Science

The Case for Theism

Daniel Science, Scientific Harmony Series

“Theism” here means “belief in a god” or “the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.” (“God” here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)

The most common claim that I see atheists making on Twitter, is that “NO EVIDENCE” exists in support of belief in a God.

This post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming “no evidence exists” in support of an Initiator. Atheists can still reject this evidence as “weak,” but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.

Now, it is true that we do not have “observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific” evidence conclusively proving that an Initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.

And… here… we… go:

1:) Many leading scientists, including Stephen Hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the Singularity/Big Bang. Time itself did not exist, and then it came into existence. Things can only naturally happen by cause-and-effect within time. So the very event of time itself coming into existence, is a “supernatural” event (something beyond or outside of the natural course of cause-and-effect).

Everything we know in science requires time. There is cause-and-effect in nature and in the universe because things happen in time. Nothing we have ever seen has happened without time. Thus, in order to be a natural event, time must exist.

So, any event occurring without time would be a “miracle,” and especially the event of time itself coming into existence, without time existing previously, would be miraculous by anyone’s definition. Either time created itself from nothing, before it existed, or something else outside of time created time.

Since it is a logical absurdity to claim that time existed before time existed, and created itself, we are left with the thought that something else must have created time. 

2:) The universe and earth appear to be very unlikely and improbably fine-tuned to support life. Even Stephen Hawking and other leading scientists admit this.

(So far, in this list, we have the universe coming into existence by a means that is beyond the natural cause-and-effect, and we have very improbable fine-tuning for life, both pointing toward the existence of an Initiator beyond our universe)

3:) Scientists have never observed life naturally developing from non-life on its own, therefore, the scientific position would be to assume that it did not naturally happen on its own (This points to either an Initiator/God or to extraterrestrials seeding and engineering life on earth and beginning evolution).

4:) The existence of a “Cosmic Mathematician” (Mind beyond our universe) would explain how a universal working system of mathematics just happened to be built into the universe.

5:) A worldview with an Initiator and “Law-Giver” building moral values into His creatures makes more sense with our experiences of moral obligation, guilt, and our sense of justice. Without the existence of a “Law-Giver” or “3rd party objective moral umpire,” then right and wrong are merely the subjective opinions of each person.

6:) A worldview with an Initiator building into His human creation’s brains, the ability to discern true from false, fits better with our view of reality, and with our assumption that our brains are giving us truthful, accurate information.

7:) Things humans deeply desire actually exist, for example: food, water, sexual partner, money, even the ability to fly (by creating jets, planes, etc). The desire of a “Higher Power” is deep in humans, going back hundreds of thousands of years, and in every part of the earth.

8:) Atheists admit that the basis for accepting logic, math, and moral obligations, is the fact that a large majority of human beings experience these things and intuitively know them to be true. A majority of humans have also experienced a “Higher Power” or spiritual things, and the answer to silent prayers.

9:) The Bible accurately predicted, with precise detail, centuries in advance, the following:

  • that the Jewish Messiah would appear in 33 A.D., and would be killed, then the same government that killed Him would destroy the rebuilt Temple. (Daniel 9:24-27)
  • that skeptics would rise up in the “Last Days” and claim that Noah’s Flood never happened and that there is no Creator. (2 Peter 3:5-7)

No one has ever naturally predicted the future with any accuracy. This points to something beyond nature with foreknowledge.

10:) The Bible accurately declared advanced scientific knowledge, such as:

  • The earth is suspended in empty space. (Job 26:7)
  • The earth is spherical. (Isaiah 40:22)
  • There are “springs” on the ocean floor. (Job 38:16; Genesis 7:11; Proverbs 8:28)
  • You must quarantine sick people. (Leviticus 13:4, 46; Leviticus 14:8; Numbers 5:2; 2 Kings 15:5)

This points to something beyond ancient humanity that provided them with advance/early scientific information which was not discovered by scientists until recent times.

Genesis as a Parable — Simplified Scriptures Series

Daniel Evolution, Science, Scientific Harmony Series, Simplified Scriptures Series


Jesus always spoke to the crowds using parables. In fact, the Bible says Jesus would never speak to the crowds without using parables.

A parable is a fictional story that is used to teach deep moral and spiritual truths.

The Scriptures say:

Matthew 13:34-35 (NIV): Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

With that being the case, wouldn’t it make sense that other Bible stories “from the creation of the world” might also be parables?

I present to you, as a simplified explanation, that the stories in Genesis chapters 1 through 10 could be parables.

In fact, it is possible that the stories in the entire book of Genesis (perhaps even Exodus) could be parables like the kind that our Lord Jesus taught.

This would harmonize perfectly with modern science and archaeology. There would be no need for elaborate, convoluted attempts to force Genesis and Exodus to fit in with modern evidence.

Myself — I prefer looking for literal interpretations first, then, if no literal interpretation makes sense, I look further into the possibility of the story being a parable.

(The image used above is from 1493, and is in the Public Domain in the United States)

The Case for Free Will

Daniel A Fresh View of God, Free Will vs Predestination, Science

The Case for Free Will

From an Atheist’s Perspective

Each of us assumes free will exists whenever we make a logical argument or an appeal to reason. If free will is an illusion, then so is the freedom to logically form an argument using reason. If you aren’t actually choosing to think about the logic of an argument, but instead, you’re only following pre-programmed cause-and-effect, there would be no way of ever knowing if anything is real, and you would never even be able to trust the conclusion that free will is an illusion, since that could be an illusion as well.

Coming to the conclusion that free will is an illusion is self-defeating (since, if it were true, we would never know whether it was actually true) and it goes against all the assumptions we make during logical arguments and using the scientific method. This conclusion destroys the very foundation that was used to arrive at the conclusion.

It therefore seems more logical to come to the conclusion which supports the validity and trustworthiness of logical conclusions, which is the existence of free will.

How Can the Subconscious Brain Choose Things WITHOUT Intention?

People who deny the existence of free will usually say that the subconscious brain selects our thoughts for us, then gives the conscious part of our minds the illusion that we used reason and logic to make a rational choice.

But think about this deeply: How can a part of the brain with NO intentionality, NO goal, and NO plan or purpose, choose to prefer truth over lies, or choose “good” morals over “bad” morals? How can this non-intentional part of your mind select what is rational over what is irrational, without any goal?

This leads directly into our next subheading…

Why Trust Your Subconscious?

If your subconscious has no intentionality, no plan, no purpose, and no goal, why would you trust any of your thoughts to be the truth instead of falsehood? Why would you trust any of your morals to be “good” instead of “bad?”

If your subconscious brain is constantly feeding the conscious brain illusions and lies, why would you believe any of your thoughts given to you by your subconscious?

Do We Have TWO Separate Wills in the Brain?

If you want to claim that your subconscious brain does operate according to its own will, with its own intentionality, plans, and goals, then you aren’t actually denying free will. Instead, what you are claiming is that your brain has TWO wills, one (the subconscious) which has more control over the other, and the conscious mind doesn’t have access to the subconscious mind.

In order for the subconscious brain to have intentionality, it would have to have its own free will, therefore, you still would have free will and intentionality, but somehow this would take place separately from your conscious mind.

So your subconscious has its own plans, and is deceiving your conscious brain so that you don’t get in its way.

I think it’s much simpler (thus following Occam’s Razor) and more logical, to assume that free will actually exists at the conscious level.

From a Biblical Perspective

Despite what many Calvinists and determinists say, the Bible makes it clear that Yahweh highly values and respects the free will that He granted to humans, and He doesn’t like to intervene to alter free will, or the course of history, unless certain thresholds are passed first.

God is love, and love is not possible without freedom to choose to express it. Without free will, “love” would just be a robotic action we were pre-programmed to perform. In fact, every action we take would be determined from eternity past, and God would basically be a puppet-master pulling all the strings, or simply watching things unfold exactly how He already decided they would.

The very first human events recorded in the Scriptures are God having humans go through tests so that they could exercise their free will – Adam and Eve on whether they would eat from the Tree, Cain on whether he would kill Abel or not.

God gave the precious gift of free will to His angels also. A beautiful spirit (commonly called Lucifer), a very high-ranking angel, was granted free will. But he used this free will to turn and attack God in an attempt to be worshiped as God himself. Lucifer harmed many of the other angels and humans in his destructive quest. Lucifer is now known as Satan the Devil. (Isaiah 14:9-20; Ezekiel 28:13-18; Luke 10:18)

Without free will, God had to have programmed Lucifer to rebel, and programmed Adam and Eve to sin, thus God would be the direct cause and architect of all of the evil and suffering we see on earth. This is in direct contradiction to what the Bible says at James 1:13. 

In addition, it would mean God Himself is very illogical and irrational in getting angry with His creation for doing exactly what He programmed them to do. This would not harmonize with the logical minds He gave us. Plus, many other Scriptures declare that God never does anything immoral or evil.

Also, it goes against how we view ourselves and how we view reality and logic, so even without appealing to the Bible, it doesn’t make sense. If we assume that our moral values were given to us by God, then it would be illogical for a God who has similar morals as we do, to be the author of evil.

To quote “Truth Magazine” on this topic:

“Morality is real only if mankind is free to choose. In a world of fate or determinism, in which all things are predetermined and fixed, mankind has no responsibility.”

It is Time for ALL Christians to Accept Evolution

Daniel Evolution, Science , , , , , ,

It is time for Christians to accept evolution, in my opinion.

There are many reasons why I think it is long overdue for all Christians to finally accept what science says about evolution. Below I will show these reasons.

  1. The Bible tells people to pay attention to nature to see the glory of God (Psalm 19; Romans 1:19-20). No one pays closer attention to nature than scientists. Scientists know far more about nature than the average Christian does. Christians shouldn’t bury their heads in the sand. Therefore, the humble, honest Christian should defer to the experts on nature.
  2. There is no contradiction between what science shows regarding evolution, and what Genesis reveals about God’s creation of the universe. For example, see my other blog post, “You can believe in a Literal Genesis and Evolution.” Also you can google to research other interpretations of Genesis. You should especially visit BioLogos. (For additional reading, please see Allegorical Interpretations of Genesis)
  3. Christians are commanded by the New Testament to be in subjection to the government leaders and officials (Romans 13:1-4), and since they are promoting evolution as scientific fact, we should accept this without fighting, as long as no essential doctrine is at stake.
  4. There is no contradiction between accepting evolution and believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no reason you can’t believe in both Jesus saving us from sin and that evolution was the natural process God used to create life on earth.
  5. Publicly opposing or condemning evolution or the scientists who teach it, makes Christianity look very bad and ignorant in the eyes of the world. If we want the world to take us seriously about anything we teach about God or Jesus, then we need to stop making ourselves look like fools when it comes to science.
  6. We don’t want our children or grandchildren falling behind in having the latest scientific knowledge or breakthroughs due to denying the fundamental theories of science, such as evolution.

Yes, You Can Believe in a Literal Genesis AND Evolution

Daniel Evolution, Science, Scientific Harmony Series , , , , ,

Scientific Harmony Series — The Bible and Science Can Agree

Here is my “Fusion” view on Adam & Eve and Evolution:

  1. God began the process of evolution and natural selection 3.5 billion years ago on earth.
  2. Anatomically-modern humans first evolved about 200,000 years ago in Africa.
  3. Around 15,000 years ago (due to the gaps in Bible genealogies), in Iraq, God decides to make a special Garden Paradise, and He chooses to instantaneously create new animals and new human beings to populate this Garden, as part of Grand Test, which came about after a heavenly war between God and one of His top angels, commonly called Lucifer, who became Satan (“the Serpent”).
  4. Inside the Garden of Eden, everything is a perfect, peaceful utopia, with no animal death, no violence, all animals are herbivores.
  5. God creates Adam instantaneously out of dust and later creates Eve from a transplanted rib from Adam.
  6. Meanwhile, outside of the Garden, evolution and natural selection of animals and humans, along with death, disease, decay, violence, the food chain, continues as it always has.
  7. Naturally-evolved humans were already living for thousands of years before Adam, and that is why Adam’s son, Cain, is afraid that these people will kill him, and that is how Cain found a woman to be his wife, even though Adam had no daughters yet. It also explains how Cain and his wife were able to move to a city that had already been built.
  8. It is possible that Genesis 6 is describing Adam’s descendants (through Seth) having sex with, and marrying, the naturally-evolved women, and this causing much evil in God’s eyes, with people abandoning God.
  9. In any case, if Noah’s Flood was worldwide, then that means God killed off all naturally-evolved humans, and only Adam’s line remains today. If Noah’s Flood was NOT worldwide, then people today derive from both Adam’s line and the naturally-evolved humans.
  10. See, there is no reason to abandon science or a literal Adam, in order to be a Christian.

My Fog-Theory of Genesis Chapter 1

Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

No date is given for the creation of the sky/universe or the earth. The Bible simply and beautifully says, “In the beginning…” I accept what science says: The universe is 13+ billion years old, and the earth is 4.54 billion years old. This does not in any way conflict with the Bible.

This is one of the main things science still cannot answer, and perhaps, never will be able to answer — where did our universe come from?

Genesis 1:2:  Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.

The “darkness” here is a very dense, thick fog, which is blocking the sun and moon and stars from being seen clearly in the sky, and made it so dark that shapes of things could not be seen. (The Hebrew word rendered here as “darkness” was often used for fog, and it fits the context) Some modern Bible versions agree with this view. They include the Living Bible and the Voice.

Genesis 1:3:  God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light!

Now God begins to thin out the fog, so that more light can reach the surface. He’s not creating or inventing light here. No, rather, He is causing more light to be visible from the standpoint of someone on earth.

Genesis 1:4:  God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness.

God thinned the fog enough that the difference between day and night could be observed.

Genesis 1:5:  God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.

The word “day” can mean “time period” (Keep in mind that Genesis 2:4 uses “day” to refer to “time period” or “era”). In other places in the Bible, it says God views 1,000 human years as one “day” to Him. In Hebrews chapter 4, it claims that “Day 7” of this creation account was STILL ongoing thousands of years later, which would mean each “Day” could be thousands or millions of years long.

 I accept what science says: The earth is 4.54 billion years old, and life on earth is 3.5 billion years old.

Genesis 1:6-8:  God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

This “expanse” was named “Sky,” so there is really no strong, persuasive reason to believe that the Bible writer thought this “sky” was a hard, solid dome, as some skeptics, critics, and atheists assume. Even if the writer of Genesis did have the ancient idea of a solid dome sky, this doesn’t really cause any theological issues or problems. It would simply mean that the writer held on to to some of the mistaken ancient views of the world and didn’t have access to modern science.

 The “waters above” may simply refer to clouds, but it is possible it is referring to a “Cloud Canopy” that existed back then, which God later bursts open to flood the earth with.

Genesis 1:9-10:  God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so. God called the dry ground “land” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

Finally, God causes the dry ground to appear. Prior to this, the earth was covered entirely with water.

Genesis 1:11-13:  God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so. The land produced vegetation — plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

Genesis 1:14-19:  God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. God made two great lights — the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. God placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

God is NOT creating the sun, moon, and stars here. He ALREADY created them back in Genesis 1:1, where it says God created the heavens and the earth. “Heavens and earth” was a Hebrew phrase for “the universe.” It is here saying that God is placing them in the sky where they can be visible from the earth. What God is doing is thinning out the dense fog even more, to where the sun, moon, and stars are now clearly visible in the sky from the earth.

Genesis 1:20-23:  God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis agrees with science that sea creatures lived first, prior to any other life on earth.

Genesis 1:24-25:  God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” It was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Skeptics have long claimed there is a discrepancy with science here, with birds being created BEFORE reptiles, however I have discovered now that the Hebrew word (tan-neen’) used in Genesis 1:21, BEFORE birds are mentioned, can indeed mean “snake/reptile.” Thus yet another skeptic/atheist argument is shown to be false.


(As a side-note, I do NOT believe in Biblical inerrancy, where every word must be perfect, or else the entire Bible is false. I don’t subscribe to that belief. This frees me up to have a wider range of possible interpretations without destroying my faith) 
 
Many Christians completely interpret Genesis 1 through 4 or 1 through 6 as an allegory or parable, not intended to teach literal historical events. I can understand the reasoning behind doing so, and it is possible that is the correct way of interpreting Genesis. But I find my “Fusion” interpretation more appealing and accurate in line with how the rest of the Bible quotes Genesis.

If you ever do find a true discrepancy between Genesis and current scientific thought, it is possible that Genesis OR science is simply incorrect on a particular point. I’ll let you decide on that. (Keep in mind that science is absolutely NOT infallible, especially on historical sciences. Scientists are revising and correcting themselves every single day.)

 Genesis 1:26-27:  Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.Right from the very beginning of the Bible, God proclaims the equality of men and women — they are both equally created in God’s image, reflecting God’s qualities, emotions, logic, and morality.

Genesis 1:28-31:  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” It was so. God saw all that he had made — and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

I believe that this is referring to a special instantaneous creation that God performed when He was ready to plant His special Perfect Garden (see Genesis Chapter 2). God let the earth, animals, and humans evolve naturally up to a certain point. Then He stepped in and performed a special instantaneous creation of animals to fill this Garden, and of two perfect human beings to live there in the Garden. Meanwhile, outside the Garden, everything (including evolved humans) continued naturally the way it always had.

 The people and animals which God instantaneously created for His Garden, were to live as vegetarians, and there was no death of animals or humans at all inside this Garden (until Adam’s sin). But outside the Garden natural death was taking place like it always had.

(I am only throwing this out there as an open-minded possibility to ponder: The Hebrew word for “heavens” can mean the “sky” or atmosphere, instead of outer space or God’s spiritual realm. If this is the case here, it is *possible* that “Elohim” could be a race of extraterrestrial beings (“aliens”) who terraformed earth, seeded life, and initiated evolution, then visited us again thousands of years later.)

(All Scripture references are from the NET Bible)
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{Photo Credit: “Adam na restauratie” by Michelangelo Buonarroti – Transferred from nl.wikipedia. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adam_na_restauratie.jpg#/media/File:Adam_na_restauratie.jpg}