Literalism and the Argument from Design

Some contemporary Biblical Literalists counter Darwinism with the 'Argument from Design'--the claim that the orderliness of the universe proves that God created it. In that context, the argument is weak in three respects. First, it ignores the disorderly aspects of the universe, e. g. an earthquake that kills thousands, including children. Second, as has been previously discussed, that God created the universe does not necessarily preclude the existence of evolutionary processes. Third, and perhaps most damaging, is that that argument is nowhere to be found in Scripture, so, on the Literalist premise, it is, at minimum, extrinsic with respect to the actual texts. Nor is there any evidence in the texts themselves that authorizes any method by which they can be represented as such. Indeed, the Literalist has no resource to refute Nietzsche's thesis that Theory, including that which grounds the Argument from Design, is Interpretation. More generally, nothing--neither Theology nor practice--follows from the texts, according to the Literalist premise.