Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 05:1 (Fall 2000)
Article: A Review Article: Darwin’s Black Box
Author: Brian Jones

DBSJ 5 (Fall 2000) p. 125

A Review Article:
Darwin’s Black Box

Brian Jonesa

Darwin’s Black Box by Michael J. Behe. New York: Touchstone, 1996, 307 pp., $13.00.

In recent years, one of the most strident debates in American public policy is whether or not evolution should be taught exclusively in government funded schools. Some school boards have attempted to require the teaching of creationism alongside of evolution; others have simply tried to require a disclaimer that mentions other theories of origin besides evolution. United States courts have consistently held that the religious nature of creationism excludes it from mention in government supported schools. Some have argued, however, that these decisions do not mandate an “evolution-only” curriculum. In fact, in a recent story about the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a case on one such issue, USA Today noted that “the panel did not rule out the possibility that a school board could require some type of disclaimer stating that evolution was not the only accepted explanation of the origin of life.”1

Perceived loopholes such as these have spawned a new movement in the explanation of origins, called the Intelligent Design movement. This movement is an attempt to open science and the secular world up to “all possible explanations [of origins]—including design by an intelligent agent.”2 The Intelligent Design movement is beginning to gain recognition among Christians as a potentially viable alternative to evolution as taught in public schools, as demonstrated in a recent group of articles in Christianity Today published under the heading,

DBSJ 5 (Fall 2000) p. 126

“The Origins Debate.”3 The Intelligent Design movement was begun by attorney Phillip Johnson.4 Johnson has written several books attempting to point out the philosophical agenda behind Darwinism and to demonstrate that Darwinists have been less than honest in their approach and argumentation.5 Although Johnson may be the father of the Intelligent Design movement, he is by no means its only advocate. Biochemist Michael Behe, mathematician William Dembski,6 and others have joined the Intelligent Design approach. An important book in the Intelligent Design movement is Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe.

Darwin’s Black Box demonstrates two impor...