| Creationists (sometimes calling themselves “scientific creationists” or “intelligent design theorists”) are the current defenders of the Design Argument. Creationism cannot be viewed as a single theory—it is more like a cluster of similar opinions.  Creationists disagree about various points: . 
          
            |  | Strict Creationism Theories | Loose Creationism Theories |  
            |  Age of the Earth
             | The earth is young (about 10,000 years old).
 | The earth is very old (about 4.5 billion years old, according to current science).
                   
             |  
            | Origin of Species | Maintain that each species has been separately
 created by an intelligent designer.
 | Acknowledge that modern biology is right in tracing
 back all life on earth to
 a common ancestor.
 |  
            | Need for Intelligent Design
 | Hold that every complex adaptation (e.g., wings of
 birds, the mammalian
 temperature regulation system,
 and the human eye), requires
 an explanation in terms
 of intelligent design.
 | Maintain that only one or two features of life forms (e.g., the origin of life or the emergence of consciousness), require an intelligent design explanation.
                     
             |    
   |