Why Islam is True-Lesson 7- God’s Agency and the Argument From Design

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I attended Why Islam Class in person this week.

• Yes
• No

We don’t need design to prove that God exists.

Aldrich the Atheist says “It doesn’t matter if there is design or there is no design. Believing in God is like believing in fairies. Science is fact, God is fiction.” What is the best reply to this?

• No, God is a fact. Science can only explain contingent things with other contingent things. The only coherent perspective is the existence of a Necessary Being that makes all contingent things the way that they are.
• No, God is a fact. You can see the impossibly complex design around you in the universe. Look at the example of the ear. Science cannot explain the complex design of the universe.

Aldrich the Atheist keeps pressing on. He says “I also saw a documentary. It was talking about parallel universes. It said that there could be millions of universes in existence. Most of these universes might show no design, but our one universe shows perfect design. So you don’t need a God to make a universe with design, you only need a chance. It’s luck.” Nathan the Christian looks perplexed. What is the best thing to say about this?

• "That’s interesting, I guess. But in reality all of those millions of universes would still be contingent. The Argument From Contingency proves that if they existed they would need a Necessary Being to make them exist."
• "It’s ridiculous to believe in parallel universes. There is no real evidence for them. You say that believing in God is like believing in fairies, isn’t this exactly the same?"

Causation Vs Agency

Which of these demonstrates volition?

• The factory
• The artist

Which one of these shows causation?

• The horse
• The car

Which one of these demonstrates volition?

• The human
• The robot

Design Proves that the Necessary Being is an Agent

As you walk down the street you pass a homeware store. There are some factory-made mugs lined up on display with some artisanal ones as well. Your young relative asks, “Why are they different?” What can you say back to him to teach him about volition?

• “Yes that’s correct, they are all the same. They are all mugs that are designed for us to drink from. They are extremely useful.”
• “If you look, some of them are exactly the same and some of them are different. Notice how the artisanal ones are different from each other? That's because they were made by someone who was alive. See how the factory mugs all look the same? That’s because they are made by a machine.”
• “The factory ones are much cheaper because they can be made very quickly and they will break much easier. If you buy the more expensive one then you are the only one in the world with it.”
• Option 4

The Atheist Design Trap.

Poor Aldrich the Atheist, has taken a turn for the worse. After visiting the hospital the suspicion is that it may be appendicitis. You and Nathan the Christian have come to visit your friend to give him some comfort.

Nathan the Christian says “I’m so sorry for you. But every cloud has a silver lining. It may help you see God’s design. It’s amazing isn’t it? The body is so perfectly designed, so complicated, so intricate. It simply cannot be by pure chance. The laws of nature can’t explain it.” Aldrich the Atheist slowly turns towards Nathan. He nods and says “So the perfection of the design of the body that science can’t explain, proves God exists?” What do you think (but not quite reply just yet)?

• Perhaps the perfection of the human body can be explained by science, or perhaps it can’t. However, for certain it will always be contingent and will need a Necessary Being to make it. This is demonstrated in the Argument From Contingency.
• Yes, that makes perfect sense. It is impossible that the variety and design that we see all around us in the universe can be explained by anything other than God. Science cannot explain the design in the universe so it proves that God must exist. Otherwise nothing would exist.
• I’ll agree with Nathan the Christian. What he is saying makes complete sense and also at least he believes in God. If I agree with Aldrich the Atheist then it looks like Atheism has won the argument.

Who Designed the Designer?

Nathan the Christian responds to Aldrich’s question. He says “Yes of course it does! Science can’t explain the variety and the design in the universe.” Aldrich the Atheist nods again, and now adds a triumphant smile. He says calmly “So what about the appendix? It serves no function in our body whatsoever. There are many other examples like body hair and wisdom teeth. Surely if God designed the body then He could do a better job than designing some parts that are completely useless?” What is the problem here?

• It’s not a matter of it being useless, that wouldn’t make any sense, considering the grand designs that we see in the universe as a whole. It is much more viable that science has yet to find a use for the appendix.
• The Argument From Design says that God has designed everything with a perfect purpose. So if the appendix (and many other things) seem to have no purpose, how can God exist?