The idea that ID’ers think that certain systems are “unevolvable” is in fact false. Certainly some of them do, but many, including Behe who coined the term irreducible complexity, believes that these structures are in fact evolvable. What he does NOT think, is that they are evolvable via random mutation + natural selection. So, they are evolvable, but via a telic, not an atelic process. This doesn’t mean that God reached down and fiddled with some nucleotides several times throughout history (though there are some who believe that — Dembski I think is one of them). But instead, when evolution happens, especially the big, holistic systems at work in biology, that these are generated as part of a planned system of adaptation, not a happenstance system of random mutations and natural selection. Behe’s next book, The Edge of Evolution, will show that almost all observable instances of evolution DO NOT happen on the random mutation + natural selection model, but instead on the more teleological, a-lot-of-coordinated-parts-at-once-model.

The evidence against the natural selection model are quite significant, ranging from the mathematical (No Free Lunch and optimization theory) to the biochemical (read any biochemical journal and you’ll find mechanisms, not random mutations, being the cause of evolution) to the meta-mathematical (there is a great paper called “Biological Function and the Genetic Code are Interdependent” which shows, using Godel’s incompleteness theorem, that any self-referential coding system requires an intelligent agent to produce).

The personalities in my thoughts are Abraham, Moses, Plato, Jesus Christ, Nicholas of Cusa, Leibniz, and Cantor. In the modern creation, I use a system of mmortal spiritual atoms, which forms a system of functional things. The infinite sets of changing things are counted with Cantor’s transfinite numbers. There is no beginning or end in this development of panentheism. A single symbolic language will reveal those endless rest periods of God that exist beyond the 7th day mentioned by Moses.

I made a review of Dr. Collin’s book on Amazon.com.

My biggest concerns today are the claims of physicists and Christians that the world comes to an end. These claims cannot be proven. Yet these claims are developing suicide bombers and child molesters.

George Shollenberger

Intelligent Design suggests “irreducible” complexity as evidence of intelligent design, presumably by God. The argument appears to be structured in such a way to suggest that where there is no “irreducible” complexity, God is taking a break or otherwise letting the machinery run its course. This strikes me as a sort of punctuated deism (apologies to Eldredge and Gould). It is at least aesthetically unappealing.

The fact that we are able to understand any the process should be recognized as being the true miracle. And the faith that those parts that escape our grasp are nevertheless rational (understandable in principle) is a tribute to the majesty of God.

It is possible that there are signs to be found as evidence of deliberate design, similar in concept to the signs described in the Gospel of John. But then, how do we distinguish between real miracles and mere evidence of our own ignorance?

Thank you for allowing the space for my meandering. I doubt that this confused Southern Baptist is in any way qualified to respond to Dr. Collins.

–jd