Once again, we are grateful to God for your friendship and support of this ministry. Please allow me to share some personal thoughts with you regarding the mystery of God's creation -- encompassing all that exists -- in the context of humankind's constant search for the truth that will ultimately set us all free.
For those in peril due to their proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ in restrictive regions throughout the world, and for all of us who serve the Lord and His afflicted ones in and through His Canadian Christian church, there are many dark forces working against God's truths which are intended to instruct, guide and motivate us. By such forces, we are thereby obstructed from the breathtaking vision of His Kingdom, as the enemy seeks to confuse us with lies and distortions that lead us away from the "cross."
Accordingly, there's another or alternate reality emerging as the media becomes the battleground for truth. It is deceptively compelling and alluring…leading many poor souls into a vulnerability that makes them less equipped to withstand the attacks of persecution and martyrdom wrought upon them for loving Jesus.
Understanding the beauty and depth of God's creation also helps us to know more of His purpose for our lives, and the spiritual forces of which we can avail ourselves to come against the strongholds of truth that daily confront us.
As Christians, we may have different views on the subject regarding the process and timing of God's creation of all matter and life. Despite many advanced disciplines, we now also grapple with some fundamental questions that can give rise to tremendous turmoil for those of the sciences who struggle with the concept of "faith." For example, the issue of Darwinism versus Intelligent Design still arises on occasion to the forefront, and I can't help but wonder if this issue -- like many other modern-day ideologies -- has now become divisive in the hands of many special interest groups. Recent rhetoric in both Canadian and U.S. media highlights an over-stimulated and disproportionately energized dialogue on the subject, which not only risks throwing out the ‘baby and the bathwater' but potentially the entire plumbing system! In the process, we may be missing a valuable opportunity for the development of the same young minds that the opposing poles purport to "protect."
Most modern critics of the Intelligent Design (ID) theory express biases that are blatantly and liberally enshrined in their arguments, often citing the lack of pure "science" as a qualifier to reduce the theory of such design to a mere Creationist myth. As a follower of the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, this reality impacts my thinking on this subject. It seems at times, however, that the ID critic's most favoured default position is that of maligning and mocking the "fundamentalist Christian" and the God who is central to their faith, without allowing the same scrutiny to be applied to Darwin's theory as is apparently required of ID theorists!
I find the double standards riddled throughout this entire debate to be staggering, if not shameful. The issue of "science" versus "faith" is admittedly at play. But when did we cross the rubicon, whereafter we are to uniformly embrace the notion that Darwin's "theory" is no longer full of holes (so metaphorically large that you could walk "King Kong" through them, let alone our supposed predecessors)? And why are we so readily tolerating the utter dismissal of ID, on the grounds that it lacks any scientific merit -- particularly given the highly-esteemed scientists behind ID who have dared to allow their theses to point to something that other scientists simply agree to ignore, in respect to the motivator behind all material structure and motion?
The theory of Intelligent Design is primarily based on a scientific examination of Darwin's own theory and the application of practical organic examples to a "test" that Darwin himself declared was either applicable to all living organisms or was completely invalid. Among other organisms, ID proponents cite the eye as being an example of an organism that, in any pre-evolved state other than being fully developed and functional, would never have passed through Darwin's "gate" of "Natural Selection." In this stage of Darwin's proposed evolutionary process, an evolving organism that is not by nature determined to be useful is discarded. Within the ID thesis, such organisms are argued and referred to as being "Irreducibly Complex."
So, contrary to the common summation of the theory of ID, there is "real science" behind the theory, which at the very least poses a legitimate question regarding the integrity of Darwin's theory -- causing one to continue to explore other options. Sometimes the problem with the Christian church is that, according to its passion and faith in God, it has allowed itself to circumvent further scientific research and discovery, and thereby reasonable and informed apologetics, by attempting to make its case for "Creationism" solely on the current body of scientific work done in pursuit of an acceptable curriculum on ID.
It's not that Darwin's theory refutes the notion of a "Creator," particularly given that in embracing the theory of evolution, one must still address the question of the origin of the cell and the "primordial soup" which presumably gestated and gave birth to the cosmos and all living beings therein. I've often said that the theory of evolution, one day being verified, would not change my faith in a Creator God at all. On the other hand, I tend to think that if God is God, why inject the DNA of life into the primal elements and then sit around waiting forever to have a relationship with those of His own likeness! It seems to me that Darwin, in the footsteps of his esteemed scientific predecessors, resisted any such comment or pursuit -- given that such gives rise to the exploration of the metaphysical.
Well, welcome to the real world of modern-day science. There are very few paths of scientific discovery these days, which have not led the scientific explorer to precipices whereupon one must "leap" in order to "learn." By doing so, one invariably enters the metaphysical realm of study. To better understand this phenomenon, simply consider the advancements in medical science and the broad range of ethical and moral dilemmas now confronting the entire medical community in respect to the definition of the inception of "life," the value of aged and/or disabled life, and myriad other considerations such as the mystery of the process of natural healing.
Alternatively, consider the unfolding truths of our discovery of the cosmos, which have led the scientific community to conclude that the universe is constantly expanding and thereby "infinite" in scope. The very notion of something that is infinite and/or "eternal" is by every definition "metaphysical." Despite the modern symbols in our mathematical formulas, which provide a presumed value for something that is infinite, the community is, in fact, grappling with another realm that's, frankly, more "spiritual" than "physical."
A much greater mind than ours had grappled with this same question in the year 350 BCE when Aristotle wrote his thesis, On the Motion of Animals. In it, he wrote (as translated by A.S.L. Farquharson): "Now we have already determined (when we were discussing whether eternal motion exists or not, and its definition, if it does exist) that the origin of all other motions is that which moves itself, and that the origin of this is the immovable, and that the prime mover must, of necessity, be immovable." So Aristotle pointed to "the first domino" in a chain of natural organic movement -- leaving the door wide open for the definition of an initial or prime mover that is, in his words, immovable!
I'll concede that ID, as a theory, also has "holes" (in temporal scientific terms), but it is unfair to strike it from the realm of scientific debate and further discovery simply because it dares to go where many will soon inevitably go in extending their discoveries and in circumventing the chasms that are now standing between such "experts" and the realm of true "enlightenment. When we can finally come to the place where we acknowledge that a Creator-God intentionally designed and set everything that exists in motion, according to His purpose and eternal plans, then we can logically take the next steps in recognizing His gift of grace and forgiveness, and in establishing a love-bond relationship with Him through His Son Jesus.
There is immeasurable intelligence displayed throughout all of creation, and the pathway to discovery is well-marked for us to follow. Woven into the tapestry of creation are compelling clues that lead us to Jesus. The road signs leading to the foot of Jesus' cross -- whereupon all that we need to understand His "grand design," and the provisions for our journey to His Kingdom -- are lavishly bestowed upon us as His children. It is then that humankind's knowledge and scientific pride run dry, and that every one of God's Words, as expressed to our hearts by the teaching of His Holy Spirit, finally come to life.
As facilitators of God's mission to those we serve through VOMC, who are persecuted for expressing their faith in Christ, we are always reminded that God's creation -- resplendent and, in varying ways, fully revealed -- is going through a painful process of reconciliation, as all things once made through Jesus are being reconciled back to God. If we open our hearts, and look around us through spiritual eyes, we will find the truth, discovering only then that He is "Love" and we are His beloved creation.
In Christ,
Doug J. McKenzie
Chief Executive Officer
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada
