Three guests debated the idea of "intelligent design." Was humankind designed by God, superior alien life forms or neither?
Richard C. Hoagland is the founder of Enterprise Mission, a research group that investigates the scientific possibility of ET artifacts across the solar system. The Kansas School Board has taken a brave position, he said, in their declaration that the Darwinian system isn't the only view. Hoagland finds this hopeful since it may open up schools to presenting alternative evolutionary theories, such as the idea he espouses-- directed panspermia, which posits that life was spread throughout the galaxy by an intelligent species.
Mike Heiser received a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and ancient Semitic Languages. He now works for Logos Bible Software, a company that specializes in analyzing ancient texts. A theist, he is not persuaded by the idea that life developed out of a vacuum, and still sees a need for some kind of intelligent causation.
Stan Tenen has a B.S. in Physics from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and is the Director of Research for the Meru Foundation. He argued that the intelligent design claim is outside of the realm of science and therefore a belief system. Rather than subscribing to this particular ideation, he suggested that life is universal and that the geometry of space-time contributes to evolution. For more of Tenen's discourse, view this page he created in tandem for the show.
A Fast Blast poll taken in the last hour of the program found 82% of the respondents backing the idea of some type of intelligent design. We also asked listeners to send in their viewpoints on this topic. Click here to read a sampling.