Tuesday, August 9, 2011

How should a Christian practice science?

I recently went to a seminar about being a Christian and a scientist - can the two be reconciled and how do I practice science without shunning God? Here are my notes from the seminar:

The philosophical assumptions (or fundamental beliefs) in science create limits to the so-called unlimited potential of science.

What does the Bible say that God is like?

· God is spirit, so He is not material and therefore does not fit into the realm of investigational science. In fact, He is inaccessible to science.

· God is sovereign – not only is He the ruler of the universe, but He is over, above and outside of our normal spheres of reference and communication. He cannot be put in a box (like what science tries to do with things).

· God is surreptitious – the “top secret” God. We scientists (or anyone) in and of ourselves cannot ‘find’ Him. There is no way to move from the world we live in (and our worldly abilities), to knowledge of the God who made it (Genesis 1-2; Psalms 19, 33, 104; Job 38-41; Romans 1:20).

What about Natural Theology?

· We know our capacity to design and make thing (e.g. From looking at an iPod, a phone, a chair etc. we know we as humans are beings that can create and design in an orderly manner).

· So, can’t we then assume things about God the Creator based on Creation in the same way we infer things about humans from looking at inventions? (‘Natural Theology’?)

· We need to remember that we are Christians first and foremost – we cannot distance ourselves from beliefs we have from learning through other means (i.e. the Spirit operating through God’s Word).

· So we can’t really use Natural Theology arguments when evangelizing to non-Christians, because they need knowledge of the Word of God.

Can we learn about God through observing Creation?

· From Genesis, we know that God created an orderly world by simply speaking.

· We often forget that God creates differently to us humans – He speaks and it is created, whereas we have to leave fingerprints all over everything we make.

· Creation WILL align itself with God because we have Him revealed to us through His son Jesus Christ. We can also see God’s orderliness from the account of Creation in Genesis, and also from observing the way Creation is structured).

· So even if we are a millimeter away from discovering God through His patterns revealed in examining Creation, there is still a deep chasm through which we can only cross through other means.

· When we look at Creation we get a glimpse of the orderliness of God and we may realize there is more than meets the eye – we want to investigate it, but science is not the means through which to do this.

· So, in a sense, we get a glimpse of God through Creation. It hints at God’s existence, but says nothing more specific than the fact that He exists. So it essentially leaves us without excuse.

What about Jesus?

· God chose to reveal Himself to us, not by creating stuff, but by sending His son (Himself) to come and live amongst us, so that He may not be hidden anymore!

· Jesus says that nobody will ever find God, but He knows AND is God – He has come to reveal God to us!

· When we try and make science (or the Bible) do something it is limited in its capacity to do, it becomes a problem.

· The Bible can reveal things to us that science cannot.

· Science can reveal things about the way Creation works that the Bible cannot.

What is science like?

· It deals with the natural and repeatable.

· It uses hypotheses, experiments, data analysis, evidence, prediction etc. Because of this, it has the power to explain the natural world.

· You can be a good scientist without drawing God into the equation. In other words, scientists SHOULD be methodologically Atheists – we don’t need to draw God in when using experiments to explain natural phenomenon.

Does the Bible cohere with this view of science?

· Short answer – yes.

· The Bible tells us why science can look for the repeatable in nature - because God made and sustains an orderly world.

· Atheists and scientists cannot give a scientific reason WHY the world is orderly.

· God is before all things.

· Science works because of the type of being we are – we are made like God, thinking, speaking, knowing, interacting with the environment etc.

· In fact, the first science experiment was conducted in Genesis 2:19, when He got man to name all the animals!

· Science works because God delights in what He has made. We have nothing to fear in engaging in scientific discovery.

· The good scientist should say “all knowledge is good” – so the good scientist should be open to information BEYOND the limits of science. Otherwise, they are not really a true scientist!

The ‘Four Horsemen of the Apolcalypse’

· Sam Harris -self proclaimed provocateur and author of ‘The End of Faith’ and ‘The Moral Landscape’.

· Daniel Dennet – argues that religion is a natural phenomenon and wrote ‘Breaking the Spell’.

· Christopher Hitchens – author of ‘God is Not Great’.

· Richard Dawkins – biologist and ‘tireless evangelist’, and author of ‘The God Delusion’ and ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’.

· They practice enlightened skepticism.

· There is usually a kernel of truth in what they argue, but they then distort this truth for their own ends.

· They are less imaginative, subtle and refined than past philosophical opponents of religion. However, they are more emotional and interested in the simplification (and therefore distortion) of history.

(NB: As a Christian, it is OK to have doubts and not be sure of things, but that is a kind of doubt that looks to belief and often ends up strengthening faith.)

Daniel Dennett

· Intuitive.

· Arguments based on a strand of suppositions and is almost always developed on the back of Dawkins’ idea of means.

· He claims to have found the science of religion.

· He observes things and then relentlessly heads towards a goal of interpretation, ignoring other possible explanations.

· Concludes what he already believes.

· Claims religion evolved as a natural phenomenon.

· Religion IS a natural phenomenon (since humans are natural and religion is a natural part of what it means to be human).

· But it does not logically follow that God could not use religion to genuinely reveal Himself. Just because religion is natural does not mean the supernatural could not be revealed through it!

Richard Dawkins

· Calls himself an evangelist who is out to change the world and rid the world of religion.

· Claims ‘The God Delusion’ is a religious book because it aims to change people from the inside out.

· He believes the God of the Old Testament in horrendous and bloodthirsty.

· He starts the book with the premise that God does not exist.

· His way of arguing his case from there is more like art than science, and he assumes his readers are with him every step of the way.

· The following are the five major arguments from ‘The God Delusion’:

1. None of the arguments for God’s existence work

· Argument from cause.

· Ontological argument – “If I can conceive of it then it must be true”.

· Unmoved mover – “If I move this then what moves me?” God is at the end of the chain of moving.

· Teleological argument – there is a purpose to the way things are.

· He doesn’t engage with the arguments, he just dismisses the whole branch of thought.

2. There is an argument for the non-existence of god that actually does work

· The anthropic principle – that things seem to be so finely balanced in the universe that if any constant varied slightly life would not exist and neither would the universe as we know it. The universe is a set-up job. The world seems to be set up for people to be here.

· If the complex universe is improbable, then the more complex thing that created it is even more improbable! Therefore it is very, very statistically unlikely that a God exists.

· However, this argument only works in God is natural, but he isn’t. he is not like us.

3. Darwin’s theory of evolution really does explain everything.

· Evolutionary theory is a ‘crane’, not a ‘skyhook’ (like religion).

· This argument does not work because it does not apply to physics – even Dawkins admits this!

· Evolution does not explain the complexity of human relationships.

· Even if evolution was an effective and full basis for everything (including morality, relationships etc.) where would that lead our society? To euthanasia, eugenics etc.

4. The presence of a religion can be explained by genes or memes

· Religion is due to a gene-like entity that passes on culture and beliefs.

· The “God meme” (or idea) gets passed from one generation to another.

· However, the idea of memes has been scientifically disproven, as it failed to provide explanation or predictive power – there was no evidence for it beyond the initial abstract theoretical notion.

· Therefore, since the meme argument fails, so does Dawkins’ argument.

5. Religious morality is actually immoral – religion brings no good into the world

· Firstly, it is true that there are elements of what the church and Christians have done that do not give honour and glory to God. But theism is not the problem – people are the problem! (Duh? We are sinners who are unable to keep all God’s commandments).

· But he fails to pay attention to the many good things religion has brought into the world.

· E.g. 100 evidence-based studies were examined in a literature review and 79% reported at least one significant correlation between religion and wellbeing – so that is scientific proof that religion does bring some good into the world.

Human relationships cannot fully be explained by evolution

· Compassion and altruism cannot be explained by evolutionary theory.

· It is somewhat problematic to explain social emotions too.

· These ideas have been examined more in the realm of philosophy than science.

Post-enlightenment science

· Modern science uses dispassionate reason – it is value and purpose-free.

· It deals with the natural and repeatable.

· Uses hypotheses, experiments, data analysis and evidence.

Fundamental beliefs of science

· Scientific materialism – there is nothing in the universe but matter and energy.

· Positivism – scientific method is the only means of knowledge at our disposal.

Is the subjectiveness of faith undermining for its status as a branch of ‘knowledge’?

Faith in science

· Markets and enterprises give values and determine interest in our society.

· Science funding directs scientific enquiry – “play the crowd”. E.g. Malaria is one of the world’s major killers and we are not that close to a cure because it is a disease of poor nations and so funding is scarce.

Pascal

· Believed there were 2 types of mind – intuitive and geometrical (‘heart’ and ‘mind’).

· Believed that both are involved in the acquisition of knowledge.

Polanyi (20th century)

· Every act of knowing is personal and therefore subjective.

· Made distinction between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge.

· Tacit knowledge = stuff people take on faith that makes their portion of a project do-able (e.g. all the assumptions we make about causality that undermine scientific enquiry).

· Explicit knowledge = things we find out first hand (but we have to have faith in those that tell us what we need to know to use our explicit knowledge to engage in investigation).

· Science is therefore also tacit knowledge that we believe in as scientists.

Aristotle

· His science flowed out of his understanding and beliefs about the world.

· Distinguished between four different types of cause.

· Efficient cause – whatever operates upon a thing to change it / anything acting externally to bring about its form.

· Material cause – that from which something is made.

· Formal cause – the design to which it was created.

· Final cause – purpose for which it was built.

· The formal and final causes are of little interest to scientists. They are not looking for design, and are therefore outside the realm of scientific endeavor. This is why science is methodologically atheistic – we don’t need god as a lab partner.

· Scientists just look for relationships between what things are, what they are made of and what they are for.

Not God of the gaps

· We know more and more, so God seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

· Some people take methodology and make it ideology (e.g. since science cannot / does not need to investigate design and final cause, there is none (this is called ‘nihilism’).

· But even if we say there is no purpose, humans usually live as though there is (despite many people expressing beliefs similar to nihilism!).

The Bible’s account of human purpose

· The Bible tells of both the purposes and the riddle of human existence.

· ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever’ – Westminster Confession of Faith. (AND enjoying each other through relationships – the social element gives us purpose also – Augustine of Hippo).

· The commandments give us a guide as to whether we are living well as a human being. They are like barriers along the road – fi you approach or bang against one you know you are off-track.

· Humans should be thoroughly social being, not individualistic.

The Purpose of Science

· To glorify God.

· To delight and enjoy and wonder at His creativity and His sovereign providential control (i.e. to love God).

· To enjoy and love one another in this world as we wait for the new heavens and new earth – the home of righteousness.

· To see God for who He is and what He has done.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Tidal Wave

Listening to Owl City, I came across this song and really identified with the lyrics. It's pretty much how I experience being a Christian in the world, so I wanted to share the words with whoever cares to read:

I wish I could cross my arms
And cross your mind 'cause I believe
You'd unfold your paper heart
And wear it on your sleeve

All my life I wish I broke mirrors
Instead of promises
'Cause all I see is a shattered conscience
Staring right back at me

I wish I had covered all my tracks completely
'Cause I'm so afraid
Is that the light at the far end of the tunnel
Or just the train?

Lift your arms, only Heaven knows
Where the danger grows and it's safe to say
There's a bright light up ahead
And help is on the way, help is on the way

I forget the last time I felt brave
I just recall insecurity
'Cause it came down like a tidal wave
And sorrow swept over me

Depression, please cut to the chase
And cut a long story short
Oh, please be done, how much longer
Can this drama afford to run?

Fate looks sharp, severs all my ties
And breaks whatever doesn't bend
But sadly then, all my heavy hopes
Just pull me back down again

I forget the last time I felt brave
I just recall insecurity
'Cause it came down like a tidal wave
And sorrow swept over me

Then I was given grace and love
I was blind but now I can see
'Cause I found a new hope from above
And courage swept over me

It hurts just to wake up
Whenever you're wearing thin
Alone on the outside
So tired of looking in

The end is uncertain
And I've never been so afraid
But I don't need a telescope
To see that there's hope
And that makes me feel brave

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Tasting Plate

I recently created a food blog because I want to share all my food-related adventures with my friends (and anyone else who is interested!) Enjoy!

http://tasting-plate.blogspot.com/

G.O.S.P.E.L

http://vimeo.com/20960385

Check out the video on this link - it's essentially a 'Redemption Rap' explaining Christianity amazingly well.

Here are the lyrics: (it's much better if you watch it though...)

"It’s the full story of life crushed into four minutes./ The entirety of humanity in the palm of your hand crushed into one sentence./ Listen, it’s intense, right? GOD. OUR. SINS. PAYING. EVERYONE. LIFE./ The greatest story ever told that’s hardly ever told.

GOD. Yes, GOD./ The maker and giver of life, and by life I mean any and all manner of substance./ Seen and unseen; what can and can’t be touched./ Thoughts, image, emotions; love, atoms and oceans./ GOD./ All of which His handiwork, one of which His masterpiece./ Made so uniquely that angels looked curiously./ The one thing in creation that was made in His imagery./ A concept so cold it’s the reason I stay bold./ How GOD breathed into man and he became a living soul.

Formed with the intent of being infinitely, intimately fond./ Creator and creation held in eternal bond./ And it was placed in perfect paradise until something went wrong./ The species got deceived and started lusting for His job./ An odd list of complaints, as if the system ain’t working./ And used that same breath He graciously gave us to curse Him/ And that sin seed spread through our souls’ genome./ And by nature of your nature, your species, you participated in the mutiny.

OUR./ Yes, our sins./ It’s nature-inherited./ Blackened the human heart. It was over before it started./ Deceived from day one and led away by our own lust./ There’s not a religion in the world that doesn’t agree that something’s wrong with us./ The question is what is it? And how do we fix it?/ Are we eternally separated from a God that may or may not have existed?/ But that’s another subject. Let’s keep grinding./ Besides, trying to prove God is like defending a lion./ Homie, it don’t need your help. Just unlock the cage./ Let’s move on on how our debt can be paid./ Short and sweet: the problem is…

SIN./ Yes, sin./ It’s a cancer, an asthma, choking out our life force./ Forcing separation from a perfect and holy GOD./ And the only way to get back is to get back to perfection./ But silly us…trying to pass the course of life without referring to a syllabus./ This is us: heap up your good deeds, chant, pray, meditate./ But all of that, of course, is spraying cologne on a corpse./ Or you could choose to ignore it, as if something don’t stink./ It’s like stepping in dog poop and refusing to wipe your shoe./ But all of that ends with, “How good is good enough?”

Take your silly list of good deeds and line them up against perfection./ Good luck./ That’s life past your pay grade./ The cost of your soul? You ain’t got a big enough piggy bank./ But you could give it a shot?/ But I suggest you throw away the list/ ‘Cause even your good acts are an extension of your selfishness.

But here’s where it gets interesting./ I hope you’re closely listening./ Please don’t get it twisted. It’s what makes our faith unique./ Here’s what God says is Part A of the Gospel:/ You can’t fix yourself. Quit trying. It’s impossible./ Sin brings death./ Give GOD His breath back. You owe Him!/ Eternally separated and the only way to fix it is someone die in your place/ And that someone’s got to be PERFECT or the payment ain’t permanent/ So if and when you find a perfect person, get that person./ To literally trade their perfection for your sin and death in./ Clearly, since the only one who can meet God’s criteria is GOD./ GOD sent Himself as JESUS to pay the cost for us./ His righteousness, His death, functions as…

PAYMENT./ Yes, payment./ Wrote a check with His life./ But at the Resurrection we all cheered, cause that means the CHECK CLEARED!/ Pierced feet, pierced hands, blood-stained Son of Man./ Fullness, forgiveness, free passage into the Promised Land./ That same breath GOD breathed into us GOD gave up to redeem us./ And anyone and everyone, and by everyone I mean…

EVERYONE./ Who puts their faith and trust in Him, and Him alone./ Can stand in full confidence of GOD’s forgiveness./ And here’s what the promise is:/ That you are guaranteed full access to return to perfect unity./ By simply believing in CHRIST and CHRIST alone./ You are receiving…

LIFE./ Yes, life./ This is the GOSPEL./ GOD. OUR. SINS. PAYING. EVERYONE. LIFE."

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Welcome

I originally created this blog at the start of the year with the intention of documenting questions I have about life, the universe and everything. Like a true science student, I then intended to find the best possible answers from the Bible, scientific findings, philosophers, literature and scholars, as well as my own personal, and vicarious, experiences.

Writing a thesis, working and caring for family members, friends and my church gave me little time to spend on such pursuits, however my hope is that taking a year off from my studies will give me more time to spend on activities such as reading, writing, getting to know a wider variety of people, travelling, investigating topics of interest, and of course, cooking and playing music :)

Obviously, having such a long list of things I am passionate about will inevitably mean that I won't have time for it all. I'm becoming more aware of the fact that I will probably always feel like i'm putting something off, or missing something or someone I love. But my hope is that as long as i'm doing something that I have a deep interest in that somehow serves others as well as myself, and as long as the person i'm missing isn't God, I should be satisfied with life, no matter how many additional things i'm missing out on.