When you step into a medieval cathedral, you can’t help but wonder at the beauty of the lofty architecture. The intricate details, the incredible design, and the exquisite engineering can leave you breathless. And we all know the perfectly aligned arches and delicate ceiling details that have endured for centuries didn’t just happen. Each fitted piece was designed by a master architect and engineer and put in place by a skilled builder, much like all of creation.
In his Engineered Adaptability series article this month, Dr. Randy Guliuzza points out how engineers “may choose from design strategies to deal with the challenge of uncertainty. They may incorporate very complicated systems, or they may try to prevent failure” (“Engineering Causality Is the Answer to Darwinian Externalism”). Competent engineers consider all possibilities as they design their structures—they leave nothing to chance. I can only imagine the factors engineers had to consider when constructing something as elaborate as a cathedral, but how much more when our heavenly Engineer constructed our universe!
Our Designer provided us with a solid foundation in the first book of the Bible.
Our Master Architect, Engineer, and Builder carefully designed and orchestrated every detail of the cosmos and put all of creation in motion. ICR’s latest DVD series showcases His heavenly handiwork—The Universe: A Journey Through God’s Grand Design. It’s now available for pre-order. I hope you’ll watch it with a new sense of awe for the work of our Creator.
In this month’s Impact article, Frank Sherwin observes that “medieval architects followed design patterns in much the same way as the Divine Architect who exquisitely designed the bones and skeletons of humans and animals” (“Architecture and Engineering in Created Creatures”). He describes many ways creature designs display intentional engineering.
The ICR Discovery Center for Science and Earth History is under construction now, and at the time of this writing the builders had begun carefully putting everything in place for the foundation. A lot of work went into that foundation, and for very good reason! We need it to stand firm through all kinds of weather and to resist the ever-shifting Texas soil. In a similar way, our Designer provided us with a solid foundation in the first book of the Bible, giving us what we need to stay grounded during the roughest of storms. Dr. Henry M. Morris III says in this month’s feature article, “Genesis 1–11 provides the foundation for the rest of Scripture. Without those insights to the beginnings of history, we would be unable to accurately understand” much of what we see in the world (“Creation Salvation”). Our Designer provided a firm foundation for us.
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever (Rom. 11:36)
When encountering ornate and well-crafted structures, we don’t ask how many millions of years they took to arise. We marvel and ask Who built this? And so it is with the craftsmanship in our solar system, our earthly home, and our incredible bodies. ICR uses science to help people answer this question, marveling at the creative genius of a wise Architect. “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Romans 11:36).
* Jayme Durant is Director of Communications at the Institute for Creation Research.