Life’s Ultimate Questions
“Naturalism”
Professor Christopher Ullman
Christian Life College
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Origins of Naturalism: Clues From the
Bible
Romans 1:18-20
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against
all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress
the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known
about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain
to them. For SINCE THE CREATION OF THE
WORLD GOD'S INVISIBLE QUALITIES--HIS
ETERNAL POWER AND DIVINE NATURE--HAVE
BEEN CLEARLY SEEN, BEING UNDERSTOOD
FROM WHAT HAS BEEN MADE, so that men are
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without excuse.
Origins of Naturalism: Clues From the
Bible
Humans can tell from Nature
• THAT there is a God
• WHAT He is like
NOTE: Natural Theology does not take the place of
the Scriptural revelation of the character and
attributes of God, but it IS a valuable starting point
in the quest for this knowledge.
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Origins of Naturalism: Clues From the
Bible
Romans 1:21-25
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became
futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. . . . they
became fools and EXCHANGED THE GLORY OF
THE IMMORTAL GOD FOR IMAGES MADE TO
LOOK LIKE MORTAL MAN AND BIRDS AND
ANIMALS AND REPTILES. . . . They exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and WORSHIPED AND SERVED
CREATED THINGS RATHER THAN THE
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CREATOR . . .
Origins of Naturalism: Clues From the
Bible
Humans decided to
EQUATE Nature and God.
CREATION
=
CREATOR
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Origins of Naturalism: Clues From the
Bible
2 Peter 3:4
They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he
promised? Ever since our fathers died,
EVERYTHING GOES ON AS IT HAS SINCE
THE BEGINNING OF CREATION.” (See
Isaiah 5:19 also.)
•Note that this is a denial of Romans 1:20.
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Key Presupposition of Naturalism
“SENSED EXPERIENCE is the ONLY
reliable form of knowledge.”
This is known as EMPIRICISM.
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Scripture Supports Truth Claims
Based on Sensed Experience
•
•
•
•
•
Proverbs 20:12
Proverbs 6:6
Matthew 16:2-3
1 John 1:1
Matthew 11:4-5
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The Problem with Empiricism:
The ISM!
•
•
•
•
Isaiah 1:18
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Matthew 16:17
Numbers 12:6
CLEARLY, SENSED EXPERIENCE IS NOT
THE ONLY RELIABLE FORM OF
KNOWLEDGE.
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“The World Is All That Is, Or Ever
Was, Or Ever Will Be.”
n
o
t
h
i
n
g
NATURE
(THE PHYSICAL
UNIVERSE)
n
o
t
h
i
n
g
TIME & SPACE
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Five Truth Claims Made By
Naturalism
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
“Only nature exists.”
“Nature is a materialistic system.”
“Nature is a self-explanatory system.”
“Nature is characterized by total uniformity.”
“Nature is a deterministic system.”
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Immediate Implications
•
•
•
•
Matter is all-powerful.
There is no life after
death.
Outside of nature, there is
no supreme being.
Outside of nature, there is
no transcendent purpose
and no overarching
scheme of things.
•
•
•
The dreams, loves, hopes,
and beliefs of humans are
the result of the
accidental collocations of
atoms.
The only firm foundation
for thought or action is
acceptance of unyielding
despair.
“It don’t mean nothin.’”
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Atomism
•
Matter consists solely of indivisible, property-less
atoms, moving through empty space.
ATOM
ATOM
ATOM
ATOM
ATOM
ATOM
ATOM
SPACE
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Some Famous Naturalists
Thales (624 – 546 B.C.)
 Leucippus (480 – 420 B.C.)
 Democritus (460 – 370
B.C.)
 Epicurus (341 – 270 B.C.)
 Lucretius (99 – 55 B.C.)

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Some Famous Naturalists
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900
A.D.)
 Paul Tillich (1886 – 1965 A.D.)
 Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970 A.D.)
 Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980 A.D.)

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Questions Naturalists May Struggle
With
•
•
•
Why is there something rather than nothing?
Why do atoms move?
Why do atoms swerve?
NOTHING
SOMETHING
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More Questions Naturalists May
Struggle With
•
•
•
•
How can a collection of atoms constitute a subject,
rather than just another object?
How did human consciousness arise from the
movements of atoms?
How do purely mechanical processes produce
logic?
How can the human mind imagine what is not
actually happening, or has not yet happened?
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How Can
Naturalism Be
Shown to be False?
Clue:
•
•
What does the “-ism” mean?
Naturalism saws off the branch its standing on.
How?
•
•
Naturalism discredits human reasoning abilities
This destroys naturalism’s own credentials
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How Else Can
Naturalism Be Shown
to be False?
•
By affirming mutually exclusive
propositions
•
•
“The ability to reason has a natural,
non-purposeful origin.”
“Reason is a guide to something other
than the ability to reason.”
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