Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Jerry Coyne on Michael Behe

University of Chicago Jerry Coyne doesn’t try so much to offer speculative solutions to so far unexplained complexities. He simply argues that in assuming that these complexities cannot be explained by evolution, Behe is being unscientific. He wrote in the New Republic:

For a start, let us be clear about what Behe now accepts about evolutionary theory. He has no problem with a 4.5-billion-year-old Earth, nor with evolutionary change over time, nor apparently with its ample documentation through the fossil record—the geographical distribution of organisms, the existence of vestigial traits testifying to ancient ancestry, and the finding of fossil "missing links" that show common ancestry among major groups of organisms. Behe admits that most evolution is caused by natural selection, and that all species share common ancestors. He even accepts the one fact that most other IDers would rather die than admit: that humans shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees and other apes.

By listing what Behe accepts about evolution, Coyne in a single carefully worded paragraph, defines a common criterion for believing in evolution as it is understood by evolutionary biologists, certainly most scientists and a large segment of the population. The essential difference between Behe and most evolutionary scientists is the word “most” in the phrase “Behe admits that most evolution is caused by natural selection.” Behe thinks most evolution is caused naturally but what can’t be explained is caused by an intelligent designer. Most evolutionary scientists believe—even if they can’t prove it yet—that all evolution is caused naturally. And theologians, who in large numbers agree with Coyne and most biologists, refer to this a “God of the Gaps” theology and say it is faulty.