A study adapted from the book by

Dinesh D’Souza

Dr. Gary VanDeWalker

Evangelical Free Church of Mount Shasta

Study Four:  The Argument from Design 

·       God and the astronomers

o  Does the design of nature point to God or a naturalistic explanation?

§  The second law of thermodynamics points to a universe with a beginning

§  Einstein tried to disprove the beginning of the universe at first, but later admitted it was an error to do so

§  Space is limited, it is not unending

§  The universe is expanding, beginning in a burst of light

·       Scientists did not like the idea of a moment of creation

·       Nothing scientifically can be known about the moment before creation

·       In 1959, 2/3 of scientist were still arguing for a steady state to the universe

·       By the 1970’s steady state theory was largely disproven

§  The book of Genesis says light was created on the 1^st day, the stars on the 4^th…this has caused scientist to doubt the Bible

·       Current scientific theory, supports the biblical pattern

·       The universe has a beginning and therefore a cause

§  Modern scientists do not like to support a first cause

·       It implies something or someone created

·       Therefore, there is a creator of some kind

·       The universe is created and comes with order and design

o  Man’s special place in creation

§  Science wants to say that humanity has no special place or purpose in the universe

§  Science wants a principle of mediocrity, in which people are endowed with nothing special

§  Christianity, Judaism, and Islam give people a special place in the universe

§  However, recent science is finding that the universe in unique in being suited for life on this planet

§  This is called the anthropic principle

·       Many scientists acknowledge but struggle with the principle

·       Three responses:

o  Lucky us

§  It’s all luck the universe is like this

§  Luck doesn’t seem to be scientific

§  There must be a better explanation

o  Multiple universes

§  Every possible universe exists

§  We live in the one that supports us

§  There is no evidence of this

o  Designer Universe

§  The universe looks designed, because it is designed

§  Occam’s Razor

o  Evolution and the argument from design

§  Paley’s watch argument

§  Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker

·       Nature produces the appearance of design

·       Therefore, there is no design

§  Evolution has limits

·       It cannot explain life

o  The beginning of life is unexplained

§  Evolution assumes life

§  It is an unsolved mystery

o  Consciousness cannot be explained

§  How to atoms become self-aware?

§  How does the unconscious become conscious?

o  Human rationality and morality is not explained

§  There is no survival fitness to truth

§  There is no survival fitness to morality

§  Don’t use gap philosophy

·       Science hasn’t explained it, so it must be God

·       God hasn’t explained it, so it must be science

o  The methodological atheism of science

§  Science is suppose to go wherever the evidence leads

§  There is an allegiance to Darwinism, despite evidence

§  A steady state universe is constantly searched for

§  The supernatural is not allowed to exist, no matter what

§  Dawkins argues that the absence of evidence is evidence

·       It is the best theory, therefore, everything that is found or not found should be expected

·       Darwinism is not allowed to be untrue by many scientists

·       The commitment is to philosophy, not science