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Faith & Reason Faith & Reason Lesson 14 “Design Within the Universe Affirms Creation” In this lesson, we will: • Establish what scientific evidence would be needed to confirm that God created the heavens and the earth • Identify 8 areas in which we would look for evidence of design in Creation • Note that we exist in a very finely “tuned” Universe • Look at the fact that our Solar System is well-ordered • Talk about the precision in which the Earth was designed WHAT WOULD WE LOOK FOR? FROM THE BOOK: “What would we look for to find scientific evidence that confirms the Bible’s proclamation that God created the heavens and the earth? “Answering this question relates to our [previous] discussion [in Lesson 5] of the difference between ‘Operational Science’ and ‘Historical Science’....” 1 1. science deals with those things that can be and repeatedly in the present, i.e. those theories which that can be subjected to the and do not require any . 2. science seeks answers to events that happened in the and cannot be happening today. In other words, they cannot be proven by the and require a certain amount of interpretation. FROM THE BOOK: “The study of origins falls into the category of historical science because we cannot reproduce the events of the past to prove scientifically just how everything began. This applies whether one claims that origins occurred by evolution or creation. We can, however, search out the observable universe and find evidence that confirms or discredits either scientific theories or the biblical account of how all things have come into being. The truth is, there is an enormous amount of scientific evidence that confirms the biblical account of creation.” 2 1 Rick McGough, Faith & Reason Made Simple, 113 2 Ibid. Faith & Reason Lesson 14, Page 2 3. When looking for evidence of a , there are two things we might look for: A. Evidence of and B. 4. Design points to a . 5. Information is always the result of a source of . FROM THE BOOK: “Design always points to a designer, and things that are not designed, like the chaotic debris left after an explosion, show evidence of random, unguided processes. Information is always the result of a source of intelligence. So if we can find design features and usable information in the observable universe and in living things, we will have evidence that confirms what the Bible says: God created the heavens and the earth.” 3 IN OUR SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF DESIGN, WE WILL LOOK AT EIGHT (8) AREAS FOR EVIDENCE: 1. THE UNIVERSE 2. OUR SOLOR SYSTEM 3. THE EARTH 4. LIVING CREATURES ON THE EARTH 5. THE HUMAN BODY 6. THE MICROSCOPIC WORLD 7. THE HUMAN CELL 8. DNA THE UNIVERSE IS FINELY TUNED FROM THE BOOK: “Modern Science has now been able to identify numerous laws of physics and the physical constants within the universe that are set very precisely and are very stable (constant), allowing galaxies, stars, planets, and intelligent life to exist.” “This precision is referred to as ‘The Finely Tuned Universe.’ The more that scientists have learned about the laws governing the physical universe, the more they realize that these laws are all set with such 3 Ibid., 113, 114 Faith & Reason Lesson 14, Page 3 precision that even a slight variation would be devastating for the order, function, and even the very existence of the universe.” 4 EXAMPLES ARE: The force of gravity (the gravitational constant) The speed of light The expansion rate of the universe The cosmological constant The ratio of protons to electrons FROM THE BOOK: “It is readily accepted that there are at least thirty or more of these constants that are precisely set to allow the universe to function, and some observers now point to many more than thirty.” 5 6. In the last two quotes, our author has referred to and . What is his meaning? FROM ANOTHER BOOK: “First let us ask ourselves, ‘What is a law?’ Well, strictly speaking, a law is a generalization examined until it is proved that there is no exception. We might define it more simply as something which happens over and over again. Each time the thing happens, it happens in the same way. We can illustrate this both from statutory and from natural law. For example, in Britain, if I drive a car on the right hand side of the road, the traffic police will stop me. Why? Because it is against the law of the land. If you do it, you will be stopped too. Why? For the same reason that I would be stopped: it is against the law and the law makes no exceptions. It is something which happens repeatedly and unfailingly. Or again, we all know what is meant by gravity. If I drop my handkerchief in London it falls to the ground. That is the effect of gravity. But the same is true if I drop it in New York or Hong Kong. No matter where I let it go, gravity operates, and it always produces the same results. Whenever the same conditions prevail, the same effects are seen. There is thus a ‘law’ of gravity.” 6 SPEAKING OF THE “LAW” OF GRAVITY FROM THE BOOK: “If the force of gravity, which is constant, was slightly stronger or slightly weaker, it would not be possible for planets to form or for life forms to exist. Gravity is set at the perfect strength to maintain cohesive structure and life.” 7 7. The , and of t h e s e laws and constants argue for and give good evidence of a eator . 4 Ibid., 114 5 Ibid., 115 6 Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life (Peabody, MA, Hendrickson Publishers, c.1961 Angus Kinnear), 122 7 McGough, 115 Faith & Reason Lesson 14, Page 4 FROM THE BOOK: “To think that this precision is the result of a huge explosion and unguided processes over billions of years goes against common sense. All observable examples of things that function with precision indicate the presence of an intelligent designer. The universe being finely tuned is evidence of an amazingly wise and powerful Creator.” 8 FROM THE BOOK: “All scientists who study the universe see this fine tuning…. [S]ome try to explain it away, but many, even many who are not Christians, acknowledge that this fine tuning is great evidence of a Creator, or a Designer, who has put the universe together with amazing precision. • “Fred Hoyle (British astrophysicist): ‘A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, 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.’ • “Paul Davies (British astrophysicist): ‘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.’ • “John O’Keefe (astronomer at NASA): ‘We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures.... If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in.’ • “George Greenstein (astronomer): ‘As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency—or, rather, Agency—must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?’ • “Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT physicist): ‘The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.’ • “Frank Tipler (Professor of Mathematical Physics): ‘When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day I would be writing a book purporting to show that the central claims of Judeo-Christian theology are in fact true, that these claims are straightforward deductions of the laws of physics as we now understand them. I have been forced into these conclusions by the inexorable logic of 9 my own special branch of physics.’” FROM THE BOOK: “You may ask, if this fine tuning of the universe is so obvious and widely accepted, how do scientists explain it apart from a Creator? The answer reveals how desperate many people become in their attempt to deny the God of all creation. Many non-believing scientists attempt to explain the fine tuning of the 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid., 117, 118 Faith & Reason Lesson 14, Page 5 universe by suggesting that there may have been multiple millions, billions or even trillions of universes, and this one just happens to be just right. They suggest that our universe is a part of something called the ‘multiverse,’ which is made up of millions of universes. Please note that these proposed additional universes cannot be observed and are purely speculative.” 10 FROM THE BOOK: “So the first level of evidence of a creator is found in the biggest thing we know of, the universe that we live in. It does not look at all like it has come about as the result of a massive explosion billions of years ago. It is precisely governed by finely tuned laws of physics. It looks very ordered. It looks designed! It confirms what the first verse of the Bible says, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’”11 • Colossians 1:16, 17 (NASB) (16) For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
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