We usually think of life as the most natural thing there is — blooming plants, flowing water, the cycles of nature. But what if that perspective is fundamentally challenged by the very laws of physics that govern our universe? On a new episode of ID the Future, I welcome physicist Dr. Eric Hedin to the podcast to discuss the compelling idea that life is the most “unnatural” thing in the universe. Dr. Hedin contends that the complex, organized nature of life defies the natural tendency of matter and energy towards disorder and equilibrium, suggesting that life requires something only an intelligent designer could provide. 

If the natural state of matter is movement toward the lowest possible energy state, then why aren’t all of us lumps of organic matter lying in a puddle on the ground? Dr. Hedin lays out two reasons living things are able to defy that fate. The first involves the specified complexity built into living things: “One is the extremely complex, specific functional mechanism of the living organism. Creating that in itself represents a far detour from any sort of equilibrium state. And so therefore nature would avoid it.” Add to that the remarkable ability of living things to push back on the tendency toward lowest energy state by generating movement — be it running, flying, jumping, dancing, swimming, or eating — and you’ve got the makings of a formidable challenge to naturalism.

Dr. Hedin concludes that the unnatural qualities and complexity of life point to the necessity of an intelligent designer who can orchestrate the detour of matter into functional living forms. And although that detour seems temporary, Hedin also touches on how the argument for intelligent design in life can support a rational hope for the immortality of life beyond physical death, drawing on the idea of a transcendent origin for life. Download the podcast or listen to it here.

Dig Deeper

• Dr. Hedin provides more evidence for intelligent design in living things in his book Canceled Science. 
• Enjoy more conversation with Dr. Hedin here.