by Thomas Grace

Created on: September 24, 2010

CHANCE OR DESIGN?

If there were one question that has been asked more than any other in the history of mankind that question would have to be, “Where did we come from?”  In all likelihood there has never been a man or woman who has not pondered the origins of humanity even the very universe itself.  Many have not only wondered but have searched diligently for a convincing answer—one answer fully supported by hard evidence.

Almost as long as men have been asking this question there have been two competing theories: the universe and all life in it came into being through creation by intelligent design (creationism) or mere chance (evolution).  As Comninellis puts it, “No other plausible explanation exists for how life began, aside from creation or evolution.”[1]

Creationism, for the purpose of this article, encompasses any conceivable form of Intelligent Design including, but not limited to, the biblical account found in Genesis.  Evolution refers to the belief that the universe came into existence by chance including, but not limited to, any variation of the theory popularized by Charles Darwin.  These two theories are, by their very nature, in opposition to one another.  Creationism, in whatever form it takes, demands an intelligent creator who conceived of, planned out and built the universe.  Evolution, in its purest form, must reject the idea of an intelligent being having any role whatever in the universe coming into existence or it stops being evolution.  Naturally then the question arises, “Which theory is correct?”

This is not a question that can be easily answered.  While there is an abundance of evidence there is no uncontested proof for either theory.  There are no eyewitnesses to evolution who can give testimony.  The Holy Bible provides a detailed, accurate description of creation but many reject it because it is based on faith.  Neither evolution nor creation are ongoing processes nor can either be reproduced in such a way as to validate their theories.

This leaves only the analysis of the existing evidence.  Concerning this Comninellis says, “When dealing with the origin of life and the universe, evidence can be gleaned from three main sources: probability of the events ever happening by chance alone, the age of the earth, and the fossil record of these earlier events.”[2]  It is the intent of this paper to examine evidence

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