I was a proponent of ID for a short while. I read about the bombardier beetle and realized that no chemical process on Earth can make this creature exist through evolutionary steps.

Well, that was until I thought about it some more. I admit that something was wrong with the scenario which states that something cannot be explained. It goes against my grain to say something cannot be done in science. But still you cannot say that anything can be done. In short no predictions about anything should be maintained in science.

That's when it occurred to me - you definitely cannot prove God's existence. This is simply a matter of faith not religion. (So why are we trying?) My next thought was about mutation. Can the beetle mutate? After a brief pause I realized that if a cosmic ray forces just the right mutation to occur, and if we give this event enough time, say a few million years, then surely this explanation is plausible for the eventual existence of the bombardier beetle.

When I realized that I knew I had a solid critique for all such ID theories. But even more I realized something else about ID proponents.

They are giving up. They metaphorically throw their hands up and say "it can't be explained - ergo ID!"

It strikes me as fatalistic and defeatist. And as a scientist I cannot support it.

BTW, I am a Bible believing Christian... so much for ID. So let's leave the naysayer and defeatist attitudes out of our schools. Let's introduce students to accepting a challenge and facing it boldly with hope for a fair and ... intelligent solution. :)