The impotent God of the Anti-Evolutionists
by Glenn R. Morton
One of the things that both young-earth and old earth anti-evolutionists
agree upon is the concept that life did not arise by chance. Some examples
from the literature:
"If chance is our creator, a universal absolute moral code no longer
exists. The question, 'why does God allow it?' immediately becomes
meaningless, a question that has plagued mankind during thousands of years"
~ A. E. Wilder-Smith, The Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution, (San
Diego: Master Books, 1981), p. 5
"By intelligence I mean that the Designer is capable of performing actions
that cannot adequately be explained by appealing to chance - the Designer
can act so as to render the chance hypothesis untenable." ~ William A.
Dembski, "On the Very Possibility of Intelligent Design," in J. P.
Moreland, editor, The Creation Hypothesis, (Downer's Grove: Intervarsity
Press, 1994), p. 116.
'Despite the attempts by liberal theology to disguise the point, the fact
is that no biblically derived religion can really be compromised with the
fundamental assertion of Darwinian theory. Chance and design are
antithetical concepts.'" Henry M. Morris, "The Compromise Road," Impact,
177, March, 1988, p. i,ii
"The theory that a combination of random genetic changes and natural
selection has the power to create complex plants and animals from bacteria
is also more a philosophical doctrine than an empirical one, being
supported only by evidence of relatively trivial variation within
pre-existing types such as is involved in the breeding of domestic
animals." Phillip Johnson, "What (If Anything) Hath God Wrought? Academic
Freedom and the Religious " This paper was published in the Sept/Oct 1995
issue of Academe, the official journal of the American Association of
University Professors. Accessed via,
http://www.mrccos.com/arn/johnson/aaup.htm
If anti-evolutionists merely stated that God controlled the chance and
things evolved there would be no problem. But anti-evolutionists rule out
evolution as being impossible both biblically and due to chance. In fact
they fear chance so much that they say that chance would disprove God.
Norman Geisler states:
"Chance, conceived either as the lack of a cause or as a cause in itself, is
incompatible with theism. As long as chance rules, . Arthur Koestler noted,
"God is an anachronism" (cited in Sproul, 3). The existence of chance tips
God off his cosmic throne. God and chance are mutually exclusive. If
chance exists, God is not in complete control of the universe. There cannot
even exist an intelligent Designer." (Geisler N.L.,"Encyclopedia of
Christian Apologetics" 1999, p125).
and Ken Ham actually says that evolution in any form is incompatible with
the Bible.
"Worse still, theistic evolutionists (those who believe in both evolution
and God) are actively helping to undermine the basis of the Gospel. As the
psalmist asks in Psalm 11:3 (NIV), 'When the foundations are being
destroyed what can the righteous do?' If the basis of the Gospel is
destroyed, the structure built on that foundation (the Christian church)
will largely collapse. If Christians wish to preserve the structure of
Christianity, they must protect its foundation and therefore actively
oppose evolution." ~ Ken Ham, The Lie, (San Diego: Master Books, 1987), p. 76
Sproul states:
"It is not necessary for chance to rule in order to supplant God. Indeed
chance requires little authority at all if it is to depose God; all it
needs to do
the job is to exist. The mere existence of chance is enough to rip God from
his cosmic throne. Chance does not need to rule; it does not need to be
sovereign. If it exists as a mere impotent, humble servant, it leaves God not
only out of date, but out of a job. If chance exists in its frailest possible
form, God is finished. Nay, he could not be finished because that would
assume he once was. To finish something implies that it at best was once
active or existing. If chance exists in any size, shape, or form, God cannot
exist. The two are mutually exclusive. If chance existed, it would destroy
God's sovereignty. If God is not sovereign, he is not God. If he is not God,
he simply is not. If chance is, God is not. If God is, chance is not. The two
cannot coexist by reason of the impossibility of the contrary." (Sproul R.C.,
"Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and Cosmology",
Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1994, p3).
I interpret these and similar statements to mean that God can not work
through chance. But this is an unbiblical position as we shall see.
To claim that Design and Chance are antithetical, to claim that all that is
needed to rip God from the universe (as Sproul stupidly does) means one
thing. God can not control chance. If He could, then He would be able to
use chance as part of His design if He so chose. In turn, this means that
God is unable to work with chance. If God is unable to work with Chance,
then God is not omnipotent! The anti-evolutionists are advocating an
impotent God, one who snivels in a corner when faced with mean and nasty
Chance. This position that God can't use chance to create the universe and
life actually means that Chance is greater than God. And if, as the
anti-evolutionists say, Chance is greater than God, then why should we not
worship the greater power in the universe? Why should we not then worship
Chance rather than the impotent God of the Anti-evolutionists?
Sproul's claim that Chance would dethrone God is a CLEAR admission that
chance is greater than God! Sproul is afraid of chance because of what it
would do to his impotent God!!!!! Sproul's God is impotent. Geisler's
statement that God is inconsistent with with chance means that God is
impotent in the face of chance. Geisler's God is therefore NOT omnipotent!
The Christian God commands not only the universe but chance as well! The
Christian God is OMNIPOTENT!!!! The only logical conclusion is that
anti-evolutionary christians are not worshipping an omnipotent God but an
impotent one.
The view of the incompatibility of Chance and Divine activities ignores
abundant evidence of God using chance in the Bible. Here are some examples:
The role of dice is crude and lacking direction, yet God allowed the
disciples to choose Judas' replacement via the casting of lots (Act 1:26)!
If God could condone chance in the selection of a disciple, then He most
assuredly could use it for creating the diversity of life we see!
[Ah but I forgot, Sproul claims that chance will dethrone God so chance
must have chosen Matthias]
Lev 16:8 God had the Israelites cast lots for the goat to
sacrifice.
[Oh yeah Geisler says God doesn't exist if the goat is chosen by chance]
In Josh 7:14 God told Joshua : In the morning therefore ye shall be brought
according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD
taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which
the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the
LORD shall take shall come man by man.
(Comment: The word 'take' has the connotation of being taken by
lot(chance). God here uses chance to detect Achan's sin.)
Josh 18:6, Joshua said he would cast lots for the land in the presence of
the Lord.
Josh 18:8 Joshua cast lots. (Comment: if God couldn't control chance, then
the land was divided in a way that God couldn't foreknow and thus it was
not according to his will).
1 chr 24 1-5 David cast lots to chose the order of service for the
sanctuary officials.
Jonah 1:7 Jonah was selected by chance to be thrown overboard! Obviously
Jonah was chosen by God.
[Ah but I forgot, Sproul claims that chance will dethrone God so chance
must have chosen Jonah. Sproul says that God isn't compatible with chance.]
What a sniveling coward Sproul's God is--afraid of chance for fear of being
dethroned.
God uses chance.
Some authorities believe that the urim and thummin of the ancient priest
was a chance device which was used to discern God's will.
Exodus 28:30 (NIV) Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece,
so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the
LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the
Israelites over his heart before the LORD.
If God can use chance to select a priest, make decisions and replace an
apostle, why can God not use chance in evolution? Many christians think
that this would be a horrible thing, yet the Bible clearly indicates that
that is exactly what has been done in the past.
To believe in a God who can't use chance is to believe in an impotent God.
But to believe in an omnipotent God means that God controls chance and thus
that He can control the random mutations. In biological systems there is
what is known as a phase or sequence space. God can control the outcome of
chance operations because He designed the properties of phase spaces. This
will get to the issue that Berlinski raised in the PBS debate by asking how
many changes are required for speciation. Kenneth Miller replied:
"Recent studies of speciation in sunflowers have shown conclusively that a
new species can be established in terms of speciation isolation mechanisms
with as few as ten genetic changes." At the end of this note on phase
spaces, I cite another example of speciation and major morphological change
requiring only 8 genetic changes.
**start note***
So many Christians, like me, were taught from our earliest days in the
faith that Darwinian mechanisms are unable to cause major innovations. A
good friend of mine Ray Bohlin wrote a book entitled "The Natural Limits
to Biological
Change". I simply don't see this limit everyone wants to believe in. Here
is why. Consider the sequence (allowing only A,T,C,G in the positions)
A-T-G-G-C-A-T-G-C-A-C-A-T-T-G-G-A-C-T-A-G-T-C-T-A-...
If I start iteratively and randomly mutating the positions, and end up with
a sequence
A-C-G-G-C-T-T-C-A-T-C-A-T-G-G-C-A-C-T-A-G-T-C-T-A-...
where is the limit to this procedure? Mathematically I can change FROM any
sequence TO any other sequence by random replacement. There is no limit
to the sequence I can generate in this fashion.
You will recognize this as DNA sequences.
Now for your objection that I know you are making to the above. You will
say that 99.9% of all sequences won't work and are fatal. That is true.
But sequences have associated with them a mathematical object known as a
phase space or a sequence space. Each nucleotide position becomes a
dimension in the phase space. The sequence A-T represents a point in a two
dimensional phase space like this (I hope transmission of this drawing
doesn't mess this up):
*A-T-C-G
A .
T
C
G
The sequence A-A is a point in the upperleft corner of the diagram and G-G
is a point in the lower left. There are sixteen possibilities and 16
points in the space. A 3 unit long nucleotide has a 3D phase space
associated with it for a total of 64 points. A 4 unit long DNA molecule
has 264 points in its phase space; a 5 unit long molecule has 1024 points.
When we go to longer sequences we get a billion or more dimensional phase
space. The human and chimpanzee DNA are 3.5 billion units long with 4^3.5
billion points in it. Most of the points in the phase space don't produce
living creatures.
But phase spaces are like sponges, with caverns and connecting passageways
which represent sequences that allow a living creature to be created. Like
below. The * is a solid wall the . is sequence that gives rise to life.
The phase space of a living system would look like a "Hunt the
Wumpus" game board:
********************************************************************
****.X.**********************....***********************************
*****...*****************........***********************************
***.....*************.......***..******........*********************
*****.***************.**********........****........****************
*****.***************.***********..**************............*******
*****......**********.************..**********************.....*****
******........*******.*************..*********************......****
****.....************.**************..***********************......*
******...********.........***********.......**************.....*****
********...........***........*********.....******************.*****
***********..************...************......****************.*****
************...*********.....**************....***************.*****
**....********..**********...***************...***************.*****
**..Z..*****...************.**********************************.*****
***...*****.....***********.*******************************.......**
*********......************.**************.......*********....Y....*
*********.....*************.*********......*****.************....***
***********.***************...........**********.*************....**
*******......************.....******************..*.....********...*
*********......*********.......******************......*************
********************************************************************
The phase space looks like a cavern system with passageways. The major
caverns are the stable species the passageways are the rapidly traversed
regions. The caverns explain the stasis of species and the narrow
passageways explains the punctuated part of evolution. By random mutation
of sequences one can find a path between position X and Y. There is no
barrier or limit to change. All intervening positions allow for living
organisms. There are isolated places like that marked Z which have no entry
way and they may never have an organism with that genome. In that case
there is a barrier and I can not go from X to Z.
In the above example, if I did my counting correctly, only 22% of the
locations (or sequences) allow for life, yet there are valid pathways
between the locations.
Thus to draw the point bluntly. Chimpanzee and Human each have approx. 3.5
billion nucleotide positions. We share 98% of our DNA and thus occupy two
closely neighboring caverns in DNA phase space.
Now, where does the information come from for these major changes? God
designed them into the phase spaces!!!!! Life is not creating these major
innovations. Life is DISCOVERYING what God has already created! If you
start a creature with our DNA you get a human because our cluster of points
is marked 'human' in the phase space. If you use a similar length DNA but
with 1-2% changes, you can get a chimpanzee because those cluster of points
in the phase space are marked 'chimpanzee'.
Is this a purposiveless view of nature? Does this view destroy God's
control? Of course, not. God designed the phase spaces and in doing so,
God was essentially laying down a nearly undetectable railroad track which
would lead from one animal to the next, not according to an unplanned
sequence of events but according to His foreknowledge. In other words, God
rigged the roulette wheel, BY DESIGN.
What experimental evidence is there of this? Lots. 3 or 4 mutations
perform most of the physical transformation between two species of
monkeyflower. These 3-4 mutations make most of the changes required to
change the flower from a bumblebee designed flower to a hummingbird
designed flower. See H.D. Bradshaw Jr., S. M. Wilbert, K. G. Otto and D.
W.Schemske, "Genetic mapping of Floral Traits Associated with Reproductive
isolation in monkeyflowers (Mimulus)," Nature, 376 Aug. 31, 1995, p. 762-765
***end note***
Is there design? Yes. Is it design as most apologists claim? No. God
uses chance to create us, to pick disciples, to choose land etc. My God can
controll chance--I guess Stephen's god isn't that powerful. It is a shame.
For the anti-evolutionists to constantly emphasise that God can't overpower
chance means that they don't believe in an omnipotent God. If He were
omnipotent, He would be able to overpower chance.
glenn
Foundation, Fall and Flood
Adam, Apes and Anthropology
http://www.flash.net/~mortongr/dmd.htm
Lots of information on creation/evolution