The Teleological Argument: How Do You Explain the Universe’s Complex Design?

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
—Psalm 14:1

When confronted with the evidence for a Creator that comes from the complex design of the universe, the atheist will argue that such design occurred by chance. Yet at the same time he argues for the randomness of the universe, he also bases his theory for the origin of the universe on scientific laws that are based on order, not on chaos.

You can’t have your philosophical cake and eat it too! Either the intricate design found in the universe is the result of random events that may or may not be repeatable, or it is the product of a Creator who designed the universe to run according to observable and repeatable laws. The evidence that the design and order of the universe provide for the existence of God is often called the teleological argument for God (“teleos” means “design”). Where exactly do we see this design that argues for a Creator?

The design found in the universe is not limited to its beginning. The universe has been intricately designed to allow for life on our planet. Scientists estimate there are more than 100 conditions that form an astronomical/biological “welcome mat” for human beings here, making the earth uniquely suited for human life.

How do you explain the design and order in the universe, the earth, the cell, and the human body? Most atheists concede that there is observable design in nature, but they refuse to acknowledge that a design requires a Designer. Instead, they attribute the design in nature to chance. Yet the mathematical probability of an inhabitable earth or a complex cell randomly occurring is effectively zero. What are the chances of both occurring randomly?

The atheist’s answer to that seemingly insurmountable mathematical hurdle is what is called the Multiple Universe Theory, which imagines that our universe is one of an infinite number of universes. In an infinite number of universes, any and every set of conditions will occur. Attempts to write off the complexity of our universe by such preposterous explanations demonstrate how unwilling the atheist is to objectively consider the evidence for the existence of God. As the psalmist said, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1). To ascribe the complex design of the universe and all it contains to random chance is the essence of true foolishness.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “How Can I Know There Is a God?” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2012.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.