chance
Sitting here in observational mode on another Monday morning brings me to the realization that it is quite possible that anyone who still clings desperately to the theory of evolution as an answer to all that surrounds them has, in all probability, never sat long enough to appreciate their surroundings. That was a long sentence. What I think I mean is that this couldn’t possibly just all happen accidental like. I’m not saying that we don’t evolve. Certainly we do, except for our fashion sense. That seems to be hopelessly stuck in a 50’s through 90’s circle of doom.
Take, for example, the idea of diversity. It’s interesting that the more we advocate the acknowledgement and value of the diversity of humanity, we also want to dispute the origin of said diversity. In my humble opinion, diversity is the biggest argument in favor of intelligent design, or as I would put it; God. Think about it, in a place such as Seattle, where there are as many languages and cultures as there are coffee selections, diversity still holds one common strand called humanity. If this were all chance, as some would argue, then the caffeinated establishment that I inhabit this morning would look more like Star Wars than Starbucks. I’d be blogging from the Cantina.
Even in diversity and chance, we want order. Wearing glasses and being called “four eyes” is one thing for the playground. Literally having four eyes, however, would be quite unacceptable. But if we advocate a chance existence, wouldn’t and shouldn’t everything be on the table? The scene I’m looking out on this morning took a long time to come to be. It used to be glaciers. They melted and people came. More people came and moved some of the original people. A city was built, a city burned, and a city was built again. More people came, then airplanes, then music, then coffee, then computers, then Californians. This all evolved to be sure, but not without order, unless you count city government.
Here’s the point, finally. All of this progress and evolution and change did not merely happen by chance. It had something to do with the watchful eye of an original intelligent designer. Whether through natural occurrence or technology pushed by the brains and ambition of its inhabitants, we have evolved. And we do fairly well until we get too far ahead of ourselves and try to fashion ourselves as better designers than the one who designed us. I’ve been to New Orleans. I’ve seen “flood plain” towns. I remember the “Challenger”. I live in a city built on a fault and I’ve visited the memorial at Mount St. Helens. We have our limits. Thankfully we’re not limited by chance.
Take, for example, the idea of diversity. It’s interesting that the more we advocate the acknowledgement and value of the diversity of humanity, we also want to dispute the origin of said diversity. In my humble opinion, diversity is the biggest argument in favor of intelligent design, or as I would put it; God. Think about it, in a place such as Seattle, where there are as many languages and cultures as there are coffee selections, diversity still holds one common strand called humanity. If this were all chance, as some would argue, then the caffeinated establishment that I inhabit this morning would look more like Star Wars than Starbucks. I’d be blogging from the Cantina.
Even in diversity and chance, we want order. Wearing glasses and being called “four eyes” is one thing for the playground. Literally having four eyes, however, would be quite unacceptable. But if we advocate a chance existence, wouldn’t and shouldn’t everything be on the table? The scene I’m looking out on this morning took a long time to come to be. It used to be glaciers. They melted and people came. More people came and moved some of the original people. A city was built, a city burned, and a city was built again. More people came, then airplanes, then music, then coffee, then computers, then Californians. This all evolved to be sure, but not without order, unless you count city government.
Here’s the point, finally. All of this progress and evolution and change did not merely happen by chance. It had something to do with the watchful eye of an original intelligent designer. Whether through natural occurrence or technology pushed by the brains and ambition of its inhabitants, we have evolved. And we do fairly well until we get too far ahead of ourselves and try to fashion ourselves as better designers than the one who designed us. I’ve been to New Orleans. I’ve seen “flood plain” towns. I remember the “Challenger”. I live in a city built on a fault and I’ve visited the memorial at Mount St. Helens. We have our limits. Thankfully we’re not limited by chance.
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