GLEN MILLS, Pa.—While mainstream science commonly insists that humans are nothing special in the cosmic scheme of things, there is much scientific evidence that proves otherwise.
“We should be in awe,” said renowned biologist, Michael Denton, after presenting his latest scientific findings on how our cosmos is not only uniquely designed for oxygen-breathing creatures made of carbon and cells, but that it is specifically designed for beings who walk on land with two legs and who pursue technological advancement.
“In short, the cosmos is specifically fit for creatures like us,” he says. “The universe must have known we were coming.”
Mr. Denton, who is regularly invited around the world to present his findings, says his views are “increasingly accepted universally.”
He was one of many distinguished speakers at the 2023 Westminster Conference on Science & Faith held in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, at the end of September. The annual event is co-hosted by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture and Westminster Theological Seminary, and is in its 11th year of bringing together the best minds and new discoveries that indicate our lives as human beings in the vast cosmos, are unique, have purpose, and are intentionally designed.
Another speaker, Dr. Michael Egnor, a professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics at State University of New York, has performed 7,000 brain surgeries in his career. While he presented from the perspective of neuroscience, Dr. Egnor drew from findings in philosophy and theology to answer provocative questions such as, “Is the human soul immortal?” “What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?” and “Is the brain the organ of the mind?”
Robert Marks, an artificial intelligence expert and distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University, presented evidence that alleviated some fear surrounding the threat of artificial intelligence.
“It’s a new area. So there’s lots of speculation,” Mr. Marks said. “One of the big problems has been the hype associated with it. Because on the web, you get paid in accordance to your clicks. And therefore, if you can have a seductive title, and then you can get more clicks, you get more money.
“AI can be dangerous. But if it’s dangerous, it’s going to have a human being behind it. It’s either going to be a careless programmer and if it does something bad, then that’s the programmer’s fault, because they haven’t tested their software enough. Or it’s going to be somebody who has taken control of artificial intelligence, and who is evil and uses it for an evil purpose.”
The audience was full of enthusiastic listeners of varying faiths, ages, and scientific prowess, as well as hundreds of others who viewed the conference online via live-stream. Christians and non-Christian speakers presented alongside each other with mutual respect and healthy scientific debate of major topics with profound implications on human understanding that are too often censored or ignored in mainstream media and scientific education.
“It is important to see the principal difference between believing in a chance, unguided, impersonal origin for the human race and believing in the origin of our race from God who is the divine designer,” Vern Poythress, a keynote speaker and distinguished professor and theologian at Westminster told The Epoch Times.
“The former results in meaninglessness that undermines not only human living and human morality, but the scientific enterprise as well.”
This year’s conference theme was “The Miracle of Man.” And while some findings were presented through a biblical perspective, the speakers largely focused on presenting evidence from the hard sciences, such as neuroscience, computer science and artificial intelligence, engineering, biology, and physics—with scientifically recognized, credible, published findings, for a layman audience.
The number of student and youth attendees was particularly notable. One family with four children attended with their parents who introduced them to the scientific concept of intelligent design.
The eldest sibling, Francine, 17, was excited to be at the conference, “If you look at our biology, it is so detailed, and our cells, they’re not just thrown together. We’re so different from animals. Looking at our science, how we are made, it is so beautiful,” she said. “I’m really excited to see what more we can discover through all of these great scientists and theologians.”
Francine is also taking the first high school class in intelligent design offered by the Discovery Institute as part of her homeschool education. “The main public school system is not teaching this kind of thing,” she said.
John West, vice president and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, has witnessed for decades the censorship in education and academia against scientists who teach intelligent design.
Yet despite the challenges of censorship, Mr. West says the situation is improving.
“People talk about ‘cancel culture’ now. It’s an advance that now people are recognizing that this is a problem. You can’t solve a problem if you don’t think you'd have it,” he told The Epoch Times.
By facilitating open discussion and debate on censored scientific subjects, Mr. West is noticing that scientists with solid evidence are able to hold their own against those who are trying to silence them.
“Some of the most dogmatic people who claim to speak for science are really speaking for their own insecurities,” Mr. West said.
“If you don’t have the evidence, or you don’t feel secure enough, then you can’t really engage in discussion. All you can do is try to intimidate or shut people down. And we have seen that in the debate over purpose in nature.”
Beyond inspiring scientific awe in the audience, the presentations provided an optimism that society is likely heading towards a convergence of scientific fields that will one day provide a more holistic view of humans and our world.
Mr. Denton concluded that humankind’s scientific studies may have led us full circle—from a human-centric view of the cosmos in the Middle Ages, to a meaningless accident in modern times, and now back to a human-centric view, but with volumes of evidence from technological advancements to prove it.
“The universe was not just designed for beings like us, but it was designed for our species on this planet,” Mr. Denton said. “The destiny of science has been to find out how unique we really are.”
