The teleological argument states that if something shows signs of design, then, there must be a designer. This argument was famously discussed in William Paley’s 1802, Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of a Deity. The oft used “Watchmaker” analogy derives from there. Here is a quick paraphrase of the Watchmaker analogy.
I’m walking in the forest and hit my foot on a rock. You ask me, “Where did that rock come from?” I answer that the rock, for all I know, has always been there. Or, that it naturally ended up there through erosive processes, a landslide, etc. If however, I am walking through the forest and find a watch lying on the ground, my deduction would be different. I would assume that the watch hadn’t come together and arrived at that point by natural processes. The intricacies, function, and design of the watch necessitates a designer, or a watchmaker. Paley went on to describe that the appearance of complexity in the natural world pointed to an even more powerful, intelligent Designer. The premises and conclusion of Paley’s teleological argument goes something like this. Premises
Paley’s argument is not intended to be exhaustive, nor is it immune to criticism. Richard Dawkins, the atheistic crusader, has famously responded to Paley’s argument with a book entitled, The Blind Watchmaker. David Hume penned his work, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, in 1779, which sets forth his arguments against the teleological argument. As with any argument, including arguments for God, everyone approaches the data/evidences with their own presuppositions. That is, no one is without bias. Understanding that bias is inevitable is helpful in understanding why something that seems perfectly reasonable to you may seem completely irrational to someone else. For our purposes, we will not go into tremendous detail regarding the teleological argument. Instead, we will discuss some foundational topics and principles. The Beginning of the Universe, including all matter, mass, energy and time. Three Possibilities
Secondly, the idea of an eternal universe denies the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The second law states that this finite energy is being expended in its usable form as it is transferred into less usable, less accessible forms, i.e. the ash and the radiant heat from the burning wood. The Second Law is also the source of the idea that the universe is moving toward disorder or entropy. As the usable energy in the universe is transferred into less usable, less accessible forms, entropy is the natural result. If the universe were eternal, we would have run out of usable energy and the universe would have reached chaotic disorder. Finally, the idea of a Creator God is consistent with the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics as He was the outside agent Who was neither material, energy, mass, etc. Himself, but Who acted to introduce these, or create these out of nothing. Some may contend that God as the answer isn’t intellectually satisfying or scientifically rigorous. I disagree. Science is limited to observable phenomena in our universe, i.e. light, sound, matter, mass, energy, time, etc. Those who want to explore beyond the beginning of these are leaving the realm of the scientific and enter the realm of the meta-physic or the supernatural. One may contend that just because a god created the universe, doesn’t mean it was the God of the Bible. This is a valid argument. We will explore that challenge in a later post. Most scientists have recognized the problems inherent in the ideas of a self-creating universe or an eternal universe and have developed alternate theories. Most of these theories simply push the question of a start back one step. Others may use terminology and descriptions that sound oddly like those one would use to describe a Creator/God, but since their presuppositions don’t allow for it, they use other words and terms in their descriptions. The general conclusion in the scientific community is that the universe has a definite beginning. Most scientists refer to this as “The Big Bang.” Next week, we will begin to look at the “Big Bang,” and its implications in the scientific community as well as for those of us who believe that God created the universe. (Thank you to Jeff Miller, PhD at Apologetics Press. Your article, God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective, was helpful to me as I wrote this. https://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=2106 )
2 Comments
Gebre Menfes Kidus
2/26/2018 06:55:50 pm
Agreed on all points. But I would have to admit that the second point is more problematic than the others. We live on a finite earth and we are restricted by the limitations of space and time. So from our subjective frame of reference, the notion of an uncreated and eternal universe (or infinite universes) seems implausible. Which goes to your original point about every worldview being inherently affected by certain biases or presuppositions. I think it is good and important to wrestle with these matters and to “always be prepared to give an answer to those who ask us to give the reason for the hope that we have.” [I Peter 3:15] But ultimately we must confess the mystery of it all. And mystery, from the Orthodox Christian perspective, is not the unknown but rather the acknowledgement of Truth which transcends the limitations of mortal logic and human rationale. God will never be proved or disproved by empirical tests or logical syllogisms. Thus, in all of our apologetics, we must always defer to holy mystery – e.g. the Holy Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the Resurrection. Such holy truths transcend the realm of science and logic (transcend, not contradict, which is an important distinction.) Therefore, we need to always be careful not to reduce eternal truths to the explanations of finite comprehension. To be clear, this does not mean jettisoning apologetics. It just means that we need to recognize its limitations. But again, I agree with all of you points brother. Good stuff. God bless.
Reply
Todd
2/26/2018 07:37:37 pm
I agree 100%. In my apologetics small group I lead on Tuesday night, i try to emphasize this point. We can never argue someone into the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit’s conviction and revelation of truth must do that. The idea that we can talk someone into faith denies several important facts. Two important ones are:
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Each day we go into the world with the opportunity to make an impact. Each person whose paths cross ours matters. Lives intersect for a reason. I believe there is One who directs our steps to these sometimes seemingly random meetings. My goal for these encounters is that I make a difference. That is my desire for those who venture across my blog. I hope you are blessed and it makes a difference for you. Archives
April 2020
Categories |
Click here!