Can we get any clues about the existence of God from nature itself? The foundational question about the origin of the universe and of life is whether they are the result of random processes (chance) or intelligent action (design). On a very practical level we all practice this distinction every day of our lives. In driving by the campus of the Pillsbury Company near Minneapolis, MN, we may notice a flower arrangement growing on the grounds that looks just like the “Doughboy™.” Would we say, “Look, those flowers happened to grow up by chance to look like the Doughboy?” No, we would congratulate the groundskeepers on a good job of design. Likewise, try to convince the people gazing at the four presidents’ faces in the granite of Mt. Rushmore that this was the result of a chance process of wind and rain erosion!
“Writing” can be used to illustrate how we can identify design in nature. The following writing sample is complex:
ngnylnieredcbecleuasanesnteira
But it is not organized; it has no recognizable meaning to us. The same letters can be organized to read:
Design can be clearly seen in nature
Now, they are also specified in addition to being complex, i.e., they contain a message. The likelihood of getting this latter arrangement of letters by chance is virtually zero. Design by intelligence is the better explanation.
Likewise, when molecular biologists find encoded specified information in the DNA (chromosomes) of living cells, would they not be justified in concluding it came about by design, i.e., it is best explained by intelligent action? The DNA blueprint that embryologically constructs the human brain and heart are so highly specified that the combined intelligence of the entire human race has never constructed a “machine” which comes even close to approximating its performance.
Therefore, the evidence of design in nature should be our first clue that there must be a Designer. To deny the existence of God is to deny the implication of the data found in the natural world. According to a 1996 survey of scientists, 40 percent said they believed in a personal God who answers prayer. To be a scientist and a theist is not a contradiction. Design is major movement in America today—which recognizes that evidence in the natural world points to an intelligent origin. This movement is being led by Ph.D. scientists from major colleges and universities.
