Center for Science and Culture

We are the institutional hub for scientists, educators, and inquiring minds who think that nature supplies compelling evidence of intelligent design. We support research, sponsor educational programs, defend free speech, and produce articles, books, and multimedia content. Read More …

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Octopus Intelligence — A Challenge for Evolution

Denyse O'Leary
October 2, 2023
4

Correcting a Cartoon Version of Alfred Russel Wallace

Michael Flannery
October 2, 2023
6

Physicalism Versus the Practice of Science

Angus Menuge
October 2, 2023
3

Paper Digest: The Cell as an Embedded Computing System

Emily Reeves
October 2, 2023
4

Are Plants Cognitive, Intelligent Beings?

Denyse O'Leary
October 1, 2023
5

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Stephen C. Meyer
July 13, 2023

Can Intelligent Design Explain The Theory of Evolution?

Casey Luskin
July 12, 2023

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Stephen C. Meyer
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ID the Future

Berlinski: Why Humans Are Unique in the World of Matter

David Berlinski
October 2, 2023
2
Eminent paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould has argued that humans differ only in degree, not kind, from other organisms, and to think otherwise betrays an ancient and outdated prejudice. But does this match up with what science has revealed in the last century? On this ID The Future, we are pleased to share the first half of an engaging conversation between Dr. David Berlinski and host Eric Metaxas on the subject of Berlinski's recent book Human Nature. Some argue that humans are growing more peaceful, enlightened, and improved by the year, and that a coming technological singularity may well usher in utopia. Berlinski isn't buying it. "There is no society without its underlying ideology," he writes in Human Nature. A universal civilization requires a universal theory, and the prevailing grand narrative preferred by most materialist scientists today is fueled largely by Darwin's theory of evolution. But is the world of matter the only world that matters? In this conversation and in his book, Berlinski argues that human beings have a fundamental essence that is radically different from the essence of other organisms and that cannot be changed at will. It's a view that is supported by the latest evidence about life and the universe in biology, chemistry, physics, and even cosmology. And it represents a fatal flaw in the Darwinian story. This is Part 1 of a 2-part conversation. This interview originally aired as a Socrates in the City event in 2022. We are grateful to Eric Metaxas for permission to share it. Watch the conversation in video form on YouTube.

Darwin & Wallace: Life-long Friends With Room for Disagreement

Michael Flannery
September 29, 2023
2
Though they disagreed scientifically about the nature of human beings, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace maintained a lasting friendship. On this episode of ID The Future from the vault, we continue to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Alfred Russel Wallace. Host Mike Keas concludes his three-part discussion with Michael Flannery about Flannery’s book Nature’s Prophet: Alfred Russel Wallace and His Evolution from Natural Selection to Natural Theology. Here, Flannery describes the tolerance Darwin and Wallace maintained for each other, a quality crucial to the spirit of science and academic inquiry. He notes that some contemporaries of Darwin lacked this spirit of professional civility, including Darwin's "bulldog" Thomas Henry Huxley. Flannery also relates his experiences at the 2nd Annual International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace. The paper he presented raised some eyebrows and inspired students and fellow Wallace scholars alike, some of which were entirely unaware of Wallace's natural theology. Both Keas and Flannery hold out hope that the same spirit of tolerance Darwin and Wallace demonstrated can be emulated today by Darwin's defenders and critics.

Minimal Replication Fidelity: Another Problem for the RNA World Hypothesis

Jonathan McLatchie
September 27, 2023
2
The RNA world is proposed by some to explain how early life began before DNA. But is RNA capable of maintaining a life-friendly self-replication rate? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes back Dr. Jonathan McLatchie to discuss another headache for the RNA world scenario. Before a trial and error process like natural selection can even get started, self-replicating molecules must have a minimal accuracy rate to copy genetic material effectively. The required fidelity rate is estimated to be 2%. Any error rate higher than that results in error catastrophe for organisms. The average error rate in RNA copying is estimated to be around 17%, vastly higher than the estimated maximum error threshold for survival. McLatchie explains the implications of this for chemical evolutionary theories like the RNA world hypothesis. He also explains how a Bayesian approach to this evidence can provide us with the likeliest explanation for the origin of biological life. "The sorts of features that we observe in life are not particularly surprising if we suppose that a mind is involved," says McLatchie. But things like minimal self-replication fidelity are wildly surprising on a naturalistic hypothesis.

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God’s Splendor in the Universe

The Center for Science and Culture
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2024
Covenant Fellowship Church
Glen Mills, PA
We invite you to save the date for God’s Splendor in the Universe — the 12th Annual Westminster Conference on Science & Faith, scheduled for September 20–21, 2024 in the Philadelphia area. This 2-day conference will explore the finely-tuned design of the cosmos, the uniqueness of our solar system and planet, and implications on faith. Speakers will include philosopher Jay Richards and astrobiologist Guillermo Gonzalez, co-authors of The Privileged Planet, and distinguished professor Dr. Vern Poythress of Westminster Theological Seminary. The conference will coincide with the release of an updated and expanded 20th-anniversary edition of The Privileged Planet, a seminal book on the fine-tuning of our planet for life and scientific discovery. This annual conference …

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