I have always found intelligent design to be a fascinating theory. Of course, I recognize that it is a subterfuge for creationists and I am, by no means, a creationist. That being said, what I love about the theory is where it begins – after the determination of who the “creator” is – allowing pretty much any intelligent being to be the originator of life as we know it.
In the Los Angeles Times, on April 18, there was a really interesting Op Ed piece by Richard Dawkins on intelligent design. The link can be found here. In the piece, Prof. Dawkins asserts that the proponents of intelligent design are intellectually dishonest – because they, and everyone else, knows that “god” is the creators. Prof. Dawkins then goes on to say:
“Nevertheless, despite their notorious dishonesty, I sometimes hand an olive branch to these people by pretending to take their “space aliens” political ploy seriously. Unrealistic as the space alien theory is, it constitutes intelligent design’s best shot.”
I have long said that intelligent design, when combined with Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” provides the closest thing to truth that we have seen on this planet so far. Prof. Dawkins, in his excellent piece, gives academic credence to my position.
I would take the kind professor’s position a step farther, however, and point to the fact that intelligent design’s simple assertion, while not answering the question, “Is there a god,” renders the inquiry rather meaningless. Whether there is or not, whether it was a complex intelligence or a simple set of coincidences, the quest, itself, becomes meaningless and a waste of human capital.
Think about it – a world where we would be forced to acknowledge that we kill and maim, not in gods name, but simply because we choose to. A world where we recognize that “the future is now” and that we better start doing something about it. A world where salvation comes solely from our own acts – not from a pope, a rabbi, a mullah or a priest.
Maybe then we will stop wasting our Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays justifying our cruel, greedy and violent behavior of the prior week – instead, we’d simply have to live with it – and with ourselves. Maybe then peace would have a chance.
