Possible objection no 3
This is nothing more than a "God of the gaps" argument
This is a common objection directed at all intelligent design arguments.
The accusation is that design arguments are just a lazy way of looking at the world. The reasoning goes that when we find something difficult to explain, rather than make the required effort to do the scientific research to solve the problem, we give up and simply declare that God must have done it.
This accusation is usually accompanied with the accusation that the design argument is in fact a science stopper. It is a line of reasoning that discourages science from advancing the boundaries of knowledge.
It stops science !
Is this accusation fair?
In an effort to analyze this accusation lets change the context of the accusation and see how well the logic stands up.
Lets imagine that our friends over at SETI have discovered an interesting new signal coming from a part of space they have never scanned before.
The signal begins to raise hope that they have at last discovered intelligent live elsewhere in the universe.
The first course of action is of course to stifle any premature excitement and look for a natural explanation of this new phenomena. After much research many of the known possible natural explanations are one by one being discounted. Excitement rises but the search for an explanation continues.
Concurrently other members of the team are analyzing the signal and discovering mathematical patterns imbedded in the signal. At this point their discovery is made public. Down the road however, we have a group of individuals who are sceptical about the possibility of intelligent life existing elsewhere in the universe. These individuals quite rightly encourage more research into the phenomena.
As research continues it becomes clear that the signal contains complex computational code. These are in fact functional instructions to build something, this is software! After much time and effort the semiotic protocols behind the signal begin to be unpicked. What now begins to emerge is the tantalizing prospect of being able to harness this alien technology to enhance our world in ways we have never previously even dreamed of.
During the course of this lengthy process, the confidence of those hoping to find alien life continues to rise and their efforts progressively switch over from looking for what is beginning to look like a unlikely search for a natural explanation to understanding and utilizing the technology arising from their discovery.
However our sceptical colleagues down the road emphasise the need to continue to look for a natural explanation for what has been discovered. Refusing to even consider the prospect of the existence of alien life, they chide their colleagues for their enthusiasm with the accusation that they are simply being lazy and have fallen victim to "Alien of the gaps" reasoning.