i believe in both, and i'm fine

Intelligent design.

Are you finished with your initial gut reaction to that phrase? You are? Then we may continue.

The goings on with intelligent design have taken a back seat to the headache that is the "War On Christmas," but decisions are still being made about whether or not to tack intelligent design into a science curriculum. I'm sure you're dying to know what I think.

Intelligent design, on it's own, isn't so poor an idea. I believe in my heart of hearts that this world and everything in it was created by God. And I think the way God went about it reflects something that would quite aptly bare the title "intelligent design." I'd even venture that it probably takes more faith to think that everything that is was created by a random stroke than some higher being's doing. In my case, I believe that being to be God. The God that the Bible talks about, not the god that Pat Robertson talks about.

Here's the thing, though. Intelligent design is not science. It's not even close to science. It doesn't belong hand-in-hand with evolution. Science is our way of understanding how the things God put here work. That God put them here doesn't figure far into that understanding. Does this make sense?

For the record, I believe that evolution was part of God's intelligent design. I don't think this puts me at odds with my faith or with the Bible. The stories in Genesis were passed along as people of faith tried to define to themselves who God is. They hadn't studied the Earth. They didn't know how long it had been around.

So now, a proposal.

If we're supposed to teach intelligent design(re: creationism) along with evolution in a science class, knowing full well that intelligent design is not at all science, then there must be balance.

I propose that evolution be taught along side Genesis in Old Testament classes. After all, it would be a shame if only one side of the story were told.

UPDATE: At least one school district, located in PA is exempt from teaching evolution with their religion.