What I don’t understand about the Christian argument against Intelligent Design sort of things (even beyond the "theory" to the whole concept) is this:

Is the Aristotelean/Thomist, etc Argument from Design dead, then? Is that what you’re saying?

I agree with Garvey (below) that the Argument from Design seems to have flaws, flaws which have the power to blow a big hole in one’s faith. If we can see God’s hand in the beauty and design of the universe, what does the child born with Tay-Sachs, born to live a very brief, difficult life, say about that Designer? It’s one of those ultimate questions that leaves us deep in mystery.

Yet, what I hear from the theistic opponents of ID seems to imply that the traditional notion of discerning God’s existence via the beauty and order of His creation is unacceptable…even for theists. Yes, I understand the distinction between philosophical and scientific language  but I’m not sure I understand the value of the former if it has no relationship at all to the latter. Help?