On May 14, 2010, author Stephen Meyer will face a panel of credentialed critics of his “Intelligent Design” position. His newly released book, “Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design,” is shaking the evolutionary establishment like “Darwin’s Black Box” and “Evolution: A Theory in Crisis” did in previous decades. If traditional Darwinism is to survive, Meyer’s ideas presented in the book based on the latest research on living cells must be answered.

Darwinists have heavily criticized his ideas and Meyer, for the first time in Southern California, before nearly 3,000 attendees will now stand against his toughest critics in a live debate at Chase Gymnasium at Biola University from 7-10 p.m., May 14.

"This event should provide some clear evidence as to whether or not this 'intelligent design' movement we hear about so often really has a foundation in science and clear thinking,” said Biola’s Director of the Science and Religion Program, Craig Hazen. “Most often this movement is quickly dismissed as a 'new form of the old Creationism' grounded only in some sort of blind faith that Christians have in the Bible.  Is Intelligent Design Theory based in science or blind faith?”

Hazen believes this event will further the answer to that question significantly.

In “Signature in the Cell”, Meyer reveals that the digital code embedded in DNA points powerfully to a designing intelligence and addresses how the very first life began — something Darwin failed to address. The book investigates new scientific discoveries and their relationship to intelligent design.

Meyer states in his book, “Consider three new discoveries about the cell’s informational system that illustrate the ability of intelligent design to explain otherwise unexpected discoveries, including many that the competing explanations do not. First, functionally specified information is densely concentrated in DNA. Second, the genome is hierarchically arranged to optimize access and retrieval of information. And, third, the organism provides an informational context—involving both genomic and extragenomic information—that determines the expression of lower-level genetic modules.”

Clips of the latest Illustra Media DVD titled “Darwin’s Dilemma” will be shown at the event and a free copy of the DVD will be given to each family who attends.

The free event, sponsored by Biola University Apologetics program, is open to the public.

Stephen Meyer Bio

Stephen C. Meyer is director of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture (CSC) and a founder both of the intelligent design movement and of the CSC, intelligent design’s primary intellectual and scientific headquarters. Meyer is a Cambridge University-trained philosopher of science, the author of peer-reviewed publications in technical, philosophy, scientific, and other books and journals. His contribution to ID theory is described most fully in “Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design,” published by HarperOne in June 2009.