Product Description
Random Designer proclaims a new vision of Gods creation. Written using simplified language and illustrations for working professionals, pastors, teachers, students and general audiences, Random Designer establishes a whole new creation paradigm. It describes how the forces of randomness and chaos, which play central roles in our physical existence, are actually creative. The Creator simply taps these apparently random physical processes to accomplish his higher goa… More >>
Random Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with the Creator
Tags: audiences, Chaos, Connect, Created, creation, Creator, Designer, from, goa, new creation, new vision, paradigm, pastors, physical existence, physical processes, Random, randomness, simplified language
#1 by M. Wilson on January 26, 2010 - 9:23 am
I appreciate the different perspective. I would like to encourage the author to continue his work in this area.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by S. Berry on January 26, 2010 - 11:05 am
I have read this book a couple of times. I have used Dr.Colling’s book, among others, to reconcile my scientific understanding, specifically concerning evolution, and my faith. I have been able to develop a harmonious understanding between the two topics, that I was told could never coincide. I thank Dr.Colling for his hard work and encourage his continuing research.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Clifford R. Martin on January 26, 2010 - 12:29 pm
In September of last year (2007), Olivet Nazarene University Professor Richard G. Colling found himself embroiled in a controversy over views expressed in this book. Random Designer (Browning Press, 2004) had been used as a textbook in some of his science courses, and recommended by other professors at the university. When certain church members and pastors learned of the content of Random Designer, they objected to Colling’s views on evolution loudly and persuasively. Despite the support of faculty at Olivet, several of these denominational leaders wielded their influence to intervene and compel the removal of Colling from the biology department.
One unintended consequence of their action is that I picked up and read Colling’s work. Hopefully, the controversy will spur many such new sales, because I believe that many will benefit from reading Random Designer. The book targets some of those very pastors that led the charge against Colling, as indicated on this slip cover blurb:
“Written in easy-flowing personal narrative for working professionals, pastors, religious leaders, public school teachers, college students, and people of all faiths, Random Designer is a story of a loving and caring Creator who miraculously harnesses the random and chaotic forces of nature to accomplish his ultimate purposes. And now, after faithfully laboring for billions of years to bring His creation to an awareness of Himself, He calls to us from the deepest recesses of our minds. Will we hear His voice?”
Random Designer is divided into two sections. Section I deals with the science of randomness. Randomness is the necessary consequence of the laws that govern our cosmos, particularly the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, or entropy. Colling shows how entropy works as a randomizer, and how this same law suffuses the earth with a constant flow of energy which in turn serves to being order to randomness. Hence, in Colling’s view, the natural rise of life on earth through evolutionary processes. Randomness becomes the necessary fodder for natural selection, and it is apparently the Designer’s tool of choice. If like me, you have contemplated the place of randomness in Creation, you will benefit from Colling’s descriptions of these processes.
In Section II, Colling turns from science to the theological and practical considerations of randomness. I want to highlight two of the chapters. One seeks to answer questions that surround Adam. Is Adam an historical figure? Is he a metaphorical “stand-in” for the human race? Colling explores these and other possibilities. A chapter which fascinated me is entitled “The Ultimate Creation”. Colling cites science which suggests that the human race may have arrived at the pinnacle of evolution. The same processes of randomness that increase complexity must also serve to maintain complexity. The complexity of the human genome may have reached a balancing point. Or to put it another way, the human genome may be nearing full capacity. If this is true, as genetics suggests it may be, then it is not unreasonable to conclude that we are the ultimate creation of the Random Designer!
Random Designer is written for undergraduates, and as such is an easy read. If you are seeking understandings which bring purpose and order to a world of apparent randomness, you may find Colling’s book helpful.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Brandon Hamm on January 26, 2010 - 1:06 pm
Random designer covers topic after topic, tackling the key issues surrounding biological evolution while integrating the Christian faith, and most importantly, God as the Random Designer. The book is appropriately separated into two sections: the fundamental science and the articulation of how this science matches up with the Random Designer’s plan to create the human race in his image.
In the first section, a variety of topics are covered, including: evolutionary stances, entropy, basic biochemical structures, natural selection, DNA, mutation, and aspects of the human mind. By keeping the foundation of biological evolution, God is found to have incorporated the laws that govern our universe, specifically emphasizing entropy and energy use in the production of a biological system that progresses by means of genetic mutation and natural selection.
Throughout the last half, the connection between God and mankind is made through discussion subjects such as: God’s image, selflessness, coming to know God, and the higher order random design. The possibility of “God’s image” meaning “a mind of God” is suggested, leading the reader into the second section with the aspects of the human mind as a link to God and to his purpose. With this premise, the reader can recognize humanity’s differentiation from all other species by means of self-awareness and God-awareness. This brings the conclusion that the human race is the desired product of God’s creation scheme, in which he sets out to create a species that can acknowledge Him and live in his likeness by means of loose mental standardization.
Maintaining reality into faith issues is something that often accumulates distorted opinions and black and white rainbows. Random Designer walks science alongside life, and in doing so, reveals the God who laid the path for the journey.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Jeremy Mohn on January 26, 2010 - 2:59 pm
Random Designer presents a unique vision of God’s creation. Utilizing easy-to-read personal narratives, Colling explains that the random processes that play such fundamental roles in the physical universe are actually tools of creation. God, the “Random Designer”, harnesses these chaotic physical processes to bring about a Divine plan.
The book is divided into three sections. Section I is devoted to describing and explaining the biological and chemical processes of life. Section II presents God as the powerful force behind the natural laws we observe. Colling suggests that instead of trying to stuff God into the traditional boxes of “Scientific Creationism” or “Intelligent Design,” Christians should strive to understand scientific realities because the evidence will always be in God’s favor. Section III concludes with the theme that mankind was “created for connection” with God. According to Colling, with this new understanding, humans are compelled to maximize our physical and spiritual potential. By doing so, we can hope to realize what it means to be made in God’s image, to feel God’s presence in our lives, and to experience an intimate, meaningful relationship with our Creator.
I highly recommend this book because it presents some very deep theological concepts in a simple and easy to grasp way. Colling has written something with the potential to reach a lot of thinking Christians who would like to see an end to the “science vs. religion” aspect of the Creation/Evolution debate. In the very least, this book will challenge the reader to reconsider some critical issues related to the idea of God as Creator of all things.
Rating: 5 / 5