Restitutio Podcast 64: Science vs. the Bible (Apologetics 14)
Apologetics 14: Science (Objection 2)
Although our culture commonly pits science and faith against each other, as if they’ve been at war for centuries, the truth is that faith gave birth to science. In this lecture, you’ll learn about some of the main science objections that skeptics bring against Christianity and how to respond to them.
If you would like to take this class for credit, please contact the Atlanta Bible College so you can register and do the necessary work for a grade.
Notes:
Why Isn’t God’s Existence Obvious?
- no scientific test you can use to prove God’s existence
- “Confronted with the Almighty, [Bertrand Russell] would ask, ‘Sir, why did you not give me better evidence?'”[1]
- Isaiah 45.15 talks about the hiddenness of God
- Dembski’s point in In Defense of the Bible ch 14 is that
- God is hidden enough not to coerce belief
- God is visible enough to be found by those who seek him
- “This seems to be the pattern in God’s revelation of himself: provide enough evidence to convince those who are honestly seeking truth but not so much evidence as to force belief on those who prefer to believe a lie.”[2]
Theists Pioneered Most Branches of Science
- belief in God led to
- belief in rational universe
- belief that external world cohered w/ our observation/perception
- belief that God used stable physical laws
- belief that studying creation was a good b/c it indirectly extolled the Creator
- Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, James Clerk Maxwell
“To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.” –Nicolaus Copernicus, the mathematician and astronomer (1473-1543) who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe
“…Those laws are within the grasp of the human mind. God wanted us to recognize them by creating us after his own image so that we could share in his own thoughts.” –Johannes Kepler, the German mathematician and astronomer who discovered the laws of planetary motion
“If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.” —Lord William Kelvin, who was noted for his theoretical work on thermodynamics, the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale based upon it.
“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.” “I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.”—Sir Isaac Newton, who is widely regarded to have been the greatest scientist the world has ever produced.
“There can never be any real opposition between religion and science; for the one is the complement of the other. Every serious and reflective person realizes, I think, that the religious element in his nature must be recognized and cultivated if all the powers of the human soul are to act together in perfect balance and harmony. And indeed it was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls.” —Max Planck, the Nobel Prize winning physicist considered to be the founder of quantum theory, and one of the most important physicists of the 20th century, indeed of all time.
“The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power.” –Nikola Tesla, the inventor and futurist scientist known for nume