Stupid Design Theory

Stupid Design Theory What is the origin of the life and the universe? Decades of heated debate can be broken down into two positions. One is called Intelligent Design (ID), the other can be called materialism or atheism. ID claims that an intelligent and powerful force created the universe and all that is in it. This belief is supported by the amazing order in the universe from the atomic to the galactic levels. Everywhere we look, there are incredible systems that appear to be designed. Take DNA for example. DNA is the building block of all life on earth. This amazing protein is really a highly complex code which instructs a cell how to build itself. It also has the ability to duplicate itself, thus making it possible for the organism to grow, reproduce, and evolve. ID is not only accepted by those who believe in special creation, but also many who accept the theory of evolution believe that an intelligent force, also know as God, created the evolutionary mechanism which is responsible for all forms of life. But ID is not a slam dunk explanation for the origin of all things. Atheists love to point out that the universe does not exactly scream intelligence. There are so many things that are less than perfect. For example, most of the universe cannot sustain any life. Birth defects, hurricanes, diseases, death, and other tragedies don't demonstrate any great plan. Bad things happen not only to good people, but to all people, life, and even things. Entropy will eventually wipe out all life, heat, and energy in the universe. Even the amazing DNA molecule often duplicates itself incorrectly, causing mutations, which in turn allow for evolution to occur. All the order that we do see could just be a result of natural forces. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a brilliant scientist who does a great job explaining this. Dr. Tyson is an atheist, but regardless of your beliefs, it's well worth listening to the great minds of our time. I've included a link at the end. Is it possible to reconcile these two positions? Maybe you believe in a god, but you don't want to ignore the evidence. The problem is that

both sides are making an assumption: intelligent design equals perfect design. Obviously, the designs we see are not perfect. The atheist concludes that therefore, there is no god, while the theist blames sin or comes up with some other excuse. The most brilliant theologian of our time (me) has come up with a solution: Stupid Design Theory (SDT). SDT states that there is an intelligent designer, but that designer is not perfect. Look at all the great things man has created - cell phones, super computers, automobiles, jet airplanes, and space travel. These are impressive accomplishments, but none are perfect. Cars break down, computers crash, batteries die. In spite of these imperfections, we would hardly call the men and women who designed these things stupid. In fact, they are would be considered the best and the brightest among us. So I when I use the term Stupid Design, what I really mean is intelligent, but imperfect design. Wait a minute, I thought God was a perfect being - all knowing, all powerful, perfect in every way, am I comparing God to imperfect man? There is only one verse in the Bible which says God is perfect, and it may be only referring to one of His qualities, not his entire essence. This how it works - God is all knowing (omniscient) and all powerful (omnipotent), but he is never both all knowing and all powerful at the same time. When he is all knowing, he turns off his allpowerfulness, when he is all powerful, he turns off his allknowingness. Omniscience and omnipotence don't work well together. When God created the universe, he was using his omnipotence, but his omniscience was turned off. This explains the mountain of errors and imperfections we observe. When he created Adam and Eve, he was using his all-knowingness, but he had his all-powerfulness turned off, otherwise, he would have prevented them from abusing their free will and allowing sin and death to enter the world. The idea of a self-limiting God is not so far fetched or blasphemous. In fact, the vast majority of Christians already believe this in one form or another. With the exception of the reformed (modern day Calvinists), most Christians believe that man has a free will. This free will is more powerful that God's will as it ultimately determines man's destiny. Man has freedom of choice, meaning that even though it is God's will that all be saved, most will make the wrong choice and end up condemned. The only way man's will can triumph over God's will is

that if God voluntarily gives up his omnipotence in some cases. This also explains the existence of evil. If God is all powerful, why is there so much evil in the world? Because he had his all-knowingness turned off when he created all things and he didn't see it coming. SDT also answers those annoying atheist questions such as: If God is allpowerful, can he create a burrito so hot that he couldn't eat it? Yes, he could. And apparently, he has - that is, all the evil in the world seems to be beyond God's control. Please don't give me this nonsense about God's "permissive will" verses his "perfect will". The Bible says nothing about God having multiple wills. You might be wondering why God doesn't intervene and correct all the mistakes in the universe. This is what humans do when they redesign something. We learn from the mistakes and limitations of the past in order to create something faster, safer, and more efficient. Being the good scientist that he is, God is observing and taking copious notes, as he plans to create a new universe free of all the problems of the current universe, he just hasn't done it yet. That is what the Bible means when it talks about a new heaven and a new earth. Imagine starting over, after God has had billions of years to learn from his mistakes. In the new universe, there will be no cancer, no hurricanes, no power failures, and no Microsoft Windows. There will be no need for heaven or hell either. God will probably create the Garden of Eden again with Kevin and Jennifer. But this time, he'll create them with a full wardrobe and a modern house complete with dishwasher and washing machine. Most importantly, there will be no forbidden fruit, and no talking snakes. SDT is catching on in academic circles. Allison McGrath, assistant pastor at the Good Sheppard Church in Tallahassee commented about the effect of SDT, "Thanks to Stupid Design Theory, we've seen a remarkable increase in the number of scientists in our congregation. Our youth pastor is the chairman of the Astrophysics department at a local university. And our choir director has a PhD in evolutionary biology" Even many well known atheists have responded positively to SDT. After learning about SDT, Youtube atheist Ed Current said, "I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal savior" Famous atheist and author of The God Illusion, Richard Hawkins is having second thoughts about atheism. In a recent interview he said, "I am thoroughly impressed with how SDT answers many questions posed by non-theists. This may be the one way to build a bridge between ID

and materialism." Mr. Hawkins has not yet settled on a religion: "I work Saturdays so Judaism is out of the question. Sunday is my golf day so that eliminates Christianity. I'm leaning towards Buddhism because you can pick any holy day you want and they only require that you give two percent of your income." As our knowledge of science increases, there is going to be more and more pressure to give up belief in God. As mysteries are solved, there seems to be less room for faith. But there is no need to give up faith, just stop holding God to such a high standard. Stupid Design Theory is the answer, with SDT, you can believe in God without ignoring science. Neil deGrasse Tyson on Stupid Design: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_MvkcwnqyS For a less serious atheist tirade on Stupid Design see: God's Cool Design: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcrq5OOkQdk Warning: Both videos contain graphic images!! Other articles my me: http://www.pdfcoke.com/jiadonisi