Evidence of Intelligent Design

In Romans 1:20, the Apostle Paul wrote that “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…” Does it seem odd to start with a verse of Scripture when examining the evidence concerning God’s existence? The world around us provides a wonderful place to start!

Think about Frank Lloyd Wright, the noted architect Would you believe me if I told you that Frank Lloyd Wright…never existed? What if I told you that all of the buildings attributed to him were not built by human hands, but rather by a bazaar set of coincidences that just happened to fall in place at just the right moment?

Everything, from plastic toys to elaborately planned buildings, requires a creator/designer. We do not look at beautiful homes and even entertain the absurd idea that a storm, meteor, or flood brought them into existence. What would be the odds of even a catastrophic event or an amazingly extensive amount of time creating a perfect replica of a Frank Lloyd Wright home?

If it seems absurd to us to think that it is highly improbable that an elaborate home could be built by sheer happenstance no matter what the circumstances or how long we give it, then it should be even more absurd to think that every single living entity on earth (plan and animal) are the product of happenstance! Carl Sagan, a noted atheist, “estimated that the chance of life evolving on Earth is one in 1x10  2,000,000,000 [1 followed by two billion zeros]. It would take 6,000 books of 300 pages each just to write that number!”

Further, Edwin Conklin of Princeton University stated that the “probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing shop.” Should we, in any way, believe that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary came into being as the result of an explosion in a printing shop?

If, as Dr. Sagan estimates, the probability of life evolving without intelligent design is 1x10 2,000,000,000, then the more logical deduction would be that there is an intelligent designer. What is the probability that Frank Lloyd Wright designed a house using blueprints and then construction workers followed those blueprints under Wright’s supervision to create these works of art?

Consider the following questions for a moment: when has non- life spawned life? When has non-matter created matter? If we observe the world around us, we can see that kind begets kind, life begets life, and so it has always been. Why do we not live in constant fear that another universe will spontaneously appear over ours, thereby crushing us or blowing us to oblivion? What mother rationally fears begetting a dog or even a monkey when she gives birth?

Scientific experiments are conducted frequently in attempts to deduce the origins of life, but even those scientific experiments require intelligence; those experiments cannot conduct themselves free from human manipulation! When we observe the world in order to discern kind after kind, we use intelligence. Scientific experimentation requires intelligence. Observing that matter cannot create itself utilizes intelligence. It is logical, then, to realize that if intelligence is required in all of these circumstances, then intelligence must have designed life, and therefore God must exist.

Can the existence of God be proven using the scientific method? The answer may sound odd, but no, we cannot. Neither, of course, can the “Big Bang Theory” or other evolutionary theories about the origin of the universe. Belief in God and belief in evolution both require faith, which is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “firm belief in something for which there is no proof” and “something that is believed especially with strong conviction.”

Likewise, both belief systems fit the definition of religion, which is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” Which belief system requires the larger leap of faith, Intelligent Design or spontaneous generation? If everything about the world points to intelligence, then does it not require more faith to believe that life “spontaneously generated by accident from inorganic substances”?

Returning to the quote from Romans 1, we must realize that once we have established that an Intelligent Designer does exist, that realization in and of itself does not inform us of His will. Since God exists, does His creation tell us what we need to do to be pleasing to Him? Do we need to be pleasing to Him? Paul does not make the claim that creation informs us as to God’s will, but rather that we are without excuse for disbelief, rebellion, and wickedness.

While beyond the scope of this particular lesson, God does not leave us floundering without hope. Man, when left to his own devices, will make poor choices more often than not, which clearly indicates the need for higher guidance. King Solomon wrote that there “is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). Likewise, it is written in Jeremiah 10:23, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”