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Job 12:7-10-But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. 9 Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, 10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
I generally don’t like mice.
Don’t misunderstand me: I think mice are part of God’s good creation (Genesis 1:31). But since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, they are usually a nuisance, can be harbingers of problems and disease, and I believe (full transparency here), that they are just overall kinda sorta creepy. So part of me feels like, “Kill em whenever they show up, and let God sort all that out in eternity.”
But on the other hand, I think about a friend of mine from another part of eastern Kentucky. His mother told me that when he was younger, there was a time when there was evidence of mice in their house. She couldn’t figure out, however, why her cat didn’t “take care of the problem.” Then one day, she looked in her son’s bedroom and he was eating dinner. Sitting beside him was the mouse! As she watched in astonishment, the cat was standing back in the corner, watching, as the mouse stood up on its’ hind legs and he fed it food from his plate. He had trained the cat not to kill the mouse! She asked him what he was doing, feeding and taking care of a rodent, and he responded, “But Mom, he’s my friend!”
So, there’s that.
But have you ever heard about how a mousetrap can help to prove the existence of God, and also disprove Charles Darwin’s “goo to you” theory of macroevolution at the same time?
Let’s think about it.
Michael Behe is a a recognized scholar in the field of genetics. He has spent his entire career examining life on the molecular level. Throughout his formal schooling, Behe had been taught all about Charles Darwin’s theory of macroevolution. Specifically, he was taught that all forms of life have come about by successively small and progressive changes on a molecular level over vast eons of time that have led to the present stages of development in every living organism.
However, when he applied the skills of his vocation as a biochemist to the study of molecules, he realized that there was no way that the cell could have evolved by chance. In fact, there is no way that step by step evolution could account for the complexity of molecules. Behe illustrates all of this with a mousetrap. In an interview with famous former atheist Lee Strobel, we read the following exchange:
“Darwin said in his Origin of Species, ‘If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.’5 And that was the basis for my concept of irreducible complexity. “You see, a system or device is irreducibly complex if it has a number of different components that all work together to accomplish the task of the system, and if you were to remove one of the components, the system would no longer function. An irreducibly complex system is highly unlikely to be built piece-by-piece through Darwinian processes, because the system has to be fully present in order for it to function. The illustration I like to use is a mousetrap….“First, there’s a flat wooden platform to which the other parts are attached. Second, there’s a metal hammer, which does the job of crushing the mouse. Third, there’s a spring with extended ends to press against the platform and the hammer when the trap is charged. Fourth, there’s a catch that releases when a mouse applies a slight bit of pressure. And, fifth, there’s a metal bar that connects to the catch and holds the hammer back when the trap is charged. “Now, if you take away any of these parts — the spring or the holding bar or whatever — then it’s not like the mousetrap becomes half as efficient as it used to be or it only catches half as many mice. Instead, it doesn’t catch any mice. It’s broken. It doesn’t work at all.” He pointed down at the trap again. “And notice that you don’t just need to have these five parts, but they also have to be matched to each other and have the right spatial relationship to each other. See —the parts are stapled in the right place….Evolution can’t produce an irreducibly complex biological machine suddenly, all at once, because it’s much too complicated. The odds against that would be prohibitive. And you can’t produce it directly by numerous, successive, slight modifications of a precursor system, because any precursor system would be missing a part and consequently couldn’t function…“Life is actually based on molecular machines,” he replied. “They haul cargo from one place in the cell to another; they turn cellular switches on and off; they act as pulleys and cables; electrical machines let current flow through nerves; manufacturing machines build other machines; solar-powered machines capture the energy from light and store it in chemicals. Molecular machinery lets cells move, reproduce, and process food. In fact, every part of the cell’s function is controlled by complex, highly calibrated machines.” Behe motioned toward the mousetrap. “And if the creation of a simple device like this requires intelligent design,” he said, “then we have to ask, ‘What about the finely tuned machines of the cellular world?’ If evolution can’t adequately explain them, then scientists should be free to consider other alternatives.” (Michael Behe, in Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God, 208-210, (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan)
Just like a mousetrap would not function if any of these necessary’ parts were removed from it, so also the cell could not function if any of its’ components were not present from the very beginning. In other words, step by step evolution cannot work-which leads us back to God.
Behe sums up where his research has led him:
“My conclusion can be summed up in a single word: design,” Behe said as we came to the end of our interview. “I say that based on science. I believe that irreducibly complex systems are strong evidence of a purposeful, intentional design by an intelligent agent. No other theory succeeds; certainly not Darwinism. “Based on the empirical evidence—which is continuing to mount—I’d agree with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger that ‘the great projects of the living creation are not the products of chance and error. . . . [They] point to a creating Reason and show us a creating Intelligence, and they do so more luminously and radiantly today than ever before.’” 19”. (Michael Behe, in Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God, 228 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan)
The evidence of science not only leads us to the existence of the eternal and intelligent Creator of the universe, but to the love and care that this Creator has for each one of us. What peace comes from walking with this Master of all things!
Lord, thank You for creation which testifies to Your existence and Your goodness. Strengthen our faith as we deal with adversity and pain while living in this fallen creation. Give us hope in the knowledge that You are with us through storm, and help us to share this comforting knowledge with those around us. We pray in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.