Exploring Evolution

From March through early June, 2020, I taught a class at my home church, Lancaster Alliance Church, on the subject of evolution. We discussed the worldview implications, and for the first several weeks I stressed the background beliefs that would influence a person, particularly Christians, to accept evolutionary theory.

Here are links to most of the lessons (please note - as time wore on I learned better how to edit them better). Also note that Lesson 1 & 2 were not recorded.

Lesson 3 - Greater God theology (part 1, part 2, part 3)
Lesson 4 - Intellectual Necessity and Summary (part 1, part 2)
Lesson 5 - Scientific Evidence: Fossils (part 1, part 2)
Lesson 6 - Anatomical Homology
Lesson 7 - Molecular Homology
Lesson 8 - Natural Selection
Bonus Discussion #1 - Discussion with JB Stump, vice president of Biologos and advocate of evolutionary theory
Bonus Discussion #2 - Discussion with Paul Nelson, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and advocate of intelligent design

Let me know if you have any questions.

We're All Atheists Now?

When you atheists understand why a jury can convict one particular person for a crime and not any of the other 7+ billion people on the planet who are technically eligible suspects, then you will understand why I am a Christian believer. The available evidence points to the Christian God, not to Zeus, Thor, or Quetzalcoatl.

If one were to live by the logic presented in this uncompelling meme, our judicial system would collapse. A lawyer for a likely murder suspect could simply say to the jury, "Surely you would agree that all these other people in this courtroom are innocent of this crime. I'm simply asking that you go one suspect further and declare my client innocent of these charges."

We are confident in the Christian God because that is where the evidence points regardless of the other options.

[This response is adapted from the work of Andy Bannister in Chapter 3 of The Atheist Who Didn't Exist.]

Science and Observations of God

What is the message of this meme?

• Science improves our knowledge over time. We have better images now of things that were previously inaccessible to us.
• Science couldn't then nor can it now observe God.
• Therefore, God must not be real because science cannot see him.

How to respond?

1. Science is a wonderful enterprise that does indeed improve our knowledge, and Christians should embrace, rather than fear, it.
2. The traditional Christian conception of God is that he is not physical, so we should not expect to be able to physically see him.
3. This world is full of things that skeptics, atheists, and scientists in general have good reason to believe exist even though they cannot see them, such as magnetic fields, quarks, a mathematical point or line, past genetic mutations, past transitional forms for which there are no fossils, force carriers in physics like photons or gluons, and past historical events for which there are no records.
4. The epistemology (or way of knowing) of this meme and of the average skeptic is weak sauce. If we limited our knowledge to only that which we could see, then we would know very few things indeed.

If atheists and skeptics want to claim that they can be confident in their lack of belief in God because science hasn't observed him, then to be consistent they must also claim to lack a belief in many other things that are not controversial.

Russell's Teapot

The challenge of Russell’s Teapot is meant to say that Christians believe in their God without any evidence, just like there is no evidence for this teapot orbiting the Sun. We can’t prove the teapot isn’t there and so we’re free to believe in it, but don’t expect the rest of us to believe in it. The same goes for God.

My response to someone who brings up Russell’s Teapot  would be that, rather than accepting God’s existence by mere blind faith, I can think of several good reasons to think that God exists. 

1. The universe had a beginning a finite time ago, and things that begin to exist must have a cause. 
2. The universe is highly fine-tuned with an apparent design that points to a purpose behind it. 
3. Despite intense research, life began at some point on Earth, and there is absolutely no consensus on how this could have happened “on its own.” Stated more positively, the design of the earliest life and the information that is apparent in living cells point to an intelligent designer. 
4. The origin of human consciousness is a huge problem for materialists. How did this higher “ape” become aware of itself with all of our mental capacities? This is much better explained by personal Mind who is responsible for humankind. 
5. If the materialists are correct, then humans are creatures determined by our brain and body chemistry, and we are thus not free nor rational. 
6. The historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is strong and compelling.

So, while the Teapot is meant to demean the Christian faith and claim that there is no good evidence for it, the truth of the matter is that quite good evidence exists that points positively to an intelligent Mind behind life and the universe. Skeptics of religious faith may claim that they don’t find these reasons compelling, but what they cannot legitimately do is assert that there is no evidence at all. Conversation can then turn this evidence and to why so many people throughout the history of the world have found reasons such as these so convincing that God does indeed exist.

Do You Apologist Well?

I know that this is shocking, but some people are not followers of Jesus. (Insert sad emoji here)

In our neighborhoods and around the world, there are people who haven't heard about Christ or who are actively rejecting him. We have a responsibility, given to us by the Lord, to share our Christian convictions with these folks and to try to bring them to the faith.

So, what happens when you do this and the person you are speaking with asks you a question, or challenges your view?

Do you answer it?

If you do (or try to), then in that moment you are an apologist for the Christian faith. You are attempting to remove an obstacle that is in the way of this person coming to Christ.

The important question is: will you do this well? or will you do it poorly? Will you help this unbeliever think about Christianity in a better way or will you add to their confusion?

The heart of apologetics beats for these moments. It is a branch of theology that exists to help Christians share their convictions thoughtfully, meaningfully, and with relevance. Apologetics will give you the tools to get better at these conversations so that we can have confidence in sharing Jesus.

I suppose we could ignore their questions or challenges and just keep on talking to them as if they hadn't said anything. We could treat them as one evangelistic contact among many and write them off as too stubborn to follow Jesus.

Or we could treat them as a human being made in God's image who simply has an honest question or is repeating a challenge that they heard somewhere.

What if your thoughtful response was what made the difference in that person's journey to Christ?

A New Book that Demands a Verdict

If one McDowell was able to encourage Christians a generation ago with evidence for the truth of Christianity, simply imagine what two McDowell's could do!

Josh and his son, Sean, have completely revised and updated the hugely influential Evidence that Demands a Verdict that was first released in 1979. Josh wrote the original book after so many people kept asking him for his notes that he would use for his apologetics talks. I had my own copy of this book in the 80's as a young teenager, and I remember being astounded at the comprehensive information and level of detail that was available as a resource.

Fast forward to 2017. Josh's son, Sean, is a fully qualified professor and apologist in his own right, working now as Assistant Professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University in La Mirada, California. This father-and-son team came together to update this material for a new generation of Christians and seekers looking for evidence for the truth of Christianity.

Josh and Sean have accomplished their goal swimmingly by providing comprehensive evidence like it was their job. Actually, I think it was their job. They have a very full introduction that covers a lot of ground with the nature of what apologetics is, why it is important for the Church, and answering some objections and misconceptions that some will bring up.

Following this introduction, McDowell and McDowell offer a robust prologue which stands as an introduction to natural theology, that is, evidences from nature that point beyond the physical world to a Creator. It is here that Josh and Sean begin to target the philosophical idea of metaphysical naturalism, which is the reigning prejudice of our age, especially in the sciences. In simplified form, naturalism is the idea that all that exists is matter and energy operating according to natural law. Anything like a god or gods are denied to exist. They offer six evidences for the existence of God, including the origin of the universe, the fine tuning of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of consciousness, and the existence of free will and morality. These evidences then form the backdrop for the rest of the book since they offer good reason to think that something like the Christian God is reasonable. Given that it is entirely plausible that God does exist, we are now ready to explore the particular Christian evidences that take up the vast majority of Evidence.

Team McDowell has divided the book into four parts. Part I deals with the reliability of the Bible. Part II covers the evidence for Jesus, including his life, his unique claims and his resurrection. Part III offers evidence for the reliability of the Old Testament. Finally, Part IV answers skeptics and post-modernists with an exploration of what is truth and the possibility of miracles.

This book is a serious resource for all Christians. If you share your Christian convictions enough with others, someone is bound to ask you a question or to offer a challenge to Christianity. The only question is: will you answer those questions well or poorly? The updated Evidence that Demands a Verdict belongs on your shelf as a go-to in order to help you answer those questions well.

The verdict for this book? Buy it! (If you pre-order, you will be able to download and read two chapters now: "The Martyrdom of the Apostles" and "The Historical Existence of Jesus")

For more information, go to www.ReadEvidence.com.

When Disappointment Comes

I don't know if you've ever noticed something.

In Ephesians 3, Paul makes a well known declaration to God's power:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (ESV; 3:20-21)

In a high and exalted prayer, Paul is clear that God is able to do anything beyond our wildest thoughts. We could do worse than to memorize and meditate on this truth regularly.

But notice this. In the very next verse (4:1), Paul, almost in passing, says, "I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called..."

Did you catch that? The very same apostle who is confident in a powerful God, is yet a prisoner for the Lord. Paul is still captive.

Why is he a prisoner if God can do anything? Certainly God could bring himself glory in other ways. Why does God's glory require Paul's captivity?

These questions are ultimately unanswerable by us, but please notice that Paul did not use his imprisonment to doubt God's power or care for his people. Quite the opposite. Paul rejoices in the Lord that he serves.

Further, in Colossians 1, Paul prays for the church in Colossae, and as part of that prayer in verse 11, Paul prays that they would be "strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy."

If God has all power, why do we need endurance? Why do we need patience? Because God's power is not to get us out of trouble, but to get us through it with joy.

Disappointment will come our way. Incomes will fall. Someone will die. Children will rebel. When these difficulties come, let's remember Paul's attitude. God's purpose is ultimately to make us like his son, Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Pray that God will use disappointment to make us like Jesus. That is what God's power is for.