The theory of evolution was put forward by the naturalist Charles Darwin in the middle of the 19th century, when the level of science and technology was rather primitive, compared with today's. Nineteenth-century scientists worked in relatively simple laboratories. With the very unsophisticated equipment available to them, scientists couldn't even see bacteria. Moreover, they were still under the influence of many false beliefs left over from the Middle Ages.
One of these misconceptions was that living organisms had a fundamentally simple structure—a belief that can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who wrote that life could come about spontaneously and coincidentally, as a result of inorganic matter assembling itself in a moist environment.
In developing his theory, Darwin drew on the assumption that living things had only a simple structure. Other biologists who later adopted and defended Darwin's theory shared this same belief. For example, from the view of cells that 19th century microscopes provided, Ernst Haeckel, Darwin's greatest supporter in Germany, believed that a cell was a "simple little lump of albuminous combination of carbon," not much different from a piece of microscopic jello. (John Farley, The Spontaneous Generation Controversy from Descartes to Oparin, 2nd ed., Baltimore:The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, p. 73)
The theory of evolution was based upon this and other similar presumptions. Authors of the theory like Haeckel, Darwin, and Huxley believed that because life was made up of very simple structures, it could come about by itself, randomly. But they were wrong, of course.
During the past 150 years, from Victorian times until now, both science and technology have made enormous strides. Scientists have discovered the real structure of what Haeckel described as being a "simple little lump." They have been amazed to see that the cell is not remotely as simple as was once believed, but contains a number of unimaginably complex systems that could never have been conceived of, much less understood, in Darwin's day.
In explaining the structure of the cell, Professor Michael Denton, the famous molecular biologist, makes this analogy:
To grasp the reality of life as it has been revealed by molecular biology, we must magnify a cell a thousand million times until it is twenty kilometers in diameter and resembles a giant airship large enough to cover a great city like London or New York. What we would then see would be an object of unparalleled complexity and adaptive design. On the surface of the cell we would see millions of openings, like the port holes of a vast space ship, opening and closing to allow a continual stream of materials to flow in and out. If we were to enter one of these openings we would find ourselves in a world of supreme technology and bewildering complexity... (Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, London: Burnett Books, 1985, p. 328)
This book will introduce the miracles of creation in the living cell, a miniature masterpiece that possesses a much more complicated and wondrous system than a giant spaceship's. We will show how the organelles inside the cell, together with the enzymes, proteins and other substances that it produces, perform purposeful functions that could never be expected of them. We'll give examples of the literally trillions of cells to be found in the human body, each of which displays superhuman intelligence and wisdom. Once again, we remind ourselves how all of this cannot be merely an unconscious coincidence, but is a product of God.
Proofs of God's creation, and manifestations of His superior power, wisdom and artistry are everywhere. Wherever we turn, we come face to face with God's creations that move us to exalt Him with glorification.
One reason why this book concentrates on the cell in particular is once again to present the truth to those who deny God by claiming that life is only a result of coincidence. Living things are too complex, too infinitely detailed to have come about as the result of happenstance. It's clear that they were created by a superior Mind and Power. Also, this book aims to explain the superiority manifest in God's creation and to glorify Him thereby.
Intelligent Design, in other words Creation
In order to create, God has no need to design
It's important that the word "design" be properly understood. That God has created a flawless design does not mean that He first made a plan and then followed it. God, the Lord of the Earth and the heavens, needs no "designs" in order to create. God is exalted above all such deficiencies. His planning and creation take place at the same instant.
Whenever God wills a thing to come about, it is enough for Him just to say, "Be!"
As verses of the Qur'an tell us:
His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, "Be!" and it is. (Qur'an, 36: 82)
[God is] the Originator of the heavens and Earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, "Be!" and it is. (Qur'an, 2: 117)