The Scientific Argument Against Evolution, Part Three

Whether one is discussing the origin of the universe, origin of the first life, or new life forms, there are fundamentally only two options. Either everything came to be as the result of natural causes as evolution teaches or an intelligent supernatural cause is responsible for all things. For the sake of brevity, let us consider the origin of new life forms as a means of proving our overall point. Evolution maintains that new life forms developed through natural selection without any intelligent intervention. Conversely, the Bible teaches that all life forms came into existence by special creation through the work of an intelligent designer (God).[i]

In order to prove his hallmark doctrine of natural selection, Darwin compared the selection that supposedly occurred in nature and which was devoid of intelligent intervention with the artificial selection practiced by breeders.[ii] Take for example the breeding of dogs. While there can be no doubt that breeders are able to selectively mate dogs to achieved a desired outcome, this by no means proof that one species becomes a totally different species. A breeder’s ability to mate a Golden Retriever with a Poodle to create a Golden Doodle, which does not shed and is hypoallergenic, is an example of artificial selection. As elementary is it may seem, one should note that the result of this type of selective breeding is still a dog. When the discussion is framed in these terms, it is clear that the human action of selective breeding is not analogous to the blind action of natural selection but directly opposite.[iii]

Man has an aim or end in view; natural selection can have none. Man picks
out the individual he wishes to cross, choosing them by the characteristics he
seeks to perpetuate or enhance. He protects them and their issue by all
means is in his power, guarding them thus from operation of natural selection,
which would speedily eliminate many freaks; he continues his active and
purposeful selection from generation to generation until he reaches, if
possible, his goal. Nothing of this kind happens, or can happen, through
the blind process of differential elimination and differential survival which we
miscall natural selection.[iv]

Once again, anywhere design can be observed, as in the case of the breeding of dogs, one should always look for intelligent causes.

Over three centuries ago, Isaac Newton stated, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being.”[v] Christian philosophers and theologians for centuries have long held to the Teleological Argument for the existence of God. Steaming from the Greek word telos, which means design, the Teleological Argument states:

1. Every design had a designer.
2. The universe has highly complex design.
3. Therefore, the universe had a Designer[vi]

William Paley (1743-1805) popularized the argument through his common sense observation that every watch requires a watchmaker.[vii] “Imagine you’re walking along in the woods and you find a diamond-studded Rolex on the ground. What do you conclude is the cause of that watch: The wind and the rain? Erosion? Some combination of natural forces?”[viii] God forbid! There would be no question in your mind that some intelligent being made the watch and some unfortunate person accidently dropped it on the forest floor.[ix]

There can be no doubt that the universe resembles the design found in our misplaced diamond-studded Rolex, only infinitely more complex. Scores of examples could be provided to document the highly ordered design that is present within creation. For time’s sake, consider just one. If someone took apart a watch and threw all the pieces in their dryer, what are the chances that after one hundred cycles the parts would have reassembled themselves into a fully functioning watch? About the same chance that 1,000 monkeys with typewriters have of writing Romeo and Juliet. The greater and more intricate the design, the greater the intelligence of the designer.

In the end, the ordered and complex nature of the world around us leads to only one plausible conclusion, God, an intelligent primary cause, is creator of all things. One need not read even one verse of Scripture to know that it is totally absurd to believe that nothing made something. God is the uncaused cause who created the universe out of nothing by the word of his power. The words of Romans 1:20 rings powerfully true, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Man does not suffer from a lack of evidence. Rather, it is man’s sinful heart that wishes to escape accountability before almighty God. “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.”[x]

Endnotes
[i] Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks. When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook of Christian Evidences. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1990), 227.
[ii] Ibid., 227.
[iii] Ibid., 227.
[iv] Ibid., 227-228.
[v] Isaac Newton. “General Scholium,” in Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687) in Great Books of the Western World. (Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica), 369.
[vi] Norman Geisler. The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 714-720.
[vii] Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 95.
[viii] Ibid., 95.
[ix] Ibid., 96.
[x] Psalm 14:1