Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5
One of my favorite places in Berlin is the Natural History Museum. My wife grew up in communist East Berlin and has happy memories of going to the museum as a little girl.
Whenever we go back we love to watch Lucas and Tristan get excited about the exhibits. Their eyes pop open as they run around the old hardwood floors in the museum. The family favorite is the largest assembled dinosaur skeleton in the world, a Brachiosaurus. It is impossible to take a photograph of the entire skeleton without a wide-angle camera lens.
Some Christians shy away from museums like Berlin’s Natural History Museum because the museums strongly promote the theory of evolution. I encourage my boys to probe and ask the hard questions. Truth in science will always point us back to God, we need not fear.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2
In science a law is something that is verifiable and inarguable. For example, no one argues against the law of gravity, at least not at the user level here on planet Earth. A theory on the other hand is something that cannot be verified using scientific method.
Good scientific theories are built upon evidence to be fair, but what separates a theory from a law is that a theory cannot be proven. In order to fully embrace a theory some degree of faith is required.
Contemporary scientists like Stephen Hawking and Jared Diamond, who attack the possibility of a divine Creator, seem to lean upon their own presuppositions that God does not exist. Their logic is often circular. They have decided in advance that God does not exist and then text proof nature to support their own ideas. But the theory of evolution begs a question to the modern scientist: Why is evolution a theory and not a law?
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
We cannot decide God into existence, but others cannot decide Him out of existence either. God exists, or does not exist, despite what we think.
Based upon my own experiences I believe that God exists and that Jesus Christ is His son. I do so as a matter of faith. Those who choose not to believe in God do so as an exercise of faith, too.
... Father thank You for life, thank You for creation. Father please help us to better understand the world You have created for us, this precious space You have given us to let our lives unfold. We pray to You in Jesus name ...
my wife and i both love museums and visit them wherever we travel. on a strange note, i live near a "dinosaur valley" and have yet to visit it. managed to see a foot print of one on a rock at a national park recently. perhaps even on stranger note then that, there's been times in my life that i have had regret in being raised in a Christian home.
ReplyDeleteI believe thoroughly in creation and trust the/my Creator. Living in our present time, so much of what is being found tends to complicate our assumptions. Even though, in studying and reviewing much scientific history, I don't understand a lot of how it will all work together, I simply know that when I get to heaven all the puzzle pieces are going to be in place and all I'll have to do is say, "OH, I get it!" The phrase "God is Bigger" is what I live with and have to depend on.
ReplyDelete[And I DO like to see the dinosaurs and other fossils. Makes me just shake my head with wonder... AND wonder what the answers are.]
"No one argues against the law of gravity, at least not at the user level here on planet Earth."
ReplyDeleteGood line, Rusty. I'll be smiling about that one a good while. :D
"Truth in science will always point us back to God, we need not fear."
ReplyDeleteI love this statement; as long as we remember that truth is singular, we can hope that those who genuinely pursue it will arrive at a conclusion founded in verity! In other words, seek on! Don/t avoid science and dinosaur bones but wait for the truth affiliated with them to show itself!
Wonderful post, sir!
Great post, Russell. I really enjoy apologetics despite the fact that philosophy, physics and science bend my brain! LOL
ReplyDeleteI like your last statement about faith, and understand it. Many non-believers, though, say that Christians have faith and nothing BUT faith (they really mean "blind" faith). I have faith, yes, but my faith is fairly well-informed: through God's Word, the testimony of the Holy Spirit, God's creation, morality, the philosophical arguments for His existence, etc. I guess I have heart-faith and mind-faith. Maybe it's just me (and what do I know), but I think it's best for Christians to have both, if possible--a personal, testimonial faith, and a faith which seeks Truth and can give answer for our beliefs.
Please forgive my ramblings. :) I love this post, and got carried away responding! Thank you again for such wonderful thoughtfulness.
Sojourner - Cool that you live near dinosaur valley. Christian homes are populated with humans. Christian or not, I've never been in a counseling session where "parents" did not enter the discussion at some point ... Peace Brother.
ReplyDeleteCaryjo - Wouldn't life be boring if we got all the answers right away ... :-)
Anne - I had to throw that in because modern science does challenge Newton's Universal Law of Gravity. Newton believed that gravity was uniform and could be predicted based upon the mass of two objects and their distance from each other. - Scientists now know that his hypothesis was not true in all cases. Gravity, throughout the universe, even within our solar system, is dynamic. Scientists are not sure why. It never ceases to amaze me that they admit to understanding so little about our universe, but do not leave room for intelligent design.
JML - You are absolutely correct, two competing theories can both be wrong, but both cannot be correct. There is only one truth ... :-)
Gwen - Ramble on :-) The Bible supports what you say. Jesus blessed those who showed unquestioning faith, think about what he said to Thomas. But, scripture also commands us to test everything and to hold on to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5: 21)