A good number of scientists from various scientific fields are discovering astonishing evidence that strongly supports intelligent design. According to the April 1999 issue of Insight magazine, discoveries are revolutionizing the way objective-minded scientists are looking at nature. They are coming across data in their laboratories that can no longer be explained by the standard model of Darwinian evolution.
“Discoveries in mathematics and biology are making way for design and a designer,” said chemist Charles Thaxton, co-author of the book “The Mystery of Life’s Origin.”
According to Insight, Thaxton’s argument is that the DNA molecule, the basis of life, is a message. We humans know from experience that when there’s a message, an intelligent being created that message. No other explanation can account for the existence of the message.
Thus the implication is clear that DNA was produced by intelligent design. There is no better explanation for the origin and existence of that information. The only alternative offered requires an inconceivable leap from undirected nonliving matter to the information-bearing properties of DNA ” an unacceptable alternative.
The meaning that evolution has long held is a process whereby life arose from nonliving matter and developed entirely by natural means. The whole idea of naturalism is the self-sufficiency of nature. However, science itself need not operate under that restriction. Scientific exploration is not limited to the best “naturalistic” explanation, but rather to the best explanation, period.
Michael Behe, a biochemistry professor and a leading advocate of intelligent design, argues that life in its simplest form is “irreducibly complex.” Behe argues that the complexity of the cellular protein-delivery system indicates design. Within the cell, every one of the components that targets proteins for delivery to subcellular compartments is necessary for the system to work. Without even one of the components, the proteins are not delivered to their proper destinations. Behe argues that there’s no room for such an elaborate and complex system to develop in Darwinian evolutionary terms by one small step after another.
Charles Darwin himself, in “The Origin of Species,” acknowledges that “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.” Well, that is precisely what has been demonstrated by the evidence supporting intelligent design ” in direct violation of “the classical Darwinian principle of gradualism” ” which calls for no intelligence at all. Therefore, the evidence for irreducible complexity of complex organs meets Darwin’s criterion of failure.
Meanwhile, Thaxton and Behe are busy observing those complex systems that have yet to be explained by any naturalistic means, complexity with profound metaphysical implications ” positive evidence of an intelligent force existing and operating independent of the natural world.
However, acknowledging and respecting these discoveries doesn’t mean accepting any idea that they are somehow by-products of biblical creation. Neither is it the agenda of those presenting the evidence to promote some biblical creation story. It is, in reality, a confession of ignorance by those who make such accusations. Those representing the intelligent design community worldwide are highly reputable scientists whose primary interest is in presenting evidence supporting their discoveries.
Once we accept the fact that the world is much too complex to be explained by Charles Darwin’s mindless natural forces, our minds will be open to the idea that an “intelligent agent,” whose actions in nature are clearly detectable, deserves all the credit. Once we accept the probable existence of a designer, we will have opened the door for unimaginable future scientific discoveries. For many, that day has arrived.
Tom Ashby is an alumnus of Kentucky Wesleyan College. Please send comments to [email protected].
