Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 64 (9164 total)
3 online now:
Newest Member: ChatGPT
Post Volume: Total: 916,742 Year: 3,999/9,624 Month: 870/974 Week: 197/286 Day: 4/109 Hour: 0/0


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Intelligent Design or unthinking blasphemy?
Shh
Inactive Member


Message 1 of 4 (318230)
06-06-2006 8:34 AM


Hi all, not sure if this has been posted before so apologies if it has, I've looked, but can't see it.
Every time I look at the phrase "Intelligent Design", it makes me laugh.
The reason being that this idea, is held, mainly by apparently devout (arguably fundamentalist) Christians.
The reason I find this funny, is that the definition of "Intelligent Design" and the definition of "God" are totally incompatible.
True some of the words in there are difficult to pin meanings onto, but even a rough approximation should be enough to demonstrate....
Intelligence- Hard to define, there's so many different facets to Intelligence, but it's not too important for this point, so I'll define it as "the ability to create and manipulate abstractions"
If anyone's got a particular problem with this definition, feel free to add or remove what you like, it's not material to this point, tho I believe the definitions ok.
Here's where the problems start-
Design- To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent:
To formulate a plan for; devise:
then...
God- Again difficulty in a concise definition, but there's some things all Creationists believe, He's omniscient,omnipotent and eternal, those are the important ones.
Now design, essentially, is when we replace the actual trial and error process with an abstract version of same. Suggesting God did this means He can err.
That's blasphemy isn't it?
And of course although we don't have a definition for intelligence, we do know some of it's properties.It requires learning, and most importantly, it requires change. Whatever else intelligence may be one of the few things we can say about it for definite is that it changes.
Which is also blasphemy. God is eternal, and (usually) atemporal.
So can anyone see a way out of this dilemma?
For the miscellaneous section (I think)
Edited by Shh, : edited for forum destination
Edited by Shh, : edited for structure

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 06-10-2006 7:02 AM Shh has replied

Admin
Director
Posts: 13029
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.1


Message 2 of 4 (319898)
06-10-2006 7:02 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Shh
06-06-2006 8:34 AM


This actually belongs in the [forum=-10] forum.
Have you anticipated the obvious replies and have answers prepared? One obvious reply is that your characterizations of "intelligence" and "design" are only as they apply to people. But God is the perfect "intelligence" and perfect "designer", so he never changes his mind, and he never trial-and-errors his way to a design.
Let me know if you think you have good answers for replies somewhat along these lines and I'll release this.
About format, if the format you're using is one you really like then stick with it, but most people don't begin a new line after every sentence. And you have a misplaced period in your last multiline paragraph.

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Shh, posted 06-06-2006 8:34 AM Shh has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by Shh, posted 06-10-2006 8:10 AM Admin has not replied

Shh
Inactive Member


Message 3 of 4 (319905)
06-10-2006 8:10 AM
Reply to: Message 2 by Admin
06-10-2006 7:02 AM


Thanks
Hi
I've reformatted the post, a bit, hope this is better. I hadn't really committed to the format, I'm still getting used to some of the functions.
The reason I didn't put this down for intelligent design, is that I believe the language to be political. This is the basis for how I would respond to the "infinite intelligence" arguments.
If there's anything else let me know, thanks for the feedback.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 06-10-2006 7:02 AM Admin has not replied

Admin
Director
Posts: 13029
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.1


Message 4 of 4 (319908)
06-10-2006 8:31 AM


Thread copied to the Intelligent Design or unthinking blasphemy? thread in the Intelligent Design forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.

Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024