All It Will Take Is One

Materialism is our sworn enemy.  Materialists (those who hold to materialism) believe that our universe is closed, that all of reality can be summarized thusly: in the beginning were the particles.

So begins the creed of those who hold to the supremacy of particles, of mass and energy, with all the fervency of the radical faithful. Like the barbarians of old sweeping through the city gates, the materialist Vandals have left nothing but destruction in their wake, offering nothing of value to our civilization. The idea that we just are particles bumping together in the dark night has grim consequences.

Consequences. All ideas have them. And what hath materialism wrought? At bottom, if it is true, we live in a valueless world. We humans all have this sense that when we look within ourselves to consider our own experiences that we are valuable. That we should be taken seriously because we take ourselves seriously. I have thoughts, beliefs, intentions, desires, and goals. I am about something. But particles are not about anything. How could a collection of particles have desires, beliefs, and goals?

So what’s the payoff for materialists? Why has Western civilization allowed itself to be been overrun by this metaphysical barbarian that devalues life? Because particles do not require anything of us. Particles are indifferent to my lifestyle. Particles don’t care if I give full rein to my passions. And let’s be honest: it usually comes down to sex. Particles are uninterested in what I do with my various body parts. It is often said that denial is not just a river in Egypt. Given the choice between a Creator who might make claims on my life because, oh, say he actually made me and apathetic specks of matter, many will have strong psychological reasons to deny God and to choose valuelessness.

Given these powerful psychological causes, we can now see why materialists exhibit such overt vitriol toward Intelligent Design (ID). All it will take is one bona fide demonstration of design in nature, and the materialist project will be over. Finished. And they know it.

In the ID research community we think that we have much good empirical evidence of design in nature. We infer from the evidence, for example, the existence of functionally specified information encoded in DNA in every one of your trillion cells, give or take a few hundred billion. Look around you. Every instance of functional or specified information comes from a mind, not a chance or law-like process. Observe, for example, billboards, the software in your smartphone, magazines, Mt. Rushmore, and the lyrics or melody in any song.  These are all instances of information specified for a purpose. As Stephen Meyer points out is his book, Signature in the Cell, we argue in the same way that Darwin did – we observe processes in nature that are now in operation. Chance and the laws of physics or chemistry did not create Mt. Rushmore  – an intelligent mind did.

So we have evidence. Positive, empirical evidence for design. Many more evidences could be given, but this is sufficient to make my point: one single instance of design in nature and its nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey…good-bye materialism.

And good riddance.