Introduction To the Centre for Intelligent Design
As Truth in Science has brilliantly demonstrated, whenever it's necessary to keep their mouth's shut about religion, creationists are invariably their own worst enemies and proudly shoot themselves in the head.
The Centre for Intelligent Design (CID), Britain's latest creationist organisation, was launched on 14th September 2010. As it's name implies, it is promoting Intelligent Design rather than openly being a young earth creationist organisation. Nevertheless, despite claiming to be for Intelligent Design, a number of people involved in it have had close associations with young earth creationists or are known to be young earth creationists themselves. Moreover all of the people involved are members of Protestant Calvinistic sects.
It claims that its motivation in scientific, whereas in fact it is evangelical. It has strong connections with Truth in Science (according to its own manifesto, a Creation group concerned that if we accept evolution, "God is robbed of his glory" (see [ link to manifesto]), while its arguments and its first public speaker are imported directly from the US Discovery Institute, whose stated goal (see [ link to wedge document] is “To replace naturalistic explanation with the theistic understanding that nature and human beings are created by God."
We therefore deeply question whether this organisation is pro-science. It appears to us to be nothing more that a religious organisation which does not accept mainstream science because, they believe, it is inconsistent with their interpretation of the Bible.
It does not appear that the people involved intend to actually do any scientific research into Intelligent Design. Nor have any of them ever produce a peer reviewed scientific work on Intelligent Design.
The small print of CID's main website says the centre's activity "is organised under a charitable trust governed by the laws of Guernsey, Channel Islands". The centre receives funding from individuals and organisations who support its aims, according to the website, and its launch has “earned plaudits from the Discovery Institute which says the centre returns ID to its roots:”
So it may; the Discovery Institute, which has been going nowhere for years, needs all the support it can muster.. Noble has denied that CID is a British branch of Discovery: "We are friends with Discovery and we talk to them, but we are not formally linked. We would be interested in developing links with Europe. We don't get money from America – it is funded from Britain. We don't have huge amounts of money. We will have a series of projects and will raise funds as and when needed."
Well it may have no support from the Discovery Institute but it is distributing the Institute's media material, the arguments the Director puts forward on the Centre's website are identical with those used by the Institute, and one of the Institute's fellows, Michael Behe, is involved in its launch.
Navigate your way around our Centre for Intelligent Design Report using the following links:
Previous Page: Centre for Intelligent Design Executive Summary
This Page: Introduction to the Centre for Intelligent Design
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Timing of the Centre for Intelligent Design
Who Runs and Organises the Centre for Intelligent Design?
Professor Norman Nevin OBE
Dr Alastair Noble
Dr David Galloway
John Langlois OBE, Centre for ID Guernsey
Peter Loose
Centre for Intelligent Design Strategy
The Channel Islands Connection
Centre for Intelligent Design's Headquarters
Supporting the Show – Messrs Michael Behe, Steve Fuller and Geoff Barnard
Miscellaneous Intelligence
