No Chance

Posted on by
Reply

The Hurricane violently crashed into the Gulf coast cities, shredding all of man’s designed structures and possessions. All was rubble and chaos; what life remained was battered and stunned into disbelief. The tsunamis in Asia, the tornados in the central U.S., the earthquakes in many parts of the world all leave the physical results of man’s intelligence and design in utter ruin. Little is left. The order in man’s physical life has been obliterated. The forces of nature eliminated the work of the intelligence and the design of man.

Nature by itself designs nothing; it exists for an intelligent being to do the designing. Yet some humans will strongly contend that the universe itself occurred by accident, by chance, without a designer, without an intellect. Contrary to some theories, science, rather than providing proof that the universe and nature are the result of chance, is leading man to realize that chance is not a viable explanation for the creation of the universe. Some recent studies theorize that, even before the beginning of the universe, information existed. Whatever theories may be contemplated in the future, it is becoming increasingly clear that the universe was not created by chance, by some unintelligible forces, controlled by nothing. Would anyone accept the notion that forces of nature, such as hurricanes or tsunamis, through their random tossing and churning of nature could ever produce a computer or an automobile…or any complex item. Of course not! Yet there are those who propose that the universe and nature, with all of their unique and intricate complexities and orderliness, are a product of chance; the product of the churning and tossing of various forces without any intelligence involved.

The chances of the earth being the right size, the proper distance away from the sun, containing water, and the innumerable other conditions for life are extremely minute. The mathematical odds that all of these and other essential conditions happened by chance are astronomical–beyond billions to one!The fact is that the universe is orderly and reliable, indicating an intelligence behind it. Albert Einstein, one of the most acclaimed scientists in history, noted,” “I believe in Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists.” Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, “Why nature is mathematical is a mystery…The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle.”Once one accepts that rules exist, then intelligence must precede the rules. The order in the universe contrasts very vividly with the chaos and destruction evident in the randomness of hurricanes and other natural disasters. If the universe was not designed with intelligence, then one would expect the chaos of unintelligible randomness, but the universe does follow rules and is orderly.

One wonders why many non-believers argue with such disdain against the logic of intelligent design for the universe. Robert Laidlaw’s answer to this question is very perceptive, “God exists whether or not men may choose to believe in Him. The reason why many people do not believe in God is not so much that it is intellectually impossible to believe in God, but because belief in God forces that thoughtful person to face the fact that he is accountable to such a God.” Man does not want to face the fact of his accountability to God.

Some suggested readings;

“Faith and Certitude”, by Thomas Dubay. Fr.Dubay writes a powerful and readable commentary on faith, included within the commentary is a discussion about whether the universe could be a product of chance.

“The Devil’s Delusion, Atheism and its Scientific Pretentions”, by David Berlinksi, who is an agnostic secular Jew. Mr. Berlinski received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and was later a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. He has written several books on mathematics and has taught at universities in the U.S. and France. In “The Devil’s Delusion”, with humor and cogent arguments, Berlinksi notes there is nothing in science proper that undermines religion, that most of the new atheists badly misunderstand even the most rudimentary arguments of theology and are not logically consistent, and finally that much of science has become rather dogmatic, like a new religion.

“From Atheism to Catholicism”, by Kevin Vost, who is a clinical psychologist and a member of Mensa. Mr.Vost subtitled his book, “How scientists and philosophers led me to Truth.”

Man’s Instructions

Posted on by
Reply

“Mom, the clothes dryer is not working. What should I do?, exclaimed the irritated husband to his wife, as he labored to dry the uniforms for his son’s soccer game. “The Instruction Manual is in the cupboard over the dryer; it will provide a guide to the solution of the problem,” his wife retorted. As there is with most manufacturered items, the clothes dryer came with the manufacturers’ instructions on how to set it up, use it, with some basic dos and don’ts added, including a section called Trouble Shooting as a help to solving problems.

There are very few items that do not have the maker’s instructions attached in one way or another to them. Even with those items that do not possess a specific instruction guide, one will know or learn the limits of their use. For example, one would know that a razor used to shave a man’s beard or the hair on a woman’s leg will not cut wood. The razor’s maker did not intend it to be an instrument for cutting wood. Similarly in almost all of life situations, the creator of an item had clearly defined uses in mind for the item. Occasionally, but rarely, alternative uses might be made of an item, but in the end the maker expected his creation to be used according to the instructions which he provided and would disclaim any responsibility for any other use made of the item.

Creators have well defined purposes for their creations. In those instances where there does not exist a document of instruction, it is assumed that the users of the creation would quickly come to understand the principal uses of it. So it also with man and God.

Man is created by God and is designed to be reunited with him in the next life. Man is provided with a list of instructions for understanding the purpose and uses of his life. Occasionally man will misplace and ignore these instructions. However, in order to achieve true happiness, he must rediscover, accept, and apply the maker’s instructions to his life. “Do good and avoid evil” is a basic tenet of God’s instructions. Fortunately God provides , within each of us, more details about His instructions through our reason and the teachings of His church. J. Budziszewski in his book “What We Can’t Not Know” noted that “that law has been rightly defined as an ordinance of reason, for the common good, made by him who has care for the community, and promulgated.” God’s instructions are built into design of man and are part of man’s nature. His instructions are promulgated within each human. These instructions are commonly referred to as the Natural Law. Man cannot claim ignorance to the moral law, the Natural Law of God; it is built into man’s very nature. Do good, avoid evil is a basic command which is supplemented by reason and the Church’s teachings. While man is free to ignore the instructions provided by his maker, he does so at his peril.

God’s laws are embedded in each one of us , not to control us, but rather to clearly show us the way to true happiness and union with him. They are man’s guideposts to true freedom and success.

For anyone interested in investigating in more detail the “maker’s instructions”, J. Budziszewski’s book, “What We Can’t Not Know”, is a very good, readable layman’s discussion of the Natural Law. Also worth reading is Frank Sheed’s work, “A Map of Life.” Both books are avialable on Amazon.com in paperback or as Kindle e-books.