Unlocking the Mystery of Life

Questions and Quotes

Before seeing this documentary, had you ever heard of the theory of intelligent design?

According to the film, what are some of the scientific problems with Darwin’s theory?

1. The "irreducible complexity" of systems like the bacterial flagellar motor, which like the mouse trap, doesn’t function until all of its parts are present, is just one example of a biological system that could not have been produced step by tiny step over time.

2. The presence of complex information in living things raises the question: Where did the information come from? No natural source for producing the information in living things is presently known…only intelligence explains the library of information inside every living cell.

For many, Darwinism provides the justification for scientific materialism…the idea that matter is all there is and that life arose by chance. How could scientific materialism impact our view of life’s purpose and meaning? How could it impact the way we live?

What are the implications of materialism and intelligent design for the sanctity of life and basic human rights?

Before science discovered idea of irreducible complexity, Charles Darwin said, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possible have been formed by numerous, successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."

Within a few years after co-authoring Biological Predestination which presented the theory of chemical evolutionary origin of life, Dr. Dean Kenyon began to doubt his theory and said, "We have not the slightest chance of a chemical evolutionary origin for even the simplest of cells…so the concept of the intelligent design of life became immensely attractive to me…"

How do we determine that intelligence was involved when we look at an object or event? Dr. William Dembski postulates that two requirements exist:

1. High improbability AND

2. Specificity (Recognizable pattern)

Philip Johnson says, "Good science is observation of the facts."

Dr. Michael Behe, who coined the term "irreducible complexity" says, "The idea of intelligent design is a completely scientific one. It might have religious implications, but it does not depend on religious premises."

Dr. Paul Nelson concludes, "It’s a powerful idea that our universe is rational and comprehensible, underwritten by a Supreme Intelligence that meant for this world to be understood…it underwrites the program of science because you can now go out and look at the world and it will make sense…"

Dr. Stephen Meyer concludes, "During the 19th century, scientists believed that there were two fundamental entities: Matter and Energy. But as we enter the 21st century, there’s a third fundamental entity that science has had to recognize and that is Information…."

 

Suggested Videos/DVDs

The Privileged Planet: The Case for Purpose in the Universe (Illustra Media)

Icons of Evolution (Cold Water Media)

 

Suggested Readings

A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer.

Darwin on Trial by Phillip Johnson.

The Design Revolution by William Dembski, PhD, foreword by Chuck Colson.

Doubts about Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design by Tom Woodward, PhD.

The Universe Next Door: A Worldview Catalog by James Sire.

What’s Darwin Got to Do With It? by Robert Newman and John Wiester.

 

Suggested Websites

C.S. Lewis Society Online www.apologetics.org

Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture www.discovery.org/csc

Evolution News & Views www.evolutionnews.org

Illustra Media Online www.illustramedia.com

Leadership University (an online apologetics ministry of Campus Crusade) www.leaderu.com

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