Christian Philosopher and apologist Douglas Groothuis presents a lecture on A Defense of Natural Theology.
Full MP3 audio here.
Original media source here.
Enjoy.

Teleological Argument: An argument for the existence of God that takes as its starting point the purposive (teleological) character of the universe. The argument is often termed "the argument from design" and comes in many different versions. This argument was quite popular in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but many atheists believe it has been discredited by Darwinism. Philosophers of religion such as Richard Swinburne, however, have developed versions of the argument that are compatible with Darwinism.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 113.

Signature of Controversy is a free eBook with contributions by David Berlinski, David Klinghoffer, Casey Luskin, Paul Nelson, Jay Richards, Richard Sternberg and Stephen Meyer. It contains responses critics of Stephen Meyer's book Signature in the Cell.

Download the PDF ebook here. (expires soon)

Enjoy.

Check out more Stephen Meyer resources here.

Here are a couple of great talks from Veritas.org, featuring Privileged Planet authors (book / DVD) Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards

The Fine-Tuning of the Universe (Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards)
MP3 Part 1 Talk | MP3 Part 2 Q&A

Our Privileged Planet (Guillermo Gonzalez)
MP3 Part 1 Talk | MP3 Part 2 Q&A (audio quality poor)

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

This continues the series of weekly posts dealing with some basic theistic arguments. The purpose here is to introduce the reader to the idea behind each argument. Strengths and weaknesses will be presented after each summary. These are only summaries and springboards for further study in the theistic arguments. See Reason for the Hope Within for more.

An Argument from the Fine-Tuning of the Universe

The physical universe is able to support life. But the ability to support life depends upon a dizzying array of physical constants being precisely what they are (the specific constants governing the fundamental forces of nature - the strong, weak, electromagnetic, and gravitational - are good examples). If any of these constants had been much different, life would be impossible. And while it is not impossible that all these constants had the values they did by pure chance, it is considerably more likely that they have the values they do by design. God's existence is a much better explanation for the fine-tuning of the universe than any god-free explanation.

Greatest Strength: The very narrow range of values for a large number of physical constants is highly suggestive. The closer one looks at the conditions necessary to support life, the harder it is to believe that life is a cosmic accident.

Greatest Weakness: Although it would take a very powerful being to set up a universe capable of supporting life, it wouldn't take one that was infinitely powerful. The "god" of deism would seem to be sufficient.1

1 William C. Davis, Reason for the Hope Within (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Publishing Co., 1999), p. 28.

This continues the series of weekly posts dealing with some basic theistic arguments. The purpose here is to introduce the reader to the idea behind each argument. Strengths and weaknesses will be presented after each summary. These are only summaries and springboards for further study in the theistic arguments. See Reason for the Hope Within for more.

An Argument from the Existence of Human Intelligence

While it is possible for complex effects to arise by accident, it is much more likely that an effect is the result of a suitably complex cause, and that specific organization in an effect depends upon at least an equal measure of organization in the cause. Human intelligence is a clear case of highly specific organization. Thus it is much more likely that the ultimate cause of human intelligence is itself at least as intelligent as the most intelligent human; and it is much less likely that the ultimate cause of human intelligence is the impersonal, unintelligent universe itself.

Greatest Strength: It is hard to believe that human intelligence is a cosmic accident; and experience tells us that organized effects result from organized (intelligent) causes.

Greatest Weakness: Many people think that Darwinian naturalism provides a mechanism for generating complex order without the need for a single, highly ordered cause.1

1 William C. Davis, Reason for the Hope Within (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Publishing Co., 1999), p. 27.

This is an interesting Apologetics PDF that engages the reader by asking the ultimate questions in life. This booklet makes use of the cosmological argument, the fine-tuning/teleological argument, and explores the person of Jesus Christ. It may be a useful tool to give to a thinking friend.

Taken from the Ultimate Questions website, which is not completely functional at this time.