ObstaclesandOpposingForcestoChristianity

DennisWilsonModule1:Introduction

Michelangelo’sCreationofAdam

Outline

1. Introduction2. ObstaclestoChristianity3. OpposingForcestoChristianity4. Summary

OverallGoalsofSeries

• Premise:God’sword (specialrevelation)andGod’sworld (generalrevelation)mustbeinharmony.

• Goals:– ProvideevidenceforourChristianfaith– Exposeflawsinotherworldviews– DefendChristianfaithfromattacks

• 1Peter3:15..Alwaysbepreparedtogiveananswertoeveryonewhoasksyoutogivethereasonforthehopethatyouhave.

ContextforDiscussionRepresentativeQuotes• “Anunexaminedlifeisnotworthliving”

– Socrates

• “Anunexaminedfaithisnotworthbelieving”

– NormGeislerandTimHawks

• “Religionrequiresfaithbutfactsarecentraltoallreligionsbecauseallreligiousworldviews- includingatheism-maketruthclaims andmanytruthclaimscanbeevaluatedthroughthescientificmethod”

– NormanGeisler&FrankTurek

TruthClaims• Truthclaimsareabsolute,narrow

andexclusive– Accordingto,NormGiesler andFrank

Turek:truthclaimsarediscovered–notinvented;trans-cultural;andunchanging.

• Exampleofaself-defeatingstatements:“Alltruthisrelative”–thisisanabsolutetruth– ThissoundsalotlikePostmodernism’s

basicprinciple

Discussion Questions:1. Why do people demand truth in every area (e.g. safety,

money, health and relationships) except morality & religion?2. Do truth claims evolve with time?

The Christian Worldview asserts that God is the author of universal and immutable ideas of: truth, logic, and the laws of nature.

Since we are created in the image of God (Genesis

1:28 - 29), we are uniquely gifted to discover these

universal ideas using rational thought and

evidence-based reasoning.

Christian Worldview…we have the mind of Christ

1 Corinthians 2:16

Naturalistic WorldviewRandom, undirected evolution would seem to imply there is “no reason for reason”

Outline

1. Introduction2. ObstaclestoChristianity3. OpposingForcestoChristianity4. Summary

ObstaclestoChristianity• Emotional

– HypocrisyoftheChurch• Volitional

– Christianmoralityseemstorestrictourchoicesinlife– wemustyieldourfreedomtoanunseenhigherpower– TheGodoftheBible

• Intellectual/Philosophical/Scientific1. Howtoreconcileevil withthatofadeity

• Howcanthis(apparent)paradoxbeexplained?2. Christianityisonlyoneofmanyreligions

• Religious“pluralism”isamajorproblemtoday’sPCculture3. Sciencehastheanswerto(fillintheblank)

• Originoftheuniverse,humans,lifeingeneral…

1.ProblemofEvil• MajorPhilosophicalObstacle

– ProblemofEvil:"thefactofsufferingundoubtedlyconstitutesthesinglegreatestchallengetotheChristianfaith.”

JohnStott• Therearebasicallytwokindsofevil

– Moralevilresultsfromtheactionsoffreecreatures,suchasmurder,theft,…

– Naturalevilresultsfromnaturalprocessessuchasearthquakesandfloods.

Dr.SamHarrisisaphilosopher,andneuroscientist.Heistheco-founderofProjectReason

2.ReligiousPluralism

• Religioustolerance generallymeansacceptanceofotherreligions.Itdoesnotmeanbelievingthatotherreligionsareequallyvalidandtrue.

• Recently,religiouspluralism hasgenerallybeendefinedasthenotionthatall religionsasequallyvalidandtrue.– Theobviousproblemisthatifdiversebeliefsarealltrue,thenabsolute

truthdoesnotexist.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

3.DomainofScienceandReligion

• Religiontacklesthebigissues– Origin– wheredidwecomefrom?– Identity- whoarewe?– Purpose– whyarewehere?– Destiny– wherearewegoing?– Morality– Howshouldwelive?

• Science– Scienceisdesigned todiscoverinformation

aboutthenatural worldandorganizethatinformationintotestablelawsandtheories.

– Transcendentorsupernatural phenomenonarerejected Religion Science

Method: Faith (unseen) Theories (observable)

Reason: Why How

• “Philosophyhasnotkeptupwithmoderndevelopmentsinscience,particularlyphysics.Scientistshavebecomethebearersofthetorchofdiscoveryinourquestforknowledge.”(Hawking2010,p.5)

• AtarecentGoogleZeitgeistconference,StephenHawkingboldlypronouncedthat“philosophyisdead.”

SomeExtremeViewsonScience

Hawking’s comment generated a lot of controversy from Philosophers…

SomeExtremeViews(Cont’d)

… but not from the engineering community

Outline

1. Introduction2. ObstaclestoChristianity3. OpposingForcestoChristianity

– Isms:Scientism,Postmodernism,SecularHumanism

– EducationalSystem,RulingClass,Entertainment4. Summary

Scientism

• Scientism:Amajoropposingforce1. The“belief”(Worldview)thatinvestigative

methodsofthephysicalsciencesareapplicableorjustifiable inallfieldsofinquiry.

2. Thebeliefthatphysicalreality,asmadeavailabletothenaturalsciences,isallthattrulyexists.

– Thus,bydefinition,scientismrejectsexplanationsthatrelyuponthesupernatural.

• “Deepdown,creationistsrealizetheywillneverwinfactualargumentswithscience.”

NYTimes10/17/2010MoralswithoutGod?

ScientismandScienceareDifferent

• Science looksfornatural causesandrejectssupernaturalcauses– bydefinition– andthat’sOK

• Science isnotaworldview – butscientismis.

• Thescientificmethodrestsonthefoundationalbeliefthatthereisanorderanduniversality intheUniverse.

• PhysicistPaulC.Davies:"...tobeascientist,youhadtohavefaiththattheuniverseisgovernedbydependable,immutable,absolute,universal,mathematicallawsofanunspecifiedorigin.

Science&Scientistsare(Obviously)Different

• Science- bydefinition- isworldviewneutralbut scientistsarenotworldviewneutral.

“Atheismissosenseless.WhenIlookatthesolarsystem,Iseetheearthattherightdistancefromthesun toreceivetheproperamountsofheatandlight.Thisdidnothappenbychance”IsaacNewton:InventorofCalculus,FounderofClassicalPhysics(1643to1727)

Neil Degrasse Tyson, host of NOVA & Cosmoscommenting on the 15% of people on the National Academy of Sciences that believe in a personal God:

“That’s a problem that needs to be addressed. How come the number isn't zero? That should be the subject of …investigation.”

ScientificTheories(TruthClaims)Evolve

• Static/InfiniteUniverse:Universeisinfiniteandalwaysexisted– Viewheldbyscientistsforcenturiesuntilmiddleof20thcentury

• BigBang:Theuniversehadabeginningabout13.7billionyearsagothatmarksthecreationofspaceandtime.

Example:OriginoftheUniverse

– Widelyacceptedtheorywithsignificantscientificevidence

– ProfRichardFeynman(NobelLaureate):“Ifyouthoughtthatsciencewascertain- wellthatisjustanerroronyourpart.”

ChristianTruthClaimsareConstantGodspeaksthroughScripture:Inthebeginning,Godcreated(Baraʹ)theheavensandtheearth(Genesis1:1)• Hebrewworddefinition:Baraʹ

– Tosupernaturallycreatesomethingthatistotallynew orextraordinary(not fashionedfromsomethingelse)

• Godbroughttheuniverseintoexistencefromnothing

• ThissoundsalotliketheBigBang– Properlyinterpreted,thereisagreementorharmonybetweenscience(cosmologyandastrophysics)andscripture.

ChristianVersesaboutSpace-Time

1. Godexistedbeforethebeginningoftimeandcreatedtheuniverse

– Genesis1:1InthebeginningGodcreatedtheheavensandtheearth…– Colossians1:16- 17Forinhimallthingswerecreated:thingsin

heavenandonearth,visibleandinvisible,whetherthronesorpowersorrulersorauthorities;allthingshavebeencreatedthroughhimandforhim.17Heisbeforeallthings,andinhimallthingsholdtogether.

2. Godcreatedtheuniversefromthingsunseenbyoursenses– Hebrews11:3Byfaithweunderstandthattheuniversewasformed

atGod’scommand,sothatwhatisseenwasnotmadeoutofwhatwasvisible.

3. Godexistedbeforethebeginningoftime– 2Timothy1:9…thisgracewasgivenusinChristJesusbeforethe

beginningoftime.

Postmodernism• Postmodernism:Amajoropposingforce

– Postmodernismfollowedmodernisminthemid-20th century• Modernismaffirmedthepowerofhumanstocreateandimprovetheirenvironmentwithpractical,scientificknowledgeortechnology.

– Today,someacademicsrejectChristianitybecauseitclaimstobetrue.Theyregardanyoneclaimingtoknowanyobjectiveoruniversaltruthasintolerant andarrogant

• NietzscheandSartrepreparedthewayforpostmodernism

Postmodernism• Postmodernism

– GeorgeBarna:“Over80%ofAmericanstodayarebasicallyrelativistic,andtheevangelicalchurchisnotfarbehind.”

– ChristianityToday,AndyCouch:“Theattentiontothemarginalizedhasledmanypostmodernistsintoaprofoundskepticismtowardmodernity'sassumptionsaboutknowledge,truth,andreason.”

SecularHumanism• SecularHumanism

– Worldview basedonatheism,naturalism,randomevolutionandethicalrelativism

– Embracesreason,ethicsandjusticeandrejectsreligionandsupernatural

– “Beginningabouteightyyearsago,webegantomovefromaJudeo-Christianconsensusinthiscountrytoahumanistconsensus,andithascometoaspecialclimaxinthelastfortyyears…Andtoday…theconsensusinourcountryandthewesternworld,isnolongerJudeo-Christian,butthegeneralconsensusishumanist.”

FrancisSchaeffer,1982TheSecularHumanisticWorldView

versustheChristianWorldView

SecularHumanism• SecularHumanismcanbeveryhostiletoChristianity

– Anationalmultimediaadcampaign– thelargest,mostextensiveeverbyagodlessorganization– launchestodayandwillincludeaspotonNBCDatelineonFriday,November12,2010aswellasothertelevisionads,thatdirectlychallengebiblicalmoralityandfundamentalistChristianity.

• Confrontingsecularhumanismisamajorchallenge

EducationalSystems• EducationalSystems

– PublicSchools:U.S.SupremeCourthasinterpretedthe1stamendmenttomeanthatreligionandgovernmentmuststayseparate…(Inprinciplethisisnotabadthing)

– Universities:Academicshaveapre-dispositiontobedismissiveandderisiveofaChristianworldviewbecauseitisunscientificandconsequently,untrue.

• Effect:70%ofevangelicalyoungpeoplewillabandontheirChristianworldviewafterfouryearsatasecularuniversity-GeorgeBarna Research

• SecularuniversityorChristianUniversity?– Preparingouryouthtodefendtheirfaithatasecular

universityisthepropercourseofactionandChristianApologeticsisessential.

HigherEducation

AcademicDisciplineswithNaturalisticAgenda• BigThree:EvolutionaryGenetics,EvolutionaryBiologyandPaleoanthropology

• Others…– Anatomy,Anthropology,Astrobiology– Biochemistry,Biology,Biophysics,Botany– Ecology,Entomology,Epidemiology,EvolutionaryTaxonomy– Genetics,Geology,Geophysics– MolecularBiology,Microbiology,Paleontology,Physiology,VirologyorZoologyAcademicDisciplineswithChristianAgenda

• ??

TheRulingClass

• The“RulingClass”– “Today'srulingclass,wasformedbyaneducationalsystemthatexposed

themtothesameideasandgavethemremarkablyuniformguidance,aswellastastesandhabits.Theseamounttoasocialcanonofjudgmentsaboutgoodandevil,completewithsecularsacredhistory,sins,andsaints…”AmericanSpectatorJuly-August,2010

– Thisideainnotnew…

Entertainment

• Hollywood– Hollywoodisaggressivelysecularandmaterialistic,anditdoes

stereotypeChristians…TimemagazineMarch1,2007

– Sixty-onepercentsayHollywoodhastoomuchinfluenceonAmericanpoliticsandsocialvalues,while26percentthinkithastherightamount,and9percentthinkithastoolittle.

CBSNewsMarch2,2014

Outline

1. Introduction2. ObstaclestoChristianity3. OpposingForcestoChristianity4. Summary

ChristianWorldview

• TheChristianworldviewassertsthatGodistheauthorofuniversalideasoftruth,logic,andthelawsofnature.– SincehumansarecreatedintheimageofGod(Genesis1:28-29),weareuniquelygiftedtodiscovertheseuniversalideas.

– TheapostleJohndescribesJesusas“thetruelightthatgiveslighttoeveryman” (John1:9).

• ThemindofGodprovidesaframeworkforrationalhumanthought(whetherbelieverornonbeliever).

• Thenaturalisticperspectiveassertsthatlife,death,decay,andevilservenorealpurpose.Theyaretheconsequenceofarandomsetofcosmiccoincidences…– NobelLaureate,ProfRichardFeynman:“Ibelievethatascientistlookingatnonscientificproblemsisjustasdumbasthenextguy.”

Non-ChristiansseetheHandofaCreator• PaulDavies’sbestsellerTheMindof

God(1992) tacklesthebigquestions.– Daviescomestothesubjectasan

unbeliever.– Hisconclusionisthattheuniverseis"no

minorbyproductofmindless,purposelessforces.Wearetrulymeanttobehere.Bythemeansofscience,wecantrulyseeintothemindofGod.”

“…it becomes sensible to think that the favorable properties of physics on which life depends are in every respect deliberate ... It is therefore almost inevitable that our own measure of intelligence must reflect ... higher intelligences ... even to the limit of God ... such a theory is so obvious that one wonders why it is not widely accepted as being self-evident. The reasons are psychological rather than scientific.”

Evolution from Space, Fred Hoyle 1984

Sir Prof Fred Hoyle was an atheists

Summary:ScholarsDisagree

Astronomer, PhD & Theologian

Physician, Dir NIH & Geneticist

Physicist, PhD & Studied Theology

Legal Journalists

Physicist, PhD atheists Evolutionary Biologists, DSc atheists

Let’sbeRational

• Science,reason,andlogicarewaysweinteractwithandlearnabouttheuniverse.

• Thus,let’susesciencetosupport ourposition– LookattheevidenceofGod’sfingerprintintheworldthat

supportandcomplementstatementsintheHolyBible.

• Don’ttakepositionsthatareindefensible– Forexample,ItisillogicaltorejectRedshift(Dopplereffect)that

supportstheageoftheuniverseat13.7Byr– butrelyonDopplerradarforweatherwarnings

Red Shift

NaturalismandScientism