By David Faust

The philosopher Cicero wasn’t a follower of God, but he had a logical mind. In about 45 BC Cicero wrote, “When you see a statue or a painting, you recognize the exercise of art; when you observe from a distance the course of a ship, you do not hesitate to assume that its motion is guided by reason . . . ; how then can it be consistent to suppose that the world, which includes both the works of art in question, the craftsmen who made them, and everything else besides, can be devoid of purpose and of reason?”

Good questions! Believers in God reasonably conclude that the Creator “set the earth on its foundations” (Psalm 104:5). Did the earth’s atmosphere just happen to contain the right percentage of oxygen to sustain life? Is it mere good fortune that our bodies are equipped with noses, lungs, and bronchial tubes to use that oxygen?

By Plan or By Chance?

The psalmist prayed, “All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time” (v. 27). Even the way we digest our daily bread points toward God. Did taste buds happen by chance? Your body not only absorbs nutrients from food, it allows you to enjoy the flavors, textures, and aromas of sirloin steak and chocolate cake. Why is stomach acid so strong it can dissolve metal, yet most of the time it doesn’t burn a hole in your stomach?

Eardrums and auditory nerves enable you to hear a child laugh or a bird sing. Are these fine-tuned gifts the fortuitous results of unguided evolution? Without complex interactions between the retina, the optic nerve, and the rods and cones in your eyes, you wouldn’t be able to read these words, admire a rainbow, or study a loved one’s face. Your heart pumps 70 times a minute for decades without faltering. Your tongue forms words and your brain can understand them. Your kidneys filter poison from your blood while allowing nutrients to remain. Your sense of touch enables you to enjoy a summer breeze and return a friend’s embrace.

Intelligent Design or Incredible Luck?

Even the tiniest living cell demonstrates irreducible complexity. As Eric Metaxas pointed out in the Wall Street Journal, “There are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met” or human existence would be impossible. Metaxas asks, “Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions actually require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?”

It took centuries for humans to learn how to fly. How could bumblebees, butterflies, bats, and birds invent this ability on their own? What about the social behaviors of ants and bees, or the migratory patterns of birds and fish? From the underwater song of the humpback whale to the acrobatic flight of the hummingbird, nature bears the fingerprints of an intelligent God. “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all” (Psalm 104:24).

If scientific evidence doesn’t prove God exists, doesn’t it point in that direction? Does it make sense to believe the universe with all its complexity was produced by the impersonal plus time plus incredible luck? Did life come into being without God’s creative power and providential guidance? Not a chance.

David Faust serves as the Associate Minister at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2013, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.

As you apply today’s Scripture study to everyday life, read Engage Your Faith by David Faust and the correlating Evaluation Questions.

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