Chapter Three

INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Few would seriously argue that the design of the universe and world we live in lacks order and organization. The design of the universe and world we live in goes far beyond just the order required for the basic life functions. All of the universe as well as our own planet is filled with more than the mere essentials of life but with elements designed to provide us with guidance, benefits, pleasure and beauty? From the beauty of nature with its; blue skies, wispy white clouds, snow-capped mountains, blue lakes and seas, lush green forests and valleys splashed with a myriad of colors; to the blue, green, hazel and brown eyes that behold it; the world is exquisitely and intricately designed to function for our benefit.

Consider the north-star and north pole, used to navigate. The wood we use for fuel, construction and paper products, fossil fuels and oil used in our machinery, metal used to build the machinery, etc. Copper makes an excellent material for the production of generator coils, wire and connectors for the generation and conducting of electricity. We have a myriad of spices to season our food and perfumes to make life more pleasant.

How can pure chance explain the complexity of the human body? How, for example, does a human baby develop sight?

When a baby is conceived in its mothers womb, the genetic code governing the eye programs the baby's body to begin growing optic nerves from both the baby's brain and the eye. Each eye will have a million nerve endings that begin growing through the flesh toward the baby's brain. Simultaneously, a million optic nerves will begin growing through the flesh toward the baby's eye. Each of the million optic nerves must find and match up to its mate to enable sight to exist. The Signature of God, Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p.160.

Consider the comments of Scott M. Huse in his book The Collapse of Evolution:

Charles Darwin acknowledged the utter inadequacy of the evolutionary theory when attempting to account for a structure of the eye:

"To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seem, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree ...The belief that an organ as perfect as the eye could have formed by natural selection is more than enough to stagger anyone."

An incomprehensible constellation of favorable, integrated, and synchronized mutations would have to occur to produce an organ such as the eye. Granting evolutionists generous concessions, Wysong, nevertheless, computes the probability for the chance formation of an eye at 1 in 10266 | 78. The Collapse of Evolution p. 73.

To get a sense of these odds consider that 1 in 109 (10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10) equals 1 chance in 100 million. Wysong says the chances for the chance formation of the eye are 10266 |78 a number well beyond the conception of most people. If explaining the development of the eye were the only obstacle for evolutionists and other detractors of creation theory, they might at least have some shifting ground on which to stand. Their problem is that this is only one of many such issues.

Another serious problem is the designs various creatures have for survival, which allow for their protection while still preventing their overpopulation. Consider what Huse says regarding the sea anemones and sea slugs:

One of the most intriguing mysteries among marine creatures is found in the truly remarkable sea slug. The sea slug lives along the sea coast within the tidal zone where it feeds primarily on sea anemones. Sea anemones are not exactly the most inviting of dinners as they are equipped with thousands of small stinging cells on their tentacles which explode at the slightest touch, plunging poisoned harpoons into intruders. The speared intruder is paralyzed and drawn into the anemones stomach and digested.

Although this is an impressive defense system the remarkable sea slug is able to eat sea anemones without being stung, exploding the stinging cells, or digesting them. One of the most fascinating mysteries in nature is what the sea slug does with the poor anemones stinging cells. The undigested stinging cells are swept along through ciliated tubes which are connected to the stomach and end in pouches. The stinging cells are arranged and stored in these pouches to be used for the sea slugs defense! And so, whenever the sea slug is attacked, it defends itself using the stinging cells which the ill-fated anemone manufactured for it's own protection. The Collapse of Evolution p.74-75.

How such a relationship could have evolved between these creatures defies evolutionary theory to explain. Even allowing that immunities to certain poisons might develop over time this does not explain how the sea slug is able to consume the anemone without triggering the sting cells or how the sea slug's digestive system developed in such a way as to permit it to digest the anemone without digesting the stinging cells, let alone store them for its own protection. For the sea slug to have developed the ability to attack a sea anemone without being stung and not have simultaneously developed the ability to digest the slug without digesting the stinging cells and safely store them would have been deadly. Yet, the concept of such sudden simultaneous development goes against the very idea of gradual evolution.

....two fundamental laws of the science of thermodynamics that describe our known universe. The first law is the Law of Conservation of Energy,...."Energy can be transformed from one place to another, or transformed from one form to another, but can be neither created nor destroyed."....The second law of science is the Law of Entropy. This second Law of Thermodynamics describes the fact that all systems and elements of the universe tend to disintegrate to a lower order of available energy or organization....all things, whether a house or a sword, will tend to disintegrate to dust or rust,.... The Signature of God, Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p. 135.

When you think seriously about this universal principle you can immediately see that this principle proves that it is absolutely impossible for the theory of evolution to be true. Evolution suggests that all simple systems and elements become increasingly more organized and complicated by random chance. The Law of Conservation of Energy proves that the universe could not have created itself....However, the Law of Entropy shows that the whole universe is running down as it decays to a lower order of available energy....The current evolutionary theory that postulates a universe that was created from nothing by itself is totally contradicted by all the known laws of science. In addition, the Law of Entropy reveals that the universe must have been created at some definite point in the past to account for the fact that all scientific observation confirms that everything continues to decay. The Signature of God, Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p. 136.

Such appearances of obvious intelligent design, and there are many others, are more than an annoyance to creation detractors. They are, in fact, a major stumbling block for evolutionists and an inexplicable frustration for those who say there is no creator.

Dr. Harold Urey, a Nobel Prize winner for his research in chemistry, wrote about the impossibility of evolution, but still admitted he believed in the theory! "All of us who study the origin of life find that the more we look into it, the more we feel that it is too complex to have evolved anywhere." Incredibly, Dr. Urey then added these words, "We believe as an article of faith that life evolved from dead matter on this planet. It is just that its complexity is so great, it is hard for us to imagine that it did" (italics added). The Signature of God, Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p.148. ( Italics mine).

At the Alpech Symposium conference, which dealt with the problems with the theory of evolution, one of the speakers admitted that the reason evolution was still supported by intellectuals, the education establishment, and the media had nothing to do with whether it was true or false. "I think that the fact that a theory so vague, so insufficiently verifiable and so far from the criteria otherwise applied in "hard" science had become a dogma can be explained only on sociological grounds" (Gershon Robinson, Mordechai Steinman, The Obvious Proof [New York: CIS Publishers, 1993], p.87). The Signature of God, Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p.148-149.(Italics mine).

"We believe as an article of faith that life evolved from dead matter on this planet..." These words of Dr. Harold Urey reveal a truth about the theory of evolution that its adherents don't like to face - it religion than science more religion than science.

CAN SCIENCE FIND GOD?

This chapter, because of the subject it covers will get into areas that may seem rather complex to some. If so, I suggest either reading it for the general concept without worrying too much about the details or skipping it all together.

November 9, 2008, Tribune Media Services broadcast a program called Parallel Universe on the Science Channel which contained some of the following information. What follows is a combined summary of that material and my own comments:

Scientists for many years held strongly that the universe and all it contains was made of very tiny particles too small for the unaided human eye to see. When I studied science in High School it was believed that the smallest of these particles was the atom which was made up of neutrons, protons and electrons. Later there was added the theory that there were even smaller particles called quarks.

As physicists and cosmologists (those who study how the universe began) attempted to explain how and why certain particles and forces behave as they do in their search for a theory of everything, they found that some could not be explained using particle theory. Eventually they developed what seemed to be the basis for a simple, elegant and comprehensive theory that could be used to explain everything in our world. It was called string theory and it explained that all particles were, in fact, infinitely small strings that vibrate like the strings of a musical instrument -- and like the strings of an instrument can vibrate at different frequencies.

This theory, it was believed, could perhaps explain the origin of the universe and life. To do so, the theory would have to explain the "big bang", that is, how the universe began. Not only did the string theory fail to explain the "big bang" it developed into five seemingly divergent string theories. The string theory seemed unsalvageable.

In the pursuit of an explanation for how and why certain forces behave as they do, the question arose as to why the force of gravity is so weak in comparison with other forces like magnetism. It was proposed that gravity originates in another dimension and that it leaks into ours. The theory of parallel universes had been explored by scientists in the past and largely abandoned but now was revived and eventually divided into to two groups. The most popular theory held that there were ten parallel dimensions each with different laws of physics. A much smaller group of "super gravity" theorists held that there were eleven dimensions with the eleventh being a convergence of the other ten.

When scientists finally looked at string theory from the vantage point of the eleventh dimension they realized that the five string theories were, in fact, different manifestations of a single theory. This theory called "M theory" holds that the basis of all creation is membranes. This theory developed from the concept of minds (ideas) bumping together in a free flow of thoughts. The theory holds that these membranes have rippling edges and as they converge in the eleventh dimension and bump into each other the "big bang" of creation occurs.

This, of course, is a secular viewpoint. However, the idea of other dimensions is not diametrically opposed to the biblical view of God. When we consider the biblical claim of the omnipresence of God, that is, that He is everywhere present though unseen at any given instant, this is best explained as Him being present in another dimension coexisting with our own. This would easily explain, while taking nothing from Him, how Jesus, after His resurrection, was able to appear and disappear at will.

I am certainly not contending that science has discovered the knowledge or secrets of God. Many scientists have little or no understanding of God. Nevertheless, God promised to open our minds in the last days. I believe that in doing this God has, through science, given us another avenue to grasp a limited understanding of His awesome wisdom, power and nature.

I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the Gentiles,

7 To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the prison,

Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

Isa 42:6-7; NKJV (italics mine).

"But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." Dan 12:4; NKJV (italics mine).

Some would point out that Isaiah refers to Jesus and His bringing spiritual enlightenment and of course they would be correct. But we must not forget Jesus brought much more than simple spiritual enlightenment. He brought love, redemption, healing, increased social justice, and I believe increased knowledge in all areas. It isn't any secret that the countries that were most changed by Christianity have also flourished more socially and economically, as well as in the arts, medicine, and other sciences.

I personally find that it helps me deal with the scriptural issues of; God's attributes, the resurrection, the many miracles, angels, demons, etc. when I think of God, the angels, demons and men living in different dimensions. It makes sense to me.

For us as humans living in a three dimensional world it is not hard to deal with the concept of one dimension (a line with length from A to B having no width or depth) or two dimensions (a plane having length and width but no depth), we deal with these concepts frequently. We don't even have difficulty with three dimensions (objects with depth, length and width) since most things around us fit into this category.

It is not so easy for us to visualize, or deal logically with, the concept of how things might operate in a fourth, fifth or tenth dimension. Nevertheless, if we can perceive that each higher dimension has a better perspective on the dimensions below its own, and greater power and capacity for control of things in the lower dimensions, we can get some small grasp of how beings in another, unseen, higher dimension might influence things in our own. This is not to say that I, or anyone else, can fully comprehend the concept or, for that matter, even that the theory is entirely correct.

For now we see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Cor 13:12; KJV (italics mine).

Some may read this and say that it is entirely weird and off the wall. I would pose that it is no more so than those evolutionists who claim that everything we see, touch and taste came from absolutely nothing with no outside influence. And for those who believe in God, and believe that He is involved in our lives moment to moment, I say; we can sense Him, we can pray to Him and be heard, we can be inspired by Him, but we cannot see Him, and that this is Him operating in what I refer to as another dimension.

If there is any degree of truth to this concept it would explain much about what scriptures tell us. For example; we know from scriptures that Satan and the fallen angels are cast down to earth. Down from where? For centuries people thought they were cast down from a heavenly dwelling somewhere in the skies above us. We now know that we exist in a galaxy full of planets, comets, stars and other heavenly bodies and that beyond our galaxy there are myriads of other galaxies -- so cast down from where?

Could it be that they were cast down to a lower dimension or plane of existence? How did Saul/Paul have his blinding vision without those with him seeing and hearing the same things?

How did the Daniel, the apostle John, and others receive their visions of the end-time events? How did Jesus and angels appear and disappear at will?

If God exists and operates in the highest dimension He would then have awareness of, and control of, all lower dimensions. If the angels were created in various lower dimensions they would likewise have awareness of, and be able to operate in, their own dimension and those below them. We do know that scripture indicates that angels have different rankings and powers. Scripture further indicates that when our lives end here that spirit lives on. Where? Perhaps in another dimension?

I do not believe this analogy is entirely accurate, and I don't propose this as a theological truth, but rather as a way to gain some sense of how things could function that might make more sense to some – especially those with an interest in science. If thinking of God in this way is helpful in developing your faith or that of someone you know -- good -- if not, discard the idea entirely. The theory is not important. The important thing is to find a path to faith in God that works for you.

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