In response to my last post, markf wrote:
It is a possibility that we are under a total delusion about scientific evidence. But key difference between religious evidence and scientific evidence is that our scientific evidence is grounded in repeatable observations that engage with reality all the time in very concrete way.
To which bornagain77 aptly replied:
Yet ironically, belief in an orderly universe, where the transcendent laws of physics are non-variant, is a Theistic belief, and in fact atheists fight tooth and nail trying to show that there is no such inherent transcendent order in the universe. Thus you have in fact falsely assumed a primary theistic belief into your atheistic argument for an orderly universe when you stated,,, ‘our scientific evidence is grounded in repeatable observations’,,, and have severely undermined the credibility of the atheistic belief you were trying to support by appealing to a primary Theistic pillar of belief
Markf’s reply is a classic example of a gambit frequently employed by materialists – trying to smuggle in their theistic first principles while no one’s looking. Theodosius [ironically, literally “giver of God’] Dobzhansky famously said that nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution. I say, “Nothing about anything can possibly make sense except in light of an orderly universe, which in turn cannot make sense except in light of God and specifically the God of the Bible.”
This is true for theists and atheists alike. Theists are obviously up front about positing God-created order as the basis of everything they know. And just as obviously atheists have to smuggle their God-created order in through the back door. Both assume the underlying order; only one can account for it.
Dembski proposed a “No Free Lunch” theorem to demonstrate that specified complexity cannot be purchased without a pre-existing intelligence. Let me propose a corollary to Dembski’s theorem. I’ll call it the “No Free First Principles” axiom, and it goes like this: “The universe we observe is orderly and comprehensible. The only plausible explanation for this observation is that the universe was specifically designed to be orderly and comprehensible by a designer. Therefore, those who would deny the existence of a designer are not allowed to posit an orderly and comprehensible universe.”
It reminds me of the story about God conversing with a Darwinist. The Darwinist says to God, I can create life just like you did. God says, “Go ahead; give it a try.” The Darwinist says, “OK, first you take some dirt and . . .” At which point God interrupts him and says, “Stop right there. Get your own dirt.”