“In the Beginning”
Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church
Hebrews 11, the faith chapter of the Bible, declares: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (vs 3).
Somehow, life exists. How did life begin? We have two choices, two explanations as to how: either our existence is the result of an impersonal, random/chance accident, or God created us. Rabbi Samuel Silver states, “The big-bang theory may be valid, but we theists insist there was a Big-Banger.” The theist view is that God is the first, uncaused Cause.
A university student was struggling to balance her faith with science and stated: “I have no problem believing in God, although I suppose if you took evolution to its inevitable conclusion, you have atheism.”
A few years ago biochemist Michael Behe shook up the scientific community with his book Darwin’s Black Box. He starts with Darwin’s own test of his theory. Darwin wrote:
“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”
Behe took up the challenge, finding in the complex systems of cells machinery that are dependent upon too many interconnected parts to have been built up gradually, step by step, over time. Behe says that cells have a quality he calls “irreducible complexity.” In other words, the inner workings of cells are composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, and the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to cease functioning.
The question is this, according to Behe: “If the first life did arise by random naturalistic processes from a chemical soup, as all textbooks are saying, what exactly are the minimum systems that are required for life?” Behe then determined the absolute basic requirements necessary for life to exist—a functioning membrane, a system to build the DNA units, a system to control the copying of DNA, and a system for energy processing. He then realized that there were “too many systems; it couldn’t have happened by chance.” This leaves only one Option—“Intelligent Design”. The “irreducibly complex” molecular machinery is another way of saying that the intricacy of life points to a Creator, just as a watch indicates there must be a watchmaker. Design indicates a Designer. Or as the Psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).
When I took math in high school, one thing I learned about was the lowest common denominator. In biology, the lowest common denominator is actually not one, but several essential factors which must all be present in order for life to exist. Life is amazingly complex, and according to Behe, it could not have been formed by “numerous, successive, slight modifications”.
Behe suggests we think of a cell as a machine, like a mouse-trap. Though it’s an uncomplicated device, a mousetrap consist of several parts—a platform, hammer, spring, holding bar and so on—all of the parts must be there in order to catch a mouse. Remove any one of the parts and it no longer functions. The mousetrap is irreducibly complex. All the pieces have to be in place before you catch any mice. According to Behe, cells are full of systems that are irreducibly complex and which point to the inescapable conclusion that there must have been intelligent design, a Designer Who put the system together, Who built the mousetrap. Life shows the mark of design because a number of separate yet interacting components operate together, like the inter-working parts of a mousetrap. Life didn’t “just happen”. It would take an enormous amount of luck to get the right pieces to form in the right places through a gradual, step-by-step process. Cells are too complex to have evolved randomly; intelligence was required to produce them. We do not exist by accident, due to a chance, purposeless process, random mutation or spontaneous generation.
The worldview of evolutionary naturalism relies on happenstance. Astronomer Carl Sagan’s explanation of the formation of life is that all we see is the result of an “amazing accident”. The doctrine of Creation, on the other hand, teaches that we exist because a purposeful Creator planned, caused and directed our being. This Creator also cares about what we do and what happens to us.
Evolution seeks to trace life back to its origins...yet ultimately we are faced with a dilemma: Where did all this matter come from? Why is there something and not nothing? How did the first cell originate? How did something come from nothing? How could life come from non-living matter? What started it all? Some claim the “big-bang” did it—but what caused the big-bang? The first words of the Bible contain the answer: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). There was a First Cause that fashioned life ex-nihilo, out of nothing.
Finding fault with evolution is an unpopular position, yet more and more scientists are finding that they can no longer embrace this random-chance, anti-theist view of life. Physicist Stephen Hawking admits, “If one considers the possible constants and laws that could have emerged, the odds against a universe that has produced life like ours are immense.” This understatement goes with the well-known analogy, that no matter how much time it might take, monkeys banging on typewriters aren’t likely to produce a Shakespeare play…and an explosion in a junkyard won’t produce a working machine.
-Not without intelligent causality, an intentional Designer we know as God.
I am saying that religious belief does not have to contradict scientific knowledge—faith and nature are not opposed to each other. (I think it takes more faith to believe the universe formed accidently) The conflict is whether God is part of the equation. We believe that God made a rational, understandable, law-bound universe; that life on earth is the product of intelligent activity. Unfortunately, belief in a pre-existing intelligence Who has designed life is unacceptable by many in the scientific community.
A higher question remains: Stephen Hawking admits, “I have some idea of how the universe works, but I still do not really understand why.” Why does the universe exist? Those who outright reject theism, who say there is no God, say there is no why—it simply exists for no reason. We who say there was a “Big-Banger” say that we were created for God’s pleasure and for His glory. A “creationist” is simply a person who believes life was designed and exists for a purpose. A life of faith brings meaning to our existence. Those who claim that this world and everything living upon it is the result of a series of accidents apart from any intelligent design are unwilling to accept the ultimate reality of a higher Being.
There is an moral-ethical issue at stake as well in the Creation debate: If there is no God, then there is no purpose for life. We answer to no one, and if there are no moral absolutes, there is no “right” or “wrong”. Life in an accidental world is merely a mistake, a random/chance existence. And so any action can be justified in such a world because life is meaningless. Philosopher/theologian Dr Francis Schaeffer asks the question, "How should we then live?" If there is no Creator, it doesn’t matter; we are free to “do our own thing”. Murder, adultery, slander, stealing, dishonesty and anarchy are all viable options in a purposeless world, because there are no standards in such a world. But if we have been created, then we exist for a reason and we answer to the One who formed us. So what does all this mean Monday morning? Your life is not an accident. Your Maker has a plan and purpose for your life.
When I worked as a camp counselor in North Carolina, I would hike each week with a bunch of campers down a scenic mountain trail to a 150-foot waterfall. We’d sit atop a huge boulder beneath the falls and sing “How Great Thou Art”. I always wanted to drag an atheist to the falls and say “Look at this and tell me there is no God.” I now know that the beauty of creation cannot convert a cold heart and a closed mind. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can awaken faith in the One Who set the universe in place. We stand in awe of His handiwork, we place ourselves under His authority, and we worship the One Who fashioned and sustains this world for His glory.
Church Bulletin Insert:
“The biochemical systems with our bodies were designed not by the laws of nature, not by chance and necessity—rather, they were planned. The designer knew what the systems would look like when they were completed, then took steps to bring the systems about. Life on earth in its most critical components is the product of intelligent activity. The intricate interactions of the parts leads one to conclude the system was designed.”
-Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box, p. 193.
