Re: [asa] God as Cause

> In the tightening of the wrench, it is clear that it does not happen on its
> own, but what about in the case of natural processes. Where is the place
> for God. The atheistic scientist can explain the "natural tightening"
> without invoking a craftsman. How does God "use" the physical laws and
> properties? This is what is unclear to me.

The analogy of the wrench has its limits, since the wrench exists
regardless of the human user, whereas the existence and function of
all things depends on God. One important parallel between the use of
the wrench and God's working in ordinary means such as natural laws is
that science doesn't tell us about purpose. One could scientifically
determine that the use of the wrench made a bolt tighter, and perhaps
some further measurements about the physical implications for the
larger structure, or measure the biochemical and physical processes
that cause the person's arm to move, but not, e.g., that a tire was
being tightly fastened in preparation for a long vacation with a lot
of driving. Determining the latter requires asking the worker.
Similarly, one can determine that the process of biological evolution
has led to the appearance of a species with some remarkable mental
abilities, but why God wanted to create humans (or even that that was
a goal and not merely the way things happened to work) cannot be
determined without information from Him.

In other ways, God's working in nature is a bit more like the
watchmaker analogy in that creation functions without a continuous
direct action equivalent to the person turning the wrench. Without
losing sight of God's continual involvement, we can still make
immediate cause and effect descriptions only mentioning the physical
factors. Ultimately, the precise laws and parameters of creation are
determined by God, a bit like the watchmaker making all the pieces
just right and setting it to the right time. Like the wrench
metaphor, the watchmaker one contains no good analogue of God's
intimate involvement in all that happens. Perhaps the analogies of an
author or other artist are more helpful in that regard.

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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