Finding the Intelligence Within the Design

By Gerald Schroeder

ith federal courts forbidding tions of ID are too similar to a God- final shape of the coil and makes that intelligent design (ID) to be based religion to allow it to enter the protein non-viable, and possibly lethal, Wtaught in public school science schools as being a scientifically based to the animal that it resides in. In all of classes, one might infer that the courts theory. As Federal Court Judge John E. life, from bacteria to humans, there are have declared that ID is an incorrect Jones III stated in his decision, ID may fewer than a million different viable be true and should continue to be stud- proteins. A current estimate is closer to theory. No so. What has been adjudicat- ied and debated, but not in public 200,000. Mutant combinations result in ed is that according to the currently school science classes. lethal bio-gibberish. Since a typical pro- popular, broad interpretation of the A basic principle of ID claims that tein has some 200 or more of these United States Constitution, the founda- the overwhelming complexity of life in twenty amino acids joined together to any of its forms could not have arisen form its chain, the number of possible Dr. Schroeder received his PhD from MIT in by unguided random reactions. There combinations of amino acids in the nuclear physics and earth and planetary sci- must have been an outside force active chain is twenty to the exponent power ences. After making aliyah in 1971, he con- in the flow. A simple example may help of 200, or in the more usual ten-based ducted research at the Weitzman Institute, the Volcani Research Institute and Hebrew clarify the problem. If numbers inhibit system, ten to the power of 260. That University. Since 1991, however, he has been you, then just take the general conclu- number is a one with 260 zeros after it, lecturing on the integration of Torah and sci- sion from the following example. or it’s a billion billion billion billion bil- ence for Aish HaTorah College of Jewish The organic structures referred to lion billion billion billion billion billion Studies in and writes and lectures as proteins are the basic building blocks billion billion billion billion billion bil- on the extraordinary confluence of modern sci- of life. They are long molecules consist- lion billion billion billion billion billion ence and ancient Biblical commentary. His ing of twenty different amino acids. The billion billion billion billion billion bil- books include Genesis and the Big Bang amino acids are joined into varying lion billion billion billion. If purely ran- (New York, 1991), The Science of God (New York, 1998) and The Hidden Face of combinations to form chains, each of dom processes were responsible for the God (New York, 2002). Dr. Schroeder lives which coils into a highly specified million viable proteins, nature would in Jerusalem with his wife (the author, shape. A mutation that inserts a wrong have had to discover by chance the Barbara Sofer) and their five children. amino acid into the chain alters the fewer than one million combinations

Fall 5767/2006 JEWISH ACTION 17 that allow for life from among this vast can think outside the physical. The the fossil record, it is instructive to non-viable biological wasteland. The greatest of poets, philosophers, scientists review some of the statements by leaders Laplacian probability of that happening and even theologians all face this same in the field of paleontology. Niles is one chance out of a thousand billion limitation. How a metaphysical Eldredge, curator at the prestigious billion billion billion billion billion bil- Designer, God, interacts with the physi- American Museum of Natural History, lion billion billion billion billion billion cal universe is not limited to mecha- in New York, wrote several years ago, billion billion billion billion billion bil- nisms we can conceive of from within “The pattern we were told for the past lion billion billion billion billion billion the confines of our physical world. It 150 years to find in the fossil record billion billion billion billion billion bil- would be folly to confine God’s power does not exist.” The prestigious peer- lion. In other words, there is no way to that which we can imagine. reviewed journal Science published an that nature could have happened upon So how to discover God’s hand? article, “Did Darwin Get It All Right?” the viable combinations by chance. In Moses, in his final speech to Bnei with the subtitle: “No, species in the his book A Guided Tour of the Living Yisrael, teaches us that to discover God’s fossil record appear with a most un- Cell, Nobel laureate and organic chemist activity in our world, we should Darwinian abruptness” (Richard A. Christian de Duve summarizes this “Remember the days of old, consider Kerr, 267:1421 [1995]). This is what incomprehensibly complex and unlikely the years, generation by generation” Stephen Jay Gould, the late Harvard flow of non-living matter into life. (Devarim 32:7). Nachmanides, kabbal- professor, called “the trade secret of If you equate the probability of the ist par excellence, relates “the days of paleontology.” Darwin himself, in seven birth of a bacteria cell to chance assembly old” to the six days of Creation, the places in The Origin of Species, urges us of its atoms, eternity will not suffice to amazing flow that led from the creation not to be confused by the fossil record if produce one.… Faced with the enormous of the universe to the creation of we are to believe his theory. In writing sum of lucky draws behind the success of humankind. The “years, generation by he implores us to “use [our] imagina- the evolutionary game, one tion.” may legitimately wonder to Probably the leading what extent this success is paleontologist alive today, actually written into the In short, the Big Bang Simon Conway Morris, the fabric of the universe. creation is the best scientist who discovered the “Written into the significance of the Cambrian fabric of the universe,” by news for God since explosion of animal life, what mechanism? Moses came down from writes in his seminal book, Something or some Power Life’s Solutions, that he is directed the selection Sinai. “convinced” that nature’s processes. The US success in the lottery of life Declaration of Independence refers to generation,” the social history of the has “metaphysical implications.” such a power as “Nature’s God … the world, the wondrous role the people of Since there are aspects of the fossil Supreme Judge of the world.” This, of have played and, thank God, con- record that are interpreted in highly course, is exactly the claim of the legally tinue to play in all aspects of human controversial ways, let’s just stay with disavowed theory of ID. (What we learn advancement. the magnificence about which all agree. from this is never mention the Let’s take Moses’ advice and con- Unfortunately these most basic episodes Declaration of Independence in science sider the improbable and amazing chain are often glossed over in favor of the class, or you may end up in court!) of events that led from the Big Bang fish-into-frog conundrum. ID identifies this directing Power creation to the splendor of sentient Let’s start right at the beginning, as a metaphysical intelligence. human life. Though ID may not be the Big Bang creation of the universe. Conventionally referred to as God, this legally taught in public school science By the time we are old enough to realize intelligence must have been actively classes, the wonders of life can be. I’ll that the very fact of existence is amaz- involved in the process of life’s origins avoid the typical debate of how a fish ing, we’ve been around so long that we and development. How God’s involve- may or may not have become a frog. take the existence of the world for ment might manifest itself is debated There are brilliant scientists who argue granted. That’s unfortunate since one of among even the staunchest supporters for neo-Darwinian evolution of one the strongest indications of the existence of ID. The difficulty in discerning into the other, and there are equally of a Creator is the Big Bang creation of God’s methods lies in our human limi- brilliant scientists who say that there is our universe. Today we accept the Big tations. All our thoughts arise from no way this could have happened with- Bang as common knowledge. Yet, less within the physical aspects of time, out some Outside help. than fifty years ago, when scientists were space and matter. There is no way we As for the evidence surmised from asked in surveys their estimate of the

18 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5767/2006 s”xc Yes! I would like to help Ezras Torah's needy. Enclosed is my tax deductible contribution for: $18 $36 $50 $100 $180 $250 $360 $500 $1,000 $______Method of payment: Check Visa M/C A/E Ac. #:______Exp. Date: ______Please contact me regarding establishing an Ezras Torah Endowment Fund for a: ESTABLISHED 1915 o Free Loan Fund “What gives us success in war? Please use my donation to: o Medical Emergency Fund The spiritual fortresses of Torah.” • Help a young Choson-Kallah Please send me an Ezras Torah Halachic Rabbi Yehoshuah ben Levi (Makos) get married! Pocket Calendar & Guide, for the current For thousands of years, the Torah has kept Am • Give a Torah scholar in year. (checked below, contribution Yisroel alive. need of surgery peace of enclosed) Keep the learning of Torah alive. mind! Pocket-sized Hebrew Luach • Enliven the lives of a Torah Pocket-sized English Luach Due to further severe reductions of up to 80% in family with a Yom Tov grant! Wall-sized Hebrew Luach Israeli government subsidies, Yeshivas and Torah • Help provide a home for a families are turning to us with ever-increasing newlywed couple! Name requests for assistance. We cannot let them down. • Endow a Free Loan Fund or Tel. ( ) Ezras Torah now more than ever needs your help. Medical Emergency Fund! Address Become partners with Ezras Torah and send in your generous contribution today! Call The 24-Hour Ezras Torah Tzedekah Hotline 1-800-514-0348 City State Zip Please make check payable to: DEDICATED TO KEEPING TORAH ALIVE! Ezras Torah, 235 East Broadway, ESTABLISHED 1915 Ezras Torah is a tzedokkah fund endorsed by Gedolei Hatorah New York, NY 10002 (212) 227-8960 JA DWDESIGNS 845-362-8227 age of the universe, the overwhelming majority replied that the universe is eternal. The Bible is wrong from its very first sentence. It was only in 1965, when Penzias and Wilson at the Bell Labs in New Jersey discovered the cosmic back- ground radiation, often referred to as the “echo of the Big Bang,” that mainstream science gave up the view of an eternal universe and accepted Genesis 1:1, at least in part. There was a beginning. While a beginning does not prove the existence of a Creator, it goes a long way toward opening the door for that possibility. Unfortunately many theologians fail to realize the theological implications of the Big Bang. In brief, the Big Bang creation is the best news for God since Moses came down from Sinai. There was a creation. Now that we have a beginning, what were the products of that creation? Science tells us the creation marked the beginning of time, space, matter and the finely tuned laws of nature. Even with its avidly materialist viewpoint, in its May 2003 issue, Scientific American admitted that the laws of nature of our universe are so perfectly suited for the nurturing of life that if our universe is the only universe, then our uni- verse has all the characteristics of having been designed for life. Of course in keeping with Scientific American’s materialist view, the author then insisted that design is an impossibility, and therefore there must be many other universes, in fact, an

Fall 5767/2006 JEWISH ACTION 19 Help Us Determine How We Can Best Help Klal Yisrael

ThanksgivingThanksgiving Weekend,Weekend, November November 22-2622-26 atat thethe RenaissanceRenaissance HotelHotel inin JerusalemJerusalem

The Orthodox Union has risen to the occasion during Israel’s current crisis, with thousands of our contributors helping to bring some relief to those under attack through the magnificent, on-the-ground work of our Israel staff. But nothing that we can do means more than visiting Israel, filling the hotels and strolling through the neighborhoods. The OU National Convention offers you an opportunity to do this, as we meet to determine how we can be of the greatest service to Klal Yisrael. Register now! . . . Now More Than Ever!

Visit www.ou.org/convention to see the full range of pre- Convention tours, Yarchei Kallah, and the complete program.

Program Highlights

Wednesday, November 22 Opening Plenary Installation of Officers Scheduled Speakers: Prime Minister Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yonah Metzger Thursday, November 23 / Friday, November 24 Learn and discuss with us: Israel’s Security Challenge What Have We Learned From Gush Katif? Rights of Diaspora Jewry in Determining Israel’s Future Communal Challenges—Yeshiva Tuitions; Adult Kiruv; Small Communities; Substance Abuse Journalists Round Table Town Hall Meeting: The OU at the Crossroads Among the Scheduled Speakers: Tel-Aviv Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni Security Minister Avi Dichter U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein Rabbi Emanuel Feldman “Tachlis” Track Leadership Development sessions for rabbis, shul presidents and officers, including fundraising, synogogue governance, political activism, developing volunteers

A Spectacular Shabbat to Delight Both the Spirit and the Palate

Convention and Hotel Package: $699 per person, plus $54 registration fee ($100 maximum per family) Early Bird Discount: $100 per person, limited availability, reserve now OU member synagogues may designate up to eight delegates (subject to size of congregation) Costs for official synagogue delegates are tax-deductible under IRS rules Union Society members will be entitled to exclusive travel benefits and courtesies RegisterRegister onlineonline atat www.ou.orgwww.ou.org ForFor moremore information,information, call call FrankFrank BuchweitzBuchweitz atat 212.613.8188;212.613.8188; emailemail [email protected]@ou.org ORTHODOX UNION Doing More for You and Your Community infinite number of other universes, most explained in terms of the physical ment which, on the physical side of science with other, less optimal laws. world. But as his research progressed he approaches almost unanimity, that the Matter at the Creation was not in discovered aspects of molecular biology stream of knowledge is heading towards any of the solid forms we know today, and quantum chemistry that fail to fall a non-mechanical reality; the universe not the elements, and not the protons, within the confines of the purely mate- begins to look more like a great thought neutrons and electrons that make up the rial. And so in an article entitled “Life than a great machine. Mind no longer atoms of the elements. The sub-struc- and Mind in the Universe,” which appears as an accidental intruder into ture of all matter, as Einstein discovered, appeared in the peer-reviewed journal the realm of matter. We are beginning is energy. There are many forms of ener- the International Journal of Quantum to suspect that we ought rather to hail gy. I like to refer to this primordial ener- Chemistry: Quantum Biology, sympo- mind as the creator and governor of the gy as super, powerful light beams. sium 11 (1984): 1–15, Wald wrote the realm of matter—not of course our Energy is so abstract, but we can wrap following: individual minds, but the mind in our minds around light. Since the Big It has occurred to me lately—I must which the atoms out of which our indi- Bang creation was the only physical cre- confess with some shock at first to my sci- vidual minds have grown, exist as ation, a fact accepted by both modern entific sensibilities—that both questions thoughts” (emphasis mine). science and ancient kab- Mind is the essence of balah, everything we see the creation. Light could around us, including our become alive and sentient bodies, is the product of By the time we are because within the light of the that primordial light, the creation is the mind of God. energy of the creation, old enough to realize John Archibald Wheeler, everything that is, except that the very fact of former president of the for our souls. Those are American Physical Society, the spiritual creations existence is amazing, physics professor emeritus of mentioned on days five we ve been around so Princeton University, winner and six in the Creation of the Einstein Award and narrative in Genesis. But long that we take the member of the National the stuff of our bodies existence of the world Academy of Sciences, entered the universe at the described this aspect of reality Creation, as the light of for granted. most perfectly, when in a the Creation. We are liter- BBC special “The Creation of ally made of the light of the Universe” he offered, “To the Creation. [the origin of consciousness in humans my mind, there must be at the bottom So we have learned from the and of life from non-living matter] might of it all, not an utterly simple equation, Torah, and 3,300 years later from mod- be brought into some degree of congruence. but an utterly simple idea. And to me ern science, that light beams became This is with the assumption that mind, that idea, when we finally discover it, alive, eventually learned to love and feel rather than emerging as a late outgrowth will be so compelling, and so inevitable, joy and wonder, became self-aware, sen- in the evolution of life, has existed always so beautiful, we will say to each other, tient. While this known truth of light as the matrix, the source and condition of ‘How could it have ever been other- leading to sentient life is amazing, since physical reality—that stuff of which physi- wise?’” there is no way you can make secular cal reality is composed is mind-stuff. It is Based on Proverbs (8:12, 22), the sense out of it, it is usually omitted mind that has composed a physical uni- 2,100-year-old Targum Yerushalmi from the science classroom. But there is verse that breeds life and so eventually translates Genesis 1:1 not as “In the a metaphysical way in which we can evolves creatures that know and create: beginning, God created …” but rather understand this emergence of sentience science-, art-, and technology-making ani- as “With wisdom, God created the heav- from what seems to have been a previ- mals. In them the universe begins to know ens and the earth.” ously non-living universe. And that bit itself. Idea, Mind, Thought, Wisdom— of metaphysics is couched within quan- Fifty years earlier, Sir James Jeans, these are all the same concept. Science tum mechanics. knighted mathematician, physicist and has finally reached into the secrets of George Wald, Noble laureate and astronomer who helped develop our nature and discovered that which Torah professor of biology at Harvard understanding of the evolution of stars, has claimed for 3,300 years. The wis- University, started his career as a materi- wrote in his book The Mysterious dom of the Creator embedded within alist. Nothing spiritual in his scientific Universe (Cambridge, 1931): the creation is made manifest by the writings, every aspect of biology “There is a wide measure of agree- intelligence of the design. JA

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