The Design Argument is also known as the Teleological Argument, or the Intelligent Design Argument. It argues for the existence of God based on the complexity of our universe. When observing things in nature, the argument says we see such purpose and precision that there had to have been an intelligent designer behind it all. It could not have come from random chance. The teleological argument can be traced all the way back to Socrates, Plato , and Aristotle. Their observation of the stars was the basis for these gentlemen’s argument.
The Watchmaker and the Design Argument
The watchmaker is perhaps the most well-known version of the design argument. Let’s assume you were taking a stroll on the beach, hiking a wooded mountain trail, or simply walking down the side of the road. While walking, you come across a watch lying on the ground. Imagine what your first thought would be. Would you think by random factors, chance, and time, that the watched just happened to form itself out of nowhere on the ground? All of the necessary parts just randomly came together to form a working watch. Most of us obviously would not have this as a thought at all, much less as our first thought.
A reasonable person would assume someone must have dropped the watch. You would also assume this same person bought the watch from someone who had designed it. Things such as this do not come together by chance, they have a maker. There are many examples of this same type of argument. Anyone who visits Mount Rushmore understands that it was designed and created by an intelligent person. The person who visits an art gallery knows behind every painting there was a painter.
Just as it is with the watch, why would we assume something as complex as our universe would have appeared from nothing, and then on its own by random chance continued to evolve into what we know and see today.
A Fine Tuned Universe
Scientific discoveries have led to a greater understanding of just how precise our universe is. Consider these few facts. If the length of our day on earth was greater, the difference in temperature would be too great to support life. The tilt of the earth could not be greater or lesser, or the temperature would not support life. If the distance between the sun and earth were greater, the earth would be too cool for a water cycle, if it was less, the earth would be to warm for a water cycle. These are just a few of the many parameters that cannot exceed certain limits without disturbing the earth’s ability to support life. How could such a fine tuned universe be a result of random chance?
An Intelligent Designer
From the amount of DNA held in one human cell, to the complexity of the human eye and brain, they all speak of an intelligent designer. The Big Bang Theory and evolution fall hopelessly short in explaining how the universe and humans came to be. It is as the Bible says!
(Psalm 19:1) The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. ESV
(Romans 1:20) For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
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