The Wedge of Truth

Many Darwinists gloat over having supposedly exposed the allegedly secretive “Wedge project.” What they never acknowledge (or realize) is that Phillip Johnson openly discussed the full meaning of the “Wedge” in this book years before the widespread internet circulation of the supposedly super secret “Wedge document,” which summarized many of the points in this book in order to clarify for our supporters the important cultural implications of the battle over intelligent design, and explain the importance of forging ahead by calling attention to the growing body of scientific evidence for design in nature. 

In this book, Johnson, also Program Advisor for Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, explains that naturalism, materialism, and modernism aim to remove any support for belief in a personal God who acted with free will to create and sustain the universe. This philosophical assumption forms the bedrock for the belief that plants and animals arose through undirected and purposeless evolutionary processes, and that humans are therefore just another animal, not created in the image of God.

The curtain of naturalistic philosophy today places a stranglehold over not only the fields of science, but also of literature, psychology, and law. Academics remain committed to naturalism as an explanation for all phenomena regardless of the facts. Johnson’s strategy is to expose where naturalism is deficient in its explanations in scientific fields such as paleontology, genetics, and biology. This book outlines the various areas where the “Wedge strategy” is producing viable academic thought to challenge naturalism. 

But the Wedge strategy can be countered, Johnson writes, and the Darwinists know how: through obfuscation by focusing on irrelevancies. “Dogmatism thrives by obfuscation, especially by giving the impression that the really important questions should not be asked.” (pg. 16) Thus, according to Johnson, “If we in the Wedge have an enemy, it is not those in open and honest opposition to our proposals but rather the obfuscators – those who resist any clear definition of terms or issues, who insist that the ruling scientific organizations be obeyed without question and who are content to paper over logical contradictions with superficial compromises.” (pg. 17) 

The enemies of the Wedge are thus those who focus on side issues such as the religious beliefs and alleged motivations of Darwin doubters rather than inviting honest discussion of the evidence. Ironically, the Darwinists’ current obsession with contents of this book — the “Wedge strategy” — is proof that Johnson was right.