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Photo: Douglas Axe at the 2020 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith, by Chris Morgan.
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Douglas Axe: Stupid Design? Or Elegant Invention?

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We launched our latest, 40-part DiscoveryU course this week, “Douglas Axe Investigates Molecular Biology and Intelligent Design.” Two outstanding qualities I appreciate about it are, first, the fact that Dr. Axe, a molecular biologist and author of Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition that Life is Designed, builds from the absolute ground up. Profound arguments for intelligent design are science-based and the science is not necessarily easy, if it’s not explained clearly. So Unit 1 of the course starts with the absolute basics: “Proteins and Genes.” What are proteins? Why are they important for life? How do they work? How do they fold? Why is that important? And so on. Only following that does Professor Axe move on to Units 1 and 2 on Evolution and Intelligent Design respectively.

Secondly, something else that stands out is the incisiveness and brevity of these lectures. They are quick and easily digestible. Here’s an example. You can watch Axe below taking on arguments for “stupid design,” as offered by well known atheists like Neil deGrasse Tyson or lesser lights such as  Nathan Lents. This is accomplished admirably in under 13 minutes. Axe discusses the nature of “elegant design,” the necessity of trade-offs in all design, and he asks how someone like Tyson, not known for any inventions of his own, is fit to judge the excellence of life’s design. Watch now and consider signing up for the course, which is available at a 30 percent discount now if you use the code axesubscriber30. The discount is good through April 30.

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The course includes quizzes, following each lecture, is a great resource for independent adult learning or home-schoolers.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Science and Culture Today
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. He is the author of seven books including Plato’s Revenge: The New Science of the Immaterial Genome and The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy. A former senior editor at National Review, he has contributed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He received an A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1987. Born in Santa Monica, CA, he lives on Mercer Island, WA.
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