Why the Intelligent Design Movement is NOT Biblical

The Intelligent Design Movement (IDM) on its own Web site states: “The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.”[1]  While this definition sounds very noble and almost spiritual in content, it fails to mention specifically the Creator of the universe and all living things to which it refers. Many Christians like to hide behind the ID Movement so as to not appear controversial or argumentative, but it is NOT a Christian movement by any standards.

Though the ID Movement tips its hat to the fact that the design and complexity of creation imply an intelligent designer, it does not give rightful credit to God as Creator. The Apostle Paul, in verse 25 of Romans chapter 1, called those fools who “worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator.” To refuse to name the actual Designer is to allow for the worship of creation more than the Creator or the assumption that there could be other less significant designers of what only God could have created. Genesis 1:1 clearly states that “In the beginning GOD created the heaven and the earth.” God is THE Intelligent Designer of ALL things!
 
John's Gospel further emphasizes that Jesus was present at Creation and played a vital role in it. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1:10). One reason the world knew Him not in Jesus' day was as Paul mentioned in his epistle to the Romans, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God.” (Romans 1:21a). We do not glorify God when we refuse to name Him as Creator and give Him the glory that He is due. Two verses earlier in Romans chapter 1, Paul stated that “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen , being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). There is no excuse for refusing to acknowledge God as Creator! He has made that fact clear to everyone through His Creation.

Later in John's Gospel, Jesus made the bold statement that “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Nothing of significance has ever been accomplished or ever will be accomplished without His power and His permission. Jesus was present at creation with God as part of the Godhead. He certainly deserves (demands?) to be acknowledged as Creator.

Refusing to name God as Designer/Creator also robs those who embrace ID of the possibility of a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. A classic example is Antony Flew, a prominent atheist, who in 2004 announced that his study of DNA and the complexity of life left him to conclude that there had to be a designer. He acknowledged God as that designer. Guided by the Socratic principle of “follow the evidence, wherever it leads.” Flew found evidence that pointed to God, but he stopped short of establishing a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Sadly, Intelligent Design is much like 12-step programs which don’t specifically name God as the “higher power” Who gives folks the strength to free them from their addictions. At best, the ID Movement represents a form of deism which has never and will never grant eternal life to anyone. If we do not include the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ as part of our explanation about the origin of all things, we are leaving out the most significant and powerful component.

The Intelligent Design Movement is not Biblical and is not a movement of which Christians should be a part. Bible-believing Christians should, however, become proponents of the Intelligent Designer!

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[1] http://www.intelligentdesign.org/