Two Different Discussions

I have been following a fascinating dialogue between Steve Meyer, author of Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, and Dennis Venema, a senior fellow with the BioLogos Foundation and an associate professor at Trinity Western University. 

Steve is a leading proponent of Intelligent Design (ID), while Dennis strongly believes God developed life through the process of evolutionary change. Dr. Venema does not believe that ID is scientifically defensible in explaining the presence of man or any other life form. It could be said that both of these men believe in God, and both would acknowledge that He is the “cause” for this universe and all life within it.

So how could two believers disagree so adamantly about how man came to be? 

First, I think Steve’s book Signature in the Cell raises valid and philosophically defensible arguments that some form of “intelligence” was required and integral to the creation of life on earth. Meyer’s principal intent was to explain the origin of life, not the development of life. Venema argues that Meyer’s book fails to properly address biological evolution, but to me this great book is not really about Darwinian evolution. Instead it proposes a logical explanation as to how mind-boggling complex bio-molecules (DNA and RNA) came to be. You see, Signature in the Cell is about origins and not development.

As far as importance, origins trumps the development process. In other words, acknowledging where we came from and why we exist is far more important than how it all happened. To me, this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. The fact that complex bio-molecules like DNA and RNA just happened to exist at just the right time and under just the right conditions following the formation of planet earth is nothing short of a miracle. And yes, I believe our origins were by design and that this designer must have employed a level of intelligence beyond comprehension. As for the process of developing multiple life forms – that is a separate discussion altogether that will be debated well into the future. 

But make no mistake, life was a deliberate design. Now we must ask ourselves the question as to why we were deliberately designed and for what purpose.