>>ANNOUNCER: TODAY, WHAT ARE
THE FOUR GREAT DISCOVERIES OF
MODERN SCIENCE THAT PROVE
GOD EXISTS? THE FIRST GREAT
DISCOVERY OF MODERN SCIENCE
IS THAT THE UNIVERSE HAD
A BEGINNING. WHERE DID IT COME
FROM? HISTORIAN OF SCIENCE FRED
BURNHAM HAS WRITTEN, "THE GOD
HYPOTHESIS IS NOW A MORE
PERSUASIVE AND RESPECTABLE
HYPOTHESIS THAN AT ANY TIME IN
THE LAST 100 YEARS." THE SECOND
GREAT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY
IS THAT SPACE AND TIME ALSO HAD
A BEGINNING. THIS DISCOVERY
DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION. IT CALLS
FOR A TRANSCENDENT CAUSE BEYOND
THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. THE THIRD
GREAT DISCOVERY OF MODERN
SCIENCE IS THAT THE LAWS AND
CONSTANTS OF THE UNIVERSE HAVE
BEEN FINE TUNED FOR HUMAN LIFE
TO EXIST. AS PHYSICIST
FRED HOYLE HAS WRITTEN,
"A COMMONSENSE INTERPRETATION
OF THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS A SUPER
INTELLECT HAS MONKEY'D WITH
PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY AS WELL
AS BIOLOGY TO MAKE LIFE
POSSIBLE." THE FOURTH GREAT
DISCOVERY OF MODERN SCIENCE IS
THE DIGITAL CODE EMBEDDED IN
THE DNA MOLECULE IN EVERY HUMAN
CELL. THE 3 BILLION CHARACTERS
OF PRECISE INFORMATION
IN THE DIGITAL CODE INSTRUCT
THE CELL HOW TO BUILD COMPLEX
MOLECULES TO DO THE WORK SO
THE CELL CAN STAY ALIVE. WHERE
DID THIS SPECIFIED INFORMATION
COME FROM? IT IS COMPELLING
EVIDENCE OF AN INTELLIGENT
DESIGNER FOR THE ORIGIN
OF HUMAN LIFE. MY GUEST TODAY
WHO WILL EXPLAIN THESE FOUR
GREAT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES IS
DR. STEPHEN MEYER, WHO RECEIVED
HIS PHD IN THE PHILOSOPHY
OF SCIENCE FROM CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY. HE IS CO-FOUNDER
OF THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN
MOVEMENT IN THE WORLD AND
A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE DISCOVERY
INSTITUTE. WE INVITE YOU TO
JOIN US FOR THIS SPECIAL EDITION
OF THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW.
>>ANKERBERG: WELCOME TO
OUR PROGRAM, WE'RE TALKING WITH
DR. STEPHEN MEYER, PHILOSOPHER
OF SCIENCE, WHO GOT HIS PH.D
AT CAMBRIDGE, IN ENGLAND.
HE'S WRITTEN A BESTSELLING BOOK,
SIGNATURE IN THE CELL THAT
WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IN PAST
PROGRAMS, "DNA AND THE EVIDENCE
FOR INTELLIGENT DESIGN."
AND WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THAT IF
YOU LOOK AT THE CELL, YOU'VE GOT
TRILLIONS OF CELLS IN YOUR BODY,
THOSE CELLS ARE SO FILLED WITH
INFORMATION, AND WE'VE LOOKED AT
SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AND
THAT SCREAMS FOR AN INTELLIGENT
DESIGNER. THAT'S WHAT
THE EVIDENCE SHOWS WHEN YOU LOOK
THROUGH THE MICROSCOPE. WHEN YOU
LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE,
WHICH IS WHERE WE'RE GOING NOW,
I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE
DESIGN THERE AS WELL. BUT THAT'S
NOT THE WORLDVIEW THAT'S AT
LARGE. WE'VE GOT NEW ATHEISTS
LIKE RICHARD DAWKINS, WHO WROTE
THE GOD DELUSION, CHRISTOPHER
HITCHENS, GOD IS NOT GREAT,
SAM HARRIS, THE END OF FAITH,
AND OTHERS. RICHARD DAWKINS SAID
EVERYTHING, WHETHER HERE OR
OTHER WORLDS, WHERE YOU SEE
INTELLIGENT DESIGN, IT'S NOT
REALLY AN INTELLIGENT DESIGNER
THAT'S DOING IT. THERE IS
NO INTELLIGENCE OUT THERE,
IT'S AN ILLUSION. NOW, STEPHEN,
WHEN YOU WERE WORKING ON
YOUR PH.D. AT CAMBRIDGE,
YOU INVESTIGATED THAT WORLDVIEW
AND COMPARED IT TO HOW SCIENCE
ACTUALLY STARTED.
TALK ABOUT THAT.
>>MEYER: WELL, IT'S REALLY BEEN
KIND OF A LIFE-LONG JOURNEY
INVESTIGATING THESE BIG
QUESTIONS AND THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN SCIENCE AND THE LARGER
WORLDVIEWS THAT WE HUMANS
FORMULATE TO MAKE SENSE OF
OUR EXPERIENCE. AND WHAT DAWKINS
IS SAYING IS THAT SCIENCE,
PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD, UNDERMINES
BELIEF IN GOD, IT CHALLENGES
BELIEF IN GOD. AND HIS ARGUMENT
RUNS SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
HE SAYS THAT THE STRONGEST
ARGUMENT FOR BELIEVING
IN GOD WAS ALWAYS THE ARGUMENT
FROM DESIGN. WHEN DARWIN CAME
ALONG, WE CAME TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THERE IS NO DESIGN
IN NATURE, ONLY THE ILLUSION
OR THE APPEARANCE OF DESIGN.
AND THEREFORE BELIEF IN GOD IS
TANTAMOUNT TO A DELUSION, AND
THAT'S THE TITLE OF HIS FAMOUS
BOOK, THE GOD DELUSION.
WHAT STRIKES ME ABOUT THAT IS
JUST HOW AT ODDS HIS PERSPECTIVE
IS WITH THE PERSPECTIVE OF
THE SCIENTISTS WHO ACTUALLY
FOUNDED WHAT WE CALL MODERN
SCIENCE. IF WE GO BACK TO
THE PERIOD OF NEWTON AND KEPLER
AND BOYLE AND GALILEO AND
COPERNICUS, THE PERIOD THAT
HISTORIANS OF SCIENCE CALL
"THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION,"
THE CONCEPT OF DESIGN,
INTELLIGENT DESIGN, WAS
ACTUALLY PART OF THE FOUNDATION
OF THE WHOLE SCIENTIFIC
ENTERPRISE. THE SCIENTISTS
AT THE TIME
AT THAT TIME, HAD A WATCH-WORD
OR A KIND OF A MOTTO AND IT WAS
THE IDEA OF "INTELLIGIBILITY."
THEY BELIEVED THAT THEY COULD
STUDY NATURE AND MAKE SENSE OF
IT BECAUSE IT WAS INTELLIGIBLE
TO THE HUMAN MIND. WHY?
BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN DESIGNED
BY A RATIONAL INTELLECT,
NAMELY IN THEIR VIEW,
THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN GOD.
>>ANKERBERG: GIVE ME
A FEW EXAMPLES.
>>MEYER: WELL, THERE ARE
MANY SCIENTISTS WHO HAD
THIS PERSPECTIVE. BUT TAKE, FOR
EXAMPLE, THE FOUNDER OF MODERN
BIOLOGY, JOHN RAY, IN HIS BOOK,
IT WAS ACTUALLY TITLED
THE WISDOM OF GOD MANIFESTED
IN THE WORKS OF CREATION, WHICH
WAS A PARAPHRASE OF A PASSAGE
IN THE BOOK OF ROMANS,
IN THE BIBLE, THAT AFFIRMS THAT
FROM THE THINGS THAT ARE MADE,
THE UNSEEN QUALITIES OF
THE CREATOR CAN BE KNOWN,
INCLUDING HIS WISDOM. YOU FIND
THIS PERSPECTIVE IN PHYSICS
AS WELL. IN FACT IT IS A WHOLE
SERIES OF SCIENTISTS THAT
EXPRESS THIS. JOHANNES KEPLER
SAID THAT, "WE, AS SCIENTISTS,
HAVE THE HIGH CALLING OF
THINKING GOD'S THOUGHTS
AFTER HIM." WHAT ARE WE DOING?
WE'RE PERCEIVING THE DESIGN,
THE ORDER, THE STRUCTURE THAT
HE PUT INTO THE UNIVERSE,
THE MATHEMATICAL HARMONY THAT
WAS PUT INTO THE UNIVERSE.
THAT WAS KEPLER'S PERSPECTIVE.
I THINK THIS PERSPECTIVE
REACHED, IN A SENSE, A KIND OF
MAGISTERIAL EPITOME IN THE WORKS
OF NEWTON. HE WROTE IN BOTH
THE OPTICKS, HIS FAMOUS WORK
ON THE EYE AND LIGHT, AND IN
HIS MOST FAMOUS WORK OF ALL,
THE PRINCIPIA, HE MADE DESIGN
ARGUMENTS. MANY SCIENTISTS
ASSUMED DESIGN, NEWTON WANTED
TO ESTABLISH IT BY THE EVIDENCE
BASED UPON WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL
"THE FINE-TUNING OF
THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE PLANETS
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM." HE WAS
AWARE THAT GRAVITY PROVIDED
A FORCE THAT WAS BEING HARNESSED
TO KEEP EVERYTHING GOING, BUT
HE ALSO REALIZED THAT THE FORCES
OF GRAVITY THAT WERE IN PLAY
FROM ONE PLANET TO ANOTHER,
AND THE SUN TO THE DIFFERENT
PLANETS, WERE SO COMPLICATED
THAT IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT
TO IMAGINE HOW YOU COULD GET
ALL THOSE FORCES TO BALANCE
TO MAINTAIN A STABLE ORBIT.
SO IN THE PRINCIPIA, HE ACTUALLY
ARGUES THAT THE BEST EXPLANATION
OF THAT FINE-TUNING OF
THE PLANETARY CONFIGURATION
IS THE DESIGN OF AN INTELLIGENT
AND POWERFUL BEING, WITH
A CAPITAL "B". LET ME READ YOU
THE QUOTE, IT'S VERY ELEGANTLY
STATED, HE SAYS, "THOUGH THESE
BODIES MAY INDEED CONTINUE IN
THEIR ORBITS BY THE MERE LAWS
OF GRAVITY, YET THEY COULD BY
NO MEANS HAVE FIRST DERIVED
THE REGULAR POSITION OF
THE ORBITS THEMSELVES FROM THOSE
LAWS." HE'S TALKING ABOUT WHAT
PHYSICISTS TODAY CALL "INITIAL
CONDITIONS"; THEY'RE FINELY
TUNED TO ALLOW FOR THIS SYSTEM
TO BE STABLE. "THUS THIS MOST
BEAUTIFUL SYSTEM OF THE SUN,
COMETS, AND PLANETS COULD ONLY
PROCEED FROM THE COUNSEL AND
DOMINION OF AN INTELLIGENT AND
POWERFUL BEING." THIS IS
NEWTON'S ARGUMENT IN WHAT IS
ARGUABLY ONE OF THE GREATEST
WORKS OF PHYSICS EVER WRITTEN.
IT'S RIGHT IN THE STRUCTURE OF
HIS CASE. SO, IT RAISES, FOR ME,
A KIND OF CURIOUS QUESTION WHEN
I LISTEN TO DAWKINS, WHICH IS,
HOW DO WE GET FROM NEWTON AND
KEPLER AND GALILEO AND
COPERNICUS, FROM THOSE GUYS,
WITH THEIR PERSPECTIVE THAT
DESIGN IS NOT ONLY NECESSARY
FOR DOING SCIENCE BUT EVIDENT
IN THE NATURAL WORLD, TO THESE
MODERN NEW ATHEISTS WHO SAY THAT
SCIENCE HAS SHOWN THERE'S
NO DESIGN AND THEREFORE
BELIEF IN GOD IS DELUSIONAL?
>>ANKERBERG: ALRIGHT, STEPHEN,
LET'S ANSWER THAT QUESTION,
HOW DID WE GET FROM
NEWTON TO DAWKINS?
>>MEYER: IT REALLY IS THE STORY
OF 19TH CENTURY SCIENCE AND
WHAT BEGAN TO CHANGE. THERE'S...
THE FIRST PART OF IT HAS TO DO
WITH A MAN NAMED LAPLACE. HE WAS
A FRENCH PHYSICIST WHO WANTED
TO SHOW THAT YOU COULD DO WHAT
NEWTON WHAT SAID YOU COULDN'T
DO, WHICH WAS EXPLAIN THE ORIGIN
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM ITSELF,
AS A RESULT OF PURELY UNDIRECTED
NATURAL FORCES WITHOUT RECOURSE
TO ANY DESIGNING INTELLIGENCE.
HE WROTE A BOOK CALLED,
THE CELESTIAL MECHANICS
THAT BECAME A GREAT CLASSIC IN
PHYSICS, IN WHICH HE ATTEMPTED
TO DO THAT. HE APPARENTLY WAS
CALLED BEFORE NAPOLEON TO
RECEIVE COMMENDATION FOR MAKING
FRENCH SCIENCE PROUD AS A RESULT
OF PUBLISHING THIS BOOK.
AND AS THE STORY GOES,
NAPOLEON TELLS HIM, YOU KNOW,
WHAT A WONDERFUL JOB HE'S DONE,
SHOWED UP THE BRITISH AND WROTE
THIS GREAT BOOK OF SCIENCE.
BUT HE NOTICED THAT HE DIDN'T
MENTION GOD IN HIS SCIENTIFIC
WORKS, AND YET SIR ISAAC NEWTON
HAD MENTIONED HIM ON NEARLY
EVERY PAGE. AND LAPLACE IS SAID
TO HAVE KIND OF PUFFED HIMSELF
UP AND HE SAID, "SIRE, I HAVE
NO NEED OF THAT HYPOTHESIS."
AND WE DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS
ACTUALLY TRUE, BUT IT BECAME
EMBLEMATIC OF WHAT WOULD UNFOLD
IN THE 19TH CENTURY, AS SCIENCE
EXPLAINED MORE OF THESE GREAT
EVENTS IN THE HISTORY
OF THE COSMOS, THESE ORIGINS
EVENTS. LAPLACE ATTEMPTED TO
EXPLAIN THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM. LYELL CAME ALONG IN
GEOLOGY AND ATTEMPTED TO EXPLAIN
THE ORIGIN OF THE GREAT
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES AS A RESULT
OF THE OUTWORKING OF SLOW,
GRADUAL, NATURALISTIC PROCESSES,
WHETHER THE MOUNTAINS OR
THE CANYONS OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
THEN DARWIN CAME ALONG
AND EXPLAINED THE ORIGIN
OF THE NEW SPECIES FROM SIMPLER
PRE-EXISTING SPECIES. SCIENTISTS
FOLLOWED HIM, ATTEMPTED TO
EXPLAIN THE ORIGIN OF THE LIFE,
THOSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN
PREVIOUS SECTIONS OF THIS SHOW,
NOT SO SUCCESSFULLY. BUT BY
THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY,
THERE WAS THIS PERSPECTIVE THAT
YOU COULD HAVE A COMPLETELY,
SEAMLESS, NATURALISTIC ACCOUNT
OF THE WHOLE OF THE UNIVERSE,
FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM TO THE ORIGIN
OF THE PLANET EARTH AND
THE CANYONS, TO THE ORIGIN
OF LIFE TO THE ORIGIN OF NEW
SPECIES, EVEN TO THE ORIGIN OF
MAN, AS DARWIN EXTENDED HIS IDEA
OF EVOLUTION TO ACCOUNT
FOR THE HUMAN SPECIES. SO,
IT WAS A KIND OF A SEAMLESS,
NATURALISTIC ACCOUNT. AND
ONE SCIENTIST HAS SAID OF
DARWIN, THAT HE HELPED ESTABLISH
THIS MATERIALISTIC WORLDVIEW.
DOUGLAS FUTUYMA, IN HIS STANDARD
EVOLUTIONARY TEXTBOOK SAYS,
"BY COUPLING THE UNDIRECTED,
PURPOSELESS VARIATIONS TO
THE BLIND UNCARING PROCESS OF
NATURAL SELECTION, DARWIN MADE
THEOLOGICAL OR SPIRITUAL
EXPLANATIONS OF LIFE
SUPERFLUOUS." HE HAD NO NEED
OF THAT HYPOTHESIS, JUST AS
LAPLACE HAD NO NEED OF IT.
SO, BY THE END OF
THE 19TH CENTURY, YOU HAVE NOT
ONLY A SERIES OF THEORIES ABOUT
ORIGINS, YOU HAVE A KIND OF
COMPREHENSIVE WORLDVIEW THAT
GIVES A FULL ACCOUNT OF WHERE
EVERYTHING CAME FROM, WITHOUT
ANY RECOURSE TO A DESIGNING
MIND, TO A CREATOR, TO GOD,
ANY EXTERNAL AGENT OF ANY KIND.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW
WE GOT FROM NEWTON TO DAWKINS.
AND DAWKINS, IN TALKING ABOUT
THE NEW ATHEISM, IS REALLY
RECYCLING THE PERSPECTIVE
OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY.
>>ANKERBERG: ALRIGHT, WE'RE
GOING TO TAKE A BREAK AND WHEN
WE COME BACK, WE'RE GOING TO
TURN THE CORNER. WE'RE GOING
TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT REFUTES
THE MATERIALISTIC, NATURALISTIC
WORLD VIEW AND REFUTES THE NEW
ATHEISTS AND WHAT THE'RE SAYING
THAT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE
OF DESIGN WHEN YOU LOOK AT
THE UNIVERSE. WE'RE GOING TO
TALK ABOUT THAT AND HE'S GOING
TO LAY IT OUT FOR YOU.
STICK WITH US.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.
>>ANNOUNCER: IF YOU WOULD LIKE
TO HAVE THE INFORMATION
IN OUR SERIES, THE FOUR GREAT
DISCOVERIES OF MODERN SCIENCE
THAT PROVE GOD EXISTS,
WITH DR. STEPHEN MEYER, IT IS
AVAILABLE ON DVD FOR A GIFT
OF $49. AND YOU MAY ORDER
THIS SERIES NOW BY CALLING US
AT 1-800-805-3030.
>>ANKERBERG: ALRIGHT, WE'RE BACK
AND WE'RE TALKING WITH
DR. STEPHEN MEYER, PHILOSOPHER
OF SCIENCE, AND WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT: WHAT IS THE MATERIALISTIC
WORLDVIEW AND WHAT IS
THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT
IS STARTING TO REFUTE THAT?
>>MEYER: WELL, IF YOU THINK
ABOUT WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT
IN THE LAST SEGMENT,
HOW THE SCIENTISTS IN
THE 19TH CENTURY HAD DEVELOPED
A SERIES OF IDEAS ABOUT HOW ALL
THE BIG THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE
AROSE, THEY HAD AN EXPLANATION
(OR, AT LEAST, SO THEY THOUGHT)
FOR THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM, FOR THE ORIGIN OF
THE GREAT GEOLOGIC FEATURES,
THE ORIGIN OF NEW FORMS OF LIFE,
THE FIRST LIFE, THEY HAD THIS
SEAMLESS, MATERIALISTIC ACCOUNT.
BUT IF YOU WERE TO ASK
A QUESTION ABOUT THAT, THERE WAS
ONE UNANSWERED QUESTION,
AND IT WAS, WELL, WHERE DID
ALL THE MATTER COME FROM IN
THE FIRST PLACE? WHERE DID ALL
THE PARTICLES AND THE GASES
COME FROM THAT WERE NECESSARY,
TO BUILD EVEN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
WELL, THAT DIDN'T BOTHER
SCIENTISTS IN THE 19TH CENTURY
SO MUCH BECAUSE THEY ASSUMED
THAT THE UNIVERSE WAS INFINITE,
THAT IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN HERE.
SO, IF YOU WANT TO TELL
THE STORY OF THE COSMOS, YOU GO
BACK FROM HUMAN LIFE, TO SIMPLER
LIFE, TO THE FIRST LIFE,
TO THE CHEMICALS, OUT OF WHICH
THE FIRST LIFE WAS MADE,
TO THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES,
AND THOSE HAVE BEEN HERE
FROM ETERNITY PAST. AND SO
THE MATERIALISTIC WORLDVIEW
COULD BE SUMMARIZED IN A KIND
OF A LITTLE CREDO THAT RUNS
SOMETHING LIKE THIS: FROM
ETERNITY PAST WERE
THE PARTICLES, NOT
"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE...,"
YOU KNOW, BUT FROM ETERNITY
PAST WERE THE PARTICLES, AND
THE PARTICLES ARRANGED
THEMSELVES AND BECAME MORE
COMPLEX STUFF, MORE COMPLEX
CHEMICALS. AND THE CHEMICALS
ARRANGED THEMSELVES AND BECAME
THE FIRST LIVING CELL. AND THAT
EVENTUALLY EVOLVED BY UNDIRECTED
MATERIALISTIC PROCESSES, NAMELY
NATURAL SELECTION, AND THAT CELL
BECAME MORE COMPLEX LIFE.
AND THOSE LIVING FORMS
EVENTUALLY CONCEIVED OF THE IDEA
OF GOD. YOU KNOW, THEY BECAME
AWARE FIRST, AND THEN CONCEIVED
OF THE IDEA OF GOD. SO, IN
THE MATERIALISTIC WORLDVIEW,
THERE IS A PLACE FOR GOD,
BUT GOD IS A CONCEPT IN THE MIND
OF ONE OF THE EVOLVED FORMS
OF LIFE, NAMELY US, BUT GOD HAS
NO REALITY. AND WHAT IS
FUNDAMENTAL, WHAT IS THE THING
FROM WHICH EVERYTHING ELSE
COMES, IS THE PARTICLES,
IS MATTER AND ENERGY THAT HAS
BEEN HERE FROM ETERNITY PAST.
SO, THAT'S A PERSPECTIVE THAT'S
NOT JUST BASED ON CERTAIN
SCIENTIFIC THEORIES, IT'S
COMPREHENSIVE AND IN THAT SENSE
IT'S A KIND OF A PHILOSOPHY OR
A WORLDVIEW, A COMPREHENSIVE WAY
OF LOOKING AT EVERYTHING.
>>ANKERBERG: VERY CLEAR,
VERY CLEAR PICTURE OF
THE MATERIALISTIC VIEW. NOW,
LET'S GET INTO THE STUFF -
WHAT'S THE NEW SCIENCE
THAT IS DESTROYING THAT?
>>MEYER: WELL, REMEMBER, ONE OF
THE KEY PREMISES THAT IS IN
THIS WORLDVIEW IS THAT MATTER
AND ENERGY ARE ETERNAL
AND SELF-EXISTENT AND THEN
ALSO SELF-ORGANIZING.
BUT THE FABULOUS, EXTRAORDINARY
DISCOVERY OF MODERN COSMOLOGY
IS THAT THE UNIVERSE IS NOT
ETERNAL, THAT IT'S NOT ALWAYS
BEEN HERE, TIME IS NOT INFINITE
IN DURATION, GOING ALL THE WAY
BACK. AND WHAT FIRST MADE
SCIENTISTS AWARE OF THIS WAS
THINGS THAT THEY WERE SEEING
THROUGH THE TELESCOPES,
THE GREAT LAR...
THE DOME TELESCOPES THAT CAME
ON THE SCENE IN THE 1920'S.
AND THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF
EDWIN HUBBLE, FOR WHOM
THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE OF TODAY IS
NAMED. HUBBLE BEGAN TO WORK IN
ASTRONOMY AT A VERY PROPITIOUS
TIME, RIGHT IN THE 1920'S, AS
THESE GREAT DOME TELESCOPES WERE
BEING DESIGNED AND CREATED. AND
AS A RESULT OF THESE TELESCOPES,
THEY COULD CAPTURE A GREAT DEAL
OF LIGHT COMING FROM THE NIGHT
SKY. AND WE'RE ABLE TO RESOLVE
LITTLE TINY PINPRICKS OF LIGHT
THAT PREVIOUSLY WE COULDN'T
MAKE OUT. AND BEFORE THE 1920'S
THERE WAS A DEBATE AMONG
ASTRONOMERS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT
THE MILKY WAY, THE GALAXY IN
WHICH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM RESIDES,
WAS THE ONLY GALAXY OR NOT.
WHAT HUBBLE DISCOVERED WAS,
FIRST OF ALL, THAT THERE WERE
MANY GALAXIES IN EVERY QUADRANT
OF THE SKY. AND I'VE GOT
SOME PHOTOS, OF SOME, JUST
THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.
HERE HE IS AT HIS TELESCOPE
HAVING A LOOK, AND HE'S GOT
SPINDLE NEBULAE THAT
HE DISCOVERS -
AND SOME OF THESE, SOME OF
THESE ARE SOME OF HIS ORIGINAL
PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES - SPIRAL
NEBULA, SKETCHES THAT HE MADE
OF THESE BEAUTIFUL, GALACTIC
PHENOMENA. AND NOW WE KNOW THAT
AS YOU LOOK AT ANY, ANY QUADRANT
OF THE SKY, IN WHICH YOU CHOSE
TO FOCUS, AND THEN YOU MAGNIFY
THAT, THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED"
THE HUBBLE DEEP FIELD," THE...
EVEN THE TINIEST LITTLE QUADRANT
IS JUST CHOCK-FULL OF GALAXIES
IN EVERY DIRECTION. SO IT'S
AN IMMENSE AND ENORMOUS
UNIVERSE. THAT'S THE FIRST THING
HE DISCOVERS. BUT THE SECOND
THING IS EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT,
PHILOSOPHICALLY AND
SCIENTIFICALLY, AND THAT IS THAT
THE GALAXIES, THE LIGHT COMING
FROM THESE GALAXIES IS SHIFTED
IN THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
FROM RED TO VIOLET. IT'S SHIFTED
IN THE RED DIRECTION OF
THE SPECTRUM, INDICATING THAT
THE LIGHT IS COMING FROM OBJECTS
THAT ARE RECEDING, THAT ARE
MOVING AWAY FROM US VERY FAST.
SOME OF YOUR VIEWERS WOULD
PROBABLY REMEMBER THE DOPPLER
EFFECT. WE'RE AWARE OF IT WITH
SOUND; IF YOU HAVE A TRAIN
RECEIVED FROM THE PITCH OF
THE TRAIN, THE [SOUND EFFECT]
GOES DOWN.
THE SAME THING HAPPENS WITH
LIGHT. IF AN OBJECT IS RECEDING,
THE WAVELENGTH STRETCHES OUT AND
LONGER WAVELENGTHS CORRESPOND
TO THE RED END OF THE SPECTRUM.
SO LIGHT THAT'S SHIFTED IN
THE RED DIRECTION IS INDICATING
A RECESSIONAL VELOCITY:
THE THING IS MOVING AWAY FROM
US. AND WHAT HUBBLE DISCOVERED
WAS THAT NO MATTER WHICH
QUADRANT OF THE SKY WE LOOK,
WE FIND GALAXIES THAT ARE MOVING
AWAY FROM US. AND THAT LED TO
AN AMAZING, AMAZING CONCLUSION,
WHICH IS THAT THE UNIVERSE IS
EXPANDING AND IT'S EXPANDING
OUTWARD IN ALL DIRECTIONS,
IT'S A KIND OF A SPHERICAL
EXPANSION, IF YOU WILL.
AND I'VE GOT A WAY OF
ILLUSTRATING THAT, IF YOU WILL,
OKAY? AND THIS IS A SIMPLE
BALLOON. BUT THE IDEA,
IF EVERY, IF EVERY
GALAXY IS MOVING AWAY FROM US
AND IF THE FURTHER AWAY IT IS,
THE FASTER IT'S GOING, WHICH
IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT HUBBLE
DISCOVERED. THE ONLY WAY TO
MAKE SENSE OF THAT IS THAT
THE UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING IN
A SPHERICAL WAY, LIKE THIS.
[BLOWS UP THE BALLOON.]
IN OTHER WORDS, AS YOU'RE GOING
IN THE FORWARD DIRECTION OF
TIME, THE GALAXIES ARE MOVING
FURTHER AWAY FROM EACH OTHER
AND THE UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING.
[ADDS MORE AIR TO BALLOON.]
OKAY. REAL SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION.
KIND OF AN OVAL-SHAPED UNIVERSE
HERE. ANYWAY, AS YOU...
WHAT HAPPENS THOUGH,
THINK ABOUT THIS.
WHAT HAPPENS AS YOU BEGIN
TO BACK EXTRAPOLATE,
AS THE SCIENTISTS SAY,
AS YOU BEGIN TO THINK
ABOUT THE UNIVERSE
WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE 1000
YEARS AGO, OR 100,000 YEARS AGO
OR 1,000,000 YEARS AGO, YOU GO
BACK AS FAR AS YOU WANT, AND AT
EACH STEP BACK THE UNIVERSE IS
GOING TO BE GETTER SMALLER AND
SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER
UNTIL FINALLY YOU GET TO A POINT
WHERE ALL THE MATTER IN
THE UNIVERSE IS CONGEALED INTO
A SINGLE POINT. AND THAT MARKS
THE BEGINNING OF EXPANSION,
AND ALSO THE BEGINNING OF
THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. AND SO,
CONTRARY TO THE 19TH CENTURY
PERSPECTIVE THAT SAID THAT
THE UNIVERSE WAS ETERNAL
AND SELF-EXISTING AND IT WAS
INFINITE IN DURATION IN TIME
GOING BACK, HUBBLE'S DISCOVERY
WAS THE FIRST OF MANY INDICATORS
THAT THE UNIVERSE ACTUALLY HAD
A DEFINITE BEGINNING; IN FACT,
A DEFINITE BEGINNING IN TIME.
AND THAT ESTABLISHED NOW WHAT WE
REFER TO AS "THE FINITE NATURE
OF THE UNIVERSE." IT'S NOT
INFINITE IN TIME, IT'S FINITE,
IT HAS A BEGINNING.
>>ANKERBERG: NEXT WAS EINSTEIN.
>>MEYER: WELL, EINSTEIN HAS
A VERY INTERESTING ROLE IN THIS
STORY, BECAUSE HE, YOU KNOW,
THE GUY WITH THE BAD HAIR THAT
WE ALL KNOW THAT IS THE ICON
OF SCIENCE ITSELF. AND HE WAS
WORKING ON A THEORY CALLED
"GENERAL RELATIVITY"
IN THE TEENS. WE'RE PRIOR
TO HUBBLE. AND AS A RESULT...
THIS IS A THEORY OF GRAVITY
THAT IMPLIED THAT MASSIVE
OBJECTS CAUSE SPACE ITSELF
TO ACTUALLY BEND OR
CREATE A CURVATURE OF SPACE.
AND HIS THEORY IMPLIED THAT
THE UNIVERSE WAS EXPANDING
AND DECELERATING, AS IF,...
A GOOD ILLUSTRATION MIGHT BE
LIKE A FIRE-CRACKER - YOU LIGHT
IT, YOU THROW IT IN THE AIR, IT
GOES KA-BANG AND THEN YOU HAVE
THE PAPER SHRAPNEL, THAT FIRST
ACCELERATES VERY QUICKLY AND
THEN KIND OF FLUTTERS,
FLUTTERS TO THE GROUND. AND IN
OTHER WORDS, THE IMPLICATION
OF HIS THEORY, AND THE MATH THAT
DESCRIBED WHAT THE UNIVERSE WAS
DOING, IMPLIED THAT THE UNIVERSE
WAS EXPANDING AND DECELERATING,
BUT THEN IF YOU WIND THE CLOCK
BACK AGAIN, THAT IT HAD
A BEGINNING. SO, EINSTEIN'S
THEORY AND HUBBLE'S OBSERVATIONS
CONVERGED ON THIS CONCLUSION
THAT THERE MUST BE A BEGINNING.
BUT THE INTERESTING PART
OF THE STORY IS THAT
EINSTEIN DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE
HIS OWN RESULTS. HE DIDN'T WANT
TO BELIEVE HIS OWN MATH. AND SO
WHAT HE DID IS, HE POSITED
AN ARBITRARY VALUE FOR ONE OF
THE CONSTANTS IN HIS EQUATION.
HIS EQUATION... THE FIELD
EQUATIONS OF RELATIVITY,
GENERAL RELATIVITY IMPLIED THAT
THE UNIVERSE WAS EXPANDING,
AND IT HAD TO BE EXPANDING TO
COUNTERACT THE FORCE OF GRAVITY,
BECAUSE IF WE ONLY HAD GRAVITY,
WE'D ALL COLLAPSE INTO ONE BIG
BALL. SO, HE POSITED NOT ONLY
GRAVITY, BUT THERE WAS
AN EXPANSION FORCE, BUT THEN
HE POSITED ANOTHER FORCE OF
JUST THE RIGHT STRENGTH,
A CONTRACTING FORCE THAT WOULD
COUNTERACT THE EXPANSION FORCE.
AND THAT WAS CALLED HIS
"COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT."
NOW, HE HAD NO PHYSICAL
JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS, NO
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS. BUT
HE WAS, AT THE TIME, STRONGLY
PERSUADED OF THE NATURALISTIC,
THE MATERIALISTIC WORLDVIEW THAT
SAID THAT THE UNIVERSE WAS
ETERNAL AND INFINITE IN TIME.
AND THE IDEA OF A BEGINNING TO
THE UNIVERSE WAS JUST ABHORRENT
TO HIM, SO HE POSITED THIS
AS A KIND OF PHILOSOPHICAL
NECESSITY TO KEEP THE UNIVERSE
STATIC, AND THEREBY ETERNAL
IN TIME. AND HE LATER LEARNED,
THAT, WELL, HE'D MADE A BIT
OF A MISTAKE ON THAT. IN FACT,
IT WAS ENCOUNTERING HUBBLE
THAT GOT HIM TO CHANGE
HIS MIND AGAIN.
>>ANKERBERG: EINSTEIN MADE UP
THIS COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT,
AND YET LATER ON THE EVIDENCE
BROUGHT HIM BACK AND SHOWED HIM
THAT HE WAS WRONG, AND HE
ADMITTED THAT HE WAS WRONG.
WHAT HAPPENED?
>>MEYER: WELL, IT'S A FAMOUS
STORY. HE WAS INVITED OUT
TO THE PALOMAR OBSERVATORY,
MT. WILSON, IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA. HUBBLE HAD MADE
THESE AMAZING DISCOVERIES ABOUT
THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE.
HE WRITES TO EINSTEIN AND
INVITES HIM TO COME OUT AND SEE
WHAT HE'S SEEN, AND THERE'S SOME
NEWSREEL FOOTAGE FROM THE TIME.
EINSTEIN GOES OUT, HE MEETS
WITH THESE OTHER SCIENTISTS,
THE MEDIA'S GATHERED THERE.
HE GOES IN, HE LOOKS IN
THE TELESCOPE, IT'S ALL
PRE-STAGED. BUT WHEN HE COMES
OUT, HE SAYS IN HIS HEAVY GERMAN
ACCENT, HE SAYS, "I NOW SEE
THE NECESSITY OF A BEGINNING."
AND HE LATER ANNOUNCED THAT HIS
FUDGE FACTOR, THE PRECISE VALUE
THAT HE SET FOR THE COSMOLOGICAL
CONSTANT, WAS THE GREATEST
MISTAKE OF HIS SCIENTIFIC
CAREER; THAT INSTEAD
OF A INFINITE UNIVERSE, UNIVERSE
INFINITE IN TIME, THERE WAS NOW
DECISIVE EVIDENCE FROM
THE HEAVENS, FROM THE TELESCOPE,
THAT THERE WAS A DEFINITE
BEGINNING TO THE UNIVERSE,
JUST AS HIS THEORY OF GENERAL
RELATIVITY FIRST IMPLIED.
SO, HE HAD THESE TWO STRAINS
OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY,
ONE THEORETICAL, ONE EMPIRICAL,
CONVERGING ON THE CONCLUSION
THERE MUST BE A BEGINNING,
IN STARK CONTRADICTION
TO THE KEY TENANT
OF THE NATURALISTIC WORLDVIEW
THAT SAYS THAT THE UNIVERSE
IS ETERNAL AND SELF-EXISTANT
AND INFINITE IN TIME.
SO, THIS IS A HUGE CHALLANGE
TO THE SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM.
>>ANKERBERG: NEXT WEEK WE'RE
GOING TO TURN THE CORNER AND
WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT
THE FACT IS, YEAH, THAT RUBBED
THE SCIENTISTS THE WRONG WAY,
BECAUSE IT KNOCKED OUT THEIR
NATURALISTIC, MATERIALISTIC
WORLDVIEW. AND SO THEY FOUGHT
BACK, AND THEY HAD OTHER
THEORIES THAT THEY PROPOSED,
AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT
THOSE THEORIES AND WE'RE GOING
TO SEE THAT SCIENCE CONTINUES
TO REFUTE THOSE THEORIES.
SO, FOLKS, JOIN US NEXT WEEK.
>>ANNOUNCER: STAY TUNED FOR
SCENES FROM NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM.
>>ANNOUNCER: IF YOU WOULD LIKE
TO HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION
IN OUR NEW SERIES, THE FOUR
GREAT DISCOVERIES OF MODERN
SCIENCE THAT PROVE GOD EXISTS,
WITH DR. STEPHEN MEYER, IT IS
AVAILABLE ON DVD FOR A GIFT
OF $49. YOU WILL LEARN HOW
SCIENTISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT
THE UNIVERSE HAD A DEFINITE
BEGINNING, A DISCOVERY THAT
VERIFIES THE BIBLICAL STATEMENT:
"IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED
THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH."
HOW SPACE AND TIME ALSO HAD
A BEGINNING, A DISCOVERY THAT
DEMANDS A TRANSCENDENT CAUSE
BEYOND THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
ITSELF. A CAUSE WHICH CHRISTIANS
CALL GOD. HOW THE UNIVERSE HAS
BEEN FINE-TUNED FOR HUMAN LIFE
TO EXIST. AND HOW DESIGN HAS
BEEN BUILT INTO THE VERY FABRIC
OF THE LAWS AND CONSTANTS
OF PHYSICS. AND HOW THE DIGITAL
CODE IN THE DNA MOLECULE OF
EVERY HUMAN CELL IS COMPELLING
EVIDENCE OF AN INTELLIGENT
DESIGNER FOR THE ORIGIN
OF HUMAN LIFE.
ALL FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS
IN THIS IMPORTANT SERIES
ARE AVAILABLE ON DVD
FOR A GIFT OF $49. THEN SECOND,
OUR SERIES, DOES THE NEW
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ABOUT
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE PUT AN END
TO DARWINIAN EVOLUTION?
ALSO WITH DR. STEPHEN MEYER.
IN THIS SERIES YOU WILL LEARN
HOW THE HUMAN CELL IS COMPLEX
BEYOND BELIEF, A VERITABLE
MICRO-MINIATURIZED FACTORY,
CONTAINING THOUSANDS OF
EXQUISITELY DESIGNED PIECES
OF MOLECULAR MACHINERY.
HOW THE 3 BILLION CHARACTERS OF
PRECISE DIGITAL CODE EMBEDDED IN
THE DNA MOLECULE, IS COMPELLING
EVIDENCE OF AN INTELLIGENT
DESIGNER FOR THE ORIGIN OF
HUMAN LIFE. ALL FIVE TELEVISION
PROGRAMS IN THIS SERIES ARE
AVAILABLE ON DVD FOR A GIFT
OF $49. AND THIRD, WE HAVE
WRITTEN TWO NEW STUDY GUIDES
WITH EXTENSIVE NOTES THAT
PARALLELS EACH OF OUR TELEVISION
SERIES WITH DR. MEYER. THEY ARE
AVAILABLE FOR A GIFT OF $8 EACH
OR FOR FIVE OR MORE COPIES,
FOR $5 EACH. FOURTH, WE ARE
MAKING AVAILABLE 3 BEAUTIFUL
DOCUMENTARY FILMS. FIRST,
UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY OF LIFE,
WHICH WILL TRANSPORT YOU
BY STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTER
ANIMATION INTO THE INTERIOR
OF THE TRILLIONS OF CELLS IN OUR
BODIES, TO SHOW YOU THE SYSTEMS
AND MACHINES THAT ARE PRESENT
AND BEAR THE UNMISTAKABLE
HALLMARKS OF GOD'S DESIGN.
SECOND, THE HOUR LONG FILM
DOCUMENTARY, THE PRIVILEGED
PLANET, WHICH WILL SHOW YOU
HOW THE LAWS OF PHYSICS ARE
PRECISELY "FINE-TUNED" FOR
THE EXISTENCE OF LIFE. WHY
EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT PROVIDES
A DELICATE, AND EXCEEDINGLY
RARE, CRADLE FOR COMPLEX LIFE,
AND POINTS TO A UNIVERSE
THAT IS DESIGNED BY GOD.
THIRD, THE DOCUMENTARY FILM,
DARWIN'S DILEMMA, WHICH
EXPLORES THE CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION
OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. WHERE ARE
THE MISSING TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS
AND LINKS THAT DARWIN POSTULATED
SHOULD BE IN THE FOSSIL RECORD?
CAN ANY NATURALISTIC,
EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS EXPLAIN
THIS STARTLING EXPLOSION
OF EARLY PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE,
OR DOES THE CAMBRIAN FOSSIL
RECORD POINT UNMISTAKABLY TO
PURPOSE AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN.
THE 3 DOCUMENTARY MOVIES
ARE AVAILABLE FOR A GIFT OF $45.
AND FINALLY, IF YOU WOULD LIKE
TO HAVE ALL OF THE MATERIALS
MENTIONED TODAY,
INCLUDING THE 2 TELEVISION
SERIES, PLUS THE 2 STUDY GUIDES,
PLUS THE 3 DOCUMENTARY MOVIES,
ALL OF THESE MATERIALS TOGETHER
ARE AVAILABLE IN A SPECIAL
PACKAGE FOR ONLY $129.
AND YOU MAY ORDER
THIS SPECIAL PACKAGE NOW
BY CALLING US AT 1-800-805-3030.
THAT'S 1-800-805-3030.
OR YOU MAY ORDER THESE PROGRAMS
AT OUR WEBSITE AT JASHOW.ORG.
>>ANNOUNCER: NEXT WEEK ON
THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW:
>>DR. STEPHEN MEYER: WHEN
I HEARD HIM SPEAK HE WAS
DESCRIBING THE EVIDENCE FOR
THE BIG BANG. AND HE SAYS,
"HERE IS EVIDENCE FOR WHAT
CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED
AS A SUPERNATURAL EVENT."
