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The Dessert Cart Paradox — A “Gaping Hole in Evolutionary Theory”

Photo credit: Sebastian Coman Photography, via Unsplash.

There’s a problem with evolution by “natural selection” that’s indicated in the very words themselves. As biologist Doug Axe points out, selection in ordinary language means choosing something already in existence. Darwinian evolution is supposed to be a theory of how wonderful biological inventions come into being, yet the “coming into being” part is what it avoids addressing, instead skipping right to the “selection” part.

A Fatal Weakness

Dr. Axe, Maxwell Professor of Molecular Biology at Biola University, has launched a new 40-part DiscoveryU course — “Douglas Axe Investigates Molecular Biology and Intelligent Design” — that is impressively accessible. In a sample lecture below, he hits what he calls the “gaping hole in evolutionary theory,” namely this irksome question of how the things that are selected got there in the first place. He gives the paradoxical illustration of a dessert cart at a fancy restaurant. Normally, the diner is invited to select a dessert on the cart. Now imagine an empty cart is wheeled past us and the waiter invites us to “select” from it, as if the selecting itself caused the apple strudel to come into existence. We would think he was either crazy or playing a practical joke.

Professor Axe, the author of Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed, explains in about five minutes why this is a fatal weakness in Darwinism. Consider signing up for the full course now, at a 30 percent discount that’s good through April 30, 2021, only. Use the code axesubscriber30 at checkout. Look here for more free previews and a full outline of the curriculum, with three units covering “Proteins and Genes,” “Evolution,” and “Intelligent Design.” Each lecture is brief, easy to understand, and trenchant. This is a great opportunity for homeschoolers, adult learners, and anyone with an open mind about origins.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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apple strudelBiola Universitybiological inventionsbiologyDarwinian evolutionDarwinismdessert cartdiscountDouglas Axeevolutionary theoryintelligent designmolecular biologynatural selectionrestaurantsUndeniable