No Excuses!
No Excuses! ROMANS 1:18-21
Excuses
Richard Dawkins: “Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is the belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.”
Bertrand Russell: “Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”
No Excuses
Is there sufficient evidence for God’s existence to make belief rational? YES!
Is faith belief despite evidence? NO!
Romans 1:18-21 (ESV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Psalm 19:1-2 (ESV) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
Dual Revelation
Special Revelation (revelation through scripture)
Inspired (“God-breathed”, 2 Tim. 3:16)
Authoritative
Specific details
General Revelation (revelation through creation)
Nature (i.e., evidence of design, demonstration of power)
Universal standard of morality (denied by Post-Modernism)
Dual Revelation
Both have same Author
Therefore they must be in harmony
Any perceived contradiction must be error in interpretation
For today: 1.
Look at general revelation for evidence of God
2.
See how general & special revelation agree with each other
No Excuses! GENERAL REVELATION: EVIDENCE FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE IN NATURE
The Unbeliever’s Argument
“Ancient people didn’t understand the universe or the “miracle” of life, so they came up with “God” or “gods” to explain the mysteries of nature that they couldn’t explain. But now we understand that we don’t need the supernatural to explain these things.”
Is this true??
We’ll answer by looking at 1.
The universe
2.
Life
“Kalam” Cosmological Argument 1.
Every action has a cause
2.
The universe did not always exist, therefore, it had a beginning (which is an action)
3.
Therefore, the universe had a cause.
That cause had to be something outside of the universe (b/c anything that is part of the universe began with the universe)
This transcendent cause is a good description of God
The Argument from Design (the universe)
Example: If force of gravity was different by 1 part in 1060, stars & planets wouldn’t exist
1060 = one trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion
Can this be by accident?
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/transcript-fine-tuning-argument#ixzz49dWhqGJS
The Argument from Design (the universe)
* Speed of Light: c=299,792,458 m s-1 * Gravitational Constant: G=6.673 x 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 * Planck's Constant: 1.05457148 x 10-34 m2 kg s-2 * Planck Mass-Energy: 1.2209 x 1022 MeV * Mass of Electron, Proton, Neutron: 0.511; 938.3; 939.6 MeV * Mass of Up, Down, Strange Quark: 2.4; 4.8; 104 MeV (Approx.) * Ratio of Electron to Proton Mass: (1836.15)-1 * Gravitational Coupling Constant: 5.9 x 10-39 * Cosmological Constant: (2.3 x 10-3 eV) * Hubble Constant: 71 km/s/Mpc (today) * Higgs Vacuum Expectation Value: 246.2 GeV http://www.reasonablefaith.org/transcript-fine-tuning-argument#ixzz49dWhqGJS
The Argument from Design (the universe)
"THE REMARKABLE FACT IS THAT THE VALUES OF THESE NUMBERS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN VERY FINELY ADJUSTED TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIFE." - Stephen Hawking "A COMMON SENSE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS SUGGESTS THAT A SUPERINTELLECT MONKEYED WITH PHYSICS . . . AND THAT THERE ARE NO BLIND FORCES WORTH SPEAKING ABOUT IN NATURE. THE NUMBERS ONE CALCULATES FROM THE FACTS SEEM TO ME SO OVERWHELMING AS TO PUT THIS CONCLUSION ALMOST BEYOND QUESTION." - Fred Hoyle "THERE IS FOR ME POWERFUL EVIDENCE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON BEHIND IT ALL . . . IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOMEBODY HAS FINE-TUNED NATURE'S NUMBERS TO MAKE THE UNIVERSE. THE IMPRESSION OF DESIGN IS OVERWHELMING." - Paul Davies http://www.reasonablefaith.org/transcript-fine-tuning-argument#ixzz49dWhqGJS
The Argument from Design (the universe)
“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.” ― Robert Jastrow
The Argument from Design (life)
Specified Complexity:
rgfnsd;lkjr[gshjajafaijkn
dog
i am hungry please give me kibble now
Information in DNA is complex + specific
Therefore, best explanation for origin is from an intelligent Designer
The Argument from Design (life)
Irreducible Complexity:
Molecular “machines” within living cells too complex to have come about by “natural” (random) means
William Paley’s “Watchmaker” argument
The Argument from Design (life)
Evidence for design is dismissed by “new atheists” but…
Problem of explaining first appearance of life on Earth Complexity
DNA)
of protein molecules necessary for cells (let alone
Conditions
that would destroy “accidentally created” life (UV, presence of oxygen, too much water, too little water…)
Some scientists appeal to “panspermia”
Fred Hoyle and Richard Dawkins have both suggested “directed panspermia”
No Excuses! HARMONY BETWEEN GENERAL & SPECIAL REVELATION
How did they know that? Part 1
Is. 40:22a - It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers
Job 26:7 - He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing
How did they know that? Part 2
Genesis 1:7 - And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.
Genesis 2:5-6 - When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up— for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.
How did they know that? Part 2
Job 36:27-28 - For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain, which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly.
When was water cycle “discovered”?
Greeks had good idea about rain supplying water to rivers and maybe evaporation ~500 BC
Modern discovery by Bernard Palissy (1580 AD) and Pierre Perrault (1674); not widely accepted until 1800s
“Stretching out the heavens” (at least 9 OT references total)
Job 9:8 - who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea
Is. 40:22b - …who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in
Is. 42:5a - Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out…
Zech. 12:1 - The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him
“Stretching out the heavens”
1929: Edwin Hubble discovers that distant galaxies are moving away from us; the further a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it is moving away from us
“Stretching out the heavens”
Not just a matter of stuff getting further apart…. SPACE ITSELF IS STRETCHING!
Not enough evidence?? “…possibly the greatest lie of all is the lie that somehow, if God had just given US enough evidence, and if He would only turn stones into bread, more people would follow Him… the Bible brands that presumption a delusion of the highest order, a risk of the greatest stakes. For the Scriptures remind us that man’s problem is not the absence of evidence but the suppression of it.” – Ravi Zacharias For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Rom. 1:18)
Excuses
Richard Dawkins: “Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is the belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.”
Bertrand Russell: “Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”
No Excuses
Is there sufficient evidence for God’s existence to make belief rational? YES!
Is faith belief despite evidence? NO!
Romans 1:18-21 (ESV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Psalm 19:1-2 (ESV) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
Dual Revelation
Special Revelation (revelation through scripture)
Inspired (“God-breathed”, 2 Tim. 3:16)
Authoritative
Specific details
General Revelation (revelation through creation)
Nature (i.e., evidence of design, demonstration of power)
Universal standard of morality (denied by Post-Modernism)
Dual Revelation
Both have same Author
Therefore they must be in harmony
Any perceived contradiction must be error in interpretation
For today: 1.
Look at general revelation for evidence of God
2.
See how general & special revelation agree with each other
No Excuses! GENERAL REVELATION: EVIDENCE FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE IN NATURE
The Unbeliever’s Argument
“Ancient people didn’t understand the universe or the “miracle” of life, so they came up with “God” or “gods” to explain the mysteries of nature that they couldn’t explain. But now we understand that we don’t need the supernatural to explain these things.”
Is this true??
We’ll answer by looking at 1.
The universe
2.
Life
“Kalam” Cosmological Argument 1.
Every action has a cause
2.
The universe did not always exist, therefore, it had a beginning (which is an action)
3.
Therefore, the universe had a cause.
That cause had to be something outside of the universe (b/c anything that is part of the universe began with the universe)
This transcendent cause is a good description of God
The Argument from Design (the universe)
Example: If force of gravity was different by 1 part in 1060, stars & planets wouldn’t exist
1060 = one trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion
Can this be by accident?
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/transcript-fine-tuning-argument#ixzz49dWhqGJS
The Argument from Design (the universe)
* Speed of Light: c=299,792,458 m s-1 * Gravitational Constant: G=6.673 x 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 * Planck's Constant: 1.05457148 x 10-34 m2 kg s-2 * Planck Mass-Energy: 1.2209 x 1022 MeV * Mass of Electron, Proton, Neutron: 0.511; 938.3; 939.6 MeV * Mass of Up, Down, Strange Quark: 2.4; 4.8; 104 MeV (Approx.) * Ratio of Electron to Proton Mass: (1836.15)-1 * Gravitational Coupling Constant: 5.9 x 10-39 * Cosmological Constant: (2.3 x 10-3 eV) * Hubble Constant: 71 km/s/Mpc (today) * Higgs Vacuum Expectation Value: 246.2 GeV http://www.reasonablefaith.org/transcript-fine-tuning-argument#ixzz49dWhqGJS
The Argument from Design (the universe)
"THE REMARKABLE FACT IS THAT THE VALUES OF THESE NUMBERS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN VERY FINELY ADJUSTED TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIFE." - Stephen Hawking "A COMMON SENSE INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS SUGGESTS THAT A SUPERINTELLECT MONKEYED WITH PHYSICS . . . AND THAT THERE ARE NO BLIND FORCES WORTH SPEAKING ABOUT IN NATURE. THE NUMBERS ONE CALCULATES FROM THE FACTS SEEM TO ME SO OVERWHELMING AS TO PUT THIS CONCLUSION ALMOST BEYOND QUESTION." - Fred Hoyle "THERE IS FOR ME POWERFUL EVIDENCE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON BEHIND IT ALL . . . IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOMEBODY HAS FINE-TUNED NATURE'S NUMBERS TO MAKE THE UNIVERSE. THE IMPRESSION OF DESIGN IS OVERWHELMING." - Paul Davies http://www.reasonablefaith.org/transcript-fine-tuning-argument#ixzz49dWhqGJS
The Argument from Design (the universe)
“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.” ― Robert Jastrow
The Argument from Design (life)
Specified Complexity:
rgfnsd;lkjr[gshjajafaijkn
dog
i am hungry please give me kibble now
Information in DNA is complex + specific
Therefore, best explanation for origin is from an intelligent Designer
The Argument from Design (life)
Irreducible Complexity:
Molecular “machines” within living cells too complex to have come about by “natural” (random) means
William Paley’s “Watchmaker” argument
The Argument from Design (life)
Evidence for design is dismissed by “new atheists” but…
Problem of explaining first appearance of life on Earth Complexity
DNA)
of protein molecules necessary for cells (let alone
Conditions
that would destroy “accidentally created” life (UV, presence of oxygen, too much water, too little water…)
Some scientists appeal to “panspermia”
Fred Hoyle and Richard Dawkins have both suggested “directed panspermia”
No Excuses! HARMONY BETWEEN GENERAL & SPECIAL REVELATION
How did they know that? Part 1
Is. 40:22a - It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers
Job 26:7 - He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing
How did they know that? Part 2
Genesis 1:7 - And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.
Genesis 2:5-6 - When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up— for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.
How did they know that? Part 2
Job 36:27-28 - For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain, which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly.
When was water cycle “discovered”?
Greeks had good idea about rain supplying water to rivers and maybe evaporation ~500 BC
Modern discovery by Bernard Palissy (1580 AD) and Pierre Perrault (1674); not widely accepted until 1800s
“Stretching out the heavens” (at least 9 OT references total)
Job 9:8 - who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea
Is. 40:22b - …who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in
Is. 42:5a - Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out…
Zech. 12:1 - The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him
“Stretching out the heavens”
1929: Edwin Hubble discovers that distant galaxies are moving away from us; the further a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it is moving away from us
“Stretching out the heavens”
Not just a matter of stuff getting further apart…. SPACE ITSELF IS STRETCHING!
Not enough evidence?? “…possibly the greatest lie of all is the lie that somehow, if God had just given US enough evidence, and if He would only turn stones into bread, more people would follow Him… the Bible brands that presumption a delusion of the highest order, a risk of the greatest stakes. For the Scriptures remind us that man’s problem is not the absence of evidence but the suppression of it.” – Ravi Zacharias For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Rom. 1:18)
