Defending Dissent from Darwinism in Final Rebuttals to Intelligent Design Critics on OpposingViews.com

Late last night I posted my final rebuttals to the NCSE on OpposingViews.com. This makes 12 total rebuttals for the pro-ID side and zero for the anti-ID side (though Americans United did post a sur-rebuttal tellingly titled “You Lost the Case — Get Over It“). Here are my links to my latest rebuttals: Rebuttal to NCSE #1: “Hypocrisy: NCSE Uses Religious Arguments–to Advocate for Evolution!“ Rebuttal to NCSE #2: “Ask Questions & Think for Yourself: Science Is Not a Voting Contest“ Rebuttal to NCSE #3: “ID Satisfies the NCSE’s Stated Definitions of Science“ Rebuttal to NCSE #4: “Rewriting History & Twisting the Law Doesn’t Turn ID Into Creationism“ Rebuttal to NCSE #5: “NCSE’s Appeals to Authority Threaten Scientific Progress“ (Note: Read More ›

NCSE Promotes Shrill Editorial Suggesting “Students be Forced to Consider the Possibility that There Is No God”

“Bastion of ignorance”? “Right-wing political ideology”? “Pseudo-scientific claptrap”? Not exactly the sorts of taunts you expect from a purportedly calm, collected, objective scientific source like the president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). Undoubtedly, such over-the-top rhetoric brings coos of approval from ID’s most vehement critics, such as those at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). Gregory A. Petsko, president of the ASBMB, recently published an article in ASBMB Today attacking intelligent design (ID) printing the rhetoric quoted above. But that’s not all he did. His article (which was also published in the journal Genome Biology) goes so far as to insinuate that people believe in religion due to “insecurity and need for certainty” and Read More ›

Does NCSE Support Mocking World Religions?

The introductory letter from Bobby Henderson in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster states: “[T]he church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) invites you to learn a little more about us … [W]e need a book. (Doesn’t every religion have a book?) The Jews have the Bible (The Old Testicle), the Christians have ditto (The New Testicle), and Muslims have the Q-tip or whatever, the Jains have Fun with Dick and Jain, the Suffis have Sufis Up!, the Buddhists have the Bananapada, and the Hindus have the Ten Little Indians…” (pg. xiii, emphasis added) Glenn Branch, deputy director for the National Center for Science Education (NCSE, apparently defends Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, saying that it is merely “light hearted fun Read More ›

Who is writing anti-ID articles in the UK?

As we recently discussed here, there was a factually challenged article against intelligent design in a UK newspaper, The Independent. Given the anti-ID motive-mongering in the article, it is not surprising to find that the British Center for Science Education (BCSE) helped put the article together. The BCSE’s Roger Stanyard admits that “[s]ome of you are aware that I helped in putting it together” and gives the URL, saying the article is “based n [sic] material and advice supplied by BCSE.” (see here) So how closely is this “British Center for Science Education” tied to the “National Center for Science Education” (NCSE) based in the United States? It’s not entirely clear, but recently the NCSE’s Nick Matzke explained that “Roger Read More ›

Response to Matzke and Padian’s Revisionist History and Gloat Parade

Nick Matzke and Kevin Padian have posted a celebratory rant at the NCSE website against ID and the Discovery Institute. But their rant is so extreme that it gives me reason to leap for joy. If there were any doubts that some people get over emotionally involved with this issue, Padian and Matzke’s gloat-parade makes it clear. With the lights shining brightly this rainy afternoon in Seattle, I offer the following comments: Thanks for Your Support! I’ll start with a short e-mail I received recently from a professor at a large state university, and also a movie quote. Recently a professor responded to question about why he recently chose to join Discovery Institute: “Actually, if you must know, after reading Read More ›