“The Bible On Trial” was held at the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, April 16th, 2016. The audio recordings and presentation slides can be viewed below.
Do We Have A Reliable Copy? (View Presentation Slides)
Is The Bible A Historical Work? (View Presentation Slides)
Is The Bible A “Good Book”? (View Presentation Slides)
Does The Bible Present A Clear Plan? (View Presentation Slides)
Many people think believing in God means throwing out reason. They assume one who has faith in deity chooses to be blind to the facts. The God of the Bible, however, demands His followers be true to evidence.
In 1 Peter 3:15, the Bible says we need to be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.” God encourages us to have reason or evidence for our. In fact, faith without evidence is not the faith of the Bible.
Look how the Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Although we cannot see God, we can have a conviction of his existence – but only after seeing the evidence.
But is it reasonable to have faith in something one cannot see? Do you believe in the existence of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France? Maybe you have seen it, but even without having seen it, one can still believe in its existence, can’t he? He can read the news about the Eiffel Tower. He can see pictures of Paris. He can listen to his friends about the tower. And, all of this information (evidence) leads a person to the conviction of its existence without ever seeing it with his own eyes. This is faith based in evidence, and this is how faith works in the Bible.
Many today claim that the Big Bang and evolution are “scientific facts.” But what is a “scientific fact”? Usually we call something a “fact” when one can observe it and measure it. Can anyone today observe whether the Big Bang really happened with his naked eye? Not unless he’s really old. Many are convicted of the Big Bang…convicted in something they cannot see. That sounds a lot like “faith.”
Faith is a conviction that you arrive at from the evidence that is presented. That is much like what Paul had in mind in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Faith is seeing the evidence and becoming convinced that something is true.
So the question is, what does the evidence say about our origins?
Let’s say you were hiking out in the woods and found several stones like the ones below. Would you say these stones’ unique shape was the product of time and chance or that these stones were made by someone? Or, let’s say you were walking on the same path and you came across a watch like the one below. Could I convince you that this watch was the result of several strange natural occurrences?
It is easy to tell when something has been made by an intelligent being or when something is the result of natural occurrences, isn’t it? We can see design in an object. Also, it is logical to say that if there is design, there has to have been someone to design it. The principal: design requires a designer.
Psalm 19 begins, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” If there is a Creator, creation should tell us a little bit about Him, right? Taking a look at the solar system reveals great design.
For instance, we take life on earth for granted, but did you realize that the Earth hangs precariously in a balance between burning up and freezing. Notice the factors that play into this delicate arrangement.
Our Solar System is perfectly designed to permit life on Earth. The probability of all these things happening by chance is staggeringly low.
Even more intricate than the solar system is the human body. David, the psalmist, marveled at God’s power when he wrote, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well” (Psalms 139:14). Look at the design involved in our bodies.
If I had a paper bag with watch parts, what are the odds if I shook the bag for an indefinite amount of time that I would be able to reach into the paper bag and pull out a watch, fully wound, ready, and set to the correct time?
How can we say the universe, the Solar System, Earth, and people came into existence and into perfect working order by time and chance if these systems are designed far better and are far more complex than a simple watch? “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4).
Design implies a designer. Creation implies a creator.
Question: What is the initial evidence for an unseen Creator? Answer: the seen creation.
While the Hebrews had Genesis 1 to tell them “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” the Gentiles did not have that text, yet Paul spoke of them being able to know of the Creator by looking at his creation: “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,” (Romans 1:20).
Indeed, the Hebrews also looked not only to Genesis, but also to creation as evidence of the Creator: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1, ESV). Again. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14).
Walking through the woods in the fall, you notice a bird’s nest in a barren tree. Although it is composed of natural products which you can find lying around on the ground, you recognize by their designed arrangement that this is not an accidental clump of sticks, grass, and twigs. And though you don’t see the bird that made it, but you can see that the bird had been there, by what he did. The clarity of design in the arrangement points clearly to the purposed creation of the nest.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that there are people on another planet. Suppose after a while, and before they have seen us, that they were to came across one of our satellites or rovers, complete with intricate systems, cameras, computers, and capabilities. Should they be amazed at how such technology could result from unintelligent and chance processes of nature? Or should they be able to discern that they are not looking not at random accumulations of minerals, but at a clear design, that points clearly to an intelligent designer?
An archaeologist comes across an arrowhead sharpened carefully to a point on one end, and shaped to be tied to an arrow on the other end. Certainly, rocks can break or be chipped without intelligent intent. An earthquake, freezing water, a landslide, a flood… any of these could move, chip, or break pieces of rock. But none of these satisfy the design inherent in the arrowhead. He does not see the craftsman that made it, but he does not doubt that it was created.
Science and common sense are built around cause and effect. Windblown sticks are not an adequate cause for a bird nest. Cosmic collisions are not an adequate cause for a complex satellite. And ice is not an adequate cause to account for a finely crafted arrowhead.
Likewise: when you consider the complexity of even a single cell, heat in a puddle of water is simply not an adequate cause for the complexity of life. Nor would chance mutations be adequate cause for the flight of a hummingbird, the engineering of the immune system, or the interdependency of the circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems of the body. Your brain, your ears, your feet, and your eyes (with muscles to turn and focus, a pupil to control light, tear glands to lubricate, eye lashes, lids, and brows to protect, and an amazing inner complexity to turn light into sight … all of this screams out design.
And when the effect is intelligent design, the cause that it points to is an intelligent designer. As Paul said:
“the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,” Romans 1:20.
This then leads to another question: has that Creator communicated with his creation?
Watch for other articles to continue your study, and thanks for visiting phillybiblestudy.org
— Scott Smesler
info@phillybiblestudy.org