I Can Do All Things Through Christ: Natural vs. Supernatural

There is a lot of debate today over the meaning of the word “natural” in certain circles, particularly in the marketing of food products. What the word “natural” means in communication depends on the understanding of the one using the term. For those starting from a Darwinian presupposition, for example, it means something like the “natural” course of the way things evolved. “Natural” in this sense is the result of random processes absent from any intelligence guiding it. For those starting from a creation or intelligent design presupposition, “natural” means something related to a design principle, and what the designer intended. Science, in the strictest sense of the word, cannot prove either starting presupposition. Both positions start with a belief about what is true. When we come to the term supernatural, however, there is no serious debate as to what the term means. The only debate is whether or not it occurs in real life.