“The world does not explain itself. It may be a miracle with a supernatural explanation, it may be a conjuring trick with a natural explanation. But the explanation itself needs explaining.”
C.K. Chesterton— Orthodoxy
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There are moments when we look at the natural world and feel a kind of holy reverence. A snowflake under magnification, the architecture of a beehive, or the silent mechanics of the eye adjusting to dim light can bring us to the brink of worship. As a Christian, I’ve often stood in awe of such marvels—not merely for their beauty, but for what they suggest about design, purpose, and the nature of our origins. But in that awe, a question arises: Could all this really have come from a mindless process?
One of the most persistent challenges to the theory of evolution is a concept known as irreducible complexity, made popular by biochemist Michael Behe. Behe argues that some biological systems—like the bacterial flagellum or the blood clotting cascade—are so complex and interdependent that removing any single part renders the whole system non-functional. Such systems, he claims, could not have evolved in a step-by-step Darwinian fashion because their precursors would have had no survival advantage and thus would not have been preserved.
Among the examples often cited in this argument is the human eye. Darwin himself acknowledged the apparent absurdity of believing that something as intricate as the eye could have arisen through natural selection. The lens, retina, iris, optic nerve, and cornea must work together with astonishing precision. How could such a system evolve through slow, successive modifications without the complete system being in place?
It’s a compelling question—one that seems to demand a Designer.