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The wedge strategy is a political and social action plan authored by the , ''Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds'' (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 91-92, Its goal is to "renew" American culture by shaping public policy to reflect conservative Christian values."Five Year Objectives. Spiritual & cultural renewal: Mainline renewal movements begin to appropriate insights from design theory, and to repudiate theologies influenced by materialism; Major Christian denomination(s) defend(s) traditional doctrine of creation & repudiate(s); Darwinism Seminaries increasingly recognize & repudiate naturalistic presuppositions; Positive uptake in public opinion polls on issues such as sexuality, abortion and belief in God" Wedge Strategy Discovery Institute, 1999. Intelligent Design is the belief that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not a naturalistic process such as Natural Selection . Implicit in the intelligent design conjecture is a redefining of Science and how it is conducted. Wedge strategy proponents are dogmatically opposed to Materialism ," "From our vantage, materialism is not a neutral, value-free, minimalist position from which to pursue inquiry. Rather, it is itself an ideology with an agenda. What's more, it requires an evolutionary creation story to keep it afloat. On scientific grounds, we regard that creation story to be false. What?s more, we regard the ideological agenda that has flowed from it to be destructive to rational discourse. Our concerns are therefore entirely parallel to the evolutionists?. Indeed, all the evolutionists? worst fears about what the world would be like if we succeed have, in our view, already been realized through the success of materialism and evolution. Hence, as a strategy for unseating materialism and evolution, the term "Wedge" has come to denote an intellectual and cultural movement that many find congenial." Dealing with the backlash against intelligent design William Dembski. 2004."If we understand our own times, we will know that we should affirm the reality of God by challenging the domination of materialism and naturalism in the world of the mind. With the assistance of many friends I have developed a strategy for doing this....We call our strategy the "wedge." Phillip Johnson, ''Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds'', 1997, pp. 91-92"The overthrow of matter in physics and biology requires a return to the social issues that are treated in Rerum Novarum and Centesimus Annus. ... The great moldering corpse of modern materialism still overshadows and stultifies academic philosophy and contemporary culture, and its fumes even creep insidiously and pervasively through the corridors and carrels of the leading schools of divinity." The Soul of Silicon George Gilder. The Acton Institute, May 1 1997 ,"...there is an immediate payoff to intelligent design: it destroys the atheistic legacy of Darwinian evolution. Intelligent design makes it impossible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. This gives intelligent design incredible traction as a tool for apologetics, opening up the God-question to individuals who think that science has buried God" Commending President Bush William Dembski. (PDF file)"Hence, as a strategy for unseating materialism and evolution, the term "Wedge" has come to denote an intellectual and cultural movement that many find congenial." Dealing with the backlash against intelligent design William Dembski. 2004. "But there are deeper motivations. I think at a fundamental level, in terms of what drives me in this is that I think God's glory is being robbed by these naturalistic approaches to biological evolution, creation, the origin of the world, the origin of biological complexity and diversity. When you are attributing the wonders of nature to these mindless material mechanisms, God's glory is getting robbed...And so there is a cultural war here. Ultimately I want to see God get the credit for what he's done - and he's not getting it." William Dembski, quoted. The Faith That Dare Not Speak Its Name Jerry Coyne. ''The New Republic'', August 11 2005."The objective of the Wedge Strategy is to convince people that Darwinism is inherently atheistic, thus shifting the debate from creationism vs. evolution to the existence of God vs. the non-existence of God. From there people are introduced to 'the truth' of the Bible and then 'the question of sin' and finally 'introduced to Jesus.'" Phillip Johnson quoted. Missionary man Rob Boston. Church & State, April 1999. and have made the removal of each from how science is conducted and taught an explicit goal."Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture seeks nothing less than the overthrow of materialism and its cultural legacies. Bringing together leading scholars from the natural sciences and those from the humanities and social sciences, the Center explores how new developments in biology, physics and cognitive science raise serious doubts about scientific materialism and have re-opened the case for a broadly theistic understanding of nature." . . . "Design theory promises to reverse the stifling dominance of the materialist worldview, and to replace it with a science consonant with Christian and theistic convictions." The Wedge Document Discovery Institute. (PDF file) Darwinism is Materialist Mythology, Not Science Phillip E. Johnson. DarwinReconsidered.org. The strategy was originally brought to the public's attention when the Wedge Document was leaked on the Web. The Wedge strategy forms the governing basis of a wide range of Discovery Institute Intelligent Design Campaigns . OVERVIEW The Wedge Document outlines a Public Relations campaign meant to sway the Opinion Of The Public , popular Media , Charitable Funding Agencies , and public policy makers. According to critics, the wedge document, more than any other Discovery Institute project, demonstrates the Institute's and intelligent design's political rather than scientific purpose. The document sets forth the short-term and long-term goals with milestones for the intelligent design movement, with its governing goals stated in the opening paragraph:
There are three "wedge projects," referred to in the strategy as three phases designed to reach a governing goal:
Recognizing the need for support, the institute affirms the strategy's Christian, Evangelistic orientation: The wedge strategy was designed with both five-year and twenty-year goals in mind in order to achieve the conversion of the mainstream. One notable component of the work was its desire to address perceived "social consequences" and to promote a Social Conservative agenda on a wide range of issues including Abortion , Euthanasia , Sexuality , and other social reform movements. It criticized "materialist reformers {Link without Title} advocated coercive government programs" which it referred to as "a virulent strain of Utopianism ". Beyond promotion of the Phase I goals of proposing Intelligent-Design-related research, publications, and attempted integration into Academia , the wedge strategy places an emphasis on Phases II and III advocacy aimed at increasing popular support of the Discovery Institute's ideas. Support for the creation of popular-level books, newspaper and magazine articles, Op-ed pieces, video productions, and Apologetics seminars is hoped to embolden believers and sway the broader culture towards acceptance of intelligent design, which in turn leads to the ultimate goal of the wedge strategy's authors: the social and political reformation of American culture. In twenty years, it is hoped by the group that they will have achieved their goal of making intelligent design "the dominant perspective in science" as well as to branch out to "ethics, politics, theology, and philosophy in the humanities, and to see its influence in the fine arts". A goal of the wedge strategy is to see intelligent design "permeate religious, cultural, moral and political life." By accomplishing this goal the ultimate goal as stated by the CSC the "overthrow of materialism and its damning cultural legacies" and reinstating "The proposition that human beings are created in the image of God", and thereby "renew" American culture to reflect conservative Christian values will be achieved . The preamble of the Wedge Document is mirrored largely word-for-word in the early mission statement of the Center For Science And Culture , then called the "Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture." . The theme is again picked up in the controversial book ''From Darwin to Hitler'' authored by Center for Science and Culture Fellow Richard Weikart [http://www.darwintohitler.com/ and published with the center's assistance. The wedge strategy was largely authored by Phillip E. Johnson , and features prominently in his book The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism. ORIGINS OF THE WEDGE DOCUMENT Drafted in 1998 by Discovery Institute staff, the Wedge Document first appeared publicly after it was posted to the World Wide Web on February 5, 1999 by Tim Rhodes, virus: A Peek Behind Enemy Lines Tim Rhodes. ChurchOfVirus.org, February 5 1999. having been shared with him in late January 1999 by Matt Duss, a part-time employee of a Seattle-based international human-resources firm. There Duss had been given a document to copy titled ''The Wedge'' and marked "Top Secret" and "Not For Distribution." Discovery's Creation Roger Downey. ''Seattle Weekly'', February 1 2006. Though Discovery Institute co-founder and CSC Vice President 's '' The Creation Of Adam ,'' depicting God reaching out to impart life from his finger into Adam . Meyer once also claimed the Wedge Document was stolen from the Discovery Institute's offices."Q. Now is it true that that document was purportedly stolen from the office of Discovery Institute? A. According to Dr. Meyer that's what happened." Barbara Forrest , 2005, testifying in the '' Kitzmiller V. Dover Area School District '' trial. {Link without Title} , p. 41 ORIGINS OF THE MOVEMENT AND STRATEGY According to Phillip E. Johnson, the wedge movement, if not the term, began in 1992: Johnson established a "cadre of intelligent design (ID) proponents for whom Mr. Johnson acted as an early fulcrum... he made contact, exchanged flurries of e-mail, and arranged personal meetings. Johnson framed these alliances as a 'wedge strategy,' with himself as lead blocker and ID scientists carrying the ball behind him." Science vs. science Lynn Vincent. WORLD Magazine, February 26, 2000, Vol. 15, No. 8. In 1993, a year after the SMU conference, "the Johnson-Behe cadre of scholars met at Pajaro Dunes.... Here, Behe presented for the first time the seed thoughts that had been brewing in his mind for a year--the idea of 'irreducibly complex' molecular machinery." Meeting Darwin's Wager Christianity Today Magazine. April 28, 1997 Vol. 41, No. 5, Page 14. Nancy Pearcey, a CSC fellow and Johnson associate, acknowledges Johnson's leadership of the intelligent design movement in two of her most recent publications. In an interview with Johnson for World magazine, Pearcey says, "It is not only in politics that leaders forge movements. Phillip Johnson has developed what is called the 'Intelligent Design' movement." In ''Christianity Today'', she reveals Johnson's religious beliefs and his animosity toward evolution and affirms Johnson as "The unofficial spokesman for ID" [http://www.windowview.org/science/arn.files/notinkansasanymor.html In his 1997 book Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds Johnson summed up the underlying philosophy of the strategy: At the 1999 "Reclaiming America for Christ Conference" called by Reverend D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries Johnson gave a speech called How the Evolution Debate Can Be Won [http://www.coralridge.org/specialdocs/evolutiondebate.asp . In it he sums up the theological and epistemological underpinnings of intelligent design and its strategy for winning the battle: Johnson cites the foundation of intelligent design is the Bible's Book Of John , specifically, John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." Elaborating on the goals and methods of wedge strategy, Johnson stated in an interview conducted in 2002 for Touchstone Magazine that "The mechanism of the wedge strategy is to make it attractive to Catholics, Orthodox, non-fundamentalist Protestants, observant Jews, and so on." He went on to elaborate Other statements of Johnson's acknowledge that the goal of the intelligent design movement is to promote a theistic and creationist agenda cast as a scientific concept.
Johnson's statements validate the criticisms leveled by those who allege that the Discovery Institute and its allied organizations are merely stripping religious content from their anti-evolution, creationist assertions as a means of avoiding , page 29 The wedge strategy details a simultaneous assault on state boards of education, state and federal legislatures and on the print and broadcast media."''Alongside a focus on the influential opinion-makers, we also seek to build up a popular base of support among our natural constituency, namely, Christians. Well will do this primarily through apologetics seminars. We intend these to encourage and equip believers with new scientific evidences that support the faith, as well as "popularize" our ideas in the broader culture.''" The Wedge Strategy Discovery Institute , Center For The Renewal Of Science And Culture . 1998 (PDF file) The Discovery Institute is currently carrying out the strategy through its role in the intelligent design movement, where it aggressively promotes ID and its Teach The Controversy campaign to the public, education officials and public policymakers. Defending science education against intelligent design: a call to action ''Journal of Clinical Investigation'' 116:1134-1138 (2006). doi:10.1172/JCI28449. A publication of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Intelligent design proponents, through the Discovery Institute, have employed a number of specific political strategies and tactics in their furtherance of their goals. These range from attempts at the state level to undermine or remove altogether the presence of evolutionary theory from the public school classroom, to having the federal government mandate the teaching of intelligent design, to 'stacking' municipal, county and state school boards with ID proponents.''Seattle Times''. March 31, 2005. Does Seattle group "teach controversy" or contribute to it? The Discovery Institute has been a significant player in many of these cases, providing a range of support from material assistance to federal, state and regional elected representatives in the drafting of bills to supporting and advising individual parents confronting their school boards."Q. Has the Discovery Institute been a leader in the intelligent design movement? A. Yes, the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. Q. And are almost all of the individuals who are involved with the intelligent design movement associated with the Discovery Institute? A. All of the leaders are, yes." Barbara Forrest , 2005, testifying in the ''Kitzmiller V. Dover Area School District'' trial. Kitzmiller Dove Testimony, Barbara Forrest In some state battles, the ties of intelligent design proponents to the Discovery Institute's political and social agenda and its strategy and the Institute's role in the debate have been laid bare to the public and lawmakers, resulting in their efforts being temporarily thwarted. The Discovery Institute takes the sophisticated view that all publicity is good and that no defeat is real. It has relaxed its campaign of promoting ID science curriculum, and in some cases asked it be withdrawn from consideration, in favor of science teachers being required to present evolution as a "theory in crisis"; in other words, ''teaching the controversy.'' The strategy is to move, relentlessly, from standards battles, to curriculum writing, to textbook adoption, and back again doing whatever it takes to undermine the central position of evolution in biology. The Discovery Institute fellows have significant advantages in money, political sophistication, and experience over their opponents in the scientific and educational communities, who do not have the benefit of funding from wealthy benefactors, clerical and technical support staff, and expensive advertising campaigns and extensive political networking. Intelligent design group is just a religious front by Fred Barton, ''Lansing State Journal''. September 11, 2005 Battle on Teaching Evolution Sharpens By Peter Slevin '' Washington Post '', March 14, 2005 Politicized Scholars Put Evolution on the Defensive By Jodi Wilgoren, ''New York Times'', August 21, 2005 The Discovery Institute's "Teach the Controversy" campaign is designed to leave the scientific establishment looking close-minded, appearing as if it is attempting to stifle and suppress new scientific discoveries that challenge the status quo. This is made with the knowledge that it's unlikely many in the public understand advanced biology, or can consult the current scientific literature or contact major scientific organizations to verify Discovery Institute claims. This part of the strategy also plays on undercurrents of anti-intellectualism and distrust of science and scientists that can be found in particular segments of American society."some hair-splitting that could only look ridiculous to outsider observers." What looks to scientists to be a very compelling rebuttal to Dembski's arguments made by Dr. Schneider is portrayed to non-scientists, and especially the public, as "ridiculous hair-splitting" Dealing with the Backlash Against Intelligent Design William A. Dembski . Designinference.com, April 14 , 2004 There is a noticeable conflict between what ID backers tell the public through the media and what they say before conservative Christian audiences.Barbara Forrest. Expert Testimony. ''.
Moreover, wedge advocates are now disavowing their own terminology because the term "intelligent design" has become a liability for them since the ruling in '' This prompted a move to a fallback position, teaching "critical analysis" of evolutionary theory. Teaching "critical analysis" is viewed as a means of teaching all the ID arguments without using that label. No one here but us Critical Analysis-ists... Nick Matzke . The Panda's Thumb, July 11 2006 It also picks up the themes of the Teach The Controversy strategy, emphasizing what they say are the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolutionary theory and "arguments against evolution," which they portray as "a theory in crisis." EXAMPLES OF THE WEDGE STRATEGY IN ACTION Both being heavily promoted and funded by the Discovery Institute and its Center for Science and Culture, the intelligent design movement and the "Teach the Controversy" movements are considered examples of the wedge strategy in action. Other examples include:
DEFENDING THE WEDGE STRATEGY The wedge strategy received attention from groups opposed to the intelligent design movements as the document appears to advocate a particularly strident strategy for promoting a wide-range of Politically Conservative ideas that seem unrelated to the question of science. In response, the Discovery Institute published a document entitled The "''Wedge Document: So What?''" to defuse many of the claims stating: It states that the original document was only a fundraising proposal, and criticizes its opponents for what it believes are baseless accusations. The wedge strategy is claimed to be an opposition to the dominant ''a priori'' philosophy and a support of the interpretive freedom of scientists. The goal of the strategy is described as "influencing science and culture ''with our ideas'' through research, reasoned argument and open debate. Their response in "''Wedge Document: So What?''" describes the religious agenda they are pursuing: FUTURE OF THE STRATEGY Speaking in October 2002 the Discovery Institute's William Dembski said, However, as one critic has noted, SEE ALSO
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