Claim

It is inconceivable that a particular structure, process, or form of life could have originated naturally. Therefore, it must have been created.

This argument is also known as the argument from ignorance or the "god of the gaps." It sits behind many creationist claims about abiogenesis, complexity, and intelligent design.

Response

  1. The real force of the claim is usually not that natural origins are impossible, but that the claimant cannot presently imagine a natural explanation. That is not a sound basis for concluding impossibility. Other people may already know more, or a later explanation may emerge. As Michael Behe himself wrote, negative arguments may rest on lack of knowledge rather than on positive results.
  2. The argument from incredulity repeatedly shrinks as science advances. Lightning, infectious disease, and mental illness were all once attributed to supernatural causes until natural explanations became available. A "gaps" argument ties belief to what is not yet known, and those gaps do not stay fixed.

References

  1. Behe, Michael. 2003. A functional pseudogene?: An open letter to Nature. http://www.arn.org/docs2/news/behepseudogene052003.htm

Further Reading