Who Is Our "Intelligent Designer"? Part 5

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

The enormous complexity of living things was indeed “a black box” for Charles Darwin and his contemporaries. This has been carefully explained by Michael Behe in his book Darwin’s Black Box (New York: The Free Press, 1996).

But Professor Behe, a Roman Catholic theistic evolutionist (cf. ibid., p. 239), like most Intelligent Design theorists, is amazingly naïve concerning the ultimate success of their campaign against materialistic evolutionism: “I remain optimistic that the scientific community will eventually accept intelligent design, even if the acceptance is discreet and muted. The reason for optimism is the advance of science itself, which almost every day discovers new intricacies in nature, fresh reasons for recognizing the design inherent in life and the universe” (in Signs of Intelligence, p. 101).

While he is certainly correct about Darwin, the truth of the matter is that no one even today can fathom the significance of the complexities of the universe without God’s help! In the central chapter of the book of Job we read: “But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living … It is hid from the eyes of all living … God understandeth the way thereof; and He knoweth the place thereof … And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding’ ” (Job 28:12, 13, 21, 23, 28 KJV).

Apart from the revelation which God has given to us of Himself in the Bible, everything in the universe remains a “black box.” Not even the Intelligent Design Movement can penetrate this box, because they have officially denied the Lord Jesus Christ His rightful place in their thinking, and thereby have rejected “all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2-3).

But who is the “god”—”the intelligent designer”—Intelligent Design theorists point to? Behe asserts, “While I argue for design, the question of the identity of the designer is left open. Possible candidates for the role of designer include: the God of Christianity; an angel—fallen or not; Plato’s demi-urge; some mystical new age force; space aliens from
Alpha Centauri; time travelers; or some utterly unknown intelligent being” (in Intelligent Design, p. 251).

When offered such choices to replace their materialistic reductionism, will many scientists today reject all of the false “intelligent designers” and turn to Christ as “the way, the truth, and the life,” and wholeheartedly agree with Him that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6)? No, this will not happen.

Instead, “in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

Can we take seriously, then, the prediction of Dr. Kenneth Poppe, executive director of the International Foundation for Science Education by Design, that “in no more than ten years [from 2006], maybe as few as five, strict Darwinism will be a minority belief not only among people in society but also among science researchers and science educators. Within this time frame you will see a revolution where more and more politicians and board members vote to allow or encourage—in some cases even require—public school science teachers to cover some form of alternatives to natural evolution in their classes … It is time for natural evolution to wave the white flag of surrender” (Reclaiming Science From Darwinism [Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2006], pp. 289-90).

This spirit of triumphalism that pervades Intelligent Design literature is dangerous. It ignores God’s written revelation concerning the true condition of the human heart or mind, and the absolute necessity of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit of God through regeneration.

Furthermore, there can be no waving of “the white flag of surrender” on the part of materialistic evolutionism until the Second Coming of Christ. The Lord Jesus did not teach His disciples to pray for a widespread recognition of an unidentified Designer. Instead, He told His disciples to pray “after this manner”—“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-10).

This is not defeatism. It is divine realism. What kind of a kingdom will this be? Until the kingdom comes, how can we really help people who grope in the darkness of Darwinian evolutionism?

Dr. John C. Whitcomb has been a professor of Old Testament and theology for more than 50 years and is widely recognized as a leading biblical scholar. He taught at Grace Theological Seminary (Winona Lake, IN) from 1951-1990 and gained much recognition for his work on The Genesis Flood (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company), which he co-authored with Dr. Henry Morris in 1961. That book has been credited as one of the major catalysts for the modern Biblical creationism movement. His ministry homepage is Whitcomb Ministries, and his sermons are available at SermonAudio.com.