolution, nor can we predict how things are going to evolve with any reliability. Nonetheless it has enough descriptive and predictive power that it powerfully influences most of the biological discoveries in the last century or so. One can find out more by googling the subject.

The big problem with Intelligent Design that I've seen is that it has yet to be developed into anything resembling a proper scientific theory. I have yet to see the theory of ID or any of its foundational concepts used to explain anything in a positive fashion. I have not heard of any empirical observations use ID, specified complexity, or any of the other notions associated with ID used to explain some finding or aspect of biology that adds to our biological knowledge. Every time I've seen ID invoked it's not in some proper scientific use, but it's used to attack or undermine the validity of evolutionary theory.

It's not that I think "Intelligent Design" and evolutionary theory can't coexist, but as yet I haven't seen ID bring anything in the way of a theory to the party.

Answer 3

When I first started working with dogs, "pack leader" wasn't the phrase on the tongue of every person who thought they knew something about dogs. There was no Caesar. I just observed groups of dogs and used what I saw between them as a reference for working with them myself. I never had a real name for it, but simply from observation I had a pretty good grasp on how things worked between dogs and how their body language functioned as a part of that structure. Just by watching, I clearly saw pack dynamics and over time I learned how it worked - and it fascinate me. In the past, I really didn't know how to explain what I saw - it seemed so obvious to me, I didn't understand why other people didn't get it. Now, because these things are so much more mainstream, I have an easier time of explaining it to people. Unfortunately, celebrity ruins everything - and this is no exception. Part of me feels that people like Caesar have taken a good thing and ruined it by celebritizing it.

Answer 4

Hey ALI you are just another narrow minded Christian who
thinks that when he dies he is coming back,sorry to put a stick in your spokes pal. Evolution is the only fact that i need to disprove that there was ever a super spirit out there capabale of "creating " a humanbeing,every time i see that put on here i laugh my cotton soxs off and being an Ex-Catholic i can say as i bloody well like,i'd rather stay a Satanist even though i know that Satan is another Sky fairy
thought up by the Christians to scare them into believing in
Your Fairytales !!Your good book (the Bible) is chock full of contradictions and here say ?it reminds me of another book that i read once it was called ! "THE MAGICIAN "and i could not put it down once i started to read it,so before you start having a go at people over their beliefs you should find out what they were before they went the path they took !

Answer 5

Because without intelligent design, they are only denying evolution. And who's more credible, the person who denies everything or the person who denies but offers other solutions that a lot of people buy into? It's they're way of coming off more appealing and accepting. Before they could just condemn us and evolution. The more we get evidence to support it, the more they need a new approach. Anyone would do it in their situation.

Answer 6

The real problem with "Intelligent Design" is that is says "Everything is so complex there had to be a God to create it." If that is fully accepted then there is no reason to study for further details: If you don't understand it now, God must have done it. While Science and Evolution say that understanding comes from the details.
Under Intelligent Design, it is possible to cut off Scientific study at any point. The Christians who promote ID want to cut it off in 4004 BC by one calculation as "reported" in the Bible. But if I say God created everything on November 13th 1942, doing the Bible at 2:10 am and completing the process, including all memories and history, by 4:20 am, there is absolutely nothing, no test, that can be done to prove me wrong - all I have to say is that God created it that way - the test is just showing the results of God's creation.

Answer 7

Why are people debating it without knowing what it means? Simple. Human nature. Then add in some propaganda.

Too many people rely on what they've heard (or think they've heard) instead of studying for themselves.

Too many people insist/demand "black or white" answers to the mysteries of life. It just doesn't work that way.

I've reached the point in my spiritual life that I realize that the "how we got here" (evolution vs creationism vs whateverism) isn't nearly as important to me as the covenant of the New Testament.

Come on, really. What's more important? Salvation of your eternal soul...or...arguing about one theory or another of how we got here as humans in our present form.

Answer 8

the proper comparison would be the big bang theory and ID .
Evolution would give facts to tendancies that contribute to disbelief of a non scientific arguement called ID.
the world is billions of years old =fact .
life evolved from more simple forms of life =fact.
what other inconsitencies do you need . if it 's the anthropic principal then it swings both way for and against .

Answer 9

Religion and evolution can co-exist. Many believers understand science can help explain just how God creates. The two are not incompatible.

Answer 10

THANK YOU!!!
I call it small-mindedness.

The only difference between Evolution and ID is the name of the god. Chance, or YHWH. Either way, statistics and thermodynamics requires SOME kind of Special Creation. Odds of 10^-29 don't just 'happen' in this universe.