The case for intelligent design

Editor's Note: The following is the second part of a two part series written by Richard Marshall, of Fort Scott. The first part of the series appeare in the March 12 edition of The Tribune. The statements and opinions in this series are that of Marshall's. The content of this series was not edited by the staff of The Tribune.

The most amazing phenomenon in the world is the human body. Have you ever wondered why the most vulnerable organ in the body has the most protections? The most vulnerable organ, the brain is enclosed within a bone enclosure. The next most vulnerable organs -- the heart and lungs are enclosed in the rib cage. I would say that the evidence is clear that the human body was intelligently designed this way. The basic unit of important life processes occur. The sells are organized into organs and organs into systems such as circulatory system, respiratory system and nervous system.

The nervous system is not just the most awesome system in the body but the most awesome phenomenon in the whole world. The nervous systems is so extensive that if everything was removed from the body except the nervous system, that the form of the body would still be there. It is through our nervous system that we have contact with and relate to our environment. All the information you receive from your five senses can only make sense as it is related to previous information you have received previously that is recorded in your brain. I heard a brain surgeon say that when he was operating on a woman that when he stimulated the cortex of her brain with an electrode that it causes her to relive an experience of her childhood. She described it while he was operating. Afterwards she said it was more real than a dream. There are special cells in the cortex in the brain that receive impulses from your five senses. There are two kinds of nerve impulses. One is a reflex which functions automatically. For example when you put your finger on a hot stove your finger is automatically pulled off. Then there is the other kind of impulse that travels to the cortex of the brain and tells you that you just burned your finger. The reason you burned your finger is that these impulses travel too slowly to prevent you from burning your finger.

Probably the most complex organ besides the brain of the human body is the eye. The retina of the eye is made up of millions of two kinds of receptive cells called cones and rods. The rods cause the impulses to be converted to black and white sight. The cones are responsible for sight in color. Theses specialized cells are specialized to receive light from the brain. The eye is fascinating and amazing in various ways it functions. For example the automatic way it focuses on what you are looking at so you see it clearly. And then it allows you to see things in depth seeing them in proper perspective. You have to agree that the nervous system is very intelligently designed.

The circulatory system is also amazing, consisting of the hear and a transportation system made up of 100 thousand miles of arteries, veins and capillaries. How would you like the job of arranging 100 thousand miles of vessels so that all the billions of cells are properly nourished? The blood carries out multiple tasks simultaneously. It then carries he carbon dioxide which results from this process back to the lungs where it is exalted. It carries amino acids from the small intestine to the cells where they are used to repair cells and build new tissue. It also carries hormones produce by various organs that are important in regulating various functions. Do you realize how technically correct the capillary membranes must be to allow oxygen to pass through the opposite and to allow amino acids to pass from the small intestine into the bloodstream and then from the blood stream to the billions of cells to repair cells and build new cells? These very technically complex functions demonstrates forcefully that they were not just designed by an intelligent designer but by the ultimate designer. If you believe all these complex function just happened by chance, then I am sure you also believe that a tornado passing through a huge junk yard might produce a new cadallac car.

Of course, considering the extreme complexity of the universe and the laws by which it is regulated and the complex relationships of everything that make up the universe not only demands intelligence by demands the ultimate intelligence -- the all-knowing-all powerful Creator-God.

An astranaught from his perspective out in space said "No one in his right mind can see such a sight and deny the existence of a supreme being. Some power placed out little world, our sun and our moon where they are in the dark void. It is just too perfect and beautiful to have happened by accident."

Charles Stine, director of research for the E.I. DuPont company, said, "The world about us, far more intricate than any watch, filled with checks and balances for a hundred varieties, investigator, this beautiful and intricate creation, bears the signature of its creator, graven in it's works."

In closing I would like to say that I have a little problem with those people who cannot completely comprehend and understand God who try to bring Him down to the level of their comprehension of Him by their finite minds. We are not supposed to completely comprehend God. That is why we are to stand in awe of Him giving Him our total love and respect. The 100th psalm says "Know ye not the Lord He is God. It is He that has made us and not ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." One of my favorite hymns that expresses so well the attitude we are to have toward God is "How Great Thou Art".