Naturalistically, a physical system will always come to equilibrium with the passage of time. Darwinian evolution maintains that certain configurations of matter will “evolve” towards states that remain far from equilibrium. With regard to living organisms, the relevant “states” pertain not just to energy, but to particle configurations that are specific, complex, and functional.
As I discussed in a recent Science and Culture article, natural processes cannot increase the information content of a closed system beyond its initial content. And, since the entire non-living universe contains far less information content than a single living cell, life presents an enigma to materialism. If living things are products of natural forces, their existence as specific, complex states of matter violates known principles of nature. If living things are inherently “supernatural,” then their existence is logically defensible given the input of design information from a transcendent intelligent source.
A Rudimentary Acquaintance with Biology
Whether or not one understands the basis in the laws of physics that undermines the possibility of natural abiogenesis, even a rudimentary acquaintance with biology reveals the fact the life is dependent upon molecular and cellular-level complexity that makes the most advanced engineering accomplishments of intelligent human inventors seem trivial.
…in order to stay alive, humans and other organisms have to overcome a myriad of engineering challenges. Just how is this done? And more to the point, is an evolutionary process capable of producing the solutions to these many challenges?
It is also no secret that human engineers rely upon sophisticated principles of design (standard engineering principles, SEP), and that living systems manifest these principles par excellence! In a review by Emily Reeves of a publication titled, “The Cell Embodies Standard Engineering Principles,” we read,
[Gregory] Reeves and [Curtis] Hrischuk say that any complex system must adhere to SEPs. If it doesn’t, the outcome is catastrophic. Biological systems, which are more complex than any engineered system today, are not exceptions.
Given the obvious specified complexity of the matter of which living things are composed, and the universally understood phenomenon of the natural decay and degradation of complex systems toward undifferentiated sludge, it seems that any attempt to supply a naturalistic account of life ought to provide a detailed, step-by-step explanation of the putative processes.
Terms of Convenience
Instead, when describing complex biological states, many often resort to using convenience terms, such as “evolved,” to fill in oceanic gaps in their knowledge of how natural processes could have resulted in such conditions lying far from configurational equilibrium. The imaginative appeal of Darwin’s theory of natural selection has piled up into such a cloud of evolution delusion that many researchers hardly give it a second thought.
However, those who thoughtfully consider the design complexity found within living organisms have affirmed that life presents us with optimized structures and systems that contradict the universal decay tendencies of natural processes. As noted by world-renowned design engineer Professor Stuart Burgess,
If you read books on evolution by its public defenders, notice how they never give detailed scientific explanations for the origin of subsystems like the blood circulation system or the linkage mechanism in the knee. Their explanations are often little better than “natural selection did it”….Such statements are statements of faith in magic; they are not science.1
The teaching of evolution in public schools has done disservice to millions of people, inculcating them with the hazy notion of evolution, devoid of details, and encouraging uncritical belief in a process known to defy established laws of physics. The willingness of people to believe the storyline of evolution belies the all-too-common human propensity for self-actualization. However, the cost of supplanting faith in God as Creator with faith in the forces of nature is to reduce all life, including our own, to the level of ultimate meaninglessness.
“Precisely the Properties We Should Expect”
John West in his new book, Endowed by Our Creator, cites a 2016 survey of American atheists and agnostics in which the majority of atheists “agreed with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins that ‘the universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.’”2
If the accurate observation of the fundamental laws of nature supports the proposed process of evolution, then it deserves serious consideration. But if not, let’s dump the “gloss”ary of overused words related to “evolution” and “evolved.” Notable researchers have commented that these terms serve no practical purpose in research publications. Burgess quotes3 an article by chemistry professor Philip Skell, entitled, “Why Do We Invoke Darwin?” Skell queried research biologists as to the utility of Darwinism:
Here, as elsewhere, I found that Darwin’s theory had provided no discernible guidance, but was brought in, after the breakthroughs, as an interesting narrative gloss.
Likewise, in the field of medical research, eminent neurosurgeon Michael Egnor comments,
Darwinian principles of evolution are not invoked by medical researchers because Darwinian principles contribute nothing to medical research, and medical researchers are relatively insulated from the career-threatening ideological pressure that permeates evolutionary biology.
If the concepts of Darwinism are inconsistent with the fundamental workings of nature, and if evolutionary jargon serves mainly as an ideological veneer in describing biological processes, wouldn’t the cause of science be better served without them? If the fog lifts and unfathomable mystery is seen to attend the grandeur of life, our hearts may be more inclined to worship God as Creator, rather than creation as god.
Notes
- Stuart Burgess, Ultimate Engineering: An Engineer Investigates the Biomechanics of the Human Body, (Seattle: Discovery Institute Press, 2026), p. 291.
- John West, Endowed by Our Creator: The Bible, Science, and the Battle for America’s Soul, (Seattle: Discovery Institute Press, 2026), p. 79.
- Stuart Burgess, Ultimate Engineering, p. 314.