Francisco Ayala on ID

Francisco Ayala, one of the most well known and renowned biologists has weighed in on the ID issue, according to a story in the Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times. He has no uncertain opinion:

"How do I know what the intentions of the designer are? There is no way we can test the theory of intelligent design," Ayala said. "It is not a scientific theory. It has not generated peer-reviewed publications. It has not been the subject of any testing or research."

Also:

"It would have to be imperfect design or incompetent design or inept design, but not intelligent design," he said, noting for example that human beings have more teeth than can fit in the jaw, so dentists have to remove the wisdom teeth.

"Any engineer who would have designed the human jaw would be fired the next day," he said to laughter.

This has always been a serious problem for ID and requires supporters of ID such as William Dembski to postulate that some parts of the biota are subject to ID and some are not.

Dr. Ayala also notes, in opposition to some writers, that by being able to explain things like tsunamis and earthquakes using scientific principles, we can stop blaming God for them. For those wondering where Dr. Ayala is coming from, here is an excellent article outlining his stance on science and faith issues.