Is There A God? - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Is There A God?

Is Anybody Up There?

Bible references are from the King James Version unless otherwise indicated.

Copyright © 2013 by Church of Jesus Christ – Restoration Branches. Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the Church of Jesus Christ – Restoration Branches is strictly prohibited.

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Atheism

In the 1880s, Friedrich Nietzsche declared "God is dead.”

Slide3

3

Two Competing Theories

Two major influences on what we learned in school about the origin of life:

Atheism

2. ChristianitySlide4

4

Two Evidences for a Creator

Two arguments

for

the existence of a creator:

the argument for

Design

, and

the case for an

Expanding Universe

. Slide5

5

The Design ArgumentSlide6

6

The Design Argument

A Heavenly Watchmaker

One of the oldest arguments for intelligent design came from Anglican theologian William Paley. In 1802, he wrote

Natural Theology

.

Paley suggested that if you were walking along a path and saw a

stone

, all you would think is that the stone had possibly been there forever. Slide7

7

The Design Argument

A Heavenly Watchmaker

But then suppose it was a

watch

you saw lying on the ground.

Because a watch is a system of interacting components

,

you would immediately realize the watch had a

designer

who purposefully created it. Applying this to the larger universe, Paley called this designer

the heavenly "watchmaker" of creation. Slide8

8

The Design Argument

There is a legitimate argument that can be made for the existence of an original cause or creator just by observing the order and complexity of the universe we see all around us.

There is a legitimate argument that can be made for the existence of an original cause or creator just by observing

the order and complexity of the universe

we see all around us.Slide9

9

Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

Is Natural Selection Really A Blind Watchmaker?

In 1986, atheist and biologist

Richard Dawkins

responded to Paley's design argument with his book,

The Blind Watchmaker

.

Dawkins claimed that

the process of natural selection

resulted in the universe and was

"the blind watchmaker" operating by mere chance without the aid of a creator

. Slide10

10

Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

Is Natural Selection Really A Blind Watchmaker?

Dawkins tried to use evolutionary theory for ideological purposes

to discredit Christianity

.

Upon hearing Dawkins' suggestion that a watch or even the

universe was created by mere chance

, many people would respond, "I'm sorry, but I don't have enough faith to believe that the world was created by mere chance."

. Slide11

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 148.

11Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

The Limits Of Evolutionary Theory

"Ernst Mayer, a longtime champion of evolution, writes that when Darwin published the

Origin of Species

'he actually did not have a single clear-cut piece of evidence for the existence of natural selection

.‘”

“Another Darwin enthusiast, Jonathan Weiner concedes that despite its title,

Darwin's book ‘does not document the origin

of a single species

.'" Slide12

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Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

Perhaps

natural selection

might explain common genetic material between species, but Richard Dawkins' attempt to use the theory to disprove God falls short. Slide13

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Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

1. The theory of evolution is limited to the arena of

biology

.

2. It does not explain anything about

origins

.

3. Natural selection

does not attempt to explain how humans obtained

a conscious awareness, the ability to reason or a sense of morality

. Slide14

Andy Knoll, PBS N

ova Interview

, May 3, 2004.

14

Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

Andy Knoll, Harvard biologist

, states:

“If we try to summarize by just saying what, at the end of the day, we do know about the deep history of life on Earth, about its origin, about its formative stages that gave rise to the biology we see around us today,

I think we have to admit that we’re looking through a glass darkly here. We don’t know how life started on this planet. We don’t know exactly when it started, we don’t know under what circumstances

.”Slide15

Michael J.

Behe

,

Darwin’s Black Box

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 5.

15

Natural Selection: Watchmaker?

Biochemist Michael

Behe

has “no reason to doubt” physicists’ assertion that the universe is billions of years old, but he sees limitations in the theory of natural selection:

“Although Darwin’s mechanism –

natural selection

working on variation – might explain many things, however, I do not believe it explains molecular life

.”Slide16

Michael J.

Behe

,

Darwin’s Black Box

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 4-5.

16

Order and Complexity in CellsSince the 1950s,

electron microscopes

have revealed an astounding complexity and order in the

cells

of living organisms:

“The cumulative results show with piercing clarity that life is based on

machines – machines made of molecules! Molecular machines

haul cargo from one place in the cell to another along ‘

highways

’

made of other molecules, while still others act as

cables, ropes, and pulleys

to hold the cell in shape.” Slide17

Michael J.

Behe

,

Darwin’s Black Box

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 4-5.

17

Order and Complexity in Cells“Machines turn

cellular switches

on and off, sometimes killing the cell or causing it to grow.

Solar-powered machines

capture the energy of photons and store it in chemicals.

Electrical machines

allow current to flow through nerves. Manufacturing machines build other molecular machines, as well as themselves. Cells

swim using machines, copy

themselves

using machinery,

ingest food

with machinery. In short,

highly sophisticated molecular machines control every cellular process

.”Slide18

Paul Davies, “The Origin of Life II: How Did It Begin?” as found in Antony Flew,

There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

(New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 129.

18

Order and Complexity in Cells

Paul Davies, a physicist and cosmologist, states:

“The

cell

is also an information storing, processing and replicating system. We need to explain the origin of this information, and the way in which the information processing machinery came to exist . . .

The problem of how meaningful or semantic information can emerge spontaneously from a collection of mindless molecules subject to blind and purposeless forces presents a deep conceptual challenge

.”Slide19

Michael J.

Behe

,

Darwin’s Black Box

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 87

.

19Order and Complexity in CellsBehe’s

Conclusion:

“In the face of the enormous complexity that modern biochemistry has uncovered in the

cell

, the scientific community is paralyzed. No one at Harvard university, no one at the National Institutes of Health, no member of the National Academy of Sciences, no Nobel prize winner –

no one at all can give a detailed account of how the cilium, or vision, or blood clotting, or any complex biochemical process might have developed in a Darwinian fashion

.”Slide20

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Natural selection does not explain how the earth was placed at the right distance from the sun or how the earth rotates in just the right manner to create 24-hour days so the sun perpetually rises and sets. Slide21

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Origins

Though some atheists claim that natural selection explains origins, but it does not explain the ultimate force that originally created the universe or where the very first life form came from.

Some atheists claim that natural selection explains origins, but it does not explain the ultimate force that originally created the universe or where the very first life form came from. Slide22

Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, ed. Nora Barlow (London: Collins, 1958), 92-93

.

22

Origins

Though he was strongly opposed to Christianity, in his own autobiography,

Charles Darwin

said “When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man

;

I deserve to be called a Theist

.”

However, his original theory of evolution did not even attempt to explain how the first cell was created or the origin of the universe. Slide23

23

Origins

Even

Immanuel Kant

, an Enlightenment philosopher, made the point that

it is

impossible to prove

that this physical environment we experience with our senses is all that exists

. Slide24

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream,

IL:Tyndale House Publishers, 2007),100 and Richard Westfall, "Isaac Newton," in Gary Ferngren, editor, Science and Religion (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002),155.24

Origins

"Perhaps the greatest scientist of all time,

Newton

, viewed his discoveries as showing the creative genius of God's handiwork in nature.

'

This most beautiful system of sun, planets, and comets," he wrote, "could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being

.‘”Slide25

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream,

IL:Tyndale House Publishers, 2007),100.25Origins

“Newton's God was not a divine watchmaker who wound up the universe and then withdrew from it. Rather

,

God was an active agent sustaining the heavenly bodies in their positions and solicitous of His special creation, man

." Slide26

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Origins

The

order and complexity

of the universe is undeniable.

As Paley said, there must have been

a divine watchmaker

.

Probability

alone would indicate that such an intricate design points to the existence of a creator. Slide27

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Origins

"

The heavens declare the glory of God

; and the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1 (NIV)

"The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and

all things denote there is a God

; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea and its motion. Yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form, doth witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” Alma 16:54-55

The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament

showeth

his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

"The scriptures are laid

before thee, yea, and

all things denote there

is a God; yea, even

the earth, and all things

that are upon the face

of it, yea and its motion.

Yea, and also all the

planets which move in

their regular form,

doth witness that there

is a Supreme Creator.”

Alma 16:54-55 Slide28

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Origins

Every person is given the ability to view creation and determine what they believe.

There is a legitimate argument that can be made for the existence of a divine creator just by observing the

order and complexity

of the universe we see around us.Slide29

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Origins

William Paley's argument that there must have been a designer has never been refuted. In fact, with recent scientific developments, Paley's position is even stronger today than it was in 1802. We will discuss recent discoveries in the next segment called The Expanding Universe.Slide30

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Discussion

1. In William Paley’s example,

a complex and orderly system of interacting components

is the difference between a _s_______ and a _w________.

Did Darwin’s evolutionary theory ever attempt to explain how the very first life form on earth was originally created?

Electron microscopes in the 1950s allowed us to directly observe in elaborate detail how complex a _c_____ is. Slide31

31Slide32

Four Aspects of the Genesis Account

32Slide33

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Genesis

"In the beginning God

created

the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

Slide34

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Genesis

1. God created “time”

Time itself had a beginning

.

The phrase "in the beginning God created . . ." is unique to Christianity and Judaism.

Other major religions do not teach that time started at a given point.Slide35

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Genesis

2. God created the universe out of nothing

John 1 says, "In the beginning was

the Word

."

Genesis 1 says, “And God

said

. . ."

God merely spoke the words and the universe was created

ex nihilo (out of nothing).

.Slide36

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Genesis

3. God created the universe in six days

The

Hebrew word for “day”

in Genesis can mean:

a literal 24-hour day, or

a much longer period of time.

Slide37

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Genesis

4. God created man “in his own image”

God is a spiritual being.

So being created "in God's image" has typically implied that man received certain

attributes of God

such as a conscious awareness, the ability to reason and a sense of morality.Slide38

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Genesis

Christians believe that God created the universe as described in the Genesis account. Slide39

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Discussion

1. By saying “In the beginning, God created . . .” the book of Genesis is making what claim about the idea of “time”?

According to the Genesis narrative, did God use already-existing material to create the universe?

Does accepting Genesis require that I must believe the universe was created in six 24-hour days?Slide40

40Slide41

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The Expanding UniverseSlide42

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Two Evidences for a Creator

An earlier slide in this presentation stated that we would present two arguments for the existence of a creator:

the argument for

Design

, and

the case for an

Expanding Universe

.

We now would like to present evidence for an expanding universe. Slide43

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Origin of the Universe

In the last several decades, science has been torn between two competing theories about the origin of the universe:

a

Big Bang explosion

in which the universe was suddenly created, and

Steady State Theory

in which the universe has perpetually existed without change going backward infinitely in time.Slide44

44

Genesis claims that God spoke and the universe leapt into existence by the power of his word.

. Slide45

45

Origin of the Universe

In the early twentieth century, there were two stunning scientific developments that seemed to confirm this idea of a universe created by

a supernatural, primordial explosion of heat and light

:

Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, and

Edwin Hubble's discovery of an expanding universe.

Slide46

Robert

Jastrow,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 17, 21., 27.

46

Slipher’s

Discovery

“The scientific story of Genesis begins in

1913

, when

Vesto

Melvin

Slipher . . . discovered that about a dozen galaxies in our vicinity were moving away from the earth at very high speeds, ranging up to two million miles per hour . . . By

1925 he had clocked the velocities of 42 galaxies . . . Slipher

himself had never realized the connection between his measurements and the expanding Universe . .

Slipher

believed that the galaxy to which the sun belonged was drifting through space

. . .”Slide47

Robert

Jastrow,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 18.

47

Theory of Relativity

“Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic – and by now it was wartime –

Einstein

published his equations of general relativity in 1917.

Willem de Sitter

, a Dutch astronomer, found a solution to them almost immediately that

predicted an exploding Universe, in which the galaxies of the heavens moved rapidly away from one another

. This was just what

Slipher had observed. However, because of the interruption of communications by the war, de Sitter probably did not know about Slipher’s

observations at that time.”Slide48

Robert

Jastrow,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 20-21.

48

Theory of Relativity

“Around this time, signs of irritation began to appear among the scientists. Einstein was the first to complain.

He was disturbed by the idea of a Universe that blows up, because it implied that the world had a beginning

. In a letter to de Sitter . . . Einstein wrote ‘This circumstance [of an expanding Universe] irritates me,’ and in another letter about the expanding Universe, “To admit such possibilities seems senseless’ . .

. I suppose that the idea of a beginning in time annoyed Einstein because of its theological implications

.

”Slide49

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 119

49Theory of Relativity

“The great physicist was, by his own account, 'irritated' by the idea of an expanding universe. He went so far as to invent a new force, the 'antigravity' force, as well as a number called the 'cosmological constant,' to try to disprove the notion of a beginning.

Later Einstein admitted his errors and called his cosmological constant the biggest mistake of his life

.'" Slide50

50

Hubble’s Discovery

In the early 1920s, astronomers vigorously debated whether luminous swirls in space were just

nearby wisps of gas

in our own Milky Way galaxy or

distant, gigantic galaxies

. Some thought that the universe did not extend beyond the Milky Way.In the late 1920s, astronomer Edwin Hubble, who was inspired by de Sitter’s hypothesis of an expanding universe, began to painstakingly plot both the distance and

speed

of many different galaxies. Slide51

51

Hubble’s Discovery

Using the powerful 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory (90 miles northeast of Los Angeles), he could see for the first time that the luminous swirls were

distant galaxies

each containing billions of stars. Hubble concluded that

the farther away a galaxy was, the faster it was moving away

from our own Milky Way galaxy.

This proved that the entire universe was extremely large and rapidly expanding

.Slide52

52

Hubble’s Discovery

Edwin Hubble had made

perhaps the greatest discovery of the twentieth century

. For the first time, we became aware that

we had vastly underestimated the size of a universe

that was comprised of many galaxies separated by millions of light years,

galaxies that were dispersed by a kind of

primordial explosion

.Slide53

Michael J.

Behe

,

Darwin’s Black Box

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 244.

53

Hubble’s Discovery

“This was the first observational evidence that Einstein’s

unfudged

equations were correct in their prediction concerning the expansion of the universe.

And it did not take a rocket scientist (although plenty were around) to mentally reverse the expanding universe and conclude that at some time in the past, all of the matter in the universe was concentrated into

a very small space

.

This was the beginning of the Big Bang hypothesis.” Slide54

Stephen Hawking, The

Universe in a Nutshell

(New York: Bantam Books, 2001), 76.

54

Hubble’s Discovery

Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said that

Hubble’s “discovery of the expansion of the universe was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the twentieth century. It came as a total surprise, and it completely changed the discussion of the

origin

of the universe

.” Slide55

.

55

Hubble’s Discovery

Prior to Hubble’s discovery in the late 1920s:

Scientists assumed that the universe had always existed going back infinitely in time

. Nothing about the laws of nature or the cosmos indicated

a beginning

to them.

Nothing ever indicated that

all the matter in the universe could have, at one time, been concentrated into a small space

, possibly as dense as a single atom. Slide56

Michael J.

Behe

,

Darwin’s Black Box

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 244.

56

Hubble’s Discovery

Over 3,000 years ago, the book of Genesis claimed that

God

created the universe out of nothing

. In the book of John, it says “in the beginning was the word.” This passage in John appears to indicate

that the words of God were the original cause

that brought the universe into existence.

“Nonetheless, despite its religious implications, the

Big Bang

was a scientific theory that flowed naturally from observational data, not from holy writings or transcendental visions.”Slide57

57

Hubble’s Discovery

Other religions

, such as that of ancient Greece, have creation myths in which their gods make the world out of

preexisting material

.

The

Genesis record

is unique and seems to be vindicated by modern science. There was

a beginning

,

and a “creation from nothing” appears to have been possible

.

Like ancient Greece, other religions have creation myths in which their gods make the world out of preexisting material.

The Genesis record is unique and seems to be vindicated by modern science. There was a beginning, and a “creation from nothing” appears to have been possible. Slide58

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 121.

58Hubble’s Discovery

"

Even so, many scientists were visibly upset by the concept of a Big Bang . . . Like Einstein, prominent

scientists began to advance theories that would eliminate the need for a beginning

. They worked very hard to find a scientifically credible way for the universe to have existed forever.”Slide59

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 121.

59Steady State Theory

“Imagine the relief of these scientists when astronomers Hermann

Bondi

, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle advanced what became known as the 'steady state' universe. Their theory was that the universe was infinite in age.” Slide60

60

Steady State Theory

Bondi

, Gold and Hoyle suggested that as stars and energy burn out over time, the universe somehow continues to create matter and energy to replace them, even at a sufficient rate to keep up with the expansion of space, thus maintaining the same density of matter and balance throughout space. As a result, it is possible that the universe has always existed and had

no beginning

.

In 1959, two-thirds of astronomers and physicists were still adherents of this theory.Slide61

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 160

.61Steady State Theory

Religion is often accused of avoiding certain truths, but by embracing Steady State Theory,

scientists

appeared to be hiding their heads in the sand.

"Physicist Stephen Hawking explains why a large number of scientists were attracted to the steady state theory of the origin of the universe:

'There were therefore a number of attempts to avoid the conclusion that there had been

a big bang . . . Many people do not like the idea that time has a beginning, probably because it smacks of

divine intervention

.'" Slide62

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 160

.62Steady State Theory

" The same point is made by Steven Weinberg. Some cosmologists [who study the nature or origin of the universe]

endorse theories because they ‘nicely avoid the problem of Genesis

.’" Slide63

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 160.

63Steady State Theory

“Biologist Barry

Palevitz

makes the same point

.

'The supernatural,' he writes, 'is

automatically off-limits as an explanation of the natural world.'"

So Steady State Theory provided a way to avoid the conclusion that there was an original cause or creator.Slide64

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 123.

64Penzias’ & Wilson’s Discovery

"In the 1960s, however, the

steady state theory suffered a devastating blow

when two radio engineers working at Bell Labs, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, discovered some mysterious radiation coming from space. This radiation was not coming from a particular direction; rather, it was coming equally from all directions, In fact, it appeared to be coming from the universe itself. “Slide65

Dinesh

D’Souza

,

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 123.

65Penzias’ & Wilson’s Discovery

“Penzias and Wilson soon learned that scientists had been predicting that, if the universe began in a single explosion around fifteen billion years ago,

then some of the radiation from that fiery blast would still be around

.”Slide66

Dinesh

D’Souza

, since

What’s So Great About Christianity?

(Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 123.

66Penzias’ & Wilson’s Discovery

“This radiation was expected to have a temperature of around five degrees above absolute zero. Penzias and Wilson's radiation measured slightly less than this number, and

they realized to their astonishment that they had encountered a ghostly whisper from the original moment of creation

."

With this discovery, the steady state theory of the universe quickly fell into disfavor, and the big bang hypothesis prevailed.Slide67

Robert

Jastrow

,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 103.

67Scripture and Science

Astronomer and Cosmologist Robert

Jastrow

, who was director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Professor of Geophysics at Columbia University, stated:

“

Five independent lines of evidence

– the motions of the galaxies, the discovery of the primordial fireball, the laws of thermodynamics, the abundance of helium in the Universe and the life story of the stars – point to one conclusion;

all indicate that the Universe had a beginning

.”Slide68

Robert

Jastrow

,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 107.

68Scripture and Science

Jastrow’s

Conclusion

:

“For the

scientist

who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak. As he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of

theologians

who have been sitting there for centuries.”Slide69

69

Scripture and Science

Genesis was written more than 3,000 years ago. Over time, science has slowly come to agree with the Genesis record. Major scientific events in the twentieth century revolutionized our thinking in regard to a Creator:

In the 1910s, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding universe.

In the 1950s, the electron microscope revealed that the cells of living organisms are incredibly complex.Slide70

70

Scripture and Science

Genesis

is not a science textbook. It is not a detailed account. It makes a few straightforward claims about the origin of the universe, some of which are now being corroborated by science. Slide71

71

"

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament

showeth

his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

Psalm 14:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament

showeth

his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1 Slide72

72

Scripture and Science

The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and

all things denote there is a God

; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea and its motion. Yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form, doth witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

Alma 16:54-55Slide73

Antony Flew, There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

(New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 88.

73

Atheism to Deism

Prior to Richard Dawkins, Antony Flew was the world’s most prominent atheist for 50 years. Mr. Flew said that, based on recent scientific evidence, he had become convinced that there was a God:

“

I now believe that the universe was brought into existence by an infinite Intelligence

. I believe that this universe’s intricate laws manifest what scientists have called

the Mind of God

. I believe that life and reproduction originate in

a divine Source

.”Slide74

Antony Flew, There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

(New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 88.

74

Atheism to Deism

“When I first met the big-bang theory as an atheist, it seemed to me the theory made a big difference because it suggested that

the universe had a beginning

and that the first sentence in Genesis (“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”) was related to an event in the universe . . .

If the universe had a beginning, it became entirely sensible, almost inevitable, to ask what produced this beginning. This radically altered the situation

.”Slide75

75

Discussion

1. The possibility of an expanding universe irritated Einstein because it meant that there must have been an initial explosion of heat and light or, as Genesis would say, “In the _b___________ .

2. The fact that Hubble actually observed galaxies hurtling away from us at a rapid rate proved that Einstein’s general theory of relativity was correct in that it predicted an _

e________

universe.Slide76

76

Conclusion

It is not the goal of this presentation to disprove evolutionary theory. We simply offer two rationales for the Genesis account: the

design argument

and the scientific argument for an

expanding universe

.

For those who suggest that science refutes the claims of Christianity, this presentation provides another perspective that hopefully will stimulate thought about the possibility of

a creator

.Slide77

Jesus taught that a loving God created us and that he wants us to freely exercise our will. He invites us to come unto him.

77

Christianity

Jesus invites us to come unto him

.Slide78

78Slide79

79

APPENDIXSlide80

80

Probability:The Monkey TheorySlide81

We have mentioned that evolutionary theory does not specifically address origins; it merely describes how various life forms developed over time.

Regarding the probability that life would spontaneously arise by random chance,

it is frequently asserted that, given enough time, a group of monkeys banging on a keyboard would eventually write a Shakespearean sonnet

.

81

The Monkey Theory Slide82

The British National Council of Arts conducted an experiment in which a computer was placed in a cage with six monkeys. After one month of banging on the keyboard, they had produced 50 pages of typing. However, not one word appeared (The word “a” would require a space on each side).

82

The Monkey Theory Slide83

“All the sonnets are the same length. They’re by definition fourteen lines long. I picked the one I knew the opening line for, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ I counted the number of letters; there are 488 letters in that sonnet. What’s the likelihood of hammering away and getting 488 letters in the exact sequence as in ‘Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?’”

Gerald Schroeder, “Has Science Discovered God?” as found in Antony Flew,

There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

(New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 76-77.

83

The Monkey Theory

What is the chance of getting a Shakespearean sonnet? Israeli scientist Gerald Schroeder states:Slide84

in base 10, 10 to the 690th

power [1 followed by 690 zeroes] . . . You will never get a sonnet by chance . . . Yet the world just thinks the monkeys can do it every time

.”

If monkeys creating a sonnet appears to be impossible,

the spontaneous creation of the first life form, even an amoeba, would far exceed the complexity of a sonnet

. It is important to remember that we are talking about origins, not evolutionary theory.

Gerald Schroeder, “Has Science Discovered God?” as found in Antony Flew,

There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

(New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 76-77

84

The Monkey Theory

“What you end up with is 26 [the number of keys] multiplied by

itself 488 times – or 26 to the

488

th

power. Or, in other words,

Slide85

85Slide86

86

If God Exists, Why Does He Allow Evil and Suffering?Slide87

“Why does God allow evil and suffering?” This is a difficult and important question. The question assumes that there is a God.The question also suggests that there is a moral law that establishes what is evil. How do we know what is right and what is wrong?

87

Evil and Suffering Slide88

An atheist might suggest: “It is entirely subjective; each individual establishes his

morality

for himself based on personal feelings or

preferences

.”

A humorous anecdote about “preferences” says:

In some cultures they love their neighbor, in others they eat

them –

which one would you prefer

? It illustrates the fact that our views of morality cannot simply be a matter of individual preference.

So, there must be a moral law that governs the universe

.

88

Evil and Suffering Slide89

So the question is correct in suggesting that there is a moral law that identifies good and evil. But if there is a law, we have to ask ourselves, “Who gave us that sense of morality?” There can be no moral law if there is no lawgiver.

The question “Why does God allow evil?” suggests that there is a moral God and autonomous human beings. A loving God created us in his image. One of the attributes that God gave us was agency or free will. It would be immoral for God to

compel

us instead of allowing each person to freely choose.

89

Evil and Suffering Slide90

Most suffering in the world is caused by people and the choices that they make. The cumulative evidence for the existence of God is overwhelming, but a loving God gave us the freedom to follow him or reject him.

Jesus Christ came to earth and became like us to endure suffering and to overcome it. He took upon himself the sins of all people. He suffered

immeasurably for our benefit that we might have eternal life.

90

Evil and Suffering Slide91

Antony Flew,

There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

(New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 156.

91

Evil and Suffering

Antony Flew, former atheist, states:

“Certainly, the existence of evil and suffering must be faced. However, philosophically speaking, that is a separate issue from the question of God’s existence . . .

Nature may have its imperfections, but this says nothing as to whether it had an ultimate Source. Thus, the existence of God does not depend on the existence of warranted or unwarranted evil

.”Slide92

92Slide93

Science and Christianity

103Slide94

104

Science and Christianity

Modern science is largely indebted to theories and methods that were developed by

Christians who believed in the Genesis record

such as Copernicus,

Kepler

, Galileo, Brahe, Descartes, Boyle, Newton, Leibniz,

Gassendi

, Pascal,

Mersenne

, Cuvier, Harvey, Dalton, Faraday, Herschel, Joule, Lyell, Lavoisier, Priestley, Kelvin, Ohm, Ampere, Steno, Pasteur, Maxwell, Planck and Mendel. Slide95

105

Science and Christianity

Laws That Man Is Able To Discover

Christianity believes in a God of reason, order and rationality.

Faith in these attributes of God enabled

Christian scientists

to believe there were

laws governing the universe which man was able to discover

.

Slide96

106

Science In Other Cultures

Not Every Culture Embraces The Idea Of A Rationally-Designed Universe

"Historian Joseph Needham explains that despite the wealth and sophistication of

China

in ancient and medieval times, science never developed there because

'there was no confidence that the code of nature's laws could ever be unveiled and read, because

. . .Slide97

Joseph Needham,

The

Grand Titration: Science and Society in East and West

(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1969), 327 as quoted in

D’Souza

, What’s So Great About Christianity, 96.107Science In Other Cultures

there was no assurance that a divine being, even more rational than ourselves, had ever formulated such a code capable of being read

.'" Slide98

Robert

Jastrow

,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 21.

108Science In Other Cultures

“For Einstein, the existence of God was proven by the laws of nature; that is,

the fact that there was order in the Universe and man could discover it

.

When Einstein came to New York in 1921 a rabbi sent him a telegram asking, ‘Do you believe in God?’ and Einstein replied, ‘I believe in Spinoza’s God

,

who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists.’”Slide99

Max Jammer,

Einstein and Religion (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 93.

109

Science In Other Cultures

Einstein stated:

“Everyone who is seriously engaged in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that the laws of nature manifest the existence of a spirit vastly superior to that of men, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”Slide100

110

Science and Christianity

Christian belief is no longer welcome in the scientific community.

Slide101

1. Naturalism

says that natural law is all that governs the universe. There

are no

miracles, and there is no supernatural power.

111

Naturalism and Materialism

Two dogmatic assumptions of modern science

:Slide102

2.

Materialism says

that the material existence we see around us is all there is.

102

Naturalism and Materialism

Slide103

Christianity says: God has put

natural laws in place.

But there

are

also miracles and a spiritual realm that we do not see.

103

Naturalism and Materialism

Slide104

It is impossible to prove that the immaterial or supernatural do not exist.

104

Naturalism and Materialism

Slide105

Near-death experiences

indicate there is a spiritual realm

that is not subject to natural law.

Atheists say that such experiences are imaginary and merely due to the operation of

neurons in the

neocortex

of the brain that continue to function during a state of unconsciousness. 105

Near-Death ExperiencesSlide106

But what if the brain's neocortex is disabled during a near-death experience?

Dr.

Eben

Alexander , a neurosurgeon who once taught at Harvard medical school, experienced a rare form of meningitis and a resulting coma that lasted for a week. In his book,

Proof of Heaven,

he says:

“My entire neocortex – the outer surface of the brain, the part that makes us human – was shut down. Inoperative. In essence, absent.” Eben Alexander, M.D., Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012), 8-9.

106

Near-Death ExperiencesSlide107

Despite the fact that his brain’s neocortex was disabled,

Dr. Alexander claims that, while in a coma, he experienced a spiritual realm that is undetectable to our physical senses.

Dr. Alexander is

now convinced that this spiritual realm is just as real

as the physical existence we live in and that

there is life after death.Eben Alexander, M.D., Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012), 8-9.

107

Near-Death ExperiencesSlide108

Christians believe that a god of order and reason created natural laws that man is able to discover. Is this idea universally accepted by all cultures in the world?

N__________ says that “natural law is all that governs this existence; nothing is ever supernatural.”

M__________ says that “the material world, what we see around us, is all that exists.”

Is it possible to prove either of the principles mentioned in 2. or 3. above?

108

DiscussionSlide109

109Slide110

110

Our Limited UnderstandingSlide111

Is There Another Reality That We Are Unable to Perceive With Our Senses? "For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

111

Sensory Experience is LimitedSlide112

There is a reality that we experience through our five senses. Some people believe that sensory experience is all that exists.

If I eat an apple, I can see, touch, smell and taste it. But my perception

of that apple is strictly limited by the sensory tools that I use to perceive it.

112

Sensory Experience is LimitedSlide113

113

Sensory Experience is Limited

Using another example, if you look at a straw standing in

liquid

, it

appears

to be bent at the surface because the light that your eyes see is refracted.

The straw is actually straight. In this

example, our sense of sight has created a

perception

that is not accurate. Slide114

114

Sensory Experience is Limited

Another example would be the light we see emanating from space. People often have a

perception

that they are observing light from the stars in real time. However, it takes many years for that light to reach the earth. What we are observing is light that could have radiated from a star millions of years ago.

A light-year is 186,000 miles per second or six trillion miles per year. It might not often occur to us, but the light that we presently observe from a galaxy in space might have left there three million light-years ago (the time it took to reach earth). Slide115

115

Sensory Experience is Limited

Immanuel Kant, an Enlightenment philosopher, said that our senses are limited and might not be showing us a greater reality that exists outside the bounds of sensory experience. He called this greater reality the “

noumenal

realm.”

Christianity would call this the “spiritual realm.”Slide116

116

Sensory Experience is Limited

Kant thought that other realm was inaccessible and unknowable. Therefore, we are unable to know anything about God.

Christianity tells us that revelation from God bridges that gap and opens a window to the spiritual.Slide117

100

Sensory Experience is Limited

In critiquing traditional philosophy, Kant suggested that we actually have no way to positively conclude that our

perception

of physical reality is the same as

actual

reality.

Christianity would agree with this. There is an “actual reality” that we are unable to perceive with our senses.Slide118

101

Sensory Experience is Limited

Christianity goes beyond Kant’s view and actually claims there

is

a greater reality, a spiritual realm, that exists beyond the limits or ability of our five senses to perceive it.

In this life, we "see through a glass darkly," but in the life hereafter, we will see that spiritual reality very clearly. Slide119

119Slide120

Second Law Of Thermodynamics

120Slide121

121

Second Law of Thermodynamics

It is important to know something about thermodynamics, which is the study of energy. Energy can be in the form of heat, light, chemicals or electricity.

The

second law of thermodynamics

suggests that energy in our universe follows a pattern called

"entropy,"

in other words, gradually losing energy, dissipation, breaking down, corrosion, decay, falling apart or disorder. Slide122

122

Second Law of Thermodynamics

For example,

our bodies are not perpetual motion machines that will live forever

. Eventually, the energy they possess will dissipate and we will pass on.

Scripture says that our bodies will one day return to the dust from where they came. Our bodies are subject to the law of entropy.Slide123

123

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Another example would be the sun. We know that the energy the sun contains is gradually diminishing and that it is subject to the law of entropy.

However, this suggests that there must have been a beginning, or burst of energy, when the sun was originally "lit up.”Slide124

Robert

Jastrow

,

God and the Astronomers

(New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 83.

124

Second Law of Thermodynamics

“

At the end of a star’s life, when its reserves of nuclear fuel are exhausted

, the star collapses under the force of its own weight. In the case of a small star, the collapse squeezes the entire mass into a volume the size of the earth. Such highly compressed stars, called white dwarfs, have a density of ten tons per cubic inch.

Slowly the white dwarf radiates into space the last of its heat and fades into darkness

.”Slide125

125

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Energy in the universe follows this same gradual pattern of

entropy

.

If this is so, how did the energy that we observe around us come to be in the first place?

It suggests that there must have been an

original cause

.

Christianity calls that original cause

“

God

.”