The more you learn about the natural world, the more complex you realise it is. From the genetic code in the DNA of every cell in your body to the finely-balanced ecosystems that global warming puts at risk, life is intricate, complicated and awe-inspiring.
Science tells us that this complexity came about by a gradual process of evolution – chance changes, followed by “the survival of the fittest”.
But does it?
Normally when you see a complicated machine – an aircraft, a Formula 1 car, even a slick piece of software – you don’t imagine it came about by chance. You admire the design. And you admire the designer.
Many believe life is like that. The product of intelligent design – the work of a master designer. In Matt Ridley’s book Genome , he says
“Cells must frequently be given permission to divide, and must be equipped with genes that encourage division, so long as they stop at the right moment. How this feat is achieved is beginning to become clear. If we were looking at a man-made thing, we would conclude that a fiendishly ingenious mind must be behind it.”
Could Ridley have hit upon the truth there? Could there really be an ingenious mind behind the design of living things?
Believing that intelligent design is at the heart of life on earth is not absurd, and it’s not a thing of the past. In fact, it might just be the only intellectually reasonable way of looking at the world.
Science – and God?
Does that require you to believe in God – the God of Christian faith? No, not necessarily. But it does mean that believing in God as the designer is reasonable and logical – it knocks down the fallacy that science and God are in conflict. In fact, the more you look at biblical Christian belief, the more science supports faith instead of undermining it.
If you examine what the Bible actually says (as distinct from what many think it says), it certainly presents God as the great Designer. The picture it gives of the created world is one of beauty, precision and astonishing complexity. In many respects its teaching has been shown to be completely consistent with modern scientific knowledge as more and more is known about life on earth – except that the Bible was written long before the science came along.
The result is a faith based on fact, not on wishful thinking or tradition. A faith that can profoundly affect how you look at the origins of life – and much more besides.
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