About twenty years ago I began reading and hearing about a new movement among scientists, most of them Christian (but certainly not all). The movement has become known as Intelligent Design (ID). That theory says that the evidence found in biology, paleontology, zoology, geology, astronomy, and other sciences increasingly contradicts the generally held dogma that all life on earth is the result of Charles Darwin’s concept of Natural Selection (and its more modern version of Neo-Darwinism). ID asserts that a growing body of evidence infers that life is the result of an intelligent designer. As scientists increasingly discover the incredible complexity in biological systems as well as finding vast gaps in the geological record, the probability that life originated and developed by pure undirected chance grows infinitesimally small.
Unfortunately, ID is still viewed with skepticism and derision by most of those in the scientific establishment. It is systematically excluded from scientific discussions, academic curricula, and scientific journals. Just as many now discredited doctrines once dominated the scientific community, Darwinism now prevails. In my opinion, however, Darwinian and neo-Darwinian theories will become decreasingly possible to defend in the future.
I offer this short review of ID to honor the memory of the man who was probably most responsible for bringing ID out of the shadows and into the light. That man was Phillip E. Johnson, a long time Professor at the University of California- Berkley School of Law. In 1991 he published a groundbreaking book titled Darwin on Trial. He became a vocal critic of Darwinian evolution and a strong proponent of ID. Johnson was a founding member of the Discovery Institute, a think tank of scientists and other intellectual Darwin doubters and ID adherents headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Sadly, Phillip Johnson passed away on November 2nd of this year at the age of 79. His legacy will stand as ID continues to gain new converts and Darwinism fades into the sunset of history as have many other dogmatically held scientific theories throughout history. Below is a bibliography of some of Johnson’s key works. I strongly challenge any open-minded person, Christian or nonChristian, to read some of his books and others published by the Discovery Institute (see https://www.discovery.org ).
- Johnson, Phillip E. (1991). Darwin on Trial. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway. ISBN978-0-89526-535-7. LCCN 90026218. OCLC 22906277.
- ——— (1993). Darwin on Trial (2nd ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-1324-7. LCCN 93029217. OCLC 28889094.
- ——— (1995). Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law & Education. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-1610-1. LCCN 95012620. OCLC 32384818.
- ——— (1997). Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-1360-5. LCCN 97012916. OCLC 36621960.
- ——— (1998). Objections Sustained: Subversive Essays on Evolution, Law & Culture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-1941-6. LCCN 98006866. OCLC 38898010.
- —— (2000). The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-2267-6. LCCN 00039586. OCLC 43903750.
- ——— (2002). The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate. Foreword by Nancy Pearcey. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-2294-2. LCCN 2002006756. OCLC 49773676.
- ———; Reynolds, John Mark (2010). Against All Gods: What’s Right and Wrong About the New Atheism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-3738-0. LCCN 2010000182. OCLC 460060927.
- ——— (2010) [1991; Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway]. Darwin on Trial. New introduction by Michael Behe(20th anniversary, 3rd ed.). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books. ISBN 978-0-8308-3831-8. LCCN 2010019862. OCLC 615339705.