"Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear -- and these are basically Darwin's views. There are no gods, no purposes, and no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That's the end of me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning in life, and no free will for humans, either. What an unintelligible idea."
This statement was made by William Provine, professor at Cornell University, in a debate with Phillip Johnson at Stanford University in 1994.
If Dr. Provine thinks it is appropriate to draw a metaphysical conclusion ("there are no gods") from a scientific theory ("modern evolutionary biology"), then surely he won't mind if others draw their own metaphysical conclusions from scientific evidence.
Those of us who hold to Intelligent Design (ID) get accused of using science to support our belief in God. Well, ok, it's a little more complicated than that, but if William Provine can draw a negative conclusion ("There is no god") from empirical data, then surely we can form a positive conclusion ("an intelligent designer does exist") from empirical data.
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
