It was June 2012 in New Zealand’s remote
Hunua Ranges, southeast of Auckland. Thirty-nine-year-old bioengineer Ronnie
Fong set out on what was supposed to be a four-hour walk and ended up lost for
three days. In sub-zero temperatures at night, he kept moving to stay warm. Climbing
to the hilltops, he could see a dam in the distance, which he focused on as his
goal. During the precarious trek, he stumbled across a 24-pack of unopened
chlorine tablets (for purifying water) that he believes was intentionally
dropped by a rescuer, enabling him to keep hydrated. Ronnie knew he had finally
reached safety when he found a dirt road. Not long thereafter he spotted the
headlights of a search team, bringing his ordeal to a fortunate end.
Although Ronnie saw no rescuers for three
days, his confidence was maintained by the indisputable signs of human presence.
Sighting the dam in the distance, he knew he was close to civilization. While not
personally witnessing the dam being designed, built, or maintained, he never questioned
that capable human beings were responsible for it. Without actually observing
where the chlorine tablets came from, he was sure someone had been in the area.
The dirt road, as simple and crude as it appeared, was enough to convince him that
he was in an inhabited area. When he sighted the approaching headlights, before
actually seeing anybody, he was absolutely certain that people were near.
Ronnie’s optimism stemmed from the observable
effects of human activity. Not once did he surmise that random evolutionary
mutations over billions of years were responsible for the efficiently designed wall of earth, concrete,
and steel across the riverbed. Upon discovering the chlorine tablets, it never
crossed his mind that the symmetrical plastic and foil packaging might be the
result of a massive explosion of primordial elements that gradually developed
into its current functional shape. He didn’t instinctively assume that the dirt
road tracks were formed by a freak accident of nature, nor did he entertain the
thought of purely naturalistic causes to account for the headlights.
It was not scientific experimentation or
even direct observation that led to his definitive conclusions. His assurance
that preexisting intelligence and ingenuity were responsible for the dam, the
chlorine tablets, the road, and the headlights was a conviction of faith,
prompted by sensible reasoning and compelling evidence. This is what carried
him through an otherwise hopeless ordeal, and unsurprisingly, what wasn’t
visible along the treacherous journey was confirmed in the end. “Now faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1
ESV).
How, then, can our knowledge of the Grand
Designer of the universe be any less certain? From the tiniest microscopic organism to the vast solar systems, the
physical world demonstrates clear signs of intricate design.1 Specified complexity and fine-tuned patterns of activity do not simply emerge out of
nothing or consistently occur by accident. Where there is a painting, there must be an artist.
Without a poet, there is no poem. A house does not build itself, and a book
does not write itself. Where there is functional design, there has to be a
designer.
The
cosmos is real and must have come from somewhere. It obviously did not create
itself. Every effect requires an adequate cause. Moreover, the evidence
of deliberate design in the natural world implies a creative and proficient
designer. Those who stubbornly reject the necessary inference of
the intelligent design model have theorized any number of elaborate proposals (cosmological constant, cosmic
cataclysm, oscillating
universe, et al.). But none can reasonably explain the mystery of life and the uniform patterns of functionality across the universe, much less where and how it all originated.
The Bible provides a credible answer for anyone
not blinded by anti-theistic prejudice. “For every house
is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4). “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”
(Genesis 1:1). “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above
proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). “By faith we
understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is
seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
The God of the Bible is outside of time
and space, without beginning or end.2 He is the Grand Designer and
Creator in whom we have conviction of faith and assurance of
hope.3 Without him we are lost, though he is not far away, and what is not visible along
life’s journey is sure to be confirmed in the end.4
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 See I.D.E.A. Center’s “Evidence for the Design of
the Universe,” <Link>; “Cell Positioning Uses ‘Good Design’,” <Link>; William A.
Dembski, “Design Inference vs. Design Hypothesis,” <Link>.
2 Eccl. 3:11;
Psa. 93:2; Prov. 8:23; Rev. 1:8.
3 Ex. 20:11; Psa. 8:3-4; 33:6;
102:25; 115:15; Jer. 51:15; John 1:1-3; Acts 4:24; 14:15; Eph. 3:9; Col.
1:16-17; Heb. 1:1-2, 10; Rev. 4:11; 10:6.
4 Acts 17:24-31; Heb. 11:1-6; 1 John 3:2.
Related Posts: Why Should I Believe in God?, Proclaiming God's Existence to the World, Human Suffering?, Religion Explained?
Related articles: Wayne Jackson’s “The
Elephant in Evolution’s Living Room,” <Link>;
Jeff Miller’s “Cosmological Argument,” <Link>.
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