In response to Bruce Ebanks’ Jan. 21 letter attacking Intelligent Design as a coherent scientific theory, I’d like to point out that Intelligent Design is not a faith-based, supernatural theory but can be backed by experimentation and fact.
Many papers on Intelligent Design have been published, pointing out natural occurrences backing creationism and revealing discrepancies in the evolution theory.
These discrepancies range from the miniscule, such as the amount of sea salt and the remnants of supernovas, to the more impressive facts, such as the fallacy of the geologic column and the question of where the very first matter came from.
This last question cannot even be explained by Big Bang theory, for if all matter came from a singularity’s explosion, where did the singularity come from? Eventually the necessity of a Creator in the process of bringing about an earth and life is all too evident.
One important discrepancy in evolution theory is the present day absence of positive mutations that cause change, even minor change.
Positive mutations exist, though rare, but do not affect an organism enough to change it biologically or morphologically. More commonly, mutations are neutral, deletions of extra DNA, or negative, such as albinism.
In addition, natural selection, or the process known as microevolution, does exist, but doesn’t create new traits, only selects for those traits already in existence.
For more information backing Intelligent Design, you can look up the Institute for Creation Research, which has links to papers from its own researchers as well as papers from other researchers from various universities and organizations around the nation.
Clearly, creationism cannot be dismissed as myth, but regarded in academics and debate as a plausible, scientifically explained theory.
In response to Jay Everett’s Jan. 26 letter, may I say that as a Christian I take offense at his statement “I do not feel the need to bolster my faith with fabricated science.”
If Mr. Everett wishes to make such blatant attacks, he should find some facts to prove that creationism is only “fabricated” to backup his allegation first.
Such figures as the great atheist and Oxford philosophy professor Antony Flew have stated that once they read the facts, they could not disagree that creationism is a viable theory, no fabrications here.
Faith and science are inextricably intertwined and cannot be separated as Mr. Everett believes they should be.
Bias and beliefs are a natural part of every man’s reason, the question is what beliefs color your procedures to find facts and your evaluation of those facts.
Mr. Everett also asks why God didn’t just spell it out for us to rid us of all doubt.
Perhaps he isn’t familiar with the first chapters of Genesis: “And God created the heavens and the earth.”
Kellee Usher is a student at Starkville High School.