Design is When True Understanding is Self-Evident.
Yes! Makes sense to my sleep deprived mind. Now I am going to take a step over the line. Don't worry, if I am wrong I'll jump back really quick.
I want you to believe in God. But DON'T WORRY. If you read this, and you still don't believe, I'm not going to pray for you or come to your house with some literature. That is why a blog is a perfect venue for this discussion. God should have a blog.
So how can my recent epiphany about design be proof there is a God? How indeed. One of my favorite things to talk to atheists about is computers on Mars.
I don't think I've had this conversation more than twice, but it goes something like this:
Suppose we traveled to Mars and when we got there we discovered the ancient remains of a complex computer. One would assume that someone on Mars MADE that computer, right?
Right (with a sideways glance).
Okay, so the human brain, body, and the world we live in is like, a million times more complicated than even the most advanced computer, right?
Right (eying the door).
So why wouldn't you assume somebody MADE US??
But... (Blank stare).
It hasn't worked once. I don't expect it ever will. I don't expect this to work. But I suppose it is a bit like trying to get people to buy a Mac. You can debate and sell them on it but in the end you just have to keep doing cool things with your Mac and eventually one of your friends calls you up and has gone Mac Fanboy on you.
So the whole computers on Mars thing isn't cutting it. For one, it doesn't really capture what it really means to believe in God. I mean, somebody made me... big whoop. Believing that God made you and then took off is almost worse than not believing at all. Talk about abandonment issues.
This is where this whole "design is when true understanding is self-evident" thing fits in. If you're on board with that, then stick with me. Let's imagine that those Martians didn't just make that computer. Let's say they designed it. Let's even say it's a MacBook Pro. Sweet.
And let's think of this world we live in and these bodies we inhabit were designed. Not just made, designed. And designed like MacBook Pros. If design is when true understanding is self-evident then that means God understands us. He truly understands what it is to be human and he empathizes with the human condition.
He isn't this clockmaker who set everything up and then left. He does exist. It is self-evident. If you look at the world around us, all the joy and even the sorrow, you can see evidence of His existence. When I look at my son and daughters. When I think of the love I have for Amy, I can see that this has been designed. Someone had to know what this feeling is in order to create it. That someone was God.
Simple, eh? It is now FOUR IN THE MORNING. I don't know if I am coherent but I have to keep going. So here is the final point I will make:
Imagine there is no God. If life with God is like a MacBook Pro, what is life without a God?
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