On April 22, 2005, in a news article entitled, “Scientist: Evolution and God can co-exist,” Dr. Eugenie Scott of the NCSE was quoted saying:
“Science cannot tell you who done it, but how it happened … If there is an omnipotent being, anything this being does is compatible with anything we observe.”
Scott was discussing evolutionary theory in this quote, but her quote seems like a general statement which could be applied to the nature of scientific investigation in general. Taking the quote as such, Scott has conceded that we can detect the activities of the designer even if we cannot detect the designer. In essence, if God exists, and God has acted in the natural world, then we could detect those actions (i.e. science can tell you “how it happened,” even though “science cannot tell you who done it.” This is exactly in line with the thinking of ID proponents, and it seems to contradict Scott’s usual claims that must explicitly appeal to God.
“Science cannot tell you who done it, but how it happened … If there is an omnipotent being, anything this being does is compatible with anything we observe.”
Scott was discussing evolutionary theory in this quote, but her quote seems like a general statement which could be applied to the nature of scientific investigation in general. Taking the quote as such, Scott has conceded that we can detect the activities of the designer even if we cannot detect the designer. In essence, if God exists, and God has acted in the natural world, then we could detect those actions (i.e. science can tell you “how it happened,” even though “science cannot tell you who done it.” This is exactly in line with the thinking of ID proponents, and it seems to contradict Scott’s usual claims that must explicitly appeal to God.