Thoughts in a Haystack

The Baptist Press has an article, entitled "Nobel Prize winners highlight universe's design, profs. say."

It starts out:

Discovery of the so-called "God particle" not only helped two physicists win this year's Nobel Prize, it also unwittingly bolstered the arguments of the Intelligent Design movement, according to Southern Baptist scientists.

The particle, whose scientific name is the Higgs boson, derives its popular name from the title of the 1993 book, "God Particle," by atheist physicist Leon Lederman. However, "a closer consideration of the function and properties of the Higgs boson is very enlightening from a theistic perspective," Bruce Gordon, associate professor of the history and philosophy of science at Houston Baptist University, told Baptist Press in an email interview.

"In direct opposition to Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg's remark that 'the more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless,' we can only recommend the more obvious and rational view that the greater our comprehension of the universe, the more we should be given to doxology: The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims His handiwork (Psalm 19:1)," said Gordon, who also is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that plays a leading role in the Intelligent Design movement, which argues that the universe is the product of intelligence rather than blind chance. [Emphasis added]

Let's see ... a "doxology" (Greek for "saying") is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services. And, of course, Psalm 19:1 is a religious text. But wait a minute! ... ID doesn't have anything to do with religion because the DI tells us so! Maybe Gordon didn't get the memo!

Amusingly, the only scientist among the "profs" cited is not so enthusiastically sectarian as Gordon nor as dishonest as the DI:

William Nettles, professor of physics at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., agreed that discovery of the Higgs boson suggests the universe is orderly and designed, but he urged Christians not to blow the new scientific insight out of proportion.

The discovery "does not detract from the faith-held fact that God created the universe, and all things hold together in the Son," Nettles told BP. "We just have a better picture of God's details ... Our mission is still to bring glory to God through telling His Gospel to all.

Once again we see the IDer's dilemma: how do they signal to the faithful that ID is all about arguing, "scientifically," that there is a God, while keeping that fact from the rest of us, particularly the courts?