William Dembski has done it again. His recent book “Intelligent Design Uncensored” (co-written with Jonathan Witt) is a marvelous introduction to the controversy surrounding the ID movement. If you’re unfamiliar with intelligent design, or you want a primer, this is the book for you. While they cover the usual ground for a book on intelligent design, the uniqueness of this book comes from its engaging and sometimes even humorous writing style.

This book is very timely because there is a pressing need to get the message of ID to young people. While the arguments for ID have been developed considerably, many people still assume Darwinism is the only game in town. Last week I received an email from a high school student in Orange County who had a class debate on intelligent design versus evolution. I helped him prepare, so he sent me an email to let me know how it went. Here’s an excerpt from what he wrote:

“I think one of the most shocking things was that the teacher asked kids to raise their hands if they had never heard of intelligent design before and probably about 3/4 of the class raised their hand. The students we argued against had a hard time believing what we were presenting as evidence. They didn’t know about some of it too. They didn't even know about the evidence about the probabilities, didn't think the fine-tuning related, and thought that the TTSS could refute the flagellum. We showed how it didn't but it was just hard for them and the audience to believe that what we were saying was actually true. I feel like they have been somewhat indoctrinated through school to think there are no evolutionary weaknesses.”

This young man is absolutely right. So many young people are simply given one side of the controversy. That’s why books like “Intelligent Design Uncensored” are so important. Pick up a copy for yourself and then give it to a young person, teacher, or youth pastor to read.

There are a few breakthrough points made in “ID Uncensored” worth highlighting.

First, despite the claim that evolution is the overwhelming consensus, Dembski and Witt cite a study by the Finkelstein Institute, which found that some 60 percent of U.S. Medical doctors think that intelligent design played some role in the origin of humans. This study also included considerable percentages of Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, and “Spiritual but not religious” doctors. This should give pause to those who claim that only Christian fundamentalists embrace intelligent design (p. 36-38).

Second, intelligent design asks two basic questions. (1) Is it logically possible that things in nature were designed? (2) If so, how could we tell? To grasp how reasonable there assertions are Dembski and Witt ask us to consider someone making the following statement: “It isn’t even logically possible that some things in nature were designed, and even if some things were, it isn’t even logically possible that such things bear evidence of having been designed.” Even most people who reject the arguments of ID can appreciate how wrongheaded such an approach is. The claims of ID are certainly logically possible and should be evaluated on their merit (not tossed out before consideration, as many want to do).

Third, Dembski and Witt urge caution to graduate students and teachers without tenure who are ID-friendly. They say, “We know this from personal experience. While some Darwinists welcome open discussion of the evidence, many more in positions of power have gone to great lengths to shut down open conversations about the evidence.” They admit this sounds melodramatic, but they go on to give many practical examples of ID supporters who lost jobs, tenure, and students who were denied PhDs.

Overall, I hope “Intelligent Design Uncensored” will help propel the ID movement forward. We’ve come a long way in the past couple decades, but we still have a significant way to go.