July 15, 2004

The Case for a Creator - Does evolution imply atheism?

Chapters 1 and 2 of Lee Strobel's book, The Case for a Creator, set up the framework for the discussion that follows, namely: is our universe the product of a designer or did it happen randomly? Is it possible to believe in what looks like a random process but was the work of a designer (theistic evolution).

Strobel introduces several quotes from scientists who think it is possible to believe in evolution and God, such as biology professor Kenneth R. Miller, of Brown University who declared that evolution "is not anti-God." Strobel goes on to say in opposition that that is not how evolution is presented. The foundation of natural selection theory is that it is by nature undirected, and that rules out a supernatural force directing the process. I've read works by Carl Sagan, Stephen J. Gould, and others who insist that there is no plan in natural selection, there are no morals in nature. This seems to be pretty hostile to the idea of a living, knowing Creator to me. Stephen C. Meyer, director of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute confronts the contradiction, "To say that God guides an inherently unguided natural process, or that God designed a natural mechanism as a substitute for his design, is clearly contradictory."

It all comes down to one's worldview ultimately; is mankind here by accident or on purpose? In the book of Isaiah, the prophet testifies of the work of the Lord:

For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the Lord, and there is no other.Is. 45:18 NKJV

Words like "established it", "not in vain", "to be inhabited", indicate that the creation was a deliberate act of an intelligent being with a goal in mind, not a random event with nothing preceding it. The Christian worldview differs fundamentally from that of the materialist.

Posted by Joel Fuhrmann at July 15, 2004 11:24 PM
Comments

not sure who said it, but i once heard a quote something to the extent of, "scientists can tell us how the universe was formed, but they cannot tell us why, that is God."

I have not read the entirety of Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" but one of his basic premises seems to be, if the universe is boundless and infinite then it just IS, nothing more, nothing less, no creator. HOWEVER, if it has limits, a boundary, then, as many scientists suggest, it has a beginning. IF it has a beginning, then the evidence of a creator (of some sort, he does not acknowledge the presence of a personal God) is overwhelming.

Posted by: Jonathan at July 19, 2004 02:35 PM