Understanding and Teaching Intelligent Design
Brian Edgar, October 2009.

Author

Brian Edgar is Professor of Theological Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, and a Fellow of ISCAST.

Abstract

The theory of Intelligent Design is a topic the general public has willingly debated because of strongly held opinions concerning both its validity and its suitability as a subject for students at school. Unfortunately there is a fairly high degree of confusion about a range of matters associated with ID. This paper discusses what intelligent design actually is and what it achieves as well as its difficulties and inadequacies. It also discusses the relationship of science to other disciplines and what it means for Australian public education to be ‘secular’ and the implications of teaching ID in public schools.

Key words

Intelligent Design, cosmological argument, teleological argument, irreducible complexity, anthropic principle, specified complexity, evolution, education, secularism

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