Crystal Hubbard/Collegian
Michael Buratovish explains the pros and cons of intelligent design.
On Tuesday afternoon, Michael Buratovich, professor of biochemistry at Spring Arbor University, spoke on the evidences for and against intelligent design. The speech was sponsored by sophomore physics major Jon Fisher, who is hoping to get more speakers like Buratovich to lecture on controversial topics.
“What I’m trying to do is start a new club that examines all background evidences that Christianity is true or not,” Fisher said. “Is there a good case to trust the Bible, Christ, and Christianity?”
Fisher said he wants the club—which is tentatively dubbed Evidences of Christianity—to analyze scientific proofs that claim to support Christianity.
“There is a central theme—I want to look into Christianity itself,” Fisher said. “The mission statement of the college is based in Judeo-Christian roots, and I want to further examine these roots naturally and spiritually.”
Buratovich’s speech encompassed the idea of looking at both sides of the issue of intelligent design.
“The talk is about design as a possibility and what we can do with it—also discussing the evidence against it,” Buratovich said.
“We have insufficient evidence for and against [intelligent design]. You can’t make a claim either way,” Fisher said. “You need to analyze from a purely scientific perspective. The evidence is inconclusive.”
In his speech, Buratovich said intelligent design is riddled with “false positives;” that it is perfectly reasonable to invoke design under certain circumstance, depending on one’s personal religious and scientific views.
“The conclusion of design here is separate from one’s religious commitment,” Buratovich said. “The means of production and the conclusion of an object are two separate questions. We can’t use God as a universal fill-in.”
While senior Jonathan Schanbacher said he didn’t agree with Buratovich’s speech, he still found it interesting.
“It was very rational,” Schanbacher said. “His thesis was based on the synthesis of reason and our senses and how we can basically understand the universe and world and basically all things. It was very informative but there are a lot of other theories that seem to me equally as likely—one particularly being Christianity.”
“I’m cautiously optimistic [about intelligent design]. I don’t think a case for it has been made yet, but I think it’s a possibility,” Buratovich said. “Until the theory gives scientists something to its advantage, it won’t be considered true.”