To the surprise of nobody at all, the Judge in Dover v. Kitzmiller,

the Pennsylvania “Intelligent Design” case, has ruled against the

school board that tried to introduce I.D. as an alternative to

standard biology.

I haven’t read the whole judgment yet — it’s 139 pages — but the NY Times reports Judge Jones as saying: “[O]ur conclusion today is that it is

unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a

public school science classroom.”

Also this: “Said the judge: ‘It is ironic that several of these

individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious

convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks

and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy.’”

I am afraid that dishonesty is inherent in the entire I.D. project.

On the one hand, all the funding for I.D. promotion, and all the

fired-up base of support, is religious. On the other hand, the entire

point of the thing is to attempt an end run around church-state

jurisprudence by claiming that the I.D. project is not religion-based

at all. Thus I.D. proponents have to say one thing to their

supporters, another to any secular or legal venue they find themselves

in.

It is my belief that this inherent and fundamental dishonesty has

corrupted the whole project. Even Michael Behe, who I believe is a

sincere man (and who, on the basis of one personal encounter and a

handful of email exchanges, seems to me to be a very nice man)

sounded… shifty on the witness stand at Dover.