Mechanical Interpretation
Not Enough

Man has no alternative but to accept God, whether in religious terms as a Creator and Sustainer or in scientific terms as the operator of the great machine of the universe.

When India and Pakistan went to war in 1965, Pakistan enjoyed a superior armament position. The British-made Patton tanks owned by Pakistan were far more sophisticated than the Indian made Vijayant tanks. Likewise, the French-made Sabre jets could strike more precisely than India’s homemade gnat planes.

However, India emerged victorious in this war, and Pakistan was defeated. One of the main reasons for India’s victory, according to war analysts, was that the arms used by India were manufactured in their own country, so they knew exactly how to operate them. Whereas Pakistan acquired arms from other countries, their soldiers could not handle them with great expertise.

What is true of military machines applies equally to all other machines: their efficiency depends on the efficiency of those who handle them:

Even the most sophisticated warfare technology is handled ultimately by men engaged in soldiering. Therefore, its use in combat depends significantly on their skill, training, morale, and ingenuity. The doctrine of the supremacy of the man behind the gun thus remains valid even in this age of push-button wars, though it will indeed become inoperative if the unthinkable turns into a reality and a nuclear conflict is unleashed through madness or miscalculation. (The Times of India, February 2, 1984)

Many believe that the universe is simply a soulless, self-automated machine in modern times. However, the hard facts of modern warfare above contradict such mechanical interpretation. All the machines man has known have always needed an operator. On what grounds, then, can the argument that the universe is on the move without an operator be valid? This argument must be dismissed as conjecture, for it has no practical or theoretical basis to support it.

Let us suppose that the universe is a great machine: it needs a great mind to operate. Therefore, man has no alternative but to accept God, whether in religious terms as a Creator and Sustainer or in scientific terms as the operator of the great machine of the universe.