Naturalism.
We live in a society that increasingly assumes Naturalism. It’s like the lenses thru which we view everything that happens.
Now – you might be asking – what is it? Well is not the same thing as Naturism (!).
Naturalism is the assumption that our universe can be completely known by studying the laws that operate within it; the matter that exists within it; the energy that is used within it.
Naturalism, and the Scientists who wear those glasses, say the universe is just an intricate machine. So too are people and animals and all life. We’re just biological machines. When things wear out…and when people wear out…the machine stops working. We’re gone – kaput – and that’s it.
“There is no reason to suppose that science cannot deal with every aspect of existence. Only the religious – among whom I include not only the prejudiced but the under informed – hope there is a dark corner of the physical universe…that science can never hope to illuminate.”
– Peter Atkins, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University
It is smart – we are told – to hold a naturalistic view of our world. It is stupid to think anything different.
Well I’m not going along with this. I’m putting my hand up and asking questions.
Why must a smart, intelligent view of our universe demand naturalism? I challenge that assumption for many reasons. But let’s choose just one reason. Let’s choose scientific reasoning. The approach so many scientists say is wedded to a naturalistic world view.
The more we understand about life’s complexity – the less likely it is that we are a result of blind chance and natural forces.
Let me come right out and say it – Science points to a bigger thing than just Nature. Science points to a God who created it all.
At the very center of each piece of matter I am composed of, you don’t find a random jumble of chemicals. No – each cell that constructs my body is a busy, complex biological machine in its own right. So far so good for the Naturalist. But at the center of that hive of intricacy…in the nucleus of every cell…is the most precious thing in the universe.
DNA? Yes it’s there. But I’m not describing DNA as precious. I’m saying the INFORMATION that DNA conveys is precious.
INFORMATION doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of a CREATIVE MIND. Someone thought up life’s instruction manual before it could be written down and appear in our bodies.
Think of it like this – have you ever had to write an essay before? Ever sat in front of a blank laptop screen? You need to create…but it takes thought…it takes work. Eventually your essay is ready to hand in for marking. Two thousand words on the page that started in your mind. You crafted those words carefully – not just following spelling and grammar, but bringing together concepts you’ve learned, topics you have studied.
Information is ALWAYS the result of a creative mind at work. It’s found on the pages of your essay. Information is also written through your body, one cell at a time.
INFORMATION is also PRECIOUS. Ever had a long distance conversation with your family when someone’s said to you…”Miss you…love you.” How does that feel? It’s not the words that give us a lump in our throat and tears in the corner of our eyes. It’s your loved one’s thought that is precious. That’s information.
As our knowledge about the details of the universe grows…the evidence for a designer grows with it. And the naturalist exclaims – “How wonderful that life in the universe looks designed”.
Take the glasses off, look again.
It IS designed.
I think Science points to the existence of God.
Just before he died, Anthony Flew changed his mind. He lived eighty years, militantly convinced that there was no God. Yet – it was scientific discovery around Information at the heart of life that changed his mind. The blind forces of nature and random chance aren’t enough. Life had to be created by someone.
“…we still have to come to terms with the origin of the laws of nature [information]. And the only viable explanation here is the divine Mind.”
— Anthony Flew, How the Most Notorious Atheist Changed his Mind
Faith in God has its reasons. Biological Information…created in a mind…precious beyond words…it is a big one.
But it’s only the beginning…
RESPOND 