The universe has a designer, speakers say

Baptist Press | Gregory Tomlin:

“Science, when done right, points powerfully to a designer whose characteristics 'just happen to match the descriptions of the God of the Bible,' author and Christian apologist Lee Strobel said during a conference on the theory of Intelligent Design at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
...
'I was told that we were supposed to follow the evidence wherever it leads,' said [Michael] Behe, a professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. 'Intelligent Design seems to point strongly beyond nature and seems to have philosophical, maybe even theological implications. That makes a lot of people nervous, and they think that science should avoid any theory that seems to have such strong extra-scientific implications.' ”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Nervous? Not at all. Dr Behe simply confirms what scientists have known all along — Intelligent Design (ID) is not science. It is religion. Scientists, in their search for explanations for natural events, limit themselves to natural causes. So far, natural causes have proven remarkably adept at providing explanations for the observed evidence. Dr Behe himself isn't convinced of current scientific theory to explain some events. Challenging current scientific thinking is necessary and good. It's when he resorts to "extra-scientific" explanations that he stops doing science and starts doing religion. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that it's no longer science. It's religion.

ID proponents shouldn't be nervous about discussing the theological implications of their theory. There is nothing embarrassing about religion. There is nothing wrong with holding religion conferences, certainly not at a university with Methodist in its name. Just don't expect scientists to participate and mislead the audience into thinking it's science being debated on stage. Scientists don't resort to "extra-scientific" explanations. That's just the way it is.