Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Death

QUESTION: Intelligent Design vs. Evolution – Bad News for the Culture of Death

ANSWER:

Although the outward, visible features of design can tell us important things about an object’s purpose, they are not always the whole story.

Imagine a native of a primitive culture happening upon a DVD loaded with Microsoft Office left by a modern-day explorer. The thin, flexible, perfectly circular disc of foreign construction would lead the native to conclude it was of unnatural, maybe supernatural origin. Yet nothing about the appearance of the DVD would reveal its rich information content, much less the purpose for which the information was intended.

The same is true of human beings. Although outward appearances may tell us a lot about human nature, there is much more than meets the eye.

Intelligent Design vs. Evolution – People Have Value
Giving consideration only to the material dimension, humans share a genetic code that, while variable from person to person, is distinct from all other living creatures, both in its internal structure and in its external, visible expression. It is the recognition of human exceptionality that inclines most people to acknowledge the superior worth of a person over everything else; even another product of design, like a priceless work of art.

Yet many folks who would never think of discarding an irreparably damaged Monet, have few qualms “discarding” a person who is unborn and unwanted or who has been irreparably damaged through injury or impaired through the onset of age.

The design inference suggests that all persons—even the least-developed and most-infirmed among us—have intrinsic value, worthy of vigorous protections against forces that would threaten their lives and welfare. And that is bad news for the culture of death.

Compliments of Regis Nicoll. This article first appeared on BreakPoint at www.breakpoint.org.

Regis Nicoll is a Centurion of Prison Fellowship’s Wilberforce Forum. He is a columnist for Breakpoint, Salvo Magazine, and Crosswalk and writes for Prison Fellowship’s blog, The Point.He also publishes a free weekly commentary addressing the pressing issues of the day.