Interview: Jay Richards Elaborates on the Controversy Over Intelligent Design

Intelligent design (ID), a theory that argues that complex living organisms must have been created by a “designer,” continues to cause disagreements all around the nation. Schools find themselves having to take a position on what they believe, and to either hold Darwinian evolution to be true or give this new emerging model a chance.

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(Photo: The Discovery Institute)

Intelligent design advocate Jay Richards, a main panel member at the 'Darwin vs. Design' conferences is questioning today's evolution theory and asking for its strenghts and weaknesses to be clearly looked at.

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In a recent incident, science professors at Southern Methodist University (SMU) are adamantly objecting to a “Darwin vs. Design” conference that will be held on its campus, explaining that ID is complete nonsense. The debate between the two sides continues to grow.

One ID proponent, Jay Richards, research fellow of the Acton Institute and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, recently spoke at a recent “Darwin vs. Design” conference in Knoxville, Tenn. He strongly urges people to question the validity of evolution, and hopes that ID can gain more support in the future.

Apart from his busy schedule, Richards was able to squeeze in an interview with The Christian Post to give his take the recent storm over the origins of life.

CP: There has been a lot of controversy over intelligent design and efforts to have it taught in schools. Especially at Southern Methodist University, the professors there have been extremely resistant to allowing even a conference on its campus. How do you feel about the situation right now? What is your take on it?

Richards: Well, I think intelligent design is a controversial idea, but it’s also an idea that’s been debated in all of western history. In fact in polls, the vast majority of people believe that the universe is a product of intelligent design and purpose.

The problem is what developed in the 19th Century; the widespread idea called scientific materialism became, essentially, the intellectual orthodoxy. It basically says that, to explain anything scientifically, it has to be explained in purely materialistic terms. What that means is that if you have some argument or evidence for nature that evokes intelligent cause, immediately it’s labeled as non-science or pseudoscience or at the very least religion. In that sense, by attaching the label of religion to it, the person is essentially trying to privatize it, so it doesn’t have to be considered public evidence.

But the point of intelligent design’s argument is that it’s based on public evidence, the evidence from nature and the natural world. It’s not based off parochial interpretations, from say, Genesis 1. A good designer argument is an argument in that anyone can participate in it, because it’s based off things that are publicly acceptable.

CP: Some have found the recent uproar at SMU over the upcoming “Darwin vs. Design” conference surprising because SMU is a religiously based-institution. Were you expecting the intelligent design conference at SMU to be more warmly greeted than other places because of that?

Richards: What’s funny about the controversy is that, of course, SMU stands for Southern Methodist University. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that the materialistic worldview is so widespread that even in schools that have Christian names, there’s still not a whole lot of challenging when it comes to the materialist worldview. I’m frankly not at all surprised that the faculty at SMU didn’t react any differently had they been a state school. In fact, sometimes, they are even more zealous to defend the territory, because colleagues at secular institutions might suspect something religious is going on.

It seems perplexing to people that the faculty at Southern Methodist University would object to arguments from science that would confirm some belief they have as Christians. But the truth of the matter is that scientific materialism is so pervasive that it is almost as common in Christian universities as it is at state universities.

CP: What do you think is the most difficult thing when trying to promote intelligent design, and do you feel that it is any closer to being accepted as something that could go into schools?