Several years ago, a federal judge drew some interesting conclusions in his 139-page decision concerning the teaching of Intelligent Design in Pennsylvania’s public schools. Of course, his bottom-line conclusion was that such teaching violated the constitutional separation of church and state—a dogma read into the Constitution only in relatively recent years—and therefore could not be a part of public school science curriculum.

Leading up to that decision, though, he concluded that all this talk about an “intelligent designer” is merely a smokescreen for talking about God. He saw the effort to offer an alternative view of Darwinism as nothing more than an attempt by religious zealots to thrust religion on unsuspecting minds and convert them into something, perhaps some form of a Christian. He even went so far as to accuse some of the school board members of lying in their sworn testimonies about their motivations for insisting that ID be taught in the schools.

On the one hand, this federal judge is terribly wrong.

The teaching of Intelligent Design would not result in the establishment of religion in the public schools (which is constitutionally prohibited); instead, it would serve to call into question the already established religion of Darwinian evolution. And make no mistake, a religion it is. Darwinism demands faith as its starting point, enthrones an object of worship (man, nature, science), incorporates a “doctrinal statement,” establishes a grid for a worldview, enlists the work of “preachers” (in the form of science teachers), recruits converts, and vigorously defends itself against competing ideologies.

But on the other hand, the judge is right.

The Intelligent Designer is indeed God. Admittedly, many scientists and teachers who hold to ID are not ready to admit that the universe came into existence as Genesis 1-2 records it, nor are they prepared to convert to Christianity. That step would then result in accountability (one issue evolutionists completely eliminate in their religion). Their reluctance does not destroy the truth, though. The Intelligent Designer is the God of the Bible and to Him man is accountable.

This is poetically brought out in Psalm 33:6-9. His creative work is described in vv. 6 and 9: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth….For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

And how is man to respond?

Is it acceptable utterly to deny His creative work, ascribe it all to chance, and go on living our existentialist, narcissistic, pessimistic lives? Hardly.

Is He satisfied with our feeble, half-hearted acknowledgement that some “intelligent force” must be behind the incredible complexity of all matter? Not at all.

What He is looking for are the very things that neither the evolutionist is willing to give, nor the Intelligent Design adherent is ready to offer: fear and worship.

The psalmist exhorts mankind, “Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.”

We can legislate the Lord out of our school systems and eliminate direct reference to Him in explaining our theories of origins, but by no means can we so easily throw off our responsibility!