| Man
is a thinking being who has some sense of responsibility for his actions and a persistent
curiosity about everything in both his internal and external environment. He is also
curious about things that may exist outside of his observable environment. Curiosity about
the origin of the universe, the starry heavens, the sun, earth, moon and planets, life on
earth, the species of plants and animals, about man himself, and about God has led
philosophers, naturalists and scientists from time immemorial to spin hypotheses. A
scientific hypothesis is an informed guess by which a scientist attempts to explain
certain observed data and to relate them to the rest of nature. The big question
pondered by many great thinkers was whether the natural order they observed in the
universe was the result merely of chance and natural causes or the result of intelligent,
purposeful design. The creation model of origins is founded on the belief that the origin
of all things in the natural world is, indeed, the result of intelligent, purposeful
design, just as Moses recorded in the biblical Book of Genesis. This belief is a matter of
faith for Christians. From the perspective of science it is an assumption.
Is there evidence for intelligent, purposeful design in nature? We believe there
is, and to answer this question a selection will be presented of remarkable instances of
structures, functions and behavioral patterns in living things and also of complex
structures and marvelous order in physical things ranging from atoms to the solar system.
The facts presented require an explanation. What was their origin? The creation model of
origins attributes the design and origin of all things to the intelligent will of an
omnipotent, omniscient personal Spirit, God the Creator. In contrast, the evolutionary
explanation proposes that a blind, unplanned, and purposeless materialistic process
brought all things into being and originated all species of living creatures.
According to the evolutionary explanation, mutations and natural
selection caused original "simple" living cells to develop into all of the
millions of different species of plants and animals which have ever lived on the earth.
"Mutations" are random (chance, unplanned) changes which appear from time to
time in any population of plants or animals. According to the theory of "natural
selection," the conditions of the environment in which a species lives confer an
advantage on those individual organisms which possess certain mutations. For example, a
mutation might produce a slightly different color of fur or feathers. This coloration
might render the individual better camouflaged from detection by its predators. Mutation
upon mutation upon mutation--minute changes by the million occurring over millions of
years, each selected mutation being one which conferred an advantage to the creature--this
is the process which supposedly produced all of the structures and relationships of living
things, past and present. Can such a scheme offer a rational explanation for the origin of
the entire world of living things? The reader is asked to consider the evidence, exercise
his powers of reason, and be the judge. He or she should not feel that the conclusions of
"authorities" or "experts" are either always trustworthy or final.
Exercise reason in the light of the evidence. Be aware of your presuppositions and also of
those of any author, teacher or scientist. The decision and the responsibility are yours.
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