God and design in nature

Abstract

Many people intuitively believe that if God really exists and has created all things ex nihilo while continually sustaining and guiding everything in existence, then somehow, the divine imprint must be clearly and distinctly discernible everywhere in the very processes and fabric of nature. Indeed, to the first „wisdom lovers‟ of Greece, nature appeared as the wonderful handiwork of a Mind. The hallmark of the hierarchical cosmos they perceived was one reflecting ordo Dei, with all the diverse elements in harmonious and purposeful motion towards perfection. Scholasticism, especially through St Thomas, Christianized these ideas and, in Aquinas‟ „fifth Way‟ produced a robust teleological argument for God‟s existence, illustrative also of God‟s all-caring involvement in our lives. With the irruption of modern science, the potential for discerning design in nature keeps reaching new heights whilst, however, causality comes to be increasingly seen from the truncated scientific-empirical perspective. For centuries, various epistemological factors converged in progressively discrediting long-held theistic beliefs in societies. Eventually scepticism was the unmaking of the great Scholastic dream, with design in nature being entirely linked to „blind forces‟. Yet the design argument still lives on, and in these last few decades it is stronger than ever, as new, incredible evidence from science keeps filling people‟s minds and hearts with new vistas and hopes.