But where does that differ from creationism?
Cookiesmom's aquaintances are, as far as I can tell, creationists.
I would say that all creationists believe in Intelligent Design, but not all believers in Intelligent Design are creationists.
And, I think it is equally true that all atheists believe in Evolution*, but not all believers in Evolution* are atheists. (Case in point: theistic evolutionists, who believe in both Evolution AND Intelligent Design!)
I found an answer to the question (How does Intelligent Design differ from creationism?) on, of all things,
"Yahoo Answers!" I thought this person did a fairly good job of explaining it:
"Intelligent Design is the study of patterns in nature that are best explained as the result of intelligence" (Dr. William Dembski). Or, the definition on IntelligentDesign.org: “The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process...” That's it; it says nothing of who the creator is and how he/she/it/they did it. Intelligent Design encompasses every "creation" story, even aliens seeding life on this planet (directed panspermia). Theistic evolution also fits under that umbrella (the creator used evolution to create). The God of the Bible is just one possible candidate. Some creationists (like those at Answers In Genesis) don’t like the ID movement because they say it divorces the Creator from the creation.* NOTE: When I say "Evolution" I am not referring to what is commonly known as "microevolution" (changes within a species). Everyone, including creationists, acknowledge the existance of microevolution. I am referring to the theory of "macroevolution" (the idea that the changes seen in microevolution eventually produce new species.)
