INTRODUCTION 1 9/24/2019 Why Are We Here? Why did you sign up for - PDF document

9/24/2019 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 INTRODUCTION 1

9/24/2019 Why Are We Here? Why did you sign up for this class? Goals of This Class • Knowing: • Why science and faith seem conflicted • The feasibility of alignment between science and the faith (Bible) • Growing: • Recognizing similarities and differences of science and faith • Recognizing interpretations of science and faith (Bible) • Enjoying the glory of creation and worshiping its Creator • Out-Going: • Recognizing positive and negative expressions of science and faith • Not fearful of science; not ashamed of faith • Removing barriers others have against following Jesus • Have reasons for your faith 2

9/24/2019 You Will Not Learn (too much): • Physics • Nanotechnology • Cosmology • Philosophy • Chemistry • Theology • (Micro)Biology • History • Mathematics • Vocabulary • NO COLLEGE CREDIT • BUT YOU WILL BE EXPOSED TO A LOT OF IDEAS FROM THESE FIELDS… Homework Just kidding! 3

9/24/2019 Scope Narrowing • This class is an experiment – if successful, more can follow • Focus is primarily on scientific results regarding “origins” • The kind of things most often misinterpreted in the news, PBS, or YouTube • Not (too much) general apologetics • Assumption of a diverse group, so minimal “deep diving” Outline of the 3 Weeks • Week 1 • Introduction • Session A – What’s the Problem • Session B – Aligning: Creation of the Universe? • Q&A • Week 2 • Session A – Aligning: Formation of the Earth? • Session B – Aligning: Origin of Life • Q&A • Week 3 • Session A – Aligning: Creation of Man • Session B – Aligning: Destiny of Man • Q&A 4

9/24/2019 Incidentals • Who is Randy Goodall? • How the class will work • Resources: Reasons.org (Reasons to Believe) LukeNixBlog.blogspot.com (Faithful Thinkers) STR.org (Stand to Reason) ReasonableFaith.org (Reasonable Faith) GodAndScience.org (God and Science) FOR TONIGHT’S TOPIC: Google search “amazing astronomy pictures” and click on “Images” Nanochannel Physics in Drug Delivery Massively Parallel Array of “Molecular Hourglasses” NanoChan anne nel S l Silicon con Chip ip 6 mm 6 mm 3.5nm 3.5nm Speaker: Randy Goodall, PhD – Cofounder and CTO of NanoMedical Systems, Inc. 10 5

9/24/2019 SESSION 1A “What’s the Problem?” M81 galaxy – similar to Milky Way ~100,000 light years across About 250 billion stars Hubble telescope image of deep space In this tiny spot in the sky (~1/16”) there are 10,000 galaxies  Universe has 1 billion+ galaxies 6

9/24/2019  Red/White blood cells ~25 trillion in you (6 µm) Molecules  Linkages of atoms (1 ~ 10 nm) Phage  100 nm Virus that infects bacteria 10 billion billion trillion on Earth (billions in you). “Barely alive”  Cross-section of a single human Proton (3 Quarks)  hair (120 µm) 40 million billion trillion in you What’s the Problem? • Science: 200 million man-years • Scientists & engineers have made a huge impact on people’s lives • We know and have access to more scientific information than at any time in man’s history • Almost all in the last 150 years • Bible: 100,000’s man-years • Archeologists, linguists, and theologians have made a huge impact on people’s faith • We have the most ancient, most accurate, most translated Bible in man’s history • Significant improvements in the last 50 years You want to accept all this as good (even “from God”), but what do you hear? Science is good and right; faith is bad and wrong! Faith is good and right; science is bad and wrong! 7

9/24/2019 Why This Course? Exposure to Ideas that Can Bring Peace 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 STARS IN VAST UNIVERSE ATOMS IN THIMBLE OF SAND Nearly every observational technology used in science is represented in a smart phone, including time warping (GPS). If we believe and trust that they actually work, how do we deny other scientific observations? “Tastes Great … Less Filling!” Challenge may be resolved by looking from above General Revelation  Special Revelation Nature Bible  These two “Books” are created by God  A Christian should expect they can be consistently read and interpreted together 8

9/24/2019 Reason • Imago Dei – “Image of God” (more in week 3) • Interpretive views: Resemblance, Relational, Representative • Special attributes of humans: • Bible: moral, spiritual, relational, rational • Science: symbolism, open-ended generative capacity, theory of mind, complex social networks • All humans have this gift from God • But… “Perfect logic propagates assumptions” RATIONAL NEW ASSUMPTIONS THOUGHTS INSIGHTS Who Picked This Fight? • Utilitarianism & Materialistic Determinism • Evolved from 1500’s through late 1800’s – early 1900’s • Renaissance philosophers  beginnings of modern science • “We can do amazing things without invoking God or the miraculous” (leave Him out of it) • Darwinism (evolution) + Geology & Astronomy (long times) • Rise of Scientism • Disregard special revelation  Interpret science antagonistically to Bible • Shift of power within society • Christian Backlash • Bunker mentality within various segments of the Church • Disregard general revelation  Interpret Bible antagonistically to science • Shift of power within the Church Pride  Satan  Fallen Mankind Fear 9

9/24/2019 Couple of Historical Examples • Science right (Bible improperly interpreted) • Bible “says” the Earth is fixed and the sun, moon, and stars go around it • Galileo (b. 1564) showed that the Earth is in orbit around the sun • Condemned by the Catholic Church (but he was acquitted in 1992) • Bible right (Science improperly interpreted) • For 1000’s of years science assumed that universe was static, infinite, and eternal • Bible has always asserted that the universe had a beginning (by God) • Hubble showed (1929) that the universe was expanding  beginning Scientific Interpretation • General (or Natural) Revelation (can be learned by observation) • Science is an epistemological (knowledge) system • Must be continuously revised / improved • Discovers, describes, catalogs, models, predicts behavior of natural world • Science is ultimately observational and therefore constrained • Establishing the “raw data” of science is a rational (logical) process • Data is accumulated and validated • Should be generated using best technology and math available • Should be rationally interpreted in accordance with itself • Generally does not admit supernatural assumptions • Interpretation of science facts (data) is fallible 10

9/24/2019 Biblical Interpretation • Special (or Supernatural) Revelation (cannot be learned by observation*) • Bible is a set of God-inspired books written by many authors over millennia • We believe it is inerrant in its original manuscripts (which we do not have) • We believe it has been protected / preserved by God as His Word • Establishing the “raw data” of the Bible is a rational (logical) process • Copies of ancient manuscripts must be accumulated, assembled, and validated • Should be translated from best original texts • Should be rationally interpreted in accordance with itself • Generally admits supernatural assumptions • Interpretation of Bible facts (words) is fallible * Where it can be, it will be consistent with observation Considerations on Interpretation Science • Interpretation of science outside of its boundaries and data is not a scientific process • Requires not-necessarily scientific assumptions (test with reason and faith) • Not inerrant  demands continuous update and re-interpretation with new data • Truth of science is based on its explanatory/predictive power in nature (utilitarian value proposition) Bible • Interpretation of the Bible outside its boundaries and motifs is not a spiritual process • Requires not-necessarily Biblical assumptions (test with faith and reason) • Inerrancy • International Council on Biblical Inerrancy – “The Chicago Statements” • Truth of the Bible is not an issue of tradition or culture • Must consider motif (ex: poetic or apocryphal language, metaphors, etc.) • Multiple “literal” readings; not limited to solely what the author understood • Bible facts and natural facts will not conflict • Inerrancy is not a salvation condition • Interpreters should be led by the Spirit of God (humble and loving heart) • Truth of the Bible is established on internal/external consistency, its explanatory power in people’s lives, and our faith in its claims (spiritual value proposition) 11