Even in this age of scientific and technical achievement, there are many natural phenomena that do not have a satisfactory scientific explanation. If this were not so, then Science would cease to exist. We do not fully understand how charges get separated in rainclouds to produce lightning, or how river valleys were carved on the now-bone-dry planet of Mars. Yet, these mysteries do not support one viewpoint over another, they are simply areas in which more needs to be learned. The lack of a known scientific explanation does not prove that no natural explanation exists. In fact, scientists are constantly finding explanations for previously unexplained phenomena, as Science continues to work towards a greater understanding of God's Creation. Therefore, it is a fallacy to assume that a phenomenon has a supernatural cause, simply because no adequate natural explanation has yet been discovered. To demonstrate this fallacy, consider the manufacture of organic molecules. Two hundred years ago, it was thought by many that only living cells, endowed with a God-given "life force," could produce organic molecules. This idea was bolstered by the failure of all attempts to produce organic molecules synthetically, and it was eventually laid to rest when chemists finally did succeed in synthesizing organic molecules. In this case, a supernatural explanation or organic molecule formation had been advanced due to the lack of satisfactory natural explanations, and was abandoned when the natural explanation was discovered. Please note that I am not saying that all supernatural explanations are un-scientific by definition. That would be a philosophical statement of "naturalism," not a statement that can be backed up with scientific evidence. Rather, I am saying that any such claim would have to be based upon positive evidence; it is not enough simply to argue from the lack of any known natural explanation. The existence of an Unexplained Mystery is not, on its own, evidence for a supernatural explanation.

 

Many arguments that are advanced in favor of "recent creation" are in fact based simply upon phenomena that currently lack an adequate explanation, and it is important to recognize this fallacy. For example, we may not currently understand exactly how Dr. Gentry's polonium halos were formed, but that does not support the claim that "God created them that way" any more than the former inability to synthesize organic molecules meant that only cells with a God-given "life force" could do it. In both cases, a natural explanation exists, even if we do not yet know what it is. Examples of the Unexplained Mystery Fallacy include Parentless Polonium-218 Halos, Escape of Methane from Titan, and The "Red Sirius" Mystery.