Section 2 Who Can Tell Us? 1 Who can tell us what the purpose of life really is? Well, if you were to visit a machine designer and saw him working on a complicated piece of machinery that you did not recognize, how could you find out what it was for? The best way would be for you to ask the designer. 2 What, then, of the magnificent design we see all around us on earth, such as in all living things, down to the smallest living cell? Even the much smaller molecules and atoms inside the cell are wonderfully designed and orderly. What, too, of the marvelously designed human mind? And what of our solar system, and our Milky Way galaxy, and the universe? Did not all these awesome designs require a Designer? Surely he could tell us why he designed such things. Did Life Originate by Chance? 3 The Encyclopedia Americana noted “the extraordinary degree of complexity and of organization in living creatures” and stated: “A close examination of flowers, insects, or mammals shows an almost incredibly precise arrangement of parts.” British astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell, referring to the chemical composition of living organisms, wrote: “The probability of . . . a chance occurrence leading to the formation of one of the smallest protein molecules is unimaginably small. . . . It is effectively zero.” 4 Similarly, astronomer Fred Hoyle said: “The entire structure of orthodox biology still holds that life arose at random. Yet as biochemists discover more and more about the awesome complexity of life, it is apparent that the chances of it originating by accident are so minute that they can be completely ruled out. Life cannot have arisen by chance.” 5 Molecular biology, one of the more recent fields of science, is the study of living things at the level of genes, molecules, and atoms. Molecular biologist Michael Denton comments on what has been found: “The complexity of the simplest known type of cell is so great that it is impossible to accept that such an object could have been thrown together suddenly by some kind of freakish, vastly improbable, event.” “But it is not just the complexity of living systems which is so profoundly challenging, there is also the incredible ingenuity that is so often manifest in their design.” “It is at a molecular level where . . . the genius of biological design and the perfection of the goals achieved are most pronounced.” 6 Denton further states: “Everywhere we look, to whatever depth we look, we find an elegance and ingenuity of an absolutely transcending quality, which so mitigates against the idea of chance. Is it really credible that random processes could have constructed a reality, the smallest element of which—a functional protein or gene—is complex beyond our own creative capacities, a reality which is the very antithesis of chance, which excels in every sense anything produced by the intelligence of man?” He also states: “Between a living cell and the most highly ordered non-biological system, such as a crystal or a snowflake, there is a chasm as vast and absolute as it is possible to conceive.” And a professor of physics, Chet Raymo, states: “I am dazzled . . . Every molecule seems miraculously contrived for its task.” 7 Molecular biologist Denton concludes that “those who still dogmatically advocate that all this new reality is the result of pure chance” are believing in a myth. In fact, he calls the Darwinian belief regarding living things arising by chance “the great cosmogenic myth of the twentieth century.” Design Requires a Designer 8 The idea that nonliving material could come to life by chance, by some haphazard accident, is so remote as to be impossible. No, all the superbly designed living things on earth could not have come about by accident, since everything that is designed must have a designer. Do you know of any exceptions? There are none. And the more complicated the design, the more capable the designer has to be. 9 We may also illustrate the matter this way: When we see a painting, we accept it as evidence that a painter exists. When we read a book, we accept that an author exists. When we see a house, we accept that a builder exists. When we see a traffic light, we know that a law-making body exists. All those things were made with a purpose by those who made them. And while we may not understand everything about the people who designed them, we do not doubt that the people exist. 10 Similarly, the evidence of the existence of a Supreme Designer can be seen in the design, order, and complexity of living things on earth. They all bear the marks of a Supreme Intelligence. This is also true of the design, order, and complexity of the universe with its billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. And all the heavenly bodies are controlled by precise laws, such as those for motion, heat, light, sound, electromagnetism, and gravity. Can there be laws without a lawmaker? Rocket scientist Dr. Wernher von Braun stated: “The natural laws of the universe are so precise that we have no difficulty building a spaceship to fly to the moon and can time the flight with the precision of a fraction of a second. These laws must have been set by somebody.” 11 True, we cannot see the Supreme Designer and Lawgiver with our literal eyes. But do we deny the existence of such things as gravity, magnetism, electricity, or radio waves just because we cannot see them? No, we do not, for we can observe their effects. Then why should we deny the existence of a Supreme Designer and Lawgiver just because we cannot see him, when we can observe the results of his amazing handiwork? 12 Paul Davies, a professor of physics, concludes that man’s existence is not a mere quirk of fate. He states: “We are truly meant to be here.” And he says regarding the universe: “Through my scientific work, I have come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a brute fact. There must, it seems to me, be a deeper level of explanation.” 13 Thus, the evidence tells us that the universe, the earth, and living things on the earth could not have come about just by chance. They all give silent testimony to a highly intelligent, powerful Creator. What the Bible Says 14 The Bible, mankind’s oldest book, draws the same conclusion. For example, in the Bible book of Hebrews, written by the apostle Paul, we are told: “Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but he that constructed all things is God.” (Hebrews 3:4) The last book of the Bible, written by the apostle John, also says: “You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”—Revelation 4:11. 15 The Bible shows that while God cannot be seen, the kind of God he is can be perceived by what he has made. It states: “[The Creator’s] invisible attributes, that is to say his everlasting power and deity, have been visible, ever since the world began, to the eye of reason, in the things he has made.”—Romans 1:20, The New English Bible. 16 So the Bible takes us from cause to effect. The effect—the awesome things made—is evidence of the intelligent, powerful Cause: God. Also, we can be grateful that he is invisible, since as the Creator of all the universe, he no doubt has power so enormous that humans of flesh and blood cannot expect to see him and survive. And that is just what the Bible says: “No man may see [God] and yet live.”—Exodus 33:20. 17 The concept of a Great Designer, a Supreme Being—God—should be very important to us. If we were made by a Creator, then surely he must have had a reason, a purpose, in creating us. If we were created to have a purpose in life, then there is reason to hope that things will be better for us in the future. Otherwise, we just live and die without hope. So it is very important that we find out God’s purpose for us. Then we can choose whether we want to live in harmony with it or not. 18 Also, the Bible states that the Creator is a loving God who cares very much about us. The apostle Peter stated: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7; see also John 3:16 and 1 John 4:8, 16.) One way we can see how much God cares is by considering the wonderful way he has made us, mentally and physically. “Wonderfully Made” 19 In the Bible the psalmist David acknowledged: “In a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) Surely that is the truth, for the human brain and body were marvelously designed by the Supreme Designer. 20 For instance, your brain is far more complex than any computer. The New Encyclopædia Britannica notes: “Transmission of information within the nervous system is more complex than the largest telephone exchanges; problem solving by a human brain exceeds by far the capacity of the most powerful computers.” 21 Hundreds of millions of facts and mental images are stored in your brain, but it is not merely a storehouse of facts. With it you can learn how to whistle, bake bread, speak foreign languages, use a computer, or fly an airplane. You can imagine what a vacation would be like or how delicious a fruit will taste. You can analyze and make things. You can also plan, appreciate, love, and relate your thoughts to the past, the present, and the future. Since we humans cannot design such a thing as the awesome human brain, then the One who designed it obviously has wisdom and ability far greater than that of any human. 22 Regarding the brain, scientists admit: “How these functions are carried out by this magnificently patterned, orderly and fantastically complex piece of machinery is quite obscure. . . . Human beings may never solve all the separate individual puzzles the brain presents.” (Scientific American) And physics professor Raymo says: “If truth be told, we still don’t know much about how the human brain stores information, or how it is able to call up memories at will. . . . There are as many as a hundred billion nerve cells in the human brain. Each cell is in communication, through a treelike array of synapses, with thousands of other cells. The possibilities of interconnection are staggeringly intricate.” 23 Your eyes are more precise and adaptable than any camera; in fact, they are fully automatic, self-focusing, color motion-picture cameras. Your ears can detect a variety of sounds and give you a sense of direction and balance. Your heart is a pump with capabilities that the best engineers have not been able to duplicate. Also magnificent are other body parts: your nose, tongue, and hands, as well as your circulatory and digestive systems, to name a few. 24 Thus, an engineer who was hired to design and build a large computer reasoned: “If my computer required a designer, how much more so did that complex physio-chemical-biological machine which is my human body—which in turn is but an extremely minute part of the well-nigh infinite cosmos?” 25 Just as people have a purpose in mind when they make airplanes, computers, bicycles, and other devices, so the Designer of the brain and body of humans must have had a purpose in designing us. And this Designer has to have wisdom superior to that of humans, since none of us can duplicate his designs. It is logical, then, that he is the One who can tell us why he designed us, why he put us on earth, and where we are going. 26 When we learn those things, then the wonderful brain and body God gave us can be used toward fulfilling our purpose in life. But where can we learn about his purposes? Where does he give us that information? [Study Questions] 1, 2. What is the best way to find the purpose of something that is designed? 3, 4. What likelihood is there that life arose by chance? 5-7. How does molecular biology verify that living things cannot arise by chance? 8, 9. Give an illustration showing that everything designed must have a designer. 10. What evidence of a Supreme Designer can be seen? 11. Why should we not deny the existence of a Supreme Designer just because we cannot see him? 12, 13. What does the evidence say about the Creator’s existence? 14. What does the Bible conclude about the Creator? 15. How can we perceive some of God’s attributes? 16. Why should we be glad that humans cannot see God? 17, 18. Why should the concept of a Creator be important to us? 19. What truth does the psalmist David call to our attention? 20. How does an encyclopedia describe the human brain? 21. When we see what the brain does, what should we conclude? 22. What do scientists admit about the human brain? 23, 24. Name some wonderfully designed body parts, and what comment did an engineer make? 25, 26. What should the Great Designer be able to tell us?
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 05:41:08 +0000
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