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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>From: Eli Turkel <A href="mailto:eliturkel@gmail.com">eliturkel@gmail.com</A><BR><BR>>> Due to
various attacks on creationism being non-scientific certain<BR>groups
(mainly<BR>Protestant groups with a very literal reading of the Bible)
have<BR>invented "intelligent design" as an alternative to Darwin.
Officially<BR>"intelligent design" does not seek to prove that there is a G-d
that created<BR>the universe (again that violates separation of church and
state). Rather the<BR>main argument is that because nature is so complex it
could not have<BR>come by natural evolution.<BR><BR>Prof. Aviezer brought
several proofs against the idea. He stressed that<BR>because intelligent design
is wrong it does not mean that Darwin and natural<BR>evolution is right. His
personal viewpoint is that evolution in correct but it<BR>happened in jumps (eg
a meteor hitting earth) rather than natural selection.<<<BR><BR>-- <BR>Eli
Turkel</FONT></DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial></FONT></DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>>>>>></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Thanks for that clarification. Evidently what the participants
at the conference rejected was one particular (Christian-inspired) notion of
intelligent design. They did not reject -- how could an Orthodox Jew? --
the idea of G-d being the source of everything that exists.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>That (at least partially) answers a question that nobody else has
even addressed, at least not in this particular thread: The question was,
if you reject intelligent design, what are the alternatives? There are
really only three possibilities (leaving aside a million idiosyncratic
permutations of each one): </FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>1. Bereishis must be taken absolutely literally. (I'm sure
MO rejects this.)</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>2. There is no God. (I'm pretty sure most MO reject this, as
well)</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>3. The universe is the product of intelligent design, i.e, it
was created. Exactly what steps occurred between the first moment of yesh
me'ayin, and how long those steps took, until we arrived at our present moment
-- may be the subject of debate. But surely a Torah Jew cannot deny the
existence of a Designer and still be Orthodox? </FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>When, in an earlier post, RET wrote that all the participants at the
MO conference unanimously rejected intelligent design, I just couldn't see how
to square this circle. Now he explains that they only rejected
Christianity. OK, good, fine with me. I also reject
Christianity.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>So let us now agree that we all /accept/ intelligent design. And we
can then amuse ourselves drawing little circles and diagrams to explain
exactly what we believe and what we reject. (I still believe
that people say they "reject intelligent design" when they want to give
themselves scientific cover and gain credibility with the Scientific Community
-- and I still maintain that it's a useless tactic that won't work.)</DIV>
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<DIV>PS Anyone who is interested in this subject absolutely must read
*Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery* by
Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards. This book is beautiful, fascinating
and incredibly inspiring. </DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><BR></FONT><B><FONT color=#0000ff>--Toby
Katz<BR>==========<BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"></B>--------------------
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