Author : Wayne S. Walker
“He alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea.” (Job 9:8).
In our last article we began an examination of the evidence which helps to confirm our faith in the existence of God. We saw that something cannot come from nothing. Since there must be a first cause which is adequate to produce the effect that we see — the existence of the universe — it is more reasonable to believe that mind or intelligence, specifically the God of the Bible, is eternal rather than lifeless, impotent matter.
Another piece of evidence that we must consider in our quest is the fact that the universe shows signs of design and purpose. Again, we are faced with a couple of choices in trying to explain this fact. Either this amazing design is the result of blind chance or it is the result of divine planning. Surely all can agree that nature everywhere exhibits orderly structures and processes. It is not absolute chaos. For example, there is design in the heavens. Our universe is immense. It is estimated that it would take over 100,000 light years just to cross our own galaxy, with light traveling at 186,000 miles per second or over five trillion miles per year. Yet, in spite of their innumerability, differences, and distances, the stars, the planets, the other heavenly bodies, and even the galaxies themselves all work in such perfect order that we can reckon our time by them and can predict where they will be millions of years from now if the universe still exists then.
Also, there is design on the earth. Our wonderful world, with the perfect timing of it revolution around the sun and rotation on its axis, the exact degree of tilt on its axis, the water evaporation and condensation cycle, the movement of the winds from the equator and back, and the ocean currents, runs like one giant piece of clockwork. In addition, there is design in animal and plant life. The dependence of the flowers on bees for reproduction and of the bees on flowers for food is one of the most amazing adaptations in nature, and it is difficult to imagine how it could have occurred by mere chance. Finally, there is design in man. The human eye is more complex than the finest telescope or camera available. Man cannot make an optical instrument of any kind that is as efficient as the eye.
Design demands a designer. A story is told about the great scientist Isaac Newton, who was a believer. One day he had obtained a new planetarium when a friend who was an atheist walked in. The friend, after remarking how ingenious the miniature model of the solar system was, asked who made it. The physicist replied that it just happened. The unbeliever scorned him. Newton responded that if one had to believe that if one was forced to the conclusion that a mere model of the solar system had to have a designer, then the original upon which it was based must also have a designer, a a fact which his friend did not seem to believe.
The order of the universe leads us to exclaim, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1). The design of the earth causes us to conclude, “The earth is the LORD’s and all its fullness; the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1). Order in nature helps us to understand that “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31). And design in the human body makes us say with David, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14). As we sometimes sing, “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.” (Folliot S. Pierpoint).
