Introducing Intelligent Design
Given all the information in his book and his successful rebuttals to challenges by various evolutionists, Behe gives the reader the only realistic assessment of the origins of life: that is, by Intelligent Design, which initially occurred at the molecular level. He does not mention God as the designer but leaves that to his readers. Of course, despite the evidence to the contrary, many evolutionary biologists still contend that the origin of life occurred by chance.
In Dr. Stephen Meyer’s book noted in the previous section (611 pages), he defines Intelligent Design as “the deliberate choice of a conscious, intelligent agent or person to affect a particular outcome, end or objective.”
Without getting into the minute details of the work of Meyer, this quote gives us an idea of the problem: “…the probability of producing all the necessary proteins needed to service a minimally complex cell is 1 in 10164 multiplied by itself 250 times, or 1 in 1041,000 times.” He says the probability of producing such a cell by chance is unimaginably small. He concludes that ID is not only the best option but also the only realistic option for the origin of life.
Then there are the orchids
In the plant kingdom we see amazing symbiotic relationships between orchids and bees, flies, and other plants that enable the pollination of orchids in the wild. The bucket orchid stands out based on its incredible design, which is especially suited to attract, temporarily trap, and use a special bee to facilitate pollination.
A couple of videos of the bucket orchid can be found below. On the first one, just click the arrow.
For an actual video of the bee and bucket orchid, just click on the link below, or place your cursor over the link and then hit Control+click simultaneously. If Facebook pops up, just click X to close it, and the video will proceed. Make sure the volume is on.
Another option is to copy and paste the link into your URL. More will be said in a bit about how orchids reproduce in the wild.
If you watched the videos on the bucket orchid, you could see the many factors in place that make pollination by chance impossible for this plant. Click here to see a list of why.
Another orchid resembles a Venus fly trap. This orchid has the odor of rotting meat and attracts the carrion fly that’s looking for a delicious meal. When the fly lands on the red lip of the flower, the lip closes, taking the unsuspecting fly in. But the fly is not devoured; rather, as with the bucket orchid, pollen sacks are attached to its back. The red lip then opens, and the fly is released. As the fly visits another orchid, pollination occurs.
If you can locate a video of Obsession with Orchids produced in 2000 by Nature and BBC, you will find this one and even more fascinating types of orchids and the symbiotic relationships they have with other animals and plants. We should note that symbiotic relationships between plants and animals can be found throughout the world.
The Monarch Butterfly (just one more)
The life cycle of all butterflies is miraculous, as it goes from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. (Which came first, the female butterfly or the egg? And how did the female become fertilized?) The processes by themselves would be hard to explain with Darwinian evolution. But the Monarch adds another complication; it is the only butterfly that migrates. During spring and summer months each Monarch lives for 2 to 6 weeks. But when summer ends, a great migration begins from locations throughout the U. S. and as far away as Canada to a few small groves of trees in Mexico. That generation of Monarchs over-winters in Mexico and remains mostly dormant. Then just before returning north in spring they mate and return to the United States through one of the flyways.
When they arrive back in the States, the females lay their eggs and die. That last generation in Mexico had a life span of 4 to 6 months, but each subsequent generation reverts back to its short 2 to 6 weeks. The ones that departed on the southern journey headed to a place that it had never been before. But how did it know where to go? Some on the eastern flyway made part of their trip over the Gulf of Mexico. How could one generation live that long while all others died in just a few weeks? How can all of this be explained?
See More on Monarchs for great pics
Questions not answered:
Regarding the microscopic cells that Behe and Meyer describe, did just one cell serve as the origin of life on earth? Or is there something else going on here based on the fact that all animals and plants have their own specific DNA?
Did the Designer simply create an initial array of plants and animals all of a sudden starting with their own DNA? The answer may be explained in the realm of geology. In every continent a Cambrian layer exists within the various geologic strata. This layer contains an incredibly complex amount of animal and plant life that appears suddenly and without any sign of preceding evolutionary ancestors. This has been called the Cambrian Explosion. “This sudden appearance of diverse types of fossils in Cambrian strata was a recognized problem by Charles Darwin in the 1800s, and it continues as an embarrassing enigma for his followers today.” (More information on this topic can be found in a book by Leisola & Witt in the list of books noted later.)
Effects so far on the scientific community worldwide
Dr. Francis Collins was a former atheist who later became a lead member of the famous international Human Genome (DNA sequencing) project. At some point he became a Christian. He wrote a book that promotes a compromise between evolution and faith called “theistic evolution.” He lists several premises on which this approach is based, and a few of these, one scientist says, put the whole theory into question.
World renown British atheist and philosopher Anthony Flew announced in 2004 that God probably did exist, after which he wrote a book called “There is a God: How the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind.” Dr. Collins later said, while Flew stood “towering and courageous” on his change of heart, his colleagues in the church of fundamentalist atheism were scandalized. In his book, Flew says on several occasions, “You have to go where the evidence leads,” which is what an open-minded individual would be expected to do.
Behe believes that the majority of all scientists would say they believe Darwinism to be true mainly based on authority or the opinions of other scientists. He says that, unfortunately, too often criticisms have been dismissed by the scientific community for fear of giving ammunition to creationists. “It is ironic,” he says, “that in the name of protecting science, trenchant scientific criticism of natural selection has been brushed aside.”
PBS produced a seven-part series titled Evolution first aired in 2001, which promotes Darwin’s theory of evolution and totally ignores criticism by hundreds of scientists who support ID. The Discovery Institute provides a book titled Getting the Facts Straight that covers the fallacies and misinformation in each program in the series.
What happens to a prominent scientist who promotes a possible positive view of ID? Read here to see what happened to Dr. Richard von Spielberg who was editor-in-chief for a science journal published by the Smithsonian Institute. Click here
Is there hope for the Darwin process? (Important) click here
So what does an open-minded individual do?
If some of my friends are ardent supporters of Darwin’s view of the origin of life on earth or are simply indifferent to the subject, I hope that you will at least ponder whether or not ID could be real. Buy one of the books referenced at this page.
If you realize that ID could be correct and that other scientific evidence substantiates the idea that a grand Designer was the source of the beginnings of life on earth, what do you do? And suppose that the grand Designer is the God whom you have rejected or ignored—then what? There is no shame in doing like so many other former atheists and agnostics have done; accept that possibility.
With that being said, we must add these comments by Dr. Behe:
“The conclusion that something was designed can be made quite independently of knowledge of the designer. As a matter of procedure, the design must first be apprehended before there can be any further question about the designer. The inference to design can be held with all the firmness that is possible in this world without knowing anything about the designer.”
The designers of this website believe we have enough evidence to claim that we know who the Intelligent Designer is.
If you would dare go further, check out the next page.
Many thanks for reading this far.
Vic Payne