Is this another witchunt?

On his face rests a wearied expression. It's the face of a 41-year-old man fighting for his reputation as a legitimate scientist.Why would the world care about a little-known astronomy professor at a public university in Iowa? It's because of the 2004 book he co-authored with theologian Jay W. Richards called "The Privileged Planet."The book claims that Earth is so unique, it must have been created by an "intelligent designer." Most scientists say there's no way to test that theory as opposed to Darwin's theory of natural selection so it belongs in religion or philosophy courses, not in science classes.Fearing ISU's reputation was at stake, more than 120 faculty members signed a petition this month against representing intelligent design as science. The petition doesn't mention him by name, but Gonzalez believes it's a threat to his place among the Ames intelligentsia.

The book claims that Earth is so unique, it must have been created by an "intelligent designer."

Gonzalez believes conditions are so strict for habitability that complex life does not exist in the Milky Way galaxy other than on Earth. He says he wouldn't be surprised if we are alone in the universe

We, the undersigned faculty members at Iowa State, reject all attempts to represent Intelligent Design as a scientific endeavor.Advocates of Intelligent Design claim the position of our planet and the complexity of particular life forms and processes are such that they may only be explained by the existence of a creator or designer of the universe.Such claims, however, are premised on 1) the arbitrary selection of features claimed to be engineered by a designer; 2) unverifiable conclusions about the wishes and desires of that designer; and 3) an abandonment by science of methodological naturalism.Methodological naturalism, the view that natural phenomena can be explained without reference to supernatural beings or events, is the foundation of the natural sciences. The history of science contains many instances where complex natural phenomena were eventually understood only by adherence to methodological naturalism.Whether one believes in a creator or not, views regarding a supernatural creator are, by their very nature, claims of religious faith, and not within the scope or abilities of science. We, therefore, urge all faculty members to uphold the integrity of our university of science and technology, and convey to students and the general public the importance of methodological naturalism in science and reject efforts to portray Intelligent Design as science.

"It occurred to me - the best place in the solar system to view a solar eclipse is also the best place in the solar system to support complex life," Gonzalez says. "Is that just a coincidence?"

It's a bit premature to call Earth unique when logically there could be hundreds of thousands of planets in the same conditions as Earth throughout the unseen galaxy.
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Chiroptera writes:Of course, with the billions of facts that are available, it wouldn't be surprising that there should be a few surprising coincidences.