2005-09-16-creationism vs darwinism

By Ira Sharkansky

A good friend in Jerusalem objects to what he sees as my ridicule of intelligent design. He argues that Darwinian theory cannot explain all. There are wonderful things that seem to be the work of intelligent design.

Maybe. To the extent that I understand the material, there is no evidence against intelligent design. But neither is there any tangible evidence in its behalf. It relies on what is missing in what is known about evolution. It is an inference, a guess, or a wish. It has yet to be seen, touched, or smelled in the laboratory.

I have no substantial expertise in this murky subject. It seems to me that Darwinian concepts provide answers to important questions, but not firm evidence to all questions about the creation of life forms. Many, perhaps most people people believe in what we can call intelligent design, but there is more tangible material under the headings of Darwin and evolution than under the heading of intelligent design.

If we are really talking about God, we should recognize that there is much better evidence for God's presence in politics than in biology.

That sentence is not strong enough. God is a powerful actor in politics, perhaps the most powerful in numerous regimes. God is prominent in Israeli politics, and arguably plays a dominant role in American and Muslim politics. The jury is out with respect to dynamic events in Ireland, Spain, and Italy. A comparison of cathedrals with contemporary politics in northern Europe indicates that God was more important in history than in recent elections or policy disputes. He is doing better in Russia after a dormant half-century under Soviet rule. Enough people under Chinese rule seem convinced about the Almighty to worry the officials.

In politics we do not have to fiddle with an argument of the kind, "If science cannot explain everything, then God must have done it." In politics the evidence is tangible. We hear it frequently and see it when politicians participate in religious ceremonies. We can see the fire of burning synagogues. Varda and I were close enough to a suicide bombing (God is great) to smell the explosives. The argument about intelligent design, creationism, and Darwin illustrates God's presence in politics, as do the warnings about religious extremism we hear in Muslim and western countries. Surveys show that majorities in virtually every country studied believe in God, or are reluctant to say that they do not believe. Intellectuals have been predicting the death of God at least since the French Revolution. Politicians have not gotten the message.

Is the God of the Jews the same as the God of Christians, Muslims, the Falun Gong, or whatever? In Jewish tradition, the appearance of God is not to be described; his name is not to be expressed; no prophet has heard his voice since Malachi.

It is not wise to respond to an unanswerable question.

Sharkansky is a member of the political science department at Hebrew University in Jerusalem