In the first article, I considered a simple question: Why is there something rather than nothing? The Cause Argument (Creation has a Creator) comes from the opening words of the Bible: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God is the explanation for why there was time, space, matter, and energy to develop in the first place.
But the universe does not merely exist. It works! Our universe works really, really well. The earth rotates perfectly and orbits the sun. Gravity holds us to the earth so we don’t float away. And the atmosphere contains the exact gases necessary for life. Each time I take a breath, I recognize that I am not God. I am dependent on the oxygen He provided by design. Humans breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, while plants use carbon dioxide and release oxygen. And consider the human body: it has a heart, lungs, brain, nervous system, immune system, eyes and ears all working together. That’s not just stuff at random. That’s stuff working together by design!
Why does something that exists work so incredibly well? Another way of thinking about creation is the Design Argument, or the Teleological Argument. This idea is also simple: something that exists with order and arrangement has a designer. Looking at the design of how something works and drawing the conclusion that there must be a designer is a logical process we practice all throughout life.
I’ve seen children play the Minecraft game, and it is a double example of intelligent design. First, the game did not come to exist by accident. Intelligent game designers created it. Additionally, the design of the game is for the gamer to become the intelligent designer. For example, the gamer can design an elaborate castle within the game. And if someone looked at the symmetry and structure of that castle, they would not think it came about by accident. Intelligence designed it.
Consider AI. I used to Google things when I needed to know something quickly. And then I had to sort through many sites and links to find the answer. Now, we can simply ask AI and get a succinct answer (though not always a correct one). That system didn’t come about by accident. No one is going to say: You see, computers existed, and a bunch of unintelligent things kept happening over and over, and, eventually, ChatGPT just appeared one day. We understand that intelligence designed it to answer questions, solve problems, and so much more.
One final, more practical example. I am not a good cook, but I know how to follow a recipe. And my Facebook algorithm knows I’ll click on a dump and go, crockpot recipe. Last week, I clicked on one of these recipes, followed it, and it turned out well. There was a recipe with step-by-step instructions designed by someone with intelligence. Chicken went in the bottom, then rice, broccoli and onion, followed by the spices, broth and cream, and cheese at the end. 6 hours later, it was Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Chicken. It was not the result of chaos. It was the result of order and arrangement.
God designed our universe with order and purpose as well. There is light and darkness, water and land, sun and moon, creatures and mankind. God designed a pattern for life to continue, with everything reproducing according to their kinds (Genesis 1:11-12, 21-22, 24-25). That is, humans produce humans, dogs produce dogs, taters produce taters, and maters produce maters. There is order in the world that exists around us, and that order points to a Designer. The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1).
But there is something else in our universe that needs an explanation. We look at the world and recognize its existence and design. But we also recognize that some things are right, and some things are wrong. Who determines right and wrong? If creation points to a Creator, and design points to a Designer, does morality must point to a Moral Lawgiver?
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