Design Argument in Scientific Discourse: Historical-Theological Perspective From the Seventeenth Century, The

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Mar 1998 by Hutchison, John C

For the works of God are not like the tricks of jugglers, or the pageants that entertain princes, where concealment is requisite to wonder; but the knowledge of the works of God proportions our admiration of them, they participating and disclosing so much of the unexhausted perfections of their Author, that the further we contemplate them, the more footsteps and impressions we discover of the perfections of their Creator; and our utmost can but give us a just veneration of His omniscience.16

2. Application of the design argument. Although Boyle recognized the limits of human reason, he believed that man's reason could lead him from knowledge of the physical universe to religious knowledge about God. This was, in fact, one of his chief purposes for studying science:

God has couched so many things in his visible works, that, the clearer light a man has, the more he may discover of their unobvious exquisiteness, and the more clearly and distinctly he may discern those qualities, that lie more obvious. And the more wonderful things he discovers in the works of nature, the more auxiliary proofs he meets with to establish and enforce the argument, drawn from the universe and its parts, to evince that there is a God: which is a proposition of that vast weight and importance, that it ought to endear every thing to us, that is able to confirm it, and afford us new motives to acknowledge and adore the divine Author of things. 17

The attributes of God noted above-namely, power, wisdom and goodnesswere those most often emphasized in Boyle's reflections on nature. Eugene Klaaren observes that Boyle "consistently reasoned from, not to, the theology of design."ls Knowing of divines who warned against the study of nature as promoting atheism, Boyle was determined to show the fallacy of their thinking. To his credit he maintained balance in his theological conclusions and did not take teleology to an extreme. He found the study of stars, planets and the heavens fascinating, revealing the vastness of the universe. But he did not use astronomy extensively in his teleological argument because of the unclear purpose for the heavenly bodies. Generally he treated inanimate objects in the same way. His arguments from design most often focused upon living creatures and man, which he reasoned could not have come about by blind chance. 19

3. A sense of wonder at God's works. The doxological purpose for Boyle's study of science is unmistakable and is more evident in his writings than in those of any other pioneer of modern science. Westfall notes:

More perhaps than any other virtuoso Boyle sought, and found, the hand of God in the creation. Through all of his works runs a never silent melody of enraptured surprise at the Creator's ingenuity. The more deeply he probed into nature, the more humbly he acknowledged her Maker. Here was a piece of workmanship without flaw, rich in its intricate detail beyond the imagination of man. Truly nature proclaims the glory of God. Boyle never lost the sense of wonder that his first apprehension of natural glory awoke.... The creation speaks of an intelligent and powerful Creator. His imprint is heavy upon it.20 Boyle reaped an unfailing harvest of piety from his scientific investigations. Boyle was especially fond of certain psalms that expressed his personal doxological response to his observation of the physical world: