“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”
Richard Dawkins
“Whoever, therefore, is not enlightened by such splendor of created things is blind;
whoever is not awakened by such outcries is deaf;
whoever does not praise God because of all these effects is dumb;
whoever does not discover the First Principle from such clear signs is a fool.”Saint Bonaventure (1217-1274)
The Soul’s Journey into God. Paulist Press, 1978
Two different observers, with two wildly different worldviews which spring from opposite philosophical foundations:
- Nature is here by accident, the product of matter and energy interacting through blind, undirected processes.
- Nature is here by design, the product of a preexisting, reasoning mind.
Today, the first view goes by the name of materialism. It’s the view that the physical universe is all there is, and that blind interactions between matter and energy are sufficient to explain all of nature. During the enlightenment period of history, intellectual opinion began to reject all forms of authority, especially supernatural authority, and materialism grew in popularity.
Most people at the time continued to hold the common-sense view: life looked designed because it was designed. Coming from this worldview perspective, the design, purpose, and intention in nature is obvious everywhere you look. Every part of every living organism is clearly designed to fulfill its unique purpose.
One of the best known arguments for design was published in 1802 by William Paley in his book, Natural Theology.
Paley wrote that if you found a watch in a field, you’d naturally assume it had a designer. He said we ought to recognize that living organisms, brilliant pieces of biological machinery, must have had a Designer too.
Then halfway through the 19th century, Darwin published Origin of Species, and the materialist view got a boost of support. It was no longer just philosophy; it claimed scientific authority.
That materialist story has impeded intellectual life since Darwin’s day. But it was conceived from 19th century science; it collapses in light of everything we’ve learned about molecular biology during the last 60 years.
In The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins wrote:
“Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.”
The “appearance” of design is irrelevant. Science now has the ability to look much deeper than surface appearance, and that’s where design is clearly seen. The scientific facts in the topics that follow aren’t in question and they aren’t controversial. The only question is whether they could come about by accident, as materialists believe, or did they require purpose, foresight, and a plan.
The posts I’m including in this topic are about everyday miracles that are easy for us to ignore or take for granted. As you read each post, think about how many design decisions a human designer would have to make as they develop a working prototype. Could a blind process have accomplished it? When you follow the evidence without a philosophical commitment to materialism, it leads naturally to a Designer.