Intelligent Design (ID). Creationism. Call it what you will, it is an arguement against the mechanisms describing evolution rather than a field of study promoting an actual scientific premise. If ID were to be taught side by side in the classroom, I wonder if some of the student's questions would resemble these...
If we accept the notion of ID, is there a method of determination to the source of the "designer"? A name or pantheon one may point to as originator?
If ID determines a deity, how may one confirm one pantheon over another? By age of pantheon in human history? Should studies be made to determine the "original" pantheon, perhaps examining Druidic cults, animalism and shamanistic ritualisms?
If one determines a designer, is it possible to determine the origin of the designer?
Assuming the Christian bible is the authentic "word" of authority of possible ID theories, which version does one use to examine ID? How does one determine the most valid version? Does the oldest version hold the most secure authority? If not, doesn't the newest version hold language translation and personal interpretation issues? What about books of the Bible that have been removed from the "official document" over the millenia?
In which language should it be examined, since presumably reading a translation can give cause to possible misinterpretations or errors?
How many of the authors of books in the Bible were comtemporary witnesses of events described?
If the Bible is "the divinely inspired word of God" to His believer's quills, then how is it that so much information in the Bible has been shown to be in error? If this is an error of the writer, then how much other information can be taken as valid and how does one determine that?
If ID is responsible for life, is it also responsible for material existence? The Earth and stars? Does this not conflict with Thermodynamics, The Laws of Conservation of Matter and Energy, and the studies refuting spontaneous creation?
If a seperate set of physical rules (chemistry, physics, forces) are at work at the creation of the world and/or life, where is the evidence that such rules exist(ed)? Were these forces brought into play just for the sake of creation then set aside?
If one assumes literal acceptance of the Bible, doesn't that include Flat Earth theory, Geocentrism and denial of methods such as carbon dating and radio astronomy?
By what physical force is creation or design manifested? Electromagnetic? Gravity? Nuclear strong force? Is it a force or reaction already observed and measured? Is it something in use at this time and possibly measurable?
If the force at use is supernatural, then by what hypothetical means is such a force measurable? If supernatural forces are at play, then are there any circumstances at which we may observe them now? How might they interact with our known laws of chemistry and physics?
Is there any way to test and verify any of this?
Perhaps it would be well to not bring such questions into the venue of logical, rational, inquisitive minds... such as with science students. I'd wager that answers of "faith" and "His will" will do little more than raise more questions than it answers... not exactly the mindset I gather that creationists would like to cultivate.
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Josuha
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Mar 3 @ 9:57PM
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If we accept the notion of ID, is there a method of determination to the source of the "designer"? A name or pantheon one may point to as originator?
Let's go with the premise of order and chaos.
There can be chaos without design and order.
A meteror smashes into a 747 airliner on the ground.
Parts and debri are thrown everywhere.
However, if you take that same pile of parts, and place exposives in the pile and set it off, you still only have chaos.
Take that same pile of parts.
Put 'intelligence deisgn' as a mechanic to put the parts together, and you have a fully functional 747.
So..the conclusion is, you must have intelligence design, with the necessary components in order to have a functional aircraft..
You cannot have order from chaos.
The odds of just one living cell 'accidently' having the exact conditions for life is about the same odds as putting explosives into a pile of 747 components and expecting a fully functional aircraft.
Anymore questions?
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Peabianjay
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Mar 3 @ 11:15PM
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There are those that assume there is a God, since the process of creation is beyond our understanding.
There are those that assume there isn't a God, because He is unprovable, unmeasurable.
The 747 example, above, is rather silly. For one, the odds of getting a functional living cell are significantly higher (although, still very small). For one, explosives would tend to divide, rather than unite, the component materials The theoritical process of creation is more like a bunch o' monkeys on a bunch o' typewriters eventually spitting out Shakespeare. Certainly, the odds of any one getting it, are small, but given enough monkeys....
But that doesn't prove or disprove ID. Even if a monkey did eventually spit out Hamlet, that doesn't disprove the existance of Shakespeare.
Faith in a higher power.
Faith in science.
Either way, it's a matter of faith. Pick yer own.
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DRACULA_VwV
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Mar 3 @ 11:28PM
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Just like Jacob's Ladder, There's Josuha's Theory. 
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Xanadath
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Mar 4 @ 8:56PM
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The odds of just one living cell 'accidently' having the exact conditions for life is about the same odds as putting explosives into a pile of 747 components and expecting a fully functional aircraft.
Of course, those odds assume "throwing one set of dice at a time".
There are two approaches to disputing your comment, Joshua, but I'd like to start by thanking you for your comment.
1. Statistics and probability
While many biochemists may have arguments for and against the evolution/development of a cellular structure in early Earth life (much of what is discussed about early biochemistry involves complex carbon based molecules, not actual cell structures) I have a simple concept to convey...
Let's assume water and carbon are the basic building blocks of life, especially as Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon are found "from the ground up" in all life as we know it on earth.
There are about 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons (326 million trillion gallons) of water on Earth. Even assuming less than .0000001% of this was viable for the chemistry of life in the early years, that's still 326,000,000,000 gallons.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question157.htm
326 billion gallons for our thought experiment.
In one gallon of water there are 1.266 x 10 to the 26th power molecules, or 126,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_molecules_of_hydrogen_are_there_in_one_gallon_of_water
That's appoximately 4.1076 times 10 to the 36th power molecules in our hypothetical water mass at say, 4 degrees celcius density.
Let's assume most of those molecules are undergoing the proper heat/energy and chemical reactions to produce combinations that approximate the earliest possible biochemical stages... the most basic CHO configurations on which all sustained biochemical reactions are required for any life function.
We've set our "soup to simmer" as it were.
At a slow pace of one chemical change per minute, you're looking at a total of about 5.9 times ten to the 39th power reactions a day for the whole water mass.
That's a LOT of dice to throw, looking for that exceeding low range of probability that you're suggesting.
However...
2. Complexity
Basic CH and O combinations have varying degrees of stability and reactivity. Methane is an excellent example of a basic organic molecule, CH4... one Carbon, four Hydrogen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane
Evolution in no way states that a complex organic molecule like DNA "just happened overnight". Small blocks buiding upon more blocks led, in theory, to the self sustained continuing molecules... longer and longer chains in combinations... that eventually led to possibly advanced forms of life that by moden science might be recognized as primitive forms resembling a virus or the like.
The combinations of molecules that eventually sustain themselves and produce copies of themselves are the molecules that became more and more complex... leading to a transition from molecular to physical activity by virtue of the sheer size of these massive combinations... but still as small as a virus.
At even a possible 5.9 times ten to the 39th power reactions a day, it only took a few billion years by best estimates for these sustained biochemical reaction to form anything vaguely resembling a cell.
Not too bad for odds, eh?
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imlost2
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Mar 5 @ 8:46AM
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We are talking about faith here actually, and roads leading to God and whether to believe or not. This is the way I look at it. You can choose not to believe and if you are right, nothing happens and you will be fine. But,,,,,,,,,,,if you are wrong
You will reach Eternity and God will ask you? Why didn't you believe? Didn't I give you enough Churches?, Books, Internet, Ministries, I gave you Priests, teachers, colleges, schools, all kinds of roads all of the leading to me for you to choose any path because I knew people would not all agree and you could choose any road you want and you chose none. Now, I only gave you ten rules to live by, what was so wrong with the ten rules? Were they bad rules? Did they hurt you? Did they hurt others? What was wrong with them? All these questions God might ask, what will be your answers?
Of course, since no one has died and come back, and no one knows for sure the answers, just maybe just, could you be wrong? And how will you answer? Take care Lost
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