Intelligent Design Professor Grilled on Witness Stand; Scores Points with Critics 
Josh Getlin/Teresa Neumann Reporting  (Nov 8, 2005) 

Philosophy professor: "We tend to think these people favoring intelligent design are all evil people, and they're not." 

After two grueling days on the witness stand, Michael J. Behe, a biology professor at Leheigh University and one of the nation's leading advocates of Intelligent Design, was reported as looking "drained" but "unbowed." The 53-year old was the lead witness for intelligent design in the federal trial in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and his testimony marked "a high point in the career of a once-obscure scientist who never dreamed he'd become a celebrity." 

According to the LA Times report, Behe's testimony was crucial for those who believe Darwinism is not the final word in how life evolved and even some of Behe's strongest critics believe he may have scored important points in his mid-October court appearance. 

Although most scientists dismiss Behe, they make a big mistake if they try to demonize him, said Florida State University philosophy professor, Michael Ruse. "We tend to think these people favoring intelligent design are all evil people, and they're not. That's the trouble on my side. Our opponents come in different shapes and sizes, and Michael is proof of that...he is a real scientist." 

Still, Behe is well aware of the price he has paid to stand by his beliefs. In August, Behe's colleagues placed a departmental statement on the Lehigh University website, opposing his views: "It is our collective position that intelligent design has no basis in science, has not been tested experimentally, and should not be regarded as scientific." 

Behe noted that if he hadn't had tenure, it would have been "extremely unlikely" that he could have taken such a stand and survived in the academic world. "I'm not a member of the inner club when it comes to mainstream science. I probably never will be. Students and aspiring teachers who are intrigued by my work often ask me for advice, how they can help me out," he said. "And I tell them: 'Until you have tenure, until you're protected, keep your mouth shut and your head down.' " 

After his testimony ended, LA Times reporter Josh Getlin noted that "Behe pulled on a plaid woolen cap and headed for his car, eager to get back to his family in Bethlehem, Pa. He had been taken aback by the harshness and intensity of some questions." 

"I'm the kind of guy who would rather be at home cutting the grass and drinking a beer," he said. "Or grading papers at the university. Anything but this." 

Behe grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania with seven siblings and educated in Catholic schools. His mother was a stay-at-home mom. "In the seventh, eighth grades, I recall nuns teaching that God can make life any way he wants," Behe said. "If he wants to create life by the outplaying of natural laws, well, who were we to tell him otherwise? Here was Darwin's theory, and it looks like God set up the world to begin producing life. I remember thinking, 'That's cool.' "

Behe later studied chemistry at Drexel University in Philadelphia and biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and did research in biochemistry at the National Institutes of Health. In 1985, he took a job teaching biology at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. Today, Behe is the father of nine children; five sons and four daughters. 

Behe notes that he gets a "strong vote of support" from his children, who -- being home schooled by their mother Celeste -- have been taught intelligent design along with evolution. 

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