Teleological argument

• Genesis story summary


  The story tells of how the first man was created especially by God and was the final act and 'best bit' of God's creation. What is important in the story for Christians is that life, including that of humans, originated on Earth because God made it happen. It was not gradual or that any one living thing was linked to any other. They were made by God using physical material and, in the case of humans; they had life 'breathed into them' by God.
• For religious people, the world is far too complex and well designed to have happened by chance or accident, this belief is significant as it would mean, because of this, people believe that it must have had a creator.
• Examples of complex design


  • Our brain is the most complex structure known to humankind
  • Trees which produce oxygen that all living things need to breathe and take in the carbon dioxide that we breathe out. It is a perfect cycle.
• William Paley's design argument

  Paley wanted to prove that God existed just from the fact that the universe is complex, order and has a purpose which are the characteristics of design. He believed that by observing how the universe worked you could see that it had been designed. This design is evidence that god existed.
• Key points of Paley's design argument

  • The universe displays a high level of complexity and everything has an order and works towards some purpose
  • Complexity, order and purpose in objects are a result of intelligence not chance
  • The universe is like objects made by humans and is the product of design on a bigger scale
  • There is probably a designer who is vastly powerful and intelligent who guides nature
  • Therefore, the designer is God
• Paley's watch and eye analogy


  Paley presented an analogy between a watch and an eye to illustrate his argument. Watches are mechanical, full of intricate little cogs and springs and they would only work if they were all put together in exactly the right way. The natural world also has complexity, order and purpose, which in fact are far more complex than that found in a watch. Paley argued that the universe, and all the varied life on earth was such a complex and complicated system that it could not have come together without 'blind chance' and therefore, just like the watch, the universe must be created and have a creator.
• Strengths of the design argument


  • It gives reasonable and logical support to what the Bible teaches that God made the Universe, earth and all its life for a purpose
  • The probability of everything coming together in just such a perfect and balanced way by chance is ridiculous
  • No matter how long it took, nature, with all of its complexities, cannot be explained as the result of chance, therefore proving the existence of God
  • The conditions in place on planet Earth are ideal for the existence of life. This is sometimes referred to as the 'Goldilocks Zone' meaning that we are placed perfectly in the universe to sustain life
  • The more scientific discoveries we make, the more we find that the balance of life on Earth is just perfect for life. Such precise balance seems unlikely to be the result of chance therefore it must be the result of intelligent design
  • This is a strong argument because everything in our universe can be explained. Our experience tells us that we do not have all the explanations just now. Our experiences tells us that many of our theories have turned out to be correct so there is a chance that the theory that God is the Universe's designer could also turn out to be correct
• Criticisms of the design argument

  • The key assumption that paley made was that complexity, purpose, and order are the result of design. This assumption weakens his argument because natural suffering and moral evil do not suggest order
  • There are many things in the universe that are evidence of bad design. For example, the test tube you use for breathing is also the tube that is used for consuming food, so there is an increased risk of choking or tectonic plates can be seen as design flaws since they cause earthquakes
  • The teleological argument insists on an intelligent designer nut for those who argue the universe is badly designed, they don't see the work of an intelligent designer
  • The universe shows signs of apparent design, rather than authentic design because we have also never seen a universe being built; we cannot come to the certain conclusion that it actually was designed
  • Hume argued that Paley's analogy is not strong enough to draw the conclusion that God exists because of the weak comparison of objects. Hume pointed out that a watch is complex, and has an obvious purpose, and is made by a mechanist. In conclusion we know that the watch has been designed. The human eye is also very complex, and has an obvious purpose and is organic. In conclusion, we cannot be certain that the human eye has been designed
  • Hume suggested that actually maybe the argument did work. Perhaps the evidence of order and design in the universe does in fact lead to the reasonable conclusion that it must have been designed. However, he then suggested we are not entitled to jump to the conclusion that the designer of the universe is actually God, an all-powerful, all-knowing or even good being. Hume suggested it could have been the work of a team of designers, or even an evil force, or perhaps, even, the work of an inferior, junior designer created the universe.
• Evolution is the theory that life was not specifically created by God in the form that we see animals and plants today. Instead the theory argues that we all come from one common ancestor, but over millions of years have changed (adapted) in different ways to suit our environment.
• Charles Darwin


  The first to propose the idea of evolution after he took around South America on the HMS Beagle. He developed his theory of evolution after studying various species during his journey's and conducting experiments.
• He observed that different species showed wide variation in their characteristics and concluded that organisms with the most suitable traits for their environment would be better suited for survival and reproduction.
• People are able to believe in both the genesis creation story and the theory of evolution by interpreting the creation story as allegorical rather than literal. This allows them to embrace the symbolic meaning of the story while accepting the scientific evidence for evolution. It is an example of how religious beliefs and scientific understanding can be harmonised
• A specific example of harmonising the genesis creation story with evolution is the interpretation that the creation story is not meant to be taken literally, but rather as stories that convey deep or complex spiritual truths
• Some christians interpret the "days" of creation as metaphorical, representing longer periods of time, rather than 24-hour days. This approach allows for a belief in God, the bible, and evolution
• Strengths of the theory of evolution


  • There is strong scientific evidence, such as fossils and DNA, which support Darwin's ideas
  • It provides a working explanation of what we can observe such as the apparent similarities between species, as well as accounting for extinctions and other major changes to life on Earth throughout Earth's history
• Some christians believe that God started the process of evolution and guides it the way He wants. The probability of the starting by chance, they claim, is virtually impossible
• As much as a lot of evidence has been found to support the Theory of Evolution, it is just a theory and they are subject to change when new or different evidence is found
• Science has its own limitations and has been wrong before
• There are 'gaps' in the theory of evolution, for example in the incomplete fossil records which does not yet show the direct links between species and so questions the gradual evolution of life
• The human brain is far more complex than that of animals and more than what evolution could produce
• This could point to God specifically created humans in His image
• The current theory of evolution only tells us how life originated, it doesn't tell us why
• The theory of evolution does not provide any explanation as to the meaning and purpose of human life or our place within the universe
• Many religious people who believe in God


  Can also believe in scientific creation
• Believing in both God and scientific creation gives a fuller answer to our creation story
• It could be argued that God guided evolution to make humans more like Him and for all life to be best suited to the environment that He created
• If the Holy Book isn't taken literally, each day could represent longer periods of time, such as millions of years
• A reason a religious person may say these things is because when their holy book was written, there was a lack of scientific knowledge that we now have today
• Stating days was easier for people of the time to understand, rather than millions of years as this is a difficult concept to get your head around as we've never experienced this
• Science and religion


  Can be compatible
• Science


  • Explains the "how" of the natural world
• Religion


  • Explains "why" and provides guidance
• Science and religion can be compatible