My one-time hometown newspaper, The Monmouth (IL) Daily Review-Atlas, reports that Knox College in nearby Galesburg is launching a short course on intelligent design. The professor plans to look at the subject from all points — essentially philosophy, and religion, as well as science — and properly starts back with the Greeks. But he also should investigate Ben Wiker’s book, Moral Darwinism, for its excellent complementary discussion of the roots of Darwinian materialism, also in Greece. The sides have been clearly apparent for a very long time.

Dr. Martin Roth, a visiting professor, is not a supporter of ID, and may even oppose it. But he also may do a fair job of explaining it. Let’s see.

If not, Knox in February will present a lecture by Dr. Phillip Johnson, author of Darwin on Trial and godfather of the modern ID movement. Students will be served by having his insights added to the mix.

Students at Knox, the Review Atlas reports, say they want to know more about ID than what they have been reading in the mainstream media. The college is responding.

We keep hearing about these courses in places one might not expect them. The Wall Street Journal and Knight Ridder have both carried recent stories of such activities developing on college campuses. Barbara Bradley Haggerty’s story on NPR recently about persecution of ID friendly scientists mentioned 18 science professors around the country who would not allow themselves to be identified and interviewed for fear of persecution.

That’s a number that even surprised us. Others, of course, are out in the open–and thanks partly to fulminating opposition, they are getting the attention of students.