Let 'Em In

Life is a mystery. This is not a particularly radical thing to say, but I'm not talking about the lives we lead, and how we don't understand them in the abstract. I'm talking about how life, as a concept, is mysterious. Where did it come from? Why are there things out there, anyway, in the universe? Why is there anything? Doesn't nothing seem like it would be much less trouble? And not just rocks and gases...we've got planets out there, and at least one with life on it...at the very least, wouldn't it be easier if there were just rocks?

Well, the answer is that God made it. Or whoever. It all came from somewhere...even if you think it all came about slowly through evolution, you have to admit, at some point there was not even a molecule of Hydrogen out there...and then there was. So how did that happen? How did the something come from nothing? Or have there always been...things, out there? Is the necessary existence of "things" a concept that exists outside of time?

You're probably thinking, whoa, Mr. Blasphemy is thinking too hard. Which is true. But I enjoy this process, you see. I like to think about the mystery of existence. Why did God make anything, if God made things? And where did God's power to make things come from? How does it work? There I go again.

I accept that there are things I will never know. But I reserve the right to wonder, mostly because I can't help it. This is why I dislike it when people try to mess around with teaching evolution in schools. For me, it is worse than banning Huckleberry Finn or Catcher in the Rye; studying evolution is when you get to contemplate the very nature of the universe. To shut off the contemplation by saying, "God made it. That is all. The rest is not for mortal minds to know," just ruins the party for everyone. It denies the mystery of existence. I believe it is good and right for people to contemplate this mystery. I just don't see why God would mind.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the movement to teach the concept of "intelligent design" in biology classes. This would be the idea that evolutionary theory alone cannot explain the complex systems that exist in nature; someone "intelligent" (probably God, who, whatever else you might think, is very smart) must have "designed" things the way they are. It seems pretty clear to me from reading up on intelligent design that it's sort of a stupid theory, and most biologists sure seem to hate it. That said, I think we ought to stop fighting people who want to put it in biology classes. Just let 'em in.

Jay Matthews, who reports on schools for the Washington Post, wrote yesterday that he thought bringing the theory into the biology classroom would actually improve science education, even though it's a bad theory, because people would argue about the merits of the two theories and thereby reach a greater understanding of biology and evolution. He also notes that biology classes can be really boring, and the inevitable debates that would result if intelligent design were included would make them more interesting.

My own reason for wanting to end the debate and let intelligent design in is similar, but simpler: I don't think trying to keep it out is worth the trouble. They want to present a crackpot theory as good science? Go right ahead, folks. But remember who it is you're handing this pile of manure; it's a bunch of teenagers. They're not a group known for their sympathy to stupid ideas they didn't come up with themselves.

And, even if intelligent design does catch on with the kids, I am skeptical that it will turn them into staunch creationists. I mean, you've taught kids that God, like Dr. Moreau, has been tinkering around with cells and DNA, building eyeballs, pasting together livers. What's the next inevitable question? How? Why? What's this omnipotent entity up to, anyway? You'd have a whole generation trying to understand the actions of God, and the mechanisms used to undertake said actions. Now that would be some real blasphemy.