New Film Explores ‘Intentional Design’ of The Universe

A new documentary film explores some of mankind’s most important scientific discoveries – and the “intentional design” seen throughout nature.

The movie, The Story of Everything: The Science That Reveals a Mind Behind The Universe, is designed to be a “cinematic exploration of the cosmos that reveals the hidden hand behind our universe.”

A synopsis of the documentary states,

From the precise laws that govern the stars to the intricate patterns found in every living cell, the film traces evidence of intentional design throughout nature. Whether examining distant star-forming clouds or the spiral structure of DNA, we discover a consistent signature woven into the fabric of existence.

The movie, which runs for 2 hours and 22 minutes, features numerous notable scientists, mathematicians, cosmologists, physicists and entrepreneurs, including:

• Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, director of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture
• Dr. John Lennox, professor emeritus of mathematics at Oxford University
• Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal
• Dr. Brian Keating, Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego
• Dr. David Berlinski, mathematician
• Dr. Jay W. Richards, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute
• Dr. Robert Sheldon, plasma physicist
• Dr. Timothy McGrew, professor of philosophy at Western Michigan University
• Dr. Douglas Axe, Rosa Endowed Chair of Molecular Biology at Biola University
• Dr. Michael Behe, professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University
• Dr. James Tour, T. T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry at Rice University
• Dr. Frank J. Tipler, cosmologist and professor of mathematical physics at Tulane University
• Dr. Bijan Nemati, physicist
• Dr. Sarah Salviander, astrophysicist
• Dr. William A. Dembski, mathematician and philosopher
• Dr. Richard Sternberg, evolutionary biologist
• Dr. Casey Luskin, geologist
• Dr. Michael Newton Keas historian of science

You can watch a trailer for the film below:

The Story of Everything is sure to challenge many individuals’ conception of what “modern scientists” believe – particularly in the fields of cosmology and biology.

For decades, many cosmologists maintained that our universe is eternal – eliminating any need for an explanation of how the universe began. As Carl Sagan put it in his 1980s Cosmos television series, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be.”

Furthermore, many biologists asserted that all life evolved from purely undirected, unguided, natural processes that occurred over time through natural selection and random genetic mutation. This theory, the “Neo-Darwinian Synthesis,” emerged from the synthesis of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection proposed in On the Origin of Species and Mendelian genetics.

But there’s a problem. It’s increasingly clear that our universe is not eternal, and that life could not have emerged from undirected, unguided evolutionary processes.

In 1925, astrophysicist Gerges Lemaître began proposing that the universe began in a “big bang” creation event.

His discovery has been confirmed by Edwin Hubble’s discovery in 1929 that the universe is expanding; and Arno Penzias and Robert Wilscon’s detection of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation left over from a creation event.

This raises the question: What – or Who – caused the universe to come into being?

Additionally, cosmologists have realized that many laws of nature are precisely fine-tuned for life. These physical constants are so precise that if they were altered only a miniscule amount, it would be impossible for life to exist at all.

As English astronomer Fred Hoyle asserted, “A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature.”

Furthermore, modern biologists have discovered that many life forms – like the common monarch butterfly to the plentiful honeybee – are intelligently designed for life with body plans and enzymes that could not have emerged from purely random, natural processes.

In his book River Out of Eden, atheist biologist Richard Dawkins argued, “The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”

Dawkins’ assertion is increasingly out-of-step with the findings of modern science – especially in the fields of cosmology and biology.

As molecular biologist Dr. Douglas Axe put it, “The failure of Darwin’s explanation of life is a commonsense fact – a plain truth testified to by our strong intuition that life is designed.”

It may be difficult for modern skeptics to explain the universe’s appearance of design. The same is not true for the average Christian.

The Story of Everything is distributed by Fathom Entertainment and appears in theaters April 30.

Former atheist Lee Strobel recently appeared on an episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, explaining how science points to the existence of a divine Creator. You can listen to the episode, “Evidence for the Existence of God.”

You can also read Strobel’s most recent book, Is God Real?: Exploring The Ultimate Question of Life.

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