According to Herman Wouk, the famous physicist Richard Feynman is purported to have described calculus as "the language God talks." Even though Feynman was agnostic and was waxing ironic when made that remark, I love the perspective it offers. Notwithstanding the flurry of attacks on faith by the New Atheists, this perspective has for centuries been a dominant, driving force for scientific inquiry. The very true idea underlying Feynman's ironic remark is that the more we uncover the hidden design of our universe, the more we learn of its designer.
How sad is it then, that this ancient human impulse to learn more about our Creator by studying his creation, has been tangled up with and made nearly inseparable from politics. Don't be deceived--Intelligent Design is neither a spiritual venture nor a scientific revolution. It is a political movement; its aim is to forcefully wrest scientific authority from the hands of scientists and place it in the hands of clergy.
The problem I have is not in simply saying that the Universe has a designer. I believe that. It needs to be asserted and held up against the aggressive proponents of dumb luck and purposelessness. The problem I have with supporters of ID is that they don't want to just say that there is a designer; they also want to define the parameters for saying precisely how he did it. I'm sorry, but that privilege should be the domain of science. Last I checked, most seminaries weren't offering advanced degrees in hard sciences, so I don't trust religious institutions on these kinds of issues. Flexing political muscle in order to advance our interpretation of Scripture over scientific evidence is a recurring mistake that has exacted a severe toll on the credibility of the Church.
I'm hopeful though. History attests that in the end, truth tends to win out over its suppressors. The atheists and ID people can launch rockets in each other's direction all day long; meanwhile, the quiet candle of truth will keep burning to illuminate more reasonable minds.
