WORLDVIEW: SCIENCE & SCRIPTURE
A man a man. So we're walking through the Book of Genesis because Genesis offers us a Biblical theistic world view I want to do is just our understanding and perception of reality. It's the the composition of our assumptions are presuppositions. Our beliefs about what reality really is about how the world actually works. Everybody has a worldview that we don't always know what our worldview is not all of us are are are critical or or clear about what our worldview is, but we all have one. What God offers us in the Book of Genesis is the opportunity to to frame and form and shape our worldview not according to the thinking or patterns of this world, but according to the thinking and patterns of God as well as we dig into Genesis. We were trying to understand reality from God's perspective and it's like laid out every every worldview and of course, it's more complicated than this but every worldview has to answer for general questions question of environment. Where are we the question of essence? Who are we to question of evil? What's wrong? And the question of eschatology, where are we going? What is the point? What's the purpose? Can we or should we have hope the last couple weeks? We we've been walking through the issue of environment. Where are we the Bible starts this way Genesis 1:1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth from the very first sentence the very first verse of scripture. We are told that we find ourselves in a cosmos in a world in a creation that's been made and fashioned and formed by God. That's where we are at at at a fundamental level a Biblical fistic World uses. We live in an environment that has been shaved and formed and designed and Fashions and made created by God. The Hebrew word therefore creates is a word that in the Old Testament is only used about God. God and God Alone can create. We can make we can shape we can form we can fashion but God and God Alone is the creator. So from the very first verse this question of environment. Where are we is it begun to be framed? We are in a world. That has been made by God. And there have been times and Seasons where that was unquestioned. Assume that was the common view. In our in our world are our culture that is no longer the case today. In fact, we live in a culture that has a worldview. That is absolutely opposite to what Genesis 1:1 is teaching it. We can call our cultural worldview scientific materialism. I'm not calling it that that's what they call it themselves scientific materialism. And a modern scientific materialistic cosmology says this it says we exist in a random coincidental impersonal environment. That's the Assumption. That's the Baseline. The average person in our culture believes that that is not only true, but that that has been proven by science. The average person the average non Sciences except statements like that as absolute truth because quite frankly science has gotten so complex. So complicated so detailed so specialized we look at Sciences like they're almost another species sometime. In fact, I think you can make an argument that in our culture. We look at scientist as clergy. We look at them as the people of authority. They're the ones that I don't understand the science. But if Stephen Hawking says it if the hawk says it. Then it's got to be true. If a Lord help us Bill nice as it.
You're not a scientist, right? We live in this world. Except the scientific materialism as a baseline. That's the starting place. It's what's hot in our school. It's what's reinforced in our media is represented in our Arts. That is how our culture thinks and believes and that's put us. as followers of Jesus as Believers in God as men and women who trust and accept the authority of the scriptures in a very difficult place and environment because we live with a worldview that says you've been made by God what exist exist because God made it and we live in a world that says, that's absolutely not true. Your random or accidental you've been here because of materialistic processes and natural off and that's the only reason that you're here and oh by the way, it's been proven by science. And we go.
Okay. I'll be quiet now. and if you look historically Christians used to be the Leading Edge of science this idea that there's a up a Perpetual battle. Between scripture and science between faith and reason is not something that comes from God or the Bible. It's something that comes from the world itself, and we've allowed them. to set the boundaries of the discussion
and we removed ourselves from the conversation.
I've sat in classes in junior high and high school at University level where professors unashamedly very boldly would say if you believe in a Creator, if you believe in creation, you are a fool you are unscientific you are irrational you are unreasonable. We are the rational reasonable ones we know.
How it really is.
Carl Sagan the seventies and eighties he's probably the world's leading scientist an actual Sciences at Harvard and later at Cornell he work with NASA. study spaces wrote books that that famous mini series Cosmos
Carl Sagan, so that's the cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Voice. The cosmos is all it is or was or ever will be he is intentionally. Taking a scriptural and biblical and Theological thought that God is and was and always will be insane. Oh, no, it's not God. It's the cause MO. It's always existed. It's all that exist and it's all that will ever exist. And he he taught at Harvard. He taught at Cornell he work with NASA though. He said it and it was on PBS. It's got to be true.
Today one of the leading. Scientists and they call themselves. The new atheists is a guy named Richard Dawkins. He wrote wrote The Selfish Gene. Huey wrote the book The Blind watchmaker.
arguing against creation from design his latest book The God Delusion was a international bestseller sold millions and millions of copies. Richard. He's a he's an avid atheist and Evangelistic atheist. It's funny. He used to debate. Christensen and other DS other believers and creation and and he didn't always do so well in those debates and so I stopped doing those debates because and this is his his his ideology says, I don't want to give them any credibility or any platform.
This is his. The universe. We observe. Has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at bottom no design. No purpose. No evil. No good Nothing But Blind pitiless indifference.
Understand this this is his absolute belief. This is what the academy are University Systems by and large are teaching unquestioned. A world view of scientific materialism that says the cosmos is all that exists. We proven this by scientist. We have these leading best selling authors making TV shows and writing books and holding conferences and doing all Saints. We know this.
Where does this come from? It's the cultural fruit of of movements of the have been developing for a couple of hundred year. There was a british-born American scientist named John William Draper. He was a very very significant photographer Hit The Cutting Edge of Photography when it was first being developed in the late 1800s called. It was called the history of the conflict between religion and science. It became a best-seller at the time. It was used as a textbook in hundreds of University. And this this is the essence of his argument. He says the history of science. Is not a mere record of isolated discovery. Science come up with a hypothesis. I test it. I look at it. I evaluate it. I either prove or disprove my hypothesis. I move on to another hypothesis. When I do I make the strawberries will yeah that's science with science has something more than that.
He said that it is a narrative. Of the conflict of two contending power. I would say to contending worldviews. He writes the expansive force of the human intellect on one side and the compression arising from traditionary faith and human interest on the other about framing the debate to your own Advantage science and religion over here is science. So it's the expansive force of human intellect. Don't we know it all of its expansive? It's free, but on the other side o religion, what's the compression? The repression the holding us back in the Dark Ages science Freedom religion bondage.
That's where we find ourselves.
Break, my heart is not that we find ourselves in this world. Jesus said in this world. You have trouble take heart. I got it. Overcome the world Jesus didn't tell us we were going to be applauded and thrown parades and love Jesus said if the world hates you remember it hated me first you no longer belong to the world some stranger's you're in the world that you're not of it will take me the way to my heart is the response of the church, especially in the last 50 or 60 years. We've retreated in fear. we've isolated and we've come for my we adopted a form of syncretism. I think it's his name is when you take two different beliefs and try to merge them together into something compatible. I think we've done it off and we think of syncretism in terms of religion. We want to try to think of it. But really you can syncretize worldview. We've taken a worldview. I believe in Jesus. I believe he is our Lord and savior Iva, I believe in the scriptures and I I believe in science because it's all around us and and I'm a part of this will be so I'm here and I'm here I'm here until we try to create this kind of syncretistic sort of thing where I'm going to keep my belief in Jesus quiet and private eyes. I'm going to try to avoid any type of scientific engagement mini in the church do science as something to be avoided something that's almost. They're the enemy.
Search up you hear anything. I say this morning to you. This science is not the enemy of faith. He's not ashamed or scared of Science in any way shape or form and neither. Should we be as his people? What we discover and see in science is only going to point us back to God. That's been true from the beginning of the scientific enlightenment.
There was a season. Well that wasn't necessarily to season. Where materialism grew so let me let me let me let me just talk for a minute about what materialism is.
materialism Is a philosophical idea? Grab that. It's a philosophical idea. That's all it is. That the material world is all it is. That's Cosmos is all it was all it ever will be. Materialism is a philosophical idea of belief that reality is just matter colliding with matter may be obeying physical laws. Everything has to be explained in terms of matter.
No by itself materialism is just another philosophy. The challenge today is that the philosophy of materialism has been merged with science. Once you merge materialism with science and and most in our culture today think they're the same thing. How did to science you have to be a materialist? Absolutely, not true.
The belief that the material world is all there is is not necessary to do science. Science all you have to do is believe that the material world is but you don't have to believe that it's all there is. The challenge is brilliant. side of the materialist Is it they merge science itself with a particular philosophy? Science science is simply comes from a word that means wisdom or knowledge. It's the earliest scientist most. If not, all of them were Christian believers who are looking to discover the book of God's creation. They had the Book of Revelation the scriptures and they had the book of God's creation.
They weren't materialist, but they were the first scientist. The first thing you gotta understand is that science does not equal materialism. Even though everybody in our world today will try to tell you that it does. Materialism is simply a philosophical idea. So we have to ask ourselves. A question is materialism reasonable. My training is in history philosophy and then Theology and I can tell you that materialism as a philosophy. Has been laughed at by philosophers for at least 30 years problem is nobody told Oprah and Bill Nye.
Materialism materialism as a philosophy is rationally incoherent. It is self-contradictory.
The scientific materialist wants to say but only the things that you can taste touch feel measure do experiments only those things actually matter only those things exist. So in other words, the only things that exist are things open to our sense impression. Think about that for a second. scientific materialism as a worldview
worldviews are immaterial.
US Bank building materialism, he is a worldview. What do they say? The only thing that exists our material will worldviews are immaterial. Hey with me just that alone should give you pause and go. How do you say that? Everything that exists is material. When you're basing it on something as immaterial as a thought. You can push it farther math and physics the natural laws that every materialist loves and believes in Him material reality. Read about how his parents that is materialism matter is all that is natural laws and you like what what's a natural off? What's the mathematical principle that defines how these things happen show it to me. I can't show it to you. So it's not Material know it's not material, but I thought you just said that the only things that exist a material. Yep. That's what we believe.
And we're scared of that. We've been intimidated out of the dialogue by that.
The Logical conclusions of materialism are horrific Absolutely horrific if all that exists. Is material not not just matter but subatomic cells and photons and protons if that's all that exist. There is no meaning in life. There is no value Consciousness doesn't exist. Love doesn't exist value doesn't exist. Good doesn't exist evil doesn't exist. If you take materialism on its face everything inside of you will scream. That's not true.
Cuz I exist outside of just my body. consciousness If you read some very consistent materialist, they will say that the self as we imagined. It doesn't exist. They'll say that your Consciousness yourself isn't real. It's simply chemical reactions taking place in your brain. So what you have is sells writing books trying to convince other selves, but neither of them exist.
Who wants to buy that book?
you guys
the very few people very few materialist. Are brave enough to own the consequences of it? Brave enough to say here's what I believe. I don't believe in God, I believe that we're here through random processes and those random processes are so genuinely random that life has no meaning whatsoever. Butcher millions of people that is not evil. It could be evil in some people's mind. But I know objectively that there's no such thing as evil has no meaning the love that I have for my kids or my spouse or my parents or whatever. That's just chemicals. There's no such thing as the kind of love that Transcendence love. It doesn't exist. Very few. People are gearing up to say that why because most people in their guts, With no, that's simply not true.
We've been afraid. of a philosophy realistic philosophy that is in and of itself incoherent and unsustainable.
So what what is it that word of belief? biblical theistic cosmology I didn't say creationist cosmology because we start talking about creationist. people's minds tend to jump to a younger the literal seven days some of that source of a Biblical theistic We Believe that God created a Biblical theistic cosmology asserts that we exist in an ordered intentional relational and functional environment when you look at the environment, what do you actually see?
Richard Dawkins says well when I look at the environment, I just see Randomness. I just see coincidence. I see nothingness.
But when I look in when the leading scientists in our world today, look at the world, do they see that? Or do they see something radically different search. They see something radically different we see order. We see intelligence. We see planning. We see information proceeding matter. We see all sorts of amazing things in science that don't point to randomness. the point to intentionally
the end of this song of creation Genesis 2 says that's the heavens and the Earth were finished.
And on the seventh day God finished his work and he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed it the 7th and made it. Holy because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. I mentioned last week and we're going to jump into this more next week that this is a temple narrative. It's showing that God made the cosmos God made creation to be his dwelling place with people. God didn't make the Earth for people and he was going to hang out in heaven. God made the heavens and the Earth to exist together. All of creation was made to function for us and for God in Harmony. And unity. We were made and created to be a part of God's family apart of God's Kingdom.
The Genesis chapter 2 says there's order there's intention. There's relationship. There's value there's meaning there's purpose. This world exists not just for us to use the way that we want but for us to enjoy whiskey with the Creator.
We got to ask ourselves this morning is theism reasonable. Is the the belief that idea? But there is a Creator behind creation. Is that a reasonable? Delete all my life? I've been told no. Most of your life you've been told no not reasonable not rational. It's anti-science. It's antilogic. To believe in a Creator is to be a fool Aruba.
Some Backwoods person that's burying your head because you can't handle the truth.
1966, you were alive. My remember Time Magazine ran a cover story on the front of Time Magazine Is God dead.
Basis of that story science has advanced to the point that we no longer need the god hypothesis science provides all the answers that we will ever need only somebody that doesn't believe in science could have the audacity and the stupidity to believe in God.
everybody went
the story doesn't end there. 1966 France was beginning to explode in a whole variety of area. The senior 1966 Carl Sagan using his understanding of cosmology of the universe decided that there were two principal factors. Planet needs to sustain life is certain kind of star and you needed a planet to be a certain distance from that star. He wrote articles. He was interviewed. He produced all sorts of stuff that said listen. All you need for life is a certain kind of star and a planet that is a certain distance from it. Now. They believed at the time that there was roughly 1 octillion Stars. That's one with 27 zeros. Okay, you can't think that high. 12070 Killian stars and and Batmans that there was roughly one septillion that's one followed by 24 zeros planets that would match those two criteria. In 1966 that made sense. All you need is a certain kind of star and a certain kind of plant it in that distant, but we know that there's an octillion Stars we know that there's a civilian planets that meet that category. What's the natural conclusion? There's probably life out there.
In fact, the odds are are deeply in the favor that there's life out there that we're not alone. He was born right search for the government poured millions and billions of dollars where to find them. All you need at least two things, right? Here's the problem with this. You need a lot more than two things for life to arrive a lot more. Few years later. They knew of five things a few years later. They knew 10 things a few years later than 250 think today. We know of over 200 variables that are required in order for Life chemical biological life to develop and grow.
What happened is that the odds dramatically changed when you've got two factors and this many planets and this many sons. You got a certain amount of odds when you go out for two factors. And if any one of them is violated. You're not going to have lice. What do you think happened to All Odds? La started the job and drop and drop The late 80s early 90s, they hit 0. The odds were at 0 that we kept finding more factors the odds drop way way below zero.
Scientifically mathematically rationally the chance of Life developing in this universe is impossible. The odds are absolutely against it.
Hertz the materialists defense was well. In infinity and Eternity it's bound to happen. The chance that's the way chance works you get it unlimited time, right if I say I'm going to flip a coin and I'm going to get heads 10 times in a row. You like probably not.
But in my lifetime I can probably do it. If I told you I'm going to flip a coin and I'm going to get 10 when I get head 10,000 times in a row you like not in your lifetime pretty young eventually eventually chance will make it happen.
Until the Big Bang was proven scientifically mathematically and say all literal creationist. The big Banks not true is to be feared just take it at the scientific face value for a second because the Big Bang is not our enemy. It's materialism Ben Ami Edward Hubble amazing science has always known for is his telescope feel bad for the guy. amazing scientists telescopes He discovered something called the red shift as he's studying the cosmos and planets and stars in Milky Way's and galaxies and he's looking at all this stuff. He notices that there's movement and notices that movement is that a constant state he notices and and develops and he and many other scientists develop an understanding that the universe is expanding at a constant speed.
So what so everything if the universe is expanding at a constant speed you can do the math and reverse it. And you bring everything back together? Back together back together and back together and back together. And you get back to a point in time when everything comes all matter all energy all space comes back into one small tiny point that becomes absolutely nothing.
In other words the Big Bang mathematically prove that something came from nothing.
What a big bang first got floated. You know who hated it. Define materialist. It was called the big bang by a scientist named coil who hated it. It was pejorative that was dismissive this big thing, but I can't be true because he believed in a steady-state an eternal universe and if the universe had a beginning in time And most scientists agree today that somewhere between 13 and 16 billion years ago. Well now the argument that chance can create everything is out the window.
Do you understand? If you can't eternity maybe you can just make the argument. We just happen to exist flip that coin enough times. It's going to happen. We don't have the time to flip that coin enough time.
Amazing what we've discovered I think about. what we discovered about life in the universe and said it's
It is the call it a goat goldilock Zone. It's fine tune for life. It's not too hot. Not too cold. It's just right. Those variables for life, they all exist on a razor line. Give you a couple examples. So we not just talkin theoretical the size of the Earth the size of it that we know the size of an object the mass of it will determine its gravity. So if the Earth was just a little bit bigger. What would happen? What we have more gravity. and with more gravity methane and ammonia, which have a molecular weight of 16 and 17 would not Escape into the outer atmosphere. They be trapped in the atmosphere and no life happens with methane and ammonia in the mix. If our planet just a little bit bigger a little bit more masks. We're not breathing anyting.
It's a little bit smaller. Water vapor which has a molecular weight of 18 would Escape it wouldn't stay 18. No life you go to this side no life. You're exactly the size that we are life. How about the rotation of the planet? You know we spent right. We spend so we get certain amount of daylight certain amount of night time certain amount of daylight certain amount night time what happens if you spin it just a little bit faster. You spin it a little bit faster. You would have winds on this planet at a conservative estimate of 800 to 1000 miles per hour.
800 Jupiter has a thousand mile per hour winds cuz it's been so fast. You think any sort of structure and someone's of life in develop in an environment of 800 mile an hour winds?
What happens if it spins a little bit slower just a little bit slower? the heat temperature fluctuation of it
would freeze out all of life. Is 2/200 factors that have to be absolutely finely-tuned for life to exist? What we seen in the last 20 years. is atheistic an agnostic scientists after scientists look at the evidence and say the evidence science is pointing towards a designer a tuner a Creator more than it's pointing to anything else. It doesn't prove a Creator in the sense of absolute crew.
It's points in the direction if you study the science if you read The Witches, you actually look at not what the news says. What now, it's Time Magazine says not. What Neil Tyson DeGrasse and Bill Nye say?
You actually look at the science. theism reasonable Absolutely. But I think I can make a case and make a strong argument and David berlinski that agnostic Jewish philosopher and physicist has made the argument in his book The Devil's delusion that it takes more faith to believe in darwinian evolution and scientific materialism than it does to believe in theism. It's not that religion has faith and science has facts. They both have faith and the question is which one's more reasonable. This scientific evidence says it's actually more reasonable than materialism. You're not going to hear that. In our universities, you're not going to hear that in our media, but if you actually look at the science. That is what you'll find.
Self-proclaimed agnostic and famous physicist named Robert. Jastrow And he said it this way.
He says for the scientist. Who has lived by faith in the power of reason? The story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance. He is about to conquer the highest paint and as he pulls himself over the final Rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there or century.
Since we got to wake up we don't have to be afraid creation is Amazing Creation is beautiful science is not to be feared. We need to be encouraging and steering our children to study science so that they can discover more about who God is the more about the world that he's created. We got to stop retreating. We have to stop being afraid it is everybody going to love that. Are you going to be received with open arms, of course not Stop expecting following Jesus to be easy and this will make sense.
Let me close with this song.
David the shepherd imagine him night after night hanging out with a bunch of dumb sheep
Laying out watching the Stars no light pollution. Looking at creation. marveling wondering processing meditating pray David that poet warrior king writes this he says oh Lord our Lord. How Majestic is your name in all the Earth You have set your glory above the heavens when I see the glory of the heavens when I see the glory of creation. David is moved to say that whoever made this. Is unbelievably amazing.
Does out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the Avenger.
When I look at your heaven. The work of your fingers the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. What is man that you are mindful of him? And the son of man that you care for him? You've made him a little lower than the Heavenly beings and crown him with Glory and Honor you have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field the birds of the heavens the fish in the sea, whatever passes along the past of the sea sound like genesis 1:2 here. David looking at creation. He's remembering Genesis chapter 1 he's gone. I can't believe that you made this. I can't you believe that you made me in this world invited me to share the menu with that can't believe how amazing this.
Oh Lord, our Lord. How Majestic is your name in all the air
our God is an infinitely beautiful creator. and when we study his creation and that's all that science is science is the study of material world. material processes when we study the creation of God We discover the glory and beauty of God and it should do two things one. It should produce humility within us. A sense of smallness a sense of wonder a sense of excitement. I can't believe I get to be in this creation. and a sense of awe
offense of the power and the scope of God's Majesty David barely understood anything about that. Nice guy. He was looking at you barely understood anything compared to what we know. He thought the world was the universe was much smaller than what we know it to be if David was awestruck by what he knew the fact that we now know how many billions and trillions and trillions of galaxies and stars and planets that have giant creationists now master that is how old it is and how fine-tune it is. Should we praise God any less?
Now we should praise him even more. We know we serve we are loved and we love an awesome powerful Creator God who is made a world to function for us and for him together. Amen.