Evidence for Design in Nature

On our websites, we often talk about evidence for design in nature. When average people see the amazingly organized structures in living organisms, they can’t help but feel that they must be designed. Even Richard Dawkins, the evolutionist best known for his worldwide atheism campaign, said that living systems “give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose” (The Blind Watchmaker, page 1). Of course, he adds that it is only an illusion. Atheist Francis Crick, who with James Watson, discovered the helical structure of DNA, warned biologists that they must “constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved” (What Mad Pursuit, page 138).

The intuition of design is nothing new. Plato and Aristotle saw evidence for design in nature and thought there must be a mind behind it. Of course, they could not know about the information-rich DNA molecule and the intricate structures within every living cell. They didn’t even know about cells. Even Charles Darwin thought that cells were just jelly-like protoplasm. He had no idea that there are machines, transportation vehicles, gates, duplicators, inspectors, and trash collectors within the cell wall in a city-like structure.

The more we learn about the inner workings of living things, the more we see design evidence not even imagined in previous years. Every living cell has a DNA molecule containing the instructions for building the proteins and structures required for that living creature. Computer pioneer Bill Gates wrote, “DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software ever created” (The Road Ahead, page 188). Even Richard Dawkins wrote, “The machine code in the genes is uncannily computer-like” (River Out of Eden, page 17).

Is there evidence for design in nature? Let me ask another question. Has any computer program ever created itself by chance, or did an intelligent mind write it? Apply that thought to the living things you see every day.

— Roland Earnst © 2025