Evidence for Design?

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Anaxoragas and Plato are but two of the Greek philosophers who produced arguments in favour of Design and they have had a constant line of successors - which indicates success!
Some folk wish to blur the line, but imho there’s a clear distinction between the respectable pedigree of the teleological argument and the blip of ID born out of last century US politics.

On the one hand a clear and simple argument, on the other a theory of baroque complexity where no notion, no matter how poor, ever gets thrown away, which is why ID, like all those conspiracy theories, will eventually die of its own accord, no problema. 😃
 
Some folk wish to blur the line, but imho there’s a clear distinction between the respectable pedigree of the teleological argument and the blip of ID born out of last century US politics.

On the one hand a clear and simple argument, on the other a theory of baroque complexity where no notion, no matter how poor, ever gets thrown away, which is why ID, like all those conspiracy theories, will eventually die of its own accord, no problema. 😃
There is no “baroque complexity” or political motive in the view that the origin of life is not due to a fortuitous conjunction of molecules…
 
How much evidence do you need to see evidence for design? The human cell is more complex than the most complicated machine ever created. The simple cell! So if you believe the greatest supercomputer created itself, then you can then begin to make the argument that there is no evidence for design.
 
How much evidence do you need to see evidence for design? The human cell is more complex than the most complicated machine ever created. The simple cell! So if you believe the greatest supercomputer created itself, then you can then begin to make the argument that there is no evidence for design.
Welcome to the forum! 🙂 An impressive first post which demonstrates that some people cannot see the wood for the trees - and are on the slippery slope to non-Design…

If God plays no part in what happens in the world how can He possibly be the loving Father who cares for all His creatures?
 
And the human body is created to be its physical agent by His direct intervention and control of events! Design didn’t stop with the Big Bang…
That colossal explosion didn’t put God out of action - as some might have you believe. 😉
 
383 “God did not create man a solitary being. From the beginning, “male and female he created them” (*Gen *1:27). This partnership of man and woman constitutes the first form of communion between persons” (GS 12 § 4).

“THERE’S no way sex could ever be considered a good solution for reproduction among organisms like us- eukaryotes with complex information contained within membraned cells. After all, the exponential growth of a population reproducing asexually seriously outcompetes any sexual strategy: it doubles with each generation, while a sexual population has to bear the cost of males.”

newscientist.com/article/mg21228376.700-the-origin-of-sex-was-interaction-not-reproduction.html

It is absurd and incompatible with Christianity to attribute the origin of the male and female sexes solely to natural selection! Asexuality does not provide a physical basis for love as intimate, beautiful and fulfilling as human sexuality…
Thank you for two interesting sources of information. Especially useful is the reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.

"The Origin of Sex Was Interaction, Not Reproduction’ is the title of the article linked in Post 876. While the first two paragraphs, used as a teaser, are interesting, these two out-of-context paragraphs are written from a biological position which is in a different realm than Catholic doctrine. The second paragraph has me wondering about the genetic descriptions being used. Unfortunately, I do not have my science textbook with me.:blushing:

Nonetheless, it would be interesting to know how this biological information makes the design leap to a Catholic doctrine on human nature. In addition, I am interested in how one ties CCC 383 into a specific basic doctrine regarding all humanity. From reading CCC 369 - 373, all kinds of possibilities are there. Taken as a whole, the careful “wording” can make a reasonable case for the two, sole, founders of humanity.

Blessings,
the nitty-gritty granny

The quest for truth is worth the adventures of the journey.
 
Thanks for your compliment! :o Before trying to answer your question it would be useful to know if you believe Catholicism and science are mutually exclusive…
It would take about five and a half posts to properly respond to your request. This is because Catholicism and science are not always mutually exclusive. Thus, my suggestion is to read my posts to see what position I am taking at that particular time.

Blessings,
the nitty-gritty granny

“The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?”
From the poem “Christmas” by George Herbert
 
Thank you for two interesting sources of information. Especially useful is the reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.

"The Origin of Sex Was Interaction, Not Reproduction’ is the title of the article linked in Post 876. While the first two paragraphs, used as a teaser, are interesting, these two out-of-context paragraphs are written from a biological position which is in a different realm than Catholic doctrine. The second paragraph has me wondering about the genetic descriptions being used. Unfortunately, I do not have my science textbook with me.:blushing:

Nonetheless, it would be interesting to know how this biological information makes the design leap to a Catholic doctrine on human nature. In addition, I am interested in how one ties CCC 383 into a specific basic doctrine regarding all humanity. From reading CCC 369 - 373, all kinds of possibilities are there. Taken as a whole, the careful “wording” can make a reasonable case for the two, sole, founders of humanity.

Blessings,
the nitty-gritty granny

The quest for truth is worth the adventures of the journey.
It remains a fact that for Christians science is not an adequate explanation of human sexuality…
 
It would take about five and a half posts to properly respond to your request. This is because Catholicism and science are not always mutually exclusive. Thus, my suggestion is to read my posts to see what position I am taking at that particular time.
It is sufficent to know that you believe Catholicism and science are not always mutually exclusive. In other words there must be common ground - of which human sexuality is but one aspect.
 
That colossal explosion didn’t put God out of action - as some might have you believe. 😉
Yes, many would have us believe that.

From Wikipedia:
**Deism **in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the natural laws of the universe. Deists typically reject supernatural events such as prophecy and miracles, tending instead to assert that a god (or “the Supreme Architect”) does not alter the universe by intervening in it. This idea is also known as the clockwork universe theory, in which a god designs and builds the universe, but steps aside to let it run on its own.
 
I’ll stick with the vanilla Christianity of scripture and tradition, ID is sooooo twentieth century.
Every era finds new attacks against Christian faith – like Darwinism, Deism, mechanism – from the 19th century.
 
I am a newcomer to the thread, but just answering the subject itself:

First, for the elementary: Since there is change in the Universe, and especially atrophy/entropy, we must assume, by logic and simple reason, that something with its own unchanging existence is sustaining the existence of this eminently unnecessary and ephemeral Cosmos. This thing is God.

We need not see a watch, a building, a symphony, or a poem in the sky in order to know that there is designer God. The fact that anything exists at all, besides God, is evidence for design. Were the universe non-existent, it would not have been designed. Were the universe extant but God non-existent, it would be an infinite, eternal, undifferentiated uniformity without any change. Heterogeneity and diversity in the Cosmos is proof that each thing was designed specifically. Complexity or non-complexity, there is design.
Good thoughts – certainly good application of the Design Argument. 👍
 
On the one hand a clear and simple argument, on the other a theory of baroque complexity where no notion, no matter how poor, ever gets thrown away, which is why ID, like all those conspiracy theories, will eventually die of its own accord, no problema. 😃
As long as the Holy Word that urges us to “consider the lilies” (Luke 12:27) is read, the Design Argument (of the ID variety) will persist.
 
The very essence of God is to exist, yes, and His existence is His essence, but if He is also creator, His proper operation as Creator is to design: whether ‘before’ creation, or during it.
Excellent point. Because of design we know we have a God who is involved with His creation. It was the product of His design – intention, plan, purpose. It was not merely the accidental (unplanned, unknown, surprise) outcome of some laws He created.

The act of creating Laws is design. Those laws are absolutely contingent. They cannot function for one instant without His involvement.

God’s plan was from eternity. That’s how we know that we are part of His plan. Before we were born He knew us.

I hope all believers will ask for God’s continual intervention in their own lives and pray that He will “give us this day our daily bread”.
 
It is impossible to understand the Bible correctly when it is isolated from the Church instituted by Jesus and divorced from His teaching.
That’s an essential point. A materialist-atheist, for example, who denies that there is a divine moral law, cannot justly create a sense of moral outrage about passages read from the Bible.
 
“THERE’S no way sex could ever be considered a good solution for reproduction among organisms like us- eukaryotes with complex information contained within membraned cells. After all, the exponential growth of a population reproducing asexually seriously outcompetes any sexual strategy: it doubles with each generation, while a sexual population has to bear the cost of males.”
That’s a fascinating point and perfectly reasonable. The fact that male and female have different functions and have to join those to successfully reproduce is an indicator of design. Both male and female have to be complimentary and different. This creates inter-functional or combinatorial dependencies. Where there is a change in one thing, it affects all other parts of the system. Changes in either side of the male/female function would prevent reproduction entirely.
It is absurd and incompatible with Christianity to attribute the origin of the male and female sexes solely to natural selection! Asexuality does not provide a physical basis for love as intimate, beautiful and fulfilling as human sexuality…
Exactly. It’s an illogical and irrational idea even from a secular point of view. From a Christian view it violates the relational nature of human life which is essential to the plan of God.
 
383 “God did not create man a solitary being. From the beginning, “male and female he created them” (*Gen *1:27). This partnership of man and woman constitutes the first form of communion between persons” (GS 12 § 4).

“THERE’S no way sex could ever be considered a good solution for reproduction among organisms like us- eukaryotes with complex information contained within membraned cells. After all, the exponential growth of a population reproducing asexually seriously outcompetes any sexual strategy: it doubles with each generation, while a sexual population has to bear the cost of males.”

newscientist.com/article/mg21228376.700-the-origin-of-sex-was-interaction-not-reproduction.html

It is absurd and incompatible with Christianity to attribute the origin of the male and female sexes solely to natural selection!
Or to random mutations!
Asexuality does not provide a physical basis for love as intimate, beautiful and fulfilling as human sexuality.
At least for those who believe God is not an impotent observer… :eek:

No one has explained how God’s Will is effectively transmitted via billions of years of uncontrolled natural events.:confused:
 
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