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
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In the 1880s, Friedrich
Nietzsche declared "God is
dead.”
2
Two major influences on what we learned in school about the
origin of life:
1. Atheism
2. Christianity
3
Two arguments for the existence of a creator:
1. the argument for Design, and
2. the case for an Expanding Universe.
4
In the process of making two arguments for the existence of a
creator, we will review three major scientific discoveries of the
twentieth century that seem to indicate a “first cause” or “higher
intelligence.”
1.In the 1910s, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.
2.In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding
universe.
3.In the 1950s, the electron microscope revealed that the cells of
living organisms are incredibly complex.
5
The Design Argument
6
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.
7
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.
8
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.
9
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.
10
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."
.
11
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.'"
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 148.
12
Perhaps natural selection might explain common genetic
material between species, but Richard Dawkins' attempt to use
the theory to disprove God falls short.
13
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.
14
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.”
Andy Knoll, PBS Nova Interview, May 3, 2004.
15
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.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 5.
16
Since 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.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 4-5.
17
“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.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 4-5.
18
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.”
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.
19
Behe’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.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 87.
20
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.
21
Some atheists claim
that natural selection
explains origins, but it
does not explain the
ultimate force that
Though some
atheists
originally
created
the claim that natural selection explains
origins, but
it does the
not explain the ultimate force that originally
universe
or where
created
very
firstthe
lifeuniverse
form or where the very first life form came from.
came from.
22
• 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.
Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, ed. Nora Barlow (London: Collins, 1958), 92-93.
23
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.
24
"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.‘”
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.
25
“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."
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL:Tyndale House Publishers, 2007),100.
26
• 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.
27
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
heavens
of"The
it, yea
and itsdeclare
motion.the glory of God; and the skies
proclaim
the work
of his hands." Psalm 19:1 (NIV)
Yea,
and also
all the
planets
which move
in before thee, yea, and all things
"The scriptures
are laid
their
regular
denote
thereform,
is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that
doth
witness
are upon
the that
face there
of it, yea and its motion. Yea, and also all the
isplanets
a Supreme
whichCreator.”
move in their regular form, doth witness that
16:54-55
there isAlma
a Supreme
Creator.”
Alma 16:54-55
28
• 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.
29
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.
30
1.
In William Paley’s example, a complex and orderly
system of interacting components is the difference between
a _s_______ and a _w________.
1.Did Darwin’s evolutionary theory ever attempt to explain how
the very first life form on earth was originally created?
2.Electron microscopes in the 1950s allowed us to directly
observe in elaborate detail how complex a _c_____ is.
31
32
Four Aspects of the
Genesis Account
33
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Genesis 1:1
34
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.
35
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).
.
36
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.
37
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.
38
Christians believe that God created the universe as described
in the Genesis account.
39
1.
By saying “In the beginning, God created . . .” the book
of Genesis is making what claim about the idea of “time”?
1.According to the Genesis narrative, did God use alreadyexisting material to create the universe?
2.Does accepting Genesis require that I must believe the
universe was created in six 24-hour days?
40
41
The Expanding Universe
42
An earlier slide in this presentation stated that we would present
two arguments for the existence of a creator:
1. the argument for Design, and
2. the case for an Expanding Universe.
We now would like to present evidence for an expanding
universe.
43
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
• a Steady State Theory in which the universe has perpetually
existed without change going backward infinitely in time.
44
Genesis claims that God spoke and the universe leapt into
existence by the power of his word..
45
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.
46
“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 . . .”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 17, 21., 27.
47
“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.”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 18.
48
“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.”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 20-21.
49
“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.'"
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 119
50
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.
51
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.
52
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.
53
“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.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 244.
54
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.”
Stephen Hawking, The Universe in a Nutshell (New York: Bantam Books, 2001), 76.
55
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.
.
56
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.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 244.
57
Like ancient Greece, other religions have creation myths
in which their gods make the world out of preexisting
material.
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
The Genesis record is unique and seems to be vindicated
from nothing” appears to have been possible.
by modern science. There was a beginning, and a
“creation from nothing” appears to have been possible. 58
"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.”
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 121.
59
“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.”
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 121.
60
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.
61
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.'"
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 160.
62
" 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.’"
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 160.
63
“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.
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 160.
64
"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. “
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 123.
65
“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.”
Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 123.
66
“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.
Dinesh D’Souza, since What’s So Great About Christianity? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007), 123.
67
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.”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 103.
68
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.”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 107.
69
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:
1.In the 1910s, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.
2.In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding
universe.
3.In the 1950s, the electron microscope revealed that the cells of
living organisms are incredibly complex.
70
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.
71
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament showeth his handiwork.
Psalm 19:1
"
72
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
73
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.”
Antony Flew, There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist
Changed His Mind (New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 88.
74
“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.”
Antony Flew, There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist
Changed His Mind (New York, HarperCollins, 2007), 88.
75
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.
76
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.
77
Jesus invites us
to come unto him.
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.
78
79
APPENDIX
80
Probability:
The Monkey Theory
81
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.
82
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).
83
What is the chance of getting a
Shakespearean sonnet? Israeli
scientist Gerald Schroeder
states:
“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.
84
“What you end up with is 26 [the
number of keys] multiplied by
itself 488 times – or 26 to the
488th power. Or, in other words,
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
85
86
If God Exists, Why Does
He Allow Evil and
Suffering?
87
“If there is a God, why does he allow evil and suffering?”
This is a difficult and profound question. There are many things
we could say, but given the limitations of space we will try to
provide a concise answer.
It is very natural for many people to think that, if God exists, his
purpose must be to provide for our happiness in this life. The
suffering and pain that we actually experience don’t seem
consistent with this goal of making us happy.
88
However, happiness as our culture measures it is not the
purpose of this life. Instead, we were placed here that we might
come to a knowledge of God, which eventually will lead to a
different kind of happiness.
Pain and suffering that we experience in this life seems
unwarranted and meaningless, but there is a purpose from
God’s perspective – a purpose for the sufferer or for those
around that person.
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It is entirely possible that a world of maximum, unwarranted evil
is the only thing that will cause souls to look to God for an
answer.
If we look at places where the Christian gospel is spreading
most rapidly, it is nearly always in those countries where the
most intense suffering occurs – countries like Kenya, Nepal,
China, etc. By comparison, church growth in wealthier, western
nations is attenuated or flat.
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When people experience intense suffering and ask “Where is
God in all of this?,” we should point them to the cross and say
that he is right there in the midst of suffering and pain.
Essentially, Jesus was saying, “Give me the
maximum amount of pain and suffering that the
world can impose; place on me the sins of the
entire world.”
Jesus took upon himself unimaginable pain, yet
he was completely innocent. If anyone could
complain about suffering it would have been him.
Seen in light of the cross, evil and suffering
take on an entirely different perspective. He bore
the sins of you and me.
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Therefore, the problem is not how God can justify himself to us.
The problem is how I, filled with wickedness and sin and guilt,
can be justified before him. If God would go to that extent for
me, then surely I can bear the burden that he expects me to
carry in this short life. God can give us the grace and strength
to endure.
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“If there is a God, why does he allow evil and suffering?”
For those who prefer a more logical, philosophical response,
here are a few ideas to ponder:
The
question assumes that there is a God.
The question also suggests that there is a moral law that
establishes what is evil. But how do we know what is right and
what is wrong, what is good and what is evil?
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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.
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The original 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.

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


Most suffering in the world is caused by people and the
choices that they make.
The cumulative evidence for the existence of God is very
strong, 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 evil. He took upon himself the sins
of all people. He suffered immeasurably for our benefit that we
might have eternal life.
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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.”
Antony Flew, There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind (New
York, HarperCollins, 2007), 156.
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98
Science and Christianity
103
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.
104
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.
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Not Every Culture Embraces The Idea Of A RationallyDesigned 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 . . . (next slide)
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there was no assurance that a divine being, even more
rational than ourselves, had ever formulated such a code
capable of being read.'"
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.
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“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.’”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 21.
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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.”
Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 93.
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Christian belief is no longer welcome in the scientific
community.
110
Two dogmatic assumptions of modern science:
1. Naturalism says that natural law is
all that governs the universe. There
are no miracles, and there is no
supernatural power.
111
2. Materialism says that the material
existence we see around us is all
there is.
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Christianity says:
 God has put natural laws in place.
 But there are also miracles and a
spiritual realm that we do not see.
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It is impossible to prove that the
immaterial or supernatural do not
exist.
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
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.
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But what if the brain's neocortex is disabled during a neardeath 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.
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

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.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
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?
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115
Our Limited
Understanding
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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
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

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.
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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.
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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).
120
• 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.”
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• 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.
122
• 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.
100
• 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.
101
125
Second Law Of
Thermodynamics
126
• 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.
• The theory of evolution suggests that it is an exception to
this law of entropy and that, for this one area only, the second
law of thermodynamics does not apply. In other words, life
forms are moving from a state of disorder to a state of order.
127
• One example of entropy is the fact that 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.
128
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.”
129
“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.”
Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1992), 83.
130
•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.”
131