Alan Lukemire from Kathleen is a staunch believer in the emerging scientific theory of Intelligent Design (ID). An engineer with Space Power Electronics supporting NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lukemire has been the catalyst for bringing in nationally known biology and chemistry professors to explain the science of Intelligent Design at a free, three-day conference hosted by Bonaire First Baptist Church on May 9-11.

"I want people to know the facts from science that point to us being the intentional product of an intelligent mind. Intelligent Design, based on new scientific data, proposes that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not a naturalistic process such as Darwin's natural selection," Lukemire said.

Bonaire First Baptist's pastor, Kenny Rodgers, said that his church is hosting the ID conference for two main reasons: to help people know what they believe and why they believe, and for people to know that there is a Creator and that we are responsible before that Creator.

From a Christian worldview, the Intelligent Design theory seems logical– the Bible teaches that the universe had a beginning and was created by God. Christians have long believed that the beauty and complexity of nature point to our Creator, but the prevailing scientific worldview believes that the universe and all of life was created by chance.

Predictably, the Intelligent Design theory has met with ridicule and scorn by many within the scientific community. ID's most outspoken critic, Richard Dawkins, a biologist from Oxford University, is openly contemptuous of Christianity and ID. There is no room, in Dawkins' world, for God. He is out to prove that there is no evidence that God exists. Dawkins' 2007 bestselling book The God Delusion, says, "…Darwinian evolution, specifically natural selection, shatters the illusion of design within the domain of biology, and teaches us to be suspicious of any kind of design hypothesis in physics and cosmology as well." The backlash against scientists who support Intelligent Design has been so venomous that Ben Stein has recently released a documentary EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed to warn people that ID scientists are not being allowed to voice their concerns about Darwinism or even to say that Darwinism doesn't answer many of the basic questions about life (see related article on page 17 ). Conference planners are hoping that the controversy surrounding the EXPELLED documentary will cause people with questions about ID to attend the conference for answers. Lukemire hopes that providing a scientific background that supports a belief in an "Intelligent Designer" will help young people stay connected with church and God. Statistics show that 88% of the children raised in evangelical homes leave church by the age of 18, never to return (Nehemiah Institute 2002). Lukemire stressed the need for families with high school, and college age students to attend the ID Conference to see how the Christian view of the origin of the universe and of life can be a credible witness in an academic community.

Even though Lukemire gave his life to Christ at age 7 and made a deeper commitment at 13, he learned that it's not always enough to be raised in a church and attend church regularly. When he headed off to college at age 18, Lukemire found the secular claims of science surprisingly appealing and was enticed by his professors' lectures and time spent in the lab.

"I slipped away from my roots in the church. It doesn't take long when you step out of church to get caught up in the ways of the world. There was a hurricane going on in my soul, followed by a 10-year period of darkness. I finally found myself thinking that this could not possibly be what it is all about. I experienced extreme loneliness and became depressed and broke down in prayer, ‘God, I've left you.' I prayed for hours. God heard my prayers and soon began to pull me back from the darkness and restored the sense of purpose and joy in my life," Lukemire said.

Speakers at the May 9-11 Intelligent Design Conference include Dr. Thomas Woodward, Professor of Trinity College in Florida and author of Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design; Dr. Charles Thaxton, Ph. D in physical chemistry from Iowa State University. He is the academic editor of the high school biology book, Of Pandas and People; and Dr. Ralph Seelke, biology professor at the University of Wisconsin, who is one of the top five experimental biologists whose findings bear on the theory of Intelligent Design.

The conference starts on Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. , and continues on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The conference will conclude with two Sunday, May 11 Worship Services: "Creation in Stereo" at 8:30 a.m. and "Reasons for our Hope" at 10:45 a.m. Bonaire First Baptist Church is located at 142 W. Highway 96, in Bonaire.

For more information on the Intelligent Design Conference 2008, go to www.bonairefbc.org/id.