I suppose you didn't need to be there to answer that question... It was still really interesting, and it was way worth it to see Dr. Avalos, how cool!

Here's the info I posted on the MySpace page. There were actually a few MySpacers there, so it's a good start.


Hector Avalos: How to Take on Intelligent Design and Win

Minnesota Atheists had the wonderful opportunity to welcome back Dr. Hector Avalos to speak about his own battle with Intelligent Design, and the arguments that can be used against it.

A former co-worker of Dr. Avalos' at Iowa State University, Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, was the main catalyst for a statement Avalos co-authored speaking out against ID as a 'science'. Gonzalez is a proponent of ID and co-authored a book, The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery, with theologian Jay Richards proclaiming ID to be a 'science'. Gonzalez also happened to be denied tenure with the university in 2007, and though he blamed biased against his pro-ID status as the reason, there was no evidence for this. Both Gonzalez and Avalos were featured in the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

Dr. Avalos is a respected and established author, writing such books as Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence, and The End of Biblical Studies.

Avalos began his lecture by speaking on some of the methods that ID supporters use to insinuate themselves into education, and imply that they are a science. Avalos pointed out that ID is, of course, a teleological argument, and that even Christians can and should be able to recognize that the argument itself is flawed.
Dr. Avalos gave a number of reasons that ID is flawed and cannot be considered a science. They are as follows:

-ID uses an arbitrary selection of features to try to prove their argument.
-The intrinsic value of these arbitrary selections has not been defined.
-ID utilizes an arbitrary causal sequence.
-If humans are the desired outcome from the designer, there is a wide unexplained time gap.
-ID advocates employ theological evasions for anything they cannot, or do not want to, explain.
-ID is not falsifiable.
-ID utilizes arbitrary statistics to prove it's point.

Avalos also discussed the fact that Gonzalez and Richards state that ID is a science, and is not religious in any way, yet in the pages of their book state that science cannot be maintained apart from Christ. Does that sound like science, or secularism, to you? Be aware, that ID makes use of very real and correct scientific measurements, but comes to very unscientific conclusions. The problem is not one of faulty data, but of a faulty argument structure.

Avalos also warns that the 'science' of ID is merely a prologue to social policy. This is yet another reason that atheist, secularists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, etc. must organize and mobilize. We must recognize the treat that ID supporters pose to public policy, and be ready to oppose it.

Want more Avalos? Talk Reason has the links to the text of Avalos' lecture. MN Atheists will also feature Avalos and will have a link on the website to hear the audio of today's talk.

Talk Reason: www.talkreason.org/articles/Avalos.cfm

Minnesota Atheists: www.mnatheists.org

But.... but... there's the eye. Surely the eye could only have been designed by an intelligent force! And since the eye is part of the material world and can be studied using the scientific method it falls under the purview of science, right?

I find it strange that they still always choose the eye to use as their shining example when there are clearly shining examples of rudimentary eyes out there. I think IDers are just really slow at updating their literature.

The last article I read (that I can't seem to find the link to now) seems to have started focusing on the brain, claiming that the human mind is actually the result of the soul.