In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph.
In recent years the news media have characterized the theory of evolution as contentious and that science and religion are incompatible. The so-called debate is fomented self-labeled scientist/believers who claim that the theory of evolution is scientifically ambiguous at best, contending that intelligent design is a viable alternative ―scientific‖ theory. What follows below is an attempt to illustrate how the contentiousness of the issue follows from a misuse of language the ignorance of which falsely enables the so-called debate to continue. At issue is the ambiguous meaning of the word ―random‖—specifically, the scientific sense of random mutations that drive evolution versus the popular meaning of random as unplanned. First I start with some background information about biological evolution and the various theological interpretations prevalent in Christian theological understanding of creation
