WHY I KNOW GOD EXISTS ¡ ¡ JoLynn Gower 493-6151 jgower@guardingthetruth.org 1 ¡
VERSE FOR THE JOURNEY • Colossians 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. • Hebrews 1:1-3 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature , and upholds all things by the word of His power. There is no doubt that a parallel exists between the big bang as an event and the Christian notion of creation from nothing. George Smoot 2 ¡
THE BIG BANG THEORY The Big Bang Theory is the leading scientific • explanation about how the universe began. It describes the universe as we know it starting with a small singularity , then inflating over the next 13.8 billion years to the cosmos that we are learning about now. Astronomers can see the "echo" of the expansion through • a phenomenon known as the cosmic microwave background. In the first second after the universe began, the • surrounding temperature was about 10 billion degrees Fahrenheit according to NASA. The cosmos contained a vast array of fundamental • particles such as neutrons, electrons and protons which decayed or combined as the universe got cooler. 3 ¡
FURTHER DISCUSSION • This early soup would have been impossible to look at, because light could not carry inside of it. "The free electrons would have caused light (photons) to scatter the way sunlight scatters from the water droplets in clouds," NASA stated. Over time, however, the free electrons met up with nuclei and created neutral atoms. This allowed light to shine through about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. • Scientists call this early light the "afterglow" of the Big Bang but it is more properly known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB). • One of the most famous space-faring missions was NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which mapped the sky in the 1990s. George Smoot won the Nobel prize and the NASA medal of excellence for his work on COBE
NON-BIG BANG TRADITIONS • Intelligent Design/Creation Movement A. The earth is old; every day in Genesis isn’t 24 hours Most scientists who are also Christians B. The earth is young; every day in Genesis is 24 hours involves “flood geology” (7 th Day Adventists/Ellen White; Henry Morris; Ken Ham) *Earlier movement in 1600’s from John Ussher and J. B. Lightfoot: creation 10/18/4004 BC; Adam 10/23/4004 BC at 9:00 AM C. The earth is young but God created it to look as if it were old; fossils were created as fossils (Philip Gosse) *Young earth subset: we see starlight because God created the starlight in situ – appearing as if it had been traveling for a long time 5 ¡
PARALLELS IN THE BIG BANG?? • There was nothing; then there was “something” BANG! God created “ex nihilo” • The “something” began as a singularity in one place • At the “bang” light began • The first light wasn’t the same as the later light • The “something” started to expand • THE OBVIOUS QUESTIONS: Where did the singularity come from? Who told it to go “bang” and start expanding Why is there something rather than nothing? • The scientists who theorize the Big Bang admit that they cannot answer those sorts of questions 6 ¡
PROBLEMS WITH THE BIG BANG • Scientists who hold the Big Bang tend to also be evolutionists • But paleoanthropologists generally agree that there is a noticeable absent of fossils • Darwin acknowledged the fossil dearth; however, he thought it was from lack of looking for them • Many paleontologists now agree that the fossil record is sadly lacking • Genesis 1:11 Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so. kind: min: a specific sort of thing 7 ¡
A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE • The way that things are worded can cause people to believe things that aren’t true • Deception is a tool of the devil • Genesis 3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." • Deceived: nasha: completely deluded; believed a lie, either an intentional or unintentional one • Romans 7:11 …. for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. • Deceived: expatao: beguiled, seduced; • THE BIG RACE: Russia comes in second; US comes in next to last 8 ¡
THE REMARKABLE TURTLE • Encyclopedia Britannica on turtle evolution: “The evolution of the turtle is one of the most remarkable in the history of vertebrates. Unfortunately, the origin of this highly successful order is obscured by the lack of fossils, although turtles leave more and better fossil remains than do other vertebrates. By the middle of the Triassic Period (about 200,000,000 years ago) turtles were numerous and in possession of basic turtle characteristics. Intermediates between turtles and cotylosaurs, the primitive reptiles from which turtles probably sprang, are entire lacking.” (volume 26, page 750)” 1. Due to lack of fossils, no clue as to turtle origin 2. When it first appeared, a turtle looked like a turtle 3. It leaves more and better fossils than other vertebrates and there are no intermediate forms 4. Its structure hasn’t changed since it 9 ¡ appeared
KEEP FOCUS • 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. • Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. • Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. • John 1:14-15 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 10 ¡
THE GOD DELUSION • Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist from Oxford • “The evidence is so strong that nay sane, educated person has got to believe in evolution. It is absolutely safe to say that, if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid, or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that)” • Physics: Newton, Faraday, Maxwell, Kelvin • Chemistry: Boyle, Dalton, Pascal, Ramsay • Biology: Ray, Linnaeus, Mendel, Pasteur • Geology: Steno, Woodward, Brewster, Agassiz • Astronomy: Kepler, Galileo, Herschel, Maunder 11 ¡
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