Missing the Obvious
Lone Ranger and Tonto
The Lone Ranger and Tonto are
camping in the desert, set up their tent, and are asleep. Some hours
later, The Lone Ranger wakes his faithful friend.
"Tonto, look up and tell me what you see."
Tonto replies, "Me see millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" asks The Lone Ranger.
Tonto ponders for a minute.
"Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of
galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.
Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three.
Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all powerful and we are small and
insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
What it tell you, Kemo Sabi?"
The Lone Ranger is silent for a moment, then speaks.
"Tonto, you Dumb Hoss, someone has stolen our tent."
The above joke is a good lesson in missing the obvious. Chances are that you were surprised by the Lone Ranger's response. However, the first sentence of the joke tells you that the Lone Ranger and Tonto were camping in a tent. It should have been clear at Tonto's first response that he was missing the obvious.
Likewise, those who have already decided that God does not exist and that all processes must have a naturalistic explanation, do not see the obvious evidence that the universe was designed, rather than happened by chance. As discussed on another page, rational explanations for the creation of the universe come down to two main possibilities:
- Design by an intelligent being
- Happened by random chance
What are the differences between the two creators?
Characteristic | God | Super Universe |
Transcendence | Yes | Yes |
Eternal | Yes | Yes |
Creation of Universe | Designed | Random |
Intelligence | High | Stupid |
What we see in the table is a comparison of the two possible types of creators. Both creators must possess certain characteristics in common, such as being eternal and being transcendent to this universe. However, the naturalistic creator must be "stupid" and must have created our exquisitely-designed universe through some sort of random process. For some reason, the atheist chooses to believe that the universe arose randomly by the action of a stupid creator, instead of seeing the obvious - that a well-designed universe would most likely come into being through the actions of an intelligent designer. Let me give you an example. I show you a computer and ask you to make your best choice as to how it came into being:
- Designed and put together by intelligent human beings.
- Random computer parts were put into a large box and the parts soldered randomly by spraying molten lead into the box as it was rotated. This process was continued many times until the computer happened to be produced.
Well, its your choice. Have you checked your tent lately?
Today's New Reason To Believe
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- 10/27/2008 12:05 AM
A Dark Galaxy: Finding the “Missing” Dark Stuff
Previously Posted January 28th, 2008 by Hugh Ross Many independent sets of observations confirm that only about six percent of all the ordinary matter (neutrons and protons) in the universe is made up of stars and stellar remnants.1 The other 94 percent is dark. While astronomers have verified ... - 10/24/2008 12:05 AM
From Dust to Planets
Previously Posted on October 26th, 2007 by David H. Rogstad, Ph.D. When the Bible tell us that we have been made from the “dust of the earth,” and will eventually “return to the dust,” it is more true than perhaps the authors realized. Prevailing theory for the formation ... - 10/23/2008 12:05 AM
Flightless Birds Run Down Evolution
Posted by Fazale ‘Fuz’ Rana, Ph.D. Newly Discovered Example of Convergence Challenges Biological Evolution Lately, my wife has had trouble hanging onto cell phones. Within the span of two weeks she lost not one cell phone, but two. But my wife is not the only one who has lost the ... - 10/22/2008 12:05 AM
Antarctica and North America Once Connected
by Jeffrey Zweerink From a biblical perspective, the advent of continents plays a critical role in God’s transformation of Earth from “formless and void” to an environment teeming with diverse life-forms. In fact, the formation of continents warrants mention as one of the ... - 10/21/2008 12:05 AM
The Golden Rule of Apologetics, Part 6 (of 7)
Kenneth Richard Samples What can Christian apologists do to represent the arguments of others with fairness and intellectual integrity? This series has focused upon the need to apply the biblical principle of the Golden Rule to the enterprise of Christian apologetics. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus ... - 10/20/2008 12:05 AM
Rare Solar System Location
by Hugh Ross Many astronomers have noted that the present solar system environment is amazingly benign for advanced life. The solar system’s current position (in between two nearby exceptionally symmetrical and widely separated spiral arms that are devoid of any significant spurs or ... - 10/17/2008 05:51 AM
A Family Breakup Kills the Dinosaurs
Previously posted on Oct. 19th, 2007 by David H. Rogstad, Ph.D. In 1980 Nobel Prize-winning physicist Luis Alvarez and his geologist son Walter Alvarez proposed a provocative theory. They suggested that the Earth had been struck by an asteroid in its past to explain the unusual amount of iridium ...
Last Modified March 10, 2005