"Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing. It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different."
--Sherlock Holmes
We all see the evidence through a different pair of eyes, experiences, desires, and knowledge--our glasses. True objectivity is a noble goal, but sometimes objectivity requires that we acknowledge our bias. In acknowledging the glasses through which we see the world, we can learn to understand, respect, and appreciate those who have differing viewpoints, and better reflect upon our own.
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How we strive to conduct ourselves: The IDEA philosophy does not refer to our scientific beliefs, religious beliefs, or personal beliefs. The IDEA philosophy is the means by which we retain a spirit of camaraderie and friendship among people with very different personal beliefs. This philosophy values openness before others, intellectual honesty, and mutual respect above all other things for the purpose of friendship and the unfettered pursuit of truth. It espouses the true definition of tolerance: to treat people with respect even when disagreeing.
The philosophy of the IDEA Center is to promote intelligent design theory by educating people about intelligent design in a non-threatening and non-dogmatic manner. This philosophy is the means by which we facilitate a spirit of camaraderie and friendship among people with very different beliefs. We value openness before others, intellectual honesty, and above all other things, mutual respect for the purpose of friendship and the unfettered pursuit of Truth. We espouse the true definition of tolerance: to treat all with respect even when openly disagreeing. One of the most fundamental tenets of our philosophy is to uphold the value of open, fair, free, and friendly intellectual exchange and dialogue with those who disagree with our viewpoint.
Acknowledging Bias
One of the main points of this philosophy is that everyone recognizes that we each carry with us a personal bias. This bias, or belief system, wittingly--or unwittingly--affects just about everything one thinks, like a "pair of rose-colored glasses" through which each person sees the world. We don't eschew people for the "glasses" they wear, rather, we encourage them to tell us about their bias, and acknowledge their "glasses" before themselves and others.
The funny thing about the creation-evolution issue is that no matter how hard we try, perfect objectivity is difficult, perhaps impossible to attain. Why hide our biases, or at least try to pretend they aren't there, when a bias is something we all have? If we know can't remove our glasses, at least we can acknowledge them. Perhaps, when we look in a mirror, knowing they are there, we'll be able to better self-reflect upon our own personal beliefs and re-evaluate the assumptions we make when trying to understand the world. The point? We all have biases, there's no getting around it. IDEA encourages the acknowledgement of personal bias because it opens us up to one another, diffuses emotional conflict, allows for better objectivity, and helps us reflect personally on our own beliefs.
At this point it would be most appropriate to discuss our bias: we believe that intelligent design theory provides a better explanation for the origin of many aspects of the natural world than do purposeless, blind, natural processes such as Darwinian evolution. Additionally, for religious reasons unrelated to intelligent design theory, IDEA Center Leadership believes, that the identity of the designer is the God of the Bible. That's our bias. We'd love to know more about yours!
People We Hope to Serve
The IDEA Center hopes to serve many types of people--students, church groups, community groups, and educators, all of different ages, academic trainings, philosophies, and religious beliefs, and personal backgrounds. One of our primary means of accomplishing this goal is through helping people to form IDEA Club chapters which can see the IDEA Center's mission statement fulfilled on campuses and communities. These chapters will exist on campuses and in communities to host discussions promoting intelligent design theory, friendly dialogue, and understanding over creation-evolution issues.
While a simple majority of those affiliated with IDEA may happen to be on the "intelligent design" side of the camp, we have always welcomed and enjoyed those of other viewpoints. The IDEA Center welcomes anyone--without regard to race, gender, personal beliefs, or any of that PC kind of stuff--to come participate in our events. We just want to promote a better understanding of creation and evolution in a friendly way, and to make that all are respected and educated! The only practical requirement is that you have an interest in issues related to creation and evolution!
