Watchmaker, Watchmaker

By Stephen Goldin

Theologians use the Watchmaker argument to prove the existence of God. This article uses both logic and humor to expose what a bad analogy this is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Parsina Press
• Release date: Sep 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370370801

Book preview

Watchmaker, Watchmaker

by

Stephen Goldin

Published by Parsina Press at Smashwords

Watchmaker, Watchmaker. Copyright 2017 by Stephen Goldin. All Rights Reserved.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Watchmaker, Watchmaker

A Taste of Polly!

About Stephen Goldin

Other Books by Stephen Goldin

Connect with Stephen Goldin

Watchmaker, Watchmaker

I am skeptical by nature. I take a hard look at what most other people around me take for granted and think, Does that really make sense? Does it fit the facts? Do I want to put all my metaphorical eggs in that basket, or might there be a better explanation for what’s going on?

This skeptical turn of mind has led me to atheism. In our culture, people take for granted the existence of God, most without even questioning it. Of course God exists; everyone else believes it, right? I don’t find that a convincing enough reason, so I have to look a little deeper. What arguments are there for the existence of God?

Many have been put forward over the centuries by thoughtful theologians, but for this short article I’ll just look at one, the Watchmaker argument:

If you found a watch lying in an open field, would you assume that all the components had just come together randomly by themselves, or would you conclude that there was some Watchmaker who had made it through deliberate and intelligent effort?

The first thing that came to my skeptical mind the first time I heard this argument was how simplistic it was. If you came across a bar of iron in that field and it was coated with a red-orange material, would you assume someone had come along and painted that coating on it, or would you simply think it had rusted naturally? Why go around complicating the answer when a simpler explanation might present itself?

A beehive is a very complicated structure employing sophisticated engineering design and techniques, yet the bees who built it are hardly architects. The bees also make honey, a very complex chemical formulation. But not too many people these days go around worshiping bees.

Then I thought, OK, I’ll examine the religious answer. Where does it lead me?

I’m standing in the middle of a field. All around me there are natural things, living things—grass and flowers, insects and birds. I see a watch and pick it up. It’s clearly different from everything else I see here (except for the tractor off a little ways, or the telephone wires along the road in the distance, or the jet flying overhead). It only takes a moment to realize that this watch is artificial, that it was carefully constructed. But by whom? Does my mind immediately leap to the conclusion that it