The famous trial some called “Scopes 2” is over. A rural Pennsylvania school board mandated that teachers read students a statement that Darwin’s theory of evolution is not a proven fact and that alternative views like Intelligent Design exist. Obviously any challenge of that type will find its way to court. Now, the Dover PA school board may not have crafted the ideal test case and did not approach the issue sagaciously. The events of the trial itself are available elsewhere – I just want to direct your attention to the ruling itself and the judge who made it.
The judge in the case said that ID “may be true, a proposition on which the court takes no position, ID is not science.” I’m sorry, but it was my understanding that science was, above all else, a quest to understand things the way they really are, a quest to understand the truth about the world. But in this judge’s court, truth is evidently not the chief concern, nor does it really seem to matter much when it comes to education.
He also said that teaching ID “violates the centuries-old ground rules of science by invoking and permitting supernatural causation.” Here is the crux of the matter. The parameters of science have been redefined such that the only explanations that count as “science” are those that fit within a Naturalistic frame of reference. So by definitional fiat the Darwinists can arbitrarily rule out any explanation that doesn’t fit within their worldview. Apparently the judge bought it.
Read more over on Dr. Dembski’s blog and the links he provides. David Price also has some links.