Thomas Paine and Intelligent Design

By David Morris, AlterNet. Posted November 17, 2005.

In Paine's version of 'intelligent design,' science and religion are inextricably linked; in the Kansas school board's definition, they are adversaries.

The Kansas school board might find it instructive to read Thomas Paine's 210-year-old argument in support of intelligent design. They may be interested to learn how his belief in intelligent design led him to reject organized religions.

Why read Thomas Paine? Because, it is widely agreed, without him there would have been no United States. Indeed, it was Paine who first used the phrase, "the United States of America."

For those unfamiliar with American history, a brief review may be in order.