INTELLIGENT DESIGN AND SOPHISTICATED PERCEPTUAL SYSTEMS

Do we have any evidence that natural (unintelligent) forces/laws cause anything at all? No! The naturalist most commonly offers the “evidence” of crystals and snowflakes as the products of natural causation. However, these examples do not point to natural causation (apart from ID). Why not? Snowflakes and crystals are merely the products or outgrowths of the chemical designs already inherent in them. Where does this design come from? I think that it comes from the same Designer who had designed the dragon fish.

The dragon fish lives in almost complete darkness at the depth of 1,500 to 4,500 feet. However, this dragon has a peculiar ability. He not only can see red light because of the chlorophyll in his eyes, he can also emit red light like a laser-pointer to locate his prey. In Have you Considered, Bruce Malone explains:

·       It pulses far red light which allows it to see its prey without itself being seen…like a night vision scope on a sniper’s rifle.

To accomplish this, the dragon fish needs three sophisticated abilities – to see the light, to create it, and to project it out to discover prey. With only one of these systems, this dragon will starve. However, there is no reasonable natural explanation for how these three systems can all be in place simultaneously.

Besides, such an involved natural explanation does not seem likely in view of the fact that there is no evidence at all that anything is naturally caused, even the simplest thing.

Perhaps all creatures have equally astonishing survival abilities. Malone offers the example of the black fire beetle, who must lay her eggs “in the bark of still smoldering wood.” Right after a fire, her eggs must hatch and “burrow into the tree, free to munch away on trees without interference from the tree’s protective defenses.” But how can the beetle immediately find a still-smoldering tree? According to Malone:

·       On the underside of these beetles are tiny pits equipped with infrared radiation detection sensors. This infrared detection system can detect the invisible heat rays given off by a forest fire up to 50 miles away.

How many elements are necessary to make such a system function? The expectant mother first needs to “know” that she needs a smoldering tree in which to deposit her eggs. Then she has to be able to detect its whereabouts and accurately follow the “scent,” even through different terrains and weather conditions. Then she has to know how to deposit her eggs during the right time slot. If just one of these factors is not taken into account, her progeny will not survive.

Nevertheless, the naturalist is convinced that all of these systems, no matter how intricate, can be flawlessly designed and functioning simultaneous, all by chance. Can the naturalist rule out intelligent design? Not in the slightest! Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop him from asserting his naturalistic philosophy.