I was recently invited to give a talk on intelligent design to a college philosophy class on Darwin, Marx, and Freud. I have known the professor for a number of years and had presented to his classes before. He usually has had me come in and present the case for intelligent design (ID) at the start of the section on Darwinism. The professor is an atheist but interested in discussing various views. I can only imagine what he has to say about my presentations afterwards; no doubt he tries to counter my arguments. Since I only had one chance to speak to these students, I wanted to present them with what I considered to be the best evidences for theism. This article is based on that talk. The discussion here will be brief and in everyday language. References are provided for those who wish to learn more.

The title of my talk was “Science that Points to a Creator.” First I set the ground rules for investigation in the historical sciences (geology, archeology, cosmology, history of life, etc.) by discussing Causality and Inference to the Best Explanation. Then I presented six topics that point to a creator: The Universe Had a Beginning, The Fine-Tuning of Physics, The Origin of Life, The Origin of Phyla, The Origin of Humans, and Worldviews and Morality. Any one of these evidences suggests a designer. Taken together, they form a strong reason to believe in a supernatural creator. Here are the topics.

Figure 1 - “Tidens naturlære fig40” by Morten Bisgaard. From the book Tidens naturlære 1903 by Poul la Cour.   By Morten Bisgaard [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tidens_naturl%C3%A6re_fig40.png"

One's perspective makes a big difference in how one sees the function of the human body. An evolutionist looks at the human body as a collection of organs pieced together by random processes selected for survival by the challenges of the environment, while the creationist sees marvelous evidence for design and information that shout evidence of an omniscient creator.

Evolution theoretically occurs when mutations result in new traits. Advantageous traits increase an organism’s chance of survival and reproduction, thus preserving the trait. A trait that is neutral may or may not be preserved. Numerous traits are selected because their advantages for survival lead to the evolution of new organs and new species according to the theory. This is called natural selection.

REPORT FROM THE Intelligent Design Conference 
 Highlands, North Carolina, June 24-26, 2004

Setting and Overview

The conference was held at the Community Bible Church in Highlands North Carolina situated in the beautiful Smokey Mountain area surrounded by clouds, forest, and waterfalls (website: http://www.idconference.org/). My daughter, Holly, and I attended. I took a digital camera and made a few pictures some of which are included below.

Figure 1

Folks at the church did an excellent job planning and orchestrating the conference of 550 attendees from around the US and several foreign countries.

Figure 2 - Community Bible Church

Their work was truly a labor of love which was two years in the making. The beautiful main sanctuary of the church was used for the presentations.