Starter

• Watch this video about the

design argument to
refresh your memories.
• In your own words sum up
William Paley’s design
argument. You must
mention the watch, how it
links to Christianity and http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=SPr3nsToJ
evidence of design in the m0
world today.
 Strengths and weaknesses of the
design argument
Key Learning:
To understand some of the strengths and weaknesses of the
design argument.

I can explain I can explain I can fully

the strengths the express and
of the design weaknesses of support my own
argument opinion about
the design
the design
argument argument

Previous learning that will help you today: Keywords for today’s lesson:
-Big Bang Design
-Evolution Evolution
-Design argument Dawkins
 William Paley’s Watchmaker’s
Analogy
William Paley said the universe is like a
watch…

How?!
 William Paley’s Design Argument
• Imagine you are
walking on a sand
dune.
• After exploring the
desert for months,
you have found NO
signs of intelligent
life.
• But then one day, you
happen to stumble
across a intricate
pocket watch.
 William Paley’s Design Argument
• You wonder where this
watch has come from.
• You examine its
complicated mechanisms
and decide it cannot have
just appeared by chance.
• So where has the watch
come from?
• Someone – a watchmaker –
has designed and made this
watch.
 Design Argument
• Some Christians believe
that the world is like
this.
• The universe is so
complex and perfect for
human life it cant have
just happened by chance.
It must have a designer.
• Christians believe that
designer is God.
Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
Strengths
and
and
weaknesses
weaknesses
Task– Sort the arguments into strengths and weaknesses
of the design argument.

Strengths Weaknesses
 Logical – anything which has
been designed needs a designer.
It makes sense.
Natural evil – if the world was
designed by God then why did
He design it to have natural evil?
Omnipotent – the only possible
designer of such a complex
universe would be God.
Dinosaurs – It ignores the
existence of dinosaurs. If God
designed the world for humans,
why did He create dinosaurs
first?
Logical – the world appears to
have been designed so it must
also need a designer.
Evolution – all the evidence for
design can be explained by
evolution. Richard Dawkins
supports this argument as he
believes evolution explains why
the world appears to have been
designed
Who is the designer? – It only
proves that there is a designer. It
does not prove that it is the God
of Christianity.
Evidence – there is evidence that
the world has been designed. Eg.
The Earth’s distance from the
sun.
 Strengths of the design argument
• Anything that has been
designed needs a designer
– this is logical.
• There is plenty of evidence
that the world has been
designed (DNA, the
position of the planets etc.)
• If the world has therefore
been designed it needs a
designer.
• The only possible designer
of something so complex
would be God.
 Weaknesses of the design
argument
• It ignores the lack of design in the
world eg hurricanes, volcanoes etc.
• All the evidence for design can be
explained by science – it doesn’t
have to be God. Richard Dawkins
supports this argument as he
believes evolution explains why the
world appears to have been
designed
• It ignores the existence of dinosaurs
– how do they fit into this design?
• It only proves there is a designer, it
does not prove it is the Christian
God. It could be many Gods, an evil
God etc.
 Task
Summarise in a
few sentences
what your opinion
of the design
argument is given
the information
we have just
learned.
 Task – Agree or disagree?
• On the board I am going to flash up a
series of statements.
• In your groups I would like you to
decide if you agree or disagree with
the statement and give us a strong
reason for it.
• Complete on your whiteboards.
 This is a logical
argument – complex
things require a
designer.
 Science can easily
explain why the world
is perfect for human
life.
There is evidence
of design in the
world.
 It is highly unlikely
that this complex
world was formed by
chance.
 Natural disasters
prove that God did
not design the world.
 Task
“The design argument proves that God exists”

Agree Disgree
 Plenary
We are going to mark
one of these answers
together under the
visualiser – we have to
decide how many
marks we would give it
and why.