Is God dead?| Tornados and Junkyards

Evolution cannot explain biological complexity without violating some fundamental laws of nature, specifically, the Second Law of Thermodynamics. If you recall, we mentioned The Second Law of Thermodynamics a few weeks ago to help us establish that the stars have a limited fuel supply and that, eventually, all the stars will run out of fuel, leaving the universe very dark and very cold. Since the stars have not run out of fuel, the universe must have had a beginning, which suggests a Beginner. However, another aspect of The Second Law of Thermodynamics is that all systems naturally tend toward disorder. Scientists call this entropy, but everyone knows that the house tends to be messy rather than clean, and the lawn tends to look ragged rather than fresh-mown. All systems tend toward disorder. Have you ever seen an orderly abandoned house?

On the other hand, Darwinian evolution requires the opposite to be true: that unguided systems naturally go from simple to complex. As we saw last week, the “evolution” of the eye is a great example. Darwinian evolution says that the first “eye” appeared as a cluster of light-sensitive cells on the surface of some prehistoric life form. Over millions of years, random, unguided mutations (and not just any mutations but only mutations that positively influence the species) added complexity to this cluster of light-sensitive cells, eventually forming the modern human eye step by step from very simple to extremely complex. But here’s the rub: simple to complex directly violates one of nature’s most honored and time-proven laws: The Second Law of Thermodynamics. And it is not just the human eye; life is filled with irreducibly complex systems.

Biochemist Michael Behe explains the massive leap of faith required of the evolutionist to go from simple to complex using the hypothetical example of a bicycle and a motorcycle. Behe says that for a bicycle to evolve into a motorcycle requires hundreds, maybe thousands of random steps that must be made in the right order, and each one must benefit the species. Add a motorcycle engine block to your everyday bicycle as a first evolutionary step. Now, that is not much of a benefit. In fact, all that has done is add a good deal of useless weight. But the bicycle is far from being a functional motorcycle. The engine block needs pistons with rings attached to a crankshaft that runs on bearings, which are oiled by a lubrication system that requires oil. Not to mention spark plugs, fuel tank, valves, clutch, transmission, drive train, and so on and on. The simplest motorcycle imaginable is an irreducibly complex system because until every part is in place and functional, the motorcycle is not a functioning motorcycle but a very heavy, useless one. How do you get from a bicycle to a motorcycle through random steps over millions of years? In the words of the Christian apologist Norman Geisler, “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.”

Astronomer Fred Hoyle summed up the absurd improbability that irreducibly complex systems in biology and in human beings developed by slight genetic mutations over long periods. Hoyle said, “The chance that higher life forms might have emerged through the evolutionary process is comparable to the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.”

The universe is highly fine-tuned for life, showing that the universe had a purposeful Designer. Design is also evident in many biological systems, including human beings. Looking at the fine-tuning of the universe and the complexity of observed biological systems, we can say some additional things about the First Cause, which created everything. From what we have looked at concerning the fine-tuning of the universe and the irreducible complexity in biological systems, we can say that “The design, unity, order, and complexity of creation itself implies the Creator of the universe is a highly intelligent Designer who purposefully designed and brought the universe into existence with such precise characteristics as to allow human life to thrive.”

But what is the purpose? If we say that the Creator of the universe is a purposeful Creator, then He must have had a purpose when He created mankind. If we step back and look at all created life, there is little doubt that man is at the peak of creation. And not by just a tiny bit. Man is far and away more advanced than the primates. The one characteristic that sets humans far above the rest of creation is man’s capacity for self-consciousness and high intelligence. But if we are just a bunch of atoms, as evolution argues, then “How do you get from simple atoms to self-consciousness and complex human thought?”

That is an important question; we will reply in a few weeks. However, at this point in our conversation with the Bible skeptic Michael, he may very well ask an important question: “Isn’t the idea of God just something human beings make up in their mind as a coping mechanism?” After all, isn’t it easier to face life’s hardships if you have convinced yourself that there is a God who cares? Even if there really is no such God? Join us next week as we take a short detour to answer Michael’s essential question.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!