Todd Gerelds
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • Blog
  • Speaker - Motivator
  • CONTACT
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • Blog
  • Speaker - Motivator
  • CONTACT

Life
Intersecting

Evidence of God from Design, The Teleological Argument

2/25/2018

2 Comments

 
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
  1. Human artifacts are the product of intelligent design and have purpose.
  2. The universe resembles these artifacts regarding the appearance of design and purpose.
  3. Therefore:  It is probable that the universe is the product of intelligent design and has purpose.
  4. The universe is enormous and is vastly more complex than human artifacts.
Conclusion:  The universe must have a vastly intelligent and powerful designer.
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
  1. The Universe Spontaneously Generated as a part of a closed system.
  2. The Universe is Eternal
  3. The Universe was Created
Regarding the universe popping into existence on its own, there are numerous problems.  One involves the First Law of Thermodynamics.  The First Law says that in a closed system there is a finite amount of energy that remains constant.  When energy is used, it transitions to less usable forms of energy.  Burning a piece of wood is an example referred to by Cengel and Boles in their 2002 work, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, which is used as a textbook in engineering schools.  The wood contains energy which when burned becomes radiant heat and/or ash.  The amount of energy remains the same.  It simply is changed into different forms.  This is true of our universe.  The First Law of Thermodynamics including the principle of the conservation of energy, is one of the most widely accepted scientific truths.   Stated simply, when it came into being, there was a finite amount of energy within the universe.  This energy is neither added to nor lost.  It simply changes forms.  Before it existed, the universe was nothing.  No energy, no mass, matter, etc.  As such, it would require an infusion of energy from outside itself to remain consistent with the First Law.  For non-energy to produce massive energy contradicts this known principle and renders the idea of a self-creating universe to being implausible.
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:
1. It negates the reality that a person’s rejection of Christianity is far more than an intellectual problem. The unregenerate man is in rebellion against his Creator. He doesn’t want to believe. His mind HAS been darkened as a result of the fall. But, apart from the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, saving faith will not come to a man.
2. It assumes a role for man that is reserved for God.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. I Cor. 3:6
Our role in evangelism is to do our part to clearly present God’s truth, and where possible, to remove obstacles to belief. These may be intellectual issues, emotional issues, etc. God does the transforming work in the person and gets all the glory. I believe that apologetics serves to help us, “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, MIND, and strength.” It should inspire awe and spur on our faith in a God whose mystery goes beyond rational thought, but whose nature as revealed in creation and in His word is not contrary to rational thought.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    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.
    ​TG

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Would you like to have Todd speak at your church or organization?  
​Click here!
website designed and maintained by Visual Media, Inc.