A Nobel Prize Winning Physicist Endorses What?

We have always been able to dismiss arguments in favor of the Discovery Institute’s “theory” of intelligent design, and their supporters have always impressed us as marginal characters at best. That’s why the title of the latest post at the Discoveroids’ creationist blog really surprised us. It’s Physicist and Nobel Laureate Brian Josephson — Intelligent Design Is “Valid Science”, and it was written by Klinghoffer. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

Brian Josephson, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, has joined the ranks of prominent scientists endorsing Stephen Meyer’s upcoming book, Return of the God Hypothesis.

What? A Nobel Prize-winning physicist is supporting Meyer’s book? What’s going on here? Has the flat Earth suddenly flipped upside-down or something? This can’t be happening! Oh, in case you haven’t heard about that book, we’ve posted about it several times, most recently The Biggest News in the History of the Universe.

Let’s get back to Klinghoffer’s post. He says:

Josephson, an emeritus professor at Cambridge University and Fellow of the Royal Society, is persuaded by Meyer that intelligent design is “valid science.” Obviously, it’s gratifying to win praise from an eminent scientist, but all the more so given that his own field is the linchpin of Meyer’s case for God.

Before concluding that we’ve lost our mind, we decided to learn something about Josephson. Wikipedia has a write-up on him: Brian Josephson. They say:

Brian David Josephson FRS (born 4 January 1940) is a Welsh theoretical physicist and professor emeritus of physics at the University of Cambridge. Best known for his pioneering work on superconductivity and quantum tunnelling, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 for his prediction of the Josephson effect, made in 1962 when he was a 22-year-old PhD student at Cambridge University.

Wow — he was only 22 when he did the work that won the Nobel Prize. Impressive! And this guy endorses the Discoveroids’ “science” of intelligent design? Let’s read a bit more from the Wikipedia article:

In the early 1970s, Josephson took up Transcendental Meditation and turned his attention to issues outside the boundaries of mainstream science.

Ah, things are starting to make sense. After that, Wikipedia tells us:

He has expressed support for topics such as parapsychology, water memory and cold fusion, which has made him a focus of criticism from fellow scientists.

Wikipedia goes on and on discussing Josephson’s, ah, unconventional views, but there’s no need to quote any more. We’ve seen enough to understand the situation. If he now supports the Discoveroids, it probably won’t be any surprise to those who know him.

The rest of Klinghoffer’s post is just a link to where Meyer’s book can be pre-ordered, so this is where we leave him. But hey — Meyer’s work is praised by a Nobel Prize winner, and that’s a fact. Make of it what you will.

Copyright © 2021. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

The Biggest News in the History of the Universe

The Discovery Institute has been blogging for more than a year to tell their devoted fans about the upcoming book by Stephen Meyer. One of our earliest — but not the first — posts about it was in July of last year — Discovery Institute Claims They Discovered God.

Although the book isn’t yet available from its publisher, they’ve never stopped blogging about it, and today they’re at it again. The title of their latest post is Stephen Meyer: Why You Should Pre-Order Return of the God Hypothesis Now, and it was written by Klinghoffer.

Wowie — they tell us why we should pre-order the thing. By the way, you know who Stephen Meyer is, don’t you? His Discoveroid job description has changed over the years, but as their bio page indicates, he’s one of their senior fellows and currently the Program Director of their Center for Science and Culture — that’s their creationism shop. It should not be forgotten that Meyer was a central figure in the infamous Sternberg peer review controversy. According to the Discoveroids’ 2016 Tax Return, Meyer’s salary was $250K.

Okay, that’s enough background. Here are some excerpts from Klinghoffer’s post, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

By enlarging his scope to include the origin and structure of the universe [Wow!], Meyer reveals why science confirms not just merely a generic intelligent design in a nature.

That was a bit of a tease. We’ve already been told what Meyer’s book reveals, but let’s go along with Klinghoffer at his pace. He says:

The end of this month brings the publication of Stephen Meyer’s Return of the God Hypothesis, the book that completes his trilogy that began with Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt.

Ooooooooooooh! It completes his trilogy! That’s really exciting! Klinghoffer tells us:

It’s a dramatic arrival for a book because this time, by enlarging his scope to include the study of the origin and structure of the universe, Meyer reveals why science confirms not just a design in a nature, of unknown origins, but the involvement of the personal God known to Western theism.

Ooooooooooooh! The book doesn’t merely reveal the existence of the Intelligent Designer — blessed be he! — but it also reveals that the designer is none other than Yahweh himself! Isn’t that exciting? Klinghoffer continues:

In a new video [Ooooooooooooh! A Discoveroid video!], Meyer explains something else — why you should pre-order Return of the God Hypothesis now rather than waiting until the publication date! The publication date is March 30. Watch now: [Video embedded.]

That’s the end of Klinghoffer’s post. If you’re not yet persuaded, you can click over there and watch the video. Hey — if you decide to order now, here’s the book at Amazon: Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe

Well, dear reader, what are you waiting for? This is the most amazing discovery since … we can’t think of anything that even comes close. So watch the video, and then order the book. Your life will never be the same. Go for it — now!

Copyright © 2021. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

Surprise! Intelligent Design Is Theology

The Discovery Institute has a strange new post at their creationist blog today. It’s about theology — an unexpected topic for a group that promotes itself as a science outfit. Their post, which has no author’s by-line, is titled Is ID Bad Theology? No, but the Objection Is. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

On a new ID the Future episode [Ooooooooooooh! A Discoveroid podcast!], philosopher Jay Richards responds to Mark Vernon’s charge that intelligent design is bad theology.

Who are those people? We know nothing about Richards, other than the fact that he often hosts Discoveroid podcasts. As for Mark Vernon, the guy who said intelligent design is bad theology, Wikipedia says he’s a writer, broadcaster and journalist with a degree in theology from Oxford. He also has a physics degree and a PhD in philosophy from other schools. Let’s see how the issue plays out. The Discoveroids tell us:

No, Richards says, the charge itself is based on bad theology, bad reasoning, and a faulty understanding of both intelligent design theory and theism.

Harsh criticism, but why would a science outfit — which is what the Discoveroids claim to be — worry about theology? Maybe we’ll find out. The Discoveroids say:

First, in the context of biology, the theory of intelligent design doesn’t specify the identify of a designer or the specific means of causation. It merely makes an argument to intelligent design as the best explanation for certain features of the natural world.

Right. It’s like William Paley’s Watchmaker analogy. You know how it goes — if something looks designed, then by golly it is designed! The Discoveroids rely heavily on the watchmaker analogy, and claim that they have an amazing ability to detect design. Their post continues:

Second, even if it did involve arguing that the designer was God and that God had intervened at particular points in the history of the cosmos, such as in the origin of life or the emergence of human beings, it would hardly be blasphemy. Far from it.

Blasphemy? Why would a science outfit be concerned about such a thing? Astronomers never give it a thought. Neither do physicists, or any other scientists — including biologists. But the Discoveroids are concerned, and they respond to the charge.

It would be orthodox theism [Oh, then it’s okay!], an outlook shared by theists as diverse as Christians, Jews, and Muslims, just to name a few. Under theism, God is understood as free and able to create both ex nihilo (out of nothing) at the beginning of creation, and within the created order.

Is this making any sense to you, dear reader? Same here, but let’s read on:

God, Richards says, “is under no obligation to conform to Mark Vernon’s rules of tidiness and propriety.” Vernon has mistaken a narrow deism for theism and then charged theists with blasphemy [Gasp!] for considering God free to act within the created order.

That’s the Discoveroids’ defense of the charge that their “theory” of intelligent design is bad theology. They insist that it’s good theology. We’ll take their word for it.

Hey — right at the end of the post we’re told who Richards is — and it’s something we knew and should have remembered:

Richards is a senior fellow of Discovery Institute and co-author, with Guillermo Gonzalez, of The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery.

So there you are, dear reader. In case you were having doubts, the Discoveroids’ “theory” of intelligent design is theology. And not just any theology, it’s good theology. Don’t ever doubt it!

Copyright © 2021. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

An Ark-load of Intelligent Design Scientists

Like all Darwinists, you probably imagine that no one in his right mind thinks there’s any value to the Discovery Institute’s “science” of intelligent design. Well, prepare to have your foolish world flipped upside-down.

At the creationist blog of the Discoveroids, they just posted something that will absolutely shock you. It’s titled Watch: Scientists Who Affirm Intelligent Design, and it was written by Klinghoffer. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

In the debate about evolution [Hee hee!], there are really two questions at stake: First, does Darwin’s theory adequately explain the wonders of life? And second, does nature offer evidence of intelligent design?

We could say a lot about that little paragraph, but it isn’t necessary. Briefly, we’ll say that the “debate about evolution” is a creationist fantasy. No competent scientist thinks the topic is debatable — details, sure, but not the whole concept of evolution. As for Klinghoffer’s two questions, no one imagines that evolution explains “the wonders of life,” whatever that may mean. And no one (other than a flaming creationist) wastes time searching for “evidence of intelligent design.”

That takes care of the start of Klinghoffer’s post. Then he says:

It’s possible that someone could answer “no” to both questions.

How would that work? No, evolution doesn’t explain “the wonders of life,” and no, searching for “evidence of intelligent design” isn’t a waste of time. Who would give those answers? A flaming creationist! Okay, let’s move along. Klinghoffer says:

Leading up to Darwin Day, February 12 — this Friday — Discovery Institute offers a new brief video [Ooooooooooooh! A Discoveroid video!] addressing the second question in the words of scientists themselves.

Wowie — Klinghoffer’s going to give us the words of “scientists themselves” about whether nature offer evidence of intelligent design. This should be fun! He tells us:

Observe the birthday of Charles Darwin with us by sharing this very cool montage [It’s “cool”!] with friends, relatives, and teachers. As these scientists see it, reality — from the elements that comprise nature, to the architecture of cells, to that of the universe as a whole — not only defies materialist explanations like Darwin’s but it provides positive testimony to purpose and guidance — that is, design:

Ooooooooooooh! The whole universe provides “testimony” to intelligent design! Isn’t that amazing? The video is embedded at this point in Klinghoffer’s post, and unless you actually watch the thing, you won’t have any idea who those creation scientists are. We don’t care, so we won’t be watching it. Anyway, Klinghoffer continues:

That’s important because when the evidence of biology and of cosmology are joined together [Like you and Uranus!], they direct us not only to affirming generic “intelligent design,” an unknown designer, but as Stephen Meyer shows in his forthcoming book, to the conclusion of recognizing a personal God. [Gasp!]

The last of Klinghoffer’s post is a pitch for Meyer’s book:

Return of the God Hypothesis is out on March 30. Consider pre-ordering that for yourself, and for other people in your life that you care about, now. [Link omitted!]

We’ve posted a few times about Meyer’s book — see, e.g.: Stephen Meyer’s New Book — Soon, But Not Yet. We imagine that they’ll be pitching the thing all year, so it’s gonna be fun. Anyway, that’s all Klinghoffer has for us, so we’re outta here!

Copyright © 2021. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.