And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (Exodus 3:14)
When someone asks, “What solid proof exists that there is a God who created everything?” that really is a foolish question. In order to “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit” (Proverbs 26:5), one must respond with a similar question: “What solid evidence is there that everything resulted from the Big Bang?” The God denier will attempt to make a case for the Big Bang by citing scientific consensus, but if pressed hard enough, he will have to concede that there is no “solid evidence” for the Big Bang. Hopefully, that should level the playing field.
Neither divine creation, nor the Big Bang can be proven with “solid” evidence because there was no one around to witness either one. So, we have to start with what we can observe. That is what true science is all about anyway – making observations, predictions and experiments. We cannot observe what is in the past, therefore we cannot make predictions about it because we are living the results of the past, and we cannot perform experiments to produce similar results. So, neither creation nor the Big Bang can be proven scientifically.
We are left with only what we can see today. The science that we use today is empirical science, and it is responsible for our advances in technology and medicine, but it does not tell us anything about the past. What one believes about origins has absolutely nothing to do with how one conducts empirical science. A medical doctor can be an excellent neurosurgeon regardless of whether he is an evolutionist or a creationist. Take Dr. Benjamin Carson, for example. He is a creationist, but that has not prevented him from being one of the foremost pediatric neurosurgeons in the world. (See article by ICR: http://www.icr.org/article/benjamin-carson-pediatric-neurosurgeon-with-gifted/)
The discussion of origins, then, falls into the realm of philosophy (from the Greek meaning “the love of wisdom” or “knowledge”) or theology (i.e., the study of God). Dealing in that realm involves looking at the available evidence, like the human genome, the fossil record, archeological records, ancient historical records, the Bible, etc. The investigator must then interpret the evidence and make a determination about what it reveals. This is called forensic science, and it is very subjective depending on the investigator’s presuppositions. If the investigator is an evolutionist and believes the earth is 4.5 Billion years old, he will interpret the evidence one way. If the investigator is a creationist, he will interpret the evidence another way.
So, what does this say about God? Well, the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) does a lot of scientific research on matters touching the Bible. ICR has highly qualified Ph.Ds. in micro-biology, physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and geology. ICR’s research has disproven evolution in the fields of biology, geology and cosmology. All their findings are published on their website and can be searched at http://www.icr.org/home/search/.
So, if we have disproven the Big Bang and evolution – order out of chaos – then what is left? Everything we observe in our universe shows signs of “design.” Everything that exists is designed with a purpose. So what does design require? It requires a designer. And what does a designer require? A designer requires intelligence! Scientists have only probed the surface of the intelligence contained in DNA. DNA in a human being is the specific instructions that make you unique to every other human being in the world or that has ever lived. But writing the programming code that makes you YOU, requires intelligence.
When someone writes an email to me, I naturally assume that it was thought out and written by an intelligent human being. It never occurs to me that some disturbance in the cosmos – a solar flare or a super nova – assembled thousands of ones and zeroes in the internet cloud in the correct order to produce intelligent communication directed specifically to me in the form of an email. That is just as ridiculous as believing that all the design and order we observe in our universe was some random, mindless accident caused by an inexplicable Big Bang.
There is intelligence – super intelligence – behind all that we see and experience. For those who reject the idea of a supreme being – i.e. God – they have to attribute the design to some other intelligence, i.e., ancient aliens, or the seed of life arriving to this planet on an asteroid, or something like that. But then, if you follow that line of reasoning, where did they get their intelligence, and on and on ad infinitum? There is no satisfactory answer in that! So, now what?
The Bible says, “In the beginning, God …” (Genesis 1:1). When Moses asked God for His name, He said “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). In other words, what God was saying is that He is the “Ever-Existent-One.” He has always existed, even before time began. He has no beginning and no end. When you think of it logically, that is the only thing that really makes sense. You understand by experience that any created thing is always subordinate to its creator. Just think about that for a moment. Can you name anything created by man that is greater than man? Even the world’s greatest super computer is not greater than man, and it is subject to its designer and programmer. It cannot even begin to compare to its creator.
So, whatever or whoever got the cosmos going of necessity must be greater than all that exists. God says, “That is Me.” You can reject that, if you wish, but you would be hard pressed to prove it false because His creation is hard to refute. The Bible says that, “that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:19-20, emphasis added). God’s creation proves that God exists. Furthermore, the Bible says that every human being has this knowledge deep within the core of their very being. Perhaps that is why the question of God comes up in the first place. Something inside every person tells them that God really does exist, but there exists another part that wants to suppress that knowledge, therefore they want “proof.” Everyone already has all the proof they need, and “they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). One just needs to move forward with the little knowledge of God that He has given. No one really needs “proof” of God.
The ICR has not disproven anything. The Texas Board of Higher Edecution says that what is taught in ICR programs is not science or science education. Their website doesn’t even list any of their faculty who you say have “highly qualified Ph.Ds. in micro-biology, physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and geology.”
Thank you for your comment. I think you have just proven my point. The Texas Board of Higher Education has a strong evolutionary bias; therefore they cannot allow for any opposing view. As for ICR’s faculty, you can check out their credentials at http://www.icr.org/scientists.
It’s not just the Texas Board of Higher Education that likes evolution, it’s pretty much every biologist worth his/her salt the world over. There may be a few people with PhDs working at the ICR, but nowhere is it written that everyone with letters after their name is always right about everything.
Thank you for your comment. If it’s okay with you, I would like to give a big AMEN to your statement that “nowhere is it written that everyone with letters after their name is always right about everything.” That is precisely why one needs to be careful not to follow the consensus majority and believe what they say just because they say so. If I may loosely paraphrase the words of Jesus, He said that the vast majority is following the road to hell. Only a very small minority find the “Narrow Way” (Matthew 7:13-14). So it does not surprise me that “most” scientists believe in evolution. These are they that “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22).
I don’t think that people believe in evolution because they’re ‘vain’ and deliberately set out to reject God. After all, there are probably millions of Christians in the world who believe in evolution as well and see no contradiction with their faith.
You may not believe in evolution, but it’s very hard to see it as a kind of anti-Christian story told by people who’re actively looking for ways to reject God.
Thank you, but I will not fight your straw man. There was nothing in my post that accused anyone of vanity or presenting an anti-Christian story by people who are actively looking to reject God. But to the point, any attempt to promote evolution over creation, even by so-called Christians, is an affront to the character of God portrayed in the Bible. If God used evolution to create, that makes Him less than omniscient and omnipotent, and therefore not the God of the Bible. Either God can do what He said He did, or He cannot. If He cannot, then He is not God. And if He is not God, then why are you wasting your time with this discussion?
Because I’m fascinated about what makes believers tick, and I’ve always loved a good debate.
“any attempt to promote evolution over creation, even by so-called Christians, is an affront to the character of God portrayed in the Bible.” I would venture that there are many ‘actual’ rather than ‘so-called’ Christians who’re quite happy with the idea of evolution.
Love that you used Proverbs 26:5, it’s relevent when talking to many non-believers.
Good post also.