Lutroo
Senior Member
- May 29, 2016
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Information theory blows that argument out of the water. You cannot have information without will and intent. It is the product of intelligence. DNA contains information, therefore it is the result of intelligence. There is no other explanation for it. Intelligence came first. You call it the God of the gaps argument. I could say that your arguments are like a science of the gaps argument... Science cannot explain it, but they say that they will, given enough time. It's a wonder that they can be so blind. Such incredible complexity in our universe, and atheists continue to cling desperately to the time and chance myth.I realize this thread is going to quickly turn into the same typical and tired anti-religion vs. religion debate as always... never fails when the issue of the Bible and Science comes up... but I want to interject my observations here as a non-religious Spiritualist.
I find Science to be fascinating and always have. I love learning new things and discovering more about this miraculous and amazing universe around me. I have never found anything to be in conflict with my spiritual beliefs, to the contrary, I constantly find things supporting my spiritual beliefs.
For instance... When we finally reached the technological ability to observe atoms at their most fundamental level... we find that natures fundamental elements refuse to allow us to measure them. Electrons defy physical principles we've all come to expect in nature... they appear in two places at the same time... they disappear completely and occupy no space at any time... This means the fundamentals of mathematics which all nature is understood to be governed by completely breaks down... 1+1=1... or 1+0=0... How is that possible? We have no idea but it's what we find at the smallest most fundamental level of physical matter.
On the other end of the spectrum, we finally have the technology to observe the largest enigma in our physical universe, black holes. Again, we find that, at the Event Horizon, the principles of modern physics spiral wildly out of control.... things no longer make sense. As matter approaches the speed of light, time slows down. This is the basis for Einstein's theories of relativity but even more important, when matter reaches the speed of light, passage of time stops completely. This is why we see nothing inside a black hole. Some will state that gravity is so strong it doesn't permit light to escape, but that's not accurate. There is literally no time for light to escape. Formulas end with infinities... a nightmare for any astrophysicist. Again, conventional physics and mathematics are defied by fundamental nature.
One final blow is the theories of origin of our universe. We comprehend through the work of Isaac Newton, that our universe is in motion, therefore, it must have been set into motion by some energy working on matter. So theories surrounding this seemed to center on the possibility of a Singularity. A Singularity is defined as a concentration of all the physical matter and energy of the entire universe compacted into the tiniest infinitesimal space where the energy supposedly reaches 'critical mass' and an explosion (Big Bang) happens. But... the problem with this theory has always been that it doesn't comport with modern physics due to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. We can never account for all the atoms in the universe and because of the space needed for the nucleus and electrons to function in matter, it is impossible.
So we end up with three basic areas where our comprehension of physics simply breaks down and can't explain things. At the subatomic level, beyond the event horizon of black holes and the literal origin of our material universe. When we have finally been able to "peek under the rock" we have revealed the hand of God. There is really no other rational explanation.
Another additional argument can be added from the field of genetics... DNA. When we examine DNA, we find what amounts to billions upon billions of lines of intricate 4-bit digital code which defines every aspect of a living thing. To break this down in layman's terms, a modern computer uses millions of lines of 2-bit code... zeroes and ones. DNA is thousands of times more complex. Those who reject a Creator or Designer simply dismiss this evidence as meaningless and superficial. We're expected to accept that it's this way "just because" and no further explanation is needed.
If I may critique your arguments?
That our comprehension of the laws of physics doesn't grasp the seemingly irrationality of quantum mechanics, the other side of the event horizon, or the singularity of the Big Bang does not mean that all or any of those are because of a creator/designer. Not that they exclude one either. But the argument you are essentially making is a god-of-the-gaps fallacy. "Because we do not understand these phenomena God is responsible" is bad science and bad theology.
When it comes to DNA, you are making the argument that it is too complex for natural processes to have created. There must have been a creator/designer who intervened. This is 1) an argument from complexity fallacy: just because something is complex does not necessarily mean it was designed, 2) this is also an argument from incredulity fallacy - just because it's hard for you to believe that natural processes gave rise to complexity does not necessarily mean it didn't happen that way and 3) even if DNA is the result of creation/design, that gives no indication of the creator/designer's identity or divinity: perhaps we are the products of an advanced scientific project conducted by non-divine entities.
Scientifically, an explanation needs no other additional metaphysical explanation. For example, water turns to ice at and below 0 degrees celsius. We don't need to add to that: water freezes because God freezes water at and below 0 degrees celsius. Personally, you can believe that without violating scientific precepts, but were one to attempt to make and test such an hypothesis they would quickly find that it would be impossible to do so. So, science can not test whether DNA is the product of design because it can not put God in a laboratory therefore the scientific explanation necessarily must be naturalistic/materialistic. Furthermore, without knowing the process through which the creator/designer influences physical reality the explanation "God did it" doesn't add any further understanding to the scientific explanation.
Why make a decision on these big questions, which are so fascinating to think about, when really there is not yet sufficient data to decide upon an answer?