The Intelligent Design (ID) movement seems to have come of age in the past year or so, with the case for an information-based view of both origins and ongoing existence being increasingly solidified. Not only does the information-based approach deal an essentially lethal blow to Neo-Darwinism, it also provides a framework for significant reconciliation with Judeo-Christian source documents and thought. As leading ID author and lecturer Stephen Meyers expresses it, “The Return of the God Hypothesis”. His upcoming book on that subject is eagerly awaited.
Given below are links to recent 2019 videos of several important scientists and writers who are at the forefront of the ID movement. Many of the presentations below are from Discovery Institute’s Dallas Conference on Science & Faith, held in January 2019.
Giving Up on Darwin
The first video entails an interview of two ID proponents, and a Yale computer science academic who has come to the conclusion that Neo-Darwinism is a “beautiful” but failed belief system relative to the origins of life.
Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with Berlinski, Meyer, and Gelernter (57:40)
(From YouTube) Based on new evidence and knowledge that functioning proteins are extremely rare, should Darwin’s theory of evolution be dismissed, dissected, developed or replaced with a theory of intelligent design?
Has Darwinism really failed? Peter Robinson discusses it with David Berlinski, David Gelernter, and Stephen Meyer, who have raised doubts about Darwin’s theory in their two books and essay, respectively The Deniable Darwin, Darwin’s Doubt, and “Giving Up Darwin” (published in the Claremont Review of Books).
James Tour – Origin of Life
James Tour is a Synthetic Organic Chemist from Rice University. He is a Christian Believer, and has published a very large number of scientific articles, as well as acquired numerous patents. Here are a couple of his 2019 videos. There are more available on YouTube.
James Tour – The Mystery of the Origin of Life (58:24)
A detailed and scathing review of Origin of Life studies, delivered at the Discovery Institute Dallas Conference on Science and Faith, in January 2019.
James Tour – The Origin of Life Has Not Been Explained (22:32)
(From YouTube) In this bonus interview footage from Science Uprising, synthetic organic chemist James Tour from Rice University discusses the serious challenges faced by current origin of life research.
Here is some background of his upbringing, and coming to faith in Jesus Christ.
Science & Faith — Dr. James Tour (11:28)
A brief profile of Dr. James Tour, a leading nanotechology researcher, -Professor of Chemistry, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science — Rice University’s Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Houston, TX-Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory. In this presentation, he discusses how he came to faith in Jesus Christ from a Jewish upbringing, and how his life is centered around much Bible reading, prayer, and family, as well as his extremely successful scientific and engineering pursuits.
Michael Behe – Devolution
Michael Behe, Biochemist of Lehigh University is one of the pioneers of the Intelligent Design movement. His 1996 book, Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution communicates the concept of “Irreducible Complexity”, describing processes that cannot be built up via Neo-Darwinian processes from less complex organisms.
Revolutionary – Michael Behe and the Mystery of Molecular Machines (59:08)
Video tracing the origin of the irreducible complexity concept by Biochemist Michael Behe. His breakthrough 1998 book Darwin’s Black Box was one of the early successes of the Intelligent Design movement.
Michael Behe – Darwin Devolves (1:01:32)
(From YouTube) Eric Metaxas interviews biochemist Michael Behe on “the new science about DNA that challenges evolution” as told in Behe’s book, Darwin Devolves: The New Science About DNA That Challenges Evolution.
Stephen Meyer at Dallas Science and Faith 2019
Stephen Meyer – God and the Origin of the Universe (45:52)
In this lecture, Stephen Meyer focuses on the Big Bang and important cosmological and physics-related phenomena associated with the formation of the universe, and suggests how these facts correspond Theistic principals such as those found in Judaism and Christianity.
Stephen Meyer – Darwin’s Doubt (1:05:04)
Stephen Meyer discusses his 2013 book “Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design”. Economist George Gilder characterizes Meyer’s book “…Darwin’s Doubt is the best science book ever written. It is a magnificent work, a true masterpiece that will be read for hundreds of years.”
Other Speeches/Interviews at Dallas Science and Faith 2019
Stephen Meyer – The Return of the God Hypothesis (1:11:24)
(From Youtube) Eric Metaxas interviews Stephen C. Meyer about the ultimate mystery of the universe as drawn from recent scientific discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biology.
The interview took place at the Dallas Conference on Science and Faith, sponsored by the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, in January 2019.
Stephen Meyer has a new book coming out in 2020 entitled, “The Return of the God Hypothesis: Compelling Scientific Evidence for the Existence of God”.
Eric Metaxas – The Miracle of the Universe (45:16)
(From YouTube) According to a nationwide survey, more than two-thirds of atheists and one-third of agnostics believe that “the findings of science make the existence of God less probable,” while nearly half of self-identified theists believe “the findings of science are neutral with regard to the existence of God.” But what if there is another option? What if the discoveries of science actually lend support to belief in God? Author Eric Metaxas addresses these questions.
Jay Richards – The Privileged Planet (42:36)
(From Discovery Institute) In addition to writing many academic articles, books, and popular essays on a wide variety of subjects, he edited the award winning anthology, God & Evolution: Protestants, Catholics and Jews Explore Darwin’s Challenge to Faith. He is also co-author of The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery (2004) with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez.
Richards is also executive producer of several documentaries, including The Call of the Entrepreneur, The Birth of Freedom, and Effective Stewardship (Acton Media and Zondervan, 2009). He has been featured in several television-broadcast documentaries, including The Call of the Entrepreneur, The Case for a Creator, The Wonder of Soil, and The Privileged Planet, based on his book, The Privileged Planet, with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez.
Summary of ID as of April 2019 – Stephen Meyer and Douglas Axe
Intelligent Design 3.0 by Stephen Meyer and Doug Axe (1:30:28)
Discovery Institute scientists Stephen Meyer and Douglas Axe discuss the state of Intelligent Design as of April 2019. In addition, they provide an outline of some of the new areas of research that are opening up because of the progress in ID-related disciplines.
As a side note, consider the snarky description given for Discovery Institue by Google, via Wikipedia:The Discovery Institute is a politically conservative non-profit think tank based in Seattle, Washington, that advocates the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design.
John Lennox on Science and Faith
While not considered a member of the Intelligent Design community, Oxford Mathematician John Lennox’s views on science and God are relevant to the discussion.
John Lennox The Question of Science and God – Part 1 (47:36)
John Lennox – Has Science Buried God (1:19:12)
(From YouTube) Host Eric Metaxas and Oxford professor John Lennox explore the question, “Has science buried God?” — discussing the fine-tuned universe, evolution, logic, history, and more! “It’s like we’re an old Vaudeville team” says Metaxas, who eggs the legendary Lennox into retelling his equally legendary roast chicken anecdote. The interview was hosted by the Colson Center and took place in Washington D.C., in May 2019.
Two useful Intelligent Design websites: