Posted by deangonzales on April 8, 2009
Recently, colleges and universities around the country celebrated the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. Not everyone in America finds Darwin’s birth an occasion for celebration. Throughout Western history, most people accepted Biblical creationism—until Darwin introduced his theories. The rapid advance of evolutionary theory has now relegated creationism to the realms of faith and superstition. It must remain there, because if creationism were true, evolutionists would be forced to face their greatest fear.
Evolution is an intimidating theory. It dominates the world’s scientists who marshal swarms of weighty facts and powerful assertions in its support. It has filtered down into common knowledge by means of classroom instruction, books, documentaries, TV shows, and casual conversations. It is ubiquitous and unchallenged by all but those who believe in creation. However, the massive heft of evolutionary theory depends upon one simple presupposition: the God-option must be excluded from the discussion at all costs. For evolution to be true, the God-option must be shoved off the table.
The God-option is excluded by a simple tactic—limit the discussion to the exclusive realm of science. Science has defined itself as distinct from religion. The God-option is inherently religious, so its proponents do not have a seat at the science table. Intelligent God-option arguments are irrelevant and will never change the course of the discussion, because the God-option does not belong in the discussion. As experts huddle themselves around the table to decide the origin of all things, they come to a consensus by tightening the huddle. No matter how loudly we object, we will be ignored. The God-option is not, under any circumstances, a legitimate option.
If the God-option is excluded, what can the evolutionists conclude? They must propose that life originated through natural processes. They have no choice. They have limited themselves by means of their own self-definition. They must therefore marshal their arguments as powerfully as their limitations allow. The full weight of their expertise, education, experience, and intellect is thrust behind the only conclusion they can possibly derive.
As long as creationists fail to recognize this simple ploy, evolution will continue to intimidate and claim the faith of many who give in to its weight. Evolutionists will continue to assert their exclusive distinction between religion and science and by that means will appear to dominate the discussion. The illusion of domination will sustain them in spite of one nagging possibility: the Bible’s explanation of how everything began might indeed be true. If God created everything, science and religion cannot be separated. If God created everything, no fact of science is outside the scope of His domain. If He created everything, no fact of science truly proves evolution. Christian philosopher Cornelius Van Til said, “There are not because there cannot be other facts than God-interpreted facts.” God’s creation cannot undermine itself. He has not unwittingly proved Himself wrong by means of science. Instead, scientists have pushed God out of the picture and limited themselves to their wild imaginations. As a result, they have no choice but to desperately cling to their conclusions. If they do not, they must face what they fear most—the God who made them.
Rev. Dennis E. Bills, M.A., M.Ed.
Pastor of Winifrede Presbyterian Church in Winifrede, West Virginia
dbills@adoniram.net
Posted by deangonzales on March 11, 2009
Modern man is making huge strides in understanding and subduing the world in which he lives. In the 20th century, he managed to unlock the incredible energy contained in minuscule particles called atoms. Now, in the 21st century, he has accomplished the reverse. He has taken the infinite and almighty Creator of the universe and reduced him to a mass of neurons in the human brain. Astounding!
Fox News reporter Jeremy Hsu recently reported this breakthrough in an article entitled, “Scientists Locate ‘God Spot’ in Human Brain” on Foxnews.com. The brief article summarizes the findings of a recent study that was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study employed the technology of an fMRI to scan the human brain and detect neural activity while participants (both believers and non-believers) responded to statements reflecting various propositions related to God and religious beliefs.
According to one of the researchers, neuroscientist Jordan Grafman, the findings that there is more than just a single “God spot” in the brain. There are actually several parts of the brain that “light up” when Christian doctrine is processed. Furthermore, Grafman thinks the study shows that “religion is not a special case of a belief system but evolved along with other belief and social cognitive abilities.” He is hopeful that future studies will analyze neural responses to religions other than Christianity “to see if they also activate the same brain areas.” This may enable researchers to determine, says Grafman, “why those brain areas evolved in humans.”
These findings raise important questions for the Bible-believing Christian. Do these “God-neurons” distinguish humans from non-human species? In other words, if we asked a chicken what he thought of, say, “eternal punishment,” would his chicken brain give off similar signals? More importantly, do the presence of these specialized neurons or religious neural reactions in the human brain account for the true origin of the God of the Bible? That is, is this “God-thing” all in our heads?
Well, I suppose we’ll have to await further research on animals to see if they possess anything remotely analogous to our “God spot” in the brain. I suspect that the neural activity of earthworms, squid, humming birds, dogs, and even chimpanzees will manifest a markedly different behavior than that observed in humans when the former are subjected to the battery of doctrinal questions about deity.
The question of whether God’s just in our heads—now that’s a tough one. Perhaps scientists might design a similar experiment that could test that hypothesis. They could, for example, subject survivors of the German Holocaust or their descendants to a series of questions about Adolf Hitler and the gas chambers of the Auschwitz concentration camp. If the fMRI bran scans revealed noticeable neural activity in the brains of the participants, especially in regions of the brain connected with ethical evaluation and emotional reaction, the findings could be momentous. It might turn out that a certain ethnic strain of homo sapiens developed a “Hitler Spot” in the brain (maybe as the outworking of a primitive defense mechanism). And if this were the case, we could assure that minority of the human race that it’s all in their heads. Hitler and the Holocaust, like God, never existed. History could be rewritten and the Bible discarded. Medicine could be developed to calm those misfiring neurons or surgical techniques employed to remove them. And John Lennon’s dream would come true: no heaven, no hell, no God!
But then again, we might be approaching the evidence from the wrong end. Perhaps excited neurons in the brain of a Holocaust survivor indicate a physical response to some objective reality. Maybe there really was a fascist dictator who systematically murdered countless thousands of Jews. And if that’s the case, could it be that the similar and varied neural responses to religious questions observed in the brains of believers and “unbelievers” also reveal an objective reality? Could it be that the apostle Paul had it right after all when he claimed that God has revealed himself to the minds of all human beings so that those who reject him are without excuse (Romans 1:18-32)?
Such a conclusion probably wouldn’t make Fox News. After all, it would embarrass modern scientists like Dr. Grafman and make them look like fools (see Psalm 14:1). But Paul’s doctrine might account for those “God spots” in the human brain. If so, you might ask yourself whether your neurons are “suppressing the truth” about God that you’ve been preprogrammed to know (Romans 1:18-32) or whether your neurons are functioning like they were created to function: “for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Posted by deangonzales on December 13, 2008
The word atheism comes from a Greek word meaning “without god.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, atheism is “disbelief in or denial of the existence of God.” To borrow the language of Scripture, the atheist’s creed can be summarized in the four words: “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1b). But the Bible does not merely state the atheist’s creed. It also provides us with an assessment of that creed. Such a creed, according to Scripture, is the creed of fools: “the fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” The “fool” envisioned here is not necessarily a man with a low IQ. Rather, he is one who lacks sound judgment. He’s like a man who removes the gas cap from his car and holds a lighted match to the spout to determine whether there’s any gasoline in the tank. Similarly, the atheist is a man who lacks good sense. This is, of course, not my private opinion. The Scripture declares that atheism is absurd. It is a foolish viewpoint and lifestyle for the following reasons:
I. Atheism Denies the Facts of Reality
The entire creation manifests the existence of the one true God.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1, ESV).
For [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So [sinful humans] are without excuse (Romans 1:20, ESV).
It’s as if the mountains and stars and trees and animals and people we see have a big label that says, “Made in Heaven.” Consider the complexity of the modern computer. How did the computer come into being? As you and I watch what a computer can do on the screen and as we look at the chips and motherboards and wiring carefully configured in the case, we would never in a million years conclude that it all came together by accident. Rather, we would rightly assume an intelligent designer(s).
Isn’t it only logical to conclude the same about mankind? The human genetic code is a million times more complex than any computer chip. Should it not be obvious that we were created by intelligent design? And yet, those who deny God tells us that it all came about by accident and evolution. It was as if someone took a wheel-barrel full of assorted computer components, dumped them into a wash machine or dryer, turned it on, let it spin for, say, several million years, and, finally, out came an Apple MacBook Pro! You say, “That’s absurd.” That’s my point. To deny God is to deny reality.[1]
II. Atheism Destroys the Basis for Morality
“Reality” refers to what is. “Morality” refers to what should be. Even the most openly avowed atheist believes that there are things people should or should not do. When someone steals his wallet or sleeps with his wife or cheats him on a business transaction, even the atheist is ready to declare, “Crime,” “Wrong,” “Immoral.” But if one denies the existence of a Holy God who has revealed his Law as a standard for moral behavior and who will hold men accountable some day for their behavior, then that person has denied any basis for morality. Such a person no longer has any right to make moral judgments about theft or adultery or fraud or even terrible crimes, such as Hitler’s extermination of the Jews!
Some may retort, “We don’t need the Bible. Society or culture determines what right or wrong.” That’s what Hitler said. And much of Germany’s society and culture at the time of the Holocaust found a way to justify Hitler’s actions. Others may argue, “Morality is based on whatever preserves life.” But why should morality be based upon the preservation of life? What about survival of the fittest? Isn’t that why Hitler sought to exterminate the Jews—to preserve the superior Arian race? Still others may say that morality is whatever makes a person happy—“Whatever floats your boat is right.” But there are some people who seem to find great joy in harming others. They like to take real guns to real high schools and take the “virtual” out of the video game. On the basis of “Whatever floats your boat,” how can we condemn them? Do you see the absurdity? Once you and I say in our heart, “There is no God,” we destroy any real basis for morality.[2]
III. Atheism Demolishes any Hope of Immortality
To deny God is to demolish any hope one might have for salvation and eternal life. This is true from a purely logical point of view. To be without God is to be without hope (Eph. 2:12). To deny God is to deny the gospel of Christ, and to deny the gospel of Christ is to deny one’s only hope for salvation and eternal life (John 6:68). Why would anyone want to demolish his only hope? Atheists may pretend like they don’t care about eternal life, but Ecclesiastes 3:11 declares that God “has put eternity” in everyman’s heart. That’s why the atheist wants to avoid death. And yet, by rejecting God atheism rejects his only hope for life beyond the grave. The atheist is like a cancer patient who not only refuses to take the medicine offered to him by a doctor, but he takes it an flushes it down the toilet. He seeks to demolish his only hope of salvation.[3]
This is also true from a biblical point of view because, according to Scripture, God will judge those who deny Him. Psalm 53, a slightly modified version of Psalm 14, describes the fear of judgment with which atheists live:
There they [those who say in their heart, “There is no God,” v. 1] are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you [God’s servant]; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them (v. 5, ESV).
Some may remember that on August 27, 1995, Madalyn Murray O’Hair the famous atheist who lobbied to have prayer removed from the public schools mysteriously disappeared. Subsequently, in January 2001, police discovered the bones of O’Hair decomposing in a field in Texas. As it turns out, she had been murdered by one of her own atheist co-workers who cut her body into dozens of pieces with a saw.
God is not mocked. He will not leave the atheist unpunished.
Now do you see why it’s foolish to be an atheist? Atheism flies in the face of reality. It undermines the basis of morality. And it demolishes the only hope for immortality. What then should we do in light of the folly of atheism?
1. Let the unbeliever repent of this sin and believe in God.
You may be open about your unbelief. Or you may be a professing believer when in reality in your heart you deny God. The fact that you have no serious regard for God’s word and the fact that you love the world more than God’s people and the fact that you hardly pray or worship God at church all testify that the overall attitude of your heart is atheism. Perhaps you realize that now. What should you do? Don’t view your unbelief as a virtue. Don’t pride yourself on being a freethinker and “authentic.” Rather, see your unbelief as sin. Repent of that sin. Believe the gospel.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJ).
2. Let the professing Christian beware of this sin
There are still pockets of unbelief in our heart. Consequently, it’s possible for a Christian at times to think, and speak, and act, as if he were an atheist. Even King David who wrote Psalm 14 would have to testify to that fact in light of his fall into adultery with Bathsheba. We must beware. Husbands, we may be tempted to treat our wives as if there were no God. Children, you may be tempted to lie to your parents as if there were no God. Employee, you may be tempted to offer your employer shoddy work, as if there were no God. Church member, you may be tempted to attend church and spend your Lord’s Day as if there were no God. Heed the words of Hebrews 3:12-13:
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (ESV).
3. Let the child of God thank God for the precious gift of faith!
Some of us can still remember what it was like to live without God in the world. But then the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness commanded the light of the gospel to shine in our dark heart (2Cor. 4:6). By grace we were saved through faith and that faith did not originate with us but was “the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). Thank God for his saving grace! Never cease to be amazed with the glory of the gospel and the blessing of salvation.
Notes
[1] For more extended and sophisticated arguments for the existence of God on the basis of the inherent design of creation, see Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution (The Free Press, 1996); William Dembski, Intelligent Design: The Bridge between Science & Theology (Inter-Varsity, 2007); Phillip Johnson, Darwin on Trial, 2nd ed. (Inter-Varsity, 1993). Let me also recommend an excellent post by my friend Dennis Bills entitled, “What Evolutionists Fear Most.”
[2] For a fuller development of the moral argument for the existence of God, see John Frame, Apologetics to the Glory of God (Presbyterian & Reformed, 1994), 93-102.
[3] This argument is analogous (though on a much simpler level) to Blaize Pascal’s “wager” in his famous Pensees. Peter Kreeft provides a positve assessment and appraisal of the wager as an argument for God’s existence: http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm
