Evangelical Scientist Fights for Evolution

Keith B. Miller, a geology professor at Kansas State University, is a leading defender of Evolution in the debate over Evolution versus so-called Intelligent Design before the Kansas State School Board. What makes Keith Miller stand out is that he is not an atheist, but rather is an Evangelical. Dr. Miller is also a member of the American Scientific Affiliation, a group of Christians who are working scientists.

The Boston Globe had the following piece on  Miller:

TOPEKA, Kan. -- As scientists who advocate the new ''intelligent design" theory stepped to the microphone at an auditorium here last week to argue that schools should teach doubts about evolution, a 49-year-old geologist sporting Birkenstock sandals and an early-Beatles haircut sat quietly in an aisle seat in the back row.

The man is an evangelical Christian who says he was ''called by God to be a geologist." But Keith B. Miller, a Kansas State University professor, is also an ardent defender of evolution -- and thus one of established science's most effective weapons in the battle to keep intelligent design, creationism, and other attacks on evolution out of the nation's public schools.

As the theory of evolution pioneered by Charles Darwin comes under assault in communities from Kansas to Pennsylvania to Georgia, Miller carries a message that plays especially well here: Faith, even fundamental Christian faith, is not at odds with Darwin.

''I say I believe God [created life], and I want to find out how," Miller said. ''They say, 'God did it; end of discussion.' "

The Kansas state school board has been ground zero for the evolution debate since 1999, when religious conservatives first drew international attention by having evolution downplayed in the school curriculum. Last week, the antievolution forces were back, arguing in hearings concluding this week that doubts about Darwin be inserted into school standards.

This time, Darwin's critics insist they are not religiously motivated creationists, but are scientists who believe that certain things in the universe, including human life, are too complex to be explained by natural causes and must be the product of an intelligent creator.

They call this theory ''intelligent design," and while they resist publicly declaring that a Christian God's hand is at work, they also suggest that proponents of a key tenet of evolutionary theory -- that changes over time can result in new species -- are atheists or secular humanists.

Stung by these charges, scientists who support evolution are trying to demonstrate that faith and science can exist side by side. ''I want to dispel their extreme worldview that there is any warfare between science and the Christian faith," Miller said.

Miller has been showing science and faith do not conflict long before this particular conflict erupted.

Still, the political winds have shifted to the right in Kansas. The state has a long tradition of moderate, economic-driven Republicanism. Now, religious conservatives are on the rise in the GOP.

That's where Miller, the evangelical geologist, comes in. If the intelligent-design advocates who testified last week downplayed their faith, Miller stressed his in order to demonstrate that orthodox religion is not in conflict with modern science.

A 15-year Kansas resident, Miller has edited a science book, ''Perspectives on an Evolving Creation," in which he and other evangelical Christians challenge intelligent design.

I highly recommend the book above, especially the chapters written by a personal friend of mine, Dr. Terry Gray. Dr. Gray presents a cogent critique of so-called Intelligent Design from an Evangelical who is an expert in Biochemistry.

But because the scientific community opted to boycott the school board hearings, anyone interested in Miller's views last week had to travel to an aging Ramada Inn across town. On Wednesday night, about 100 people did.

Advocates of intelligent design contend that evolutionary theory takes God out of the equation by concluding that all species change is random, unguided, and explained by natural causes.

''Every other code we know came from a mind," said Harris, the medical professor arguing in favor of intelligent design. ''To deduce that DNA codes came from a mind is not irresponsible."

But Miller insists that ''science does not affirm or deny the existence of a creator. It is simply silent on the existence or action of God." He accused proponents of intelligent design of resorting to a ''God of the gaps," whose hand is only visible when science can't solve life's riddles.

The description that Evolution is unguided angers Dr. Miller. The following quote of Dr. Miller from an ASA discussion board shows what motivates him:

This next change is the most extraordinary part of the ID changes to the standards.  THEY have changed the description of evolutionary science in the standards to include words such as "unguided and undirected."  THEY explicitly describe evolutionary science in the Minority Report as a Godless, purposeless, unguided process.  The standards submitted by the committee have no such language, nor do they imply anywhere that science, or more specifically evolutionary theory, is in anyway based on materialism or atheism.  It is the ID proposal, and the ID testimony before the board, that describes evolution in this way.  This angers me greatly.  The ID advocates are so intent to getting their views in the science curriculum that they are willing to describe evolution in the same way as Dawkins!  They even quoted him in the hearings to justify their definition.  I do not want Kansas children told that evolution is unguided and purposeless!!