Did someone or something create everything around us? Does a creator or God truly exist, or is it just a myth or fairytale? This section seeks to analyze empirical evidence and provide answers to those questions.

Intelligent Design

If we stop and look at the world around us, there is convincing evidence that the world was made with great sophistication, detail and design. There are patterns and connections among various aspects of life revealing intelligence and coordination in all living things and that something or someone must have created them.

When we see a beautiful painting, we need no other proof than the painting itself to demonstrate that someone (a painter) created it. A watch implies a watchmaker. It would be illogical to believe that the presidents carved into the rock face of Mt. Rushmore occurred by chance or through millions of years of erosion. All of these items were created through intelligent design. There are many more that we can observe all around us.

Design is not hard to recognize. Just take the complexity of the human body for example. Every human body contains a brain that can process more than a million messages per second1 and is more complex than any computer, eyes that are more efficient than any known camera, 206 bones,2 640 skeletal muscles3 and hundreds of involuntary muscles including a heart that beats over 100,000 times a day.4 Our bodies have meticulous and integrated networks that sustain life, such as the nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, reproductive system and musculoskeletal system. They have a remarkable ability to heal themselves and fight off diseases. It is highly improbable that the human body came into existence through a random or mindless process.

Everywhere one looks there is miraculous design. When observing nature, it is easy to see intelligent design with animals, plants, oceans, food chains, the universe, etc. All of these are evidence for creation coming from an intelligent, eloquent creator and not by chance or developing from nothing.

Logic

Another piece of evidence to bring to the witness stand is logic. There are only three possibilities to logically explain the existence of the universe and the world around us:

  1. It has always been.
  2. It created itself.
  3. It was created by something or someone.

In regard to option one, scientific evidence has long suggested that the universe has NOT always existed. Respected Cambridge University astronomer Stephen Hawking stated, “Almost everyone believes that the universe, and time itself, had a beginning.”5

Concerning the second option, something cannot be created from nothing. The scientific community has a consensus belief that everything must have a cause. Even well-known atheist J.L. Mackie said, “I myself find it hard to accept the notion of self-creation from nothing, even given unrestricted chance.”6

Evidence, therefore, supports option three, which suggests that life was created by something or someone.

Another persuasive form of logical analysis is the kalam cosmological argument. It is defended by acclaimed philosopher William Lane Craig and supports the existence of a creator.

  1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its existence.
  2. The universe began to exist.
  3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.
  4. If the universe has a cause for its existence, then the cause must be beyond the space-time universe – an uncaused creator.
  5. Therefore, a creator or God exists.7

Conditions For Life

Any investigation into the vastness of the universe with about two trillion galaxies, each having an average of 100 billion stars,8 is mind boggling and awe inspiring. It is remarkable to observe the details of how planets, stars and all celestial bodies interact. There is compelling evidence for a creator when evaluating the world of astronomy and physics, especially when focusing on life with our planet earth.

For example, there are numerous conditions that must be present to sustain life: oxygen rich atmosphere, liquid water and large land masses, a nearby star (sun), an orbital path that is neither too far nor too close to the sun, a moon that is large enough to control tides, a magnetic field strong enough to deflect the sun’s radiation, a precise location within our galaxy to sustain life, strong nuclear force to bind atoms together to form structures, plus many more. Scientists have hypothesized that the odds of having all the necessary elements for life at one time on the same planet would be one chance in 1,000,000,000,000,000!9

To illustrate this even further, if the earth was moved just one inch in any direction from where it is positioned in the universe, it would cause catastrophic gravitational changes resulting in most life forms ceasing to exist. Just one inch.10 Our earth is also located at the perfect distance from the sun to provide a temperature range, not too hot or cold, that allows life. Sounds like there must be a creator who had a plan and design for life on earth!

Biology

There is much evidence for a creator that is not visible to the naked eye. By looking into a microscope, scientists have learned about the astounding complexity of the single cell. A single cell is “more complicated than anything we’ve been able to recreate through supercomputers,” said respected scientist Dr. Walter Bradley.11 There is estimated to be over 37,000,000,000,000 cells in the human body!12

DNA is a complex code that provides instructions to each cell on how to function, very much like a computer program. While computer codes are written with ones and zeros, DNA molecules are composed of units abbreviated as A, T, C and G. Each human cell contains three billion pairs of these units.13 If the DNA in all the cells in the human body were stretched out end to end, it would measure about 10 billion miles!14 Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, stated, “DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created.”15 DNA determines such details as eye color, growth rate, body shape, organ function and gender. How did all this information end up being placed in each human cell? The evidence and function of DNA provides dramatic testimony for the existence of an intelligent creator to orchestrate the creation of life to such minute detail.

 

Another remarkable biological wonder is the role of molecular machines in living cells. Scientists have discovered very complex, machine-like components of a cell that are masterpieces in engineering. For example, the flagellum, which moves certain cells, is built like an outdoor motor with a propeller and drive shaft and needs a total of about 35 protein parts to operate. If just one part is missing, the flagellum will cease to work at all.16 It is remarkable that even when observing microscopic images, one can find extraordinary and intricate detail in creation.

 
 

The evidence for a creator is compelling. If one allows the facts, probability and logic to guide their decision, the conclusion is quite clear.

If you were a judge or jury, it would be a logical conclusion to find that the case for a creator (God) is the most likely explanation as to how life originated and continues to exist today.

There is an accurate account of how life began and its purpose, and it is the Bible. Investigation into the Bible’s reliability can be found on the next page, “Is the Bible True?”

1 The Wonders of God’s Creation: Human Life. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2004.
2 “Bones…How Many, And What Do They Do?” MedicineNet.com. MedicineNet, Inc., 1996-2016.
3 “The Muscular System.” UXL Complete Health Resource. Encyclopedia.com, 2001.
4 “How the Heart Works.” MedicineNet.com. MedicineNet, Inc., 1996-2016.
5 Hawking, Stephen and Penrose, Roger. The Nature of Space and Time. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996, p. 20.
6 Mackie, J. L. Times Literary Supplement. 5 Feb. 1982, p. 126.
7 Strobel, Lee. The Case For A Creator. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 102-130.
8 Ghose, Tia. “How Many Stars Are in the Universe?” LiveScience. Purch, 25 Oct. 2016.
9 The Case For A Creator with Lee Strobel. Illustra Media, 2006.
10 Strobel, Lee. The Case For A Creator. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 138.
11 Strobel, Lee. The Case For Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000, p. 98.
12 Zimmer, Carl. “How Many Cells are In Your Body?” Phenomena. National Geographic Society, 23 Oct. 2013.
13 “A Brief Guide to Genomics.” National Human Genome Research Institute. National Human Genome Research Institute, 2015.
14 Starr, Barry. “A Long and Winding DNA.” Quest. KQED Inc., 2 Feb. 2009.
15 Gates, Bill. The Road Ahead. New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 228.
16 Strobel, Lee. The Case For A Creator. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 216-218.