Notes from video series: Good Science, Good Faith
(Reasons to Believe)

Session 1: The Transcendence of God
(Handout: “The Super Nature of God” - Sword and Spirit Ministries)

1. Relationship between science and theology

• Science and theology are not mutually exclusive
  
• Only Christianity invites testing
  

2. A creation event requires a Creator

• 1992 confirmation of the “Big Bang”
  
• all of time and matter were created (Ge 1:1)
  

3. An extra-dimensional universe

• 1995: existence of at least 11 space-time dimensions established
  

4. Our transcendant God

• only in Christianity does God operate outside of time
  
• Christianity is unique in its depiction of God’s extradimensional capabilities
  
• paradoxical Biblical doctrines can find possible explanation in a transcendant (extradimensional) God: free will vs predestination, the Trinity, the resurrection, God acting before the beginning of time (2 Ti 1:9, Titus 1:2)
  

1. Characteristics of the universe point to an intelligent designer

• At least 29 characteristics of the universe must be fine-tuned for life to exist
  
• At least 65 characteristics of the galaxy and solar system must be fine-tuned
  
• The precision of the fine-tuning of the universe characteristics is one part in 10^37
  
• The precision of the fine-tuning of the universe and solar system characteristics is one part in 10^79
  
• The maximum number of planets possible in the observable universe is 10^22
  
• Therefore, the odds of a life-bearing planet existing is one in 10^57 (statistically zero)
  

2. The character of the Creator

• For a being to go to such lengths to form life for us implies a personal, powerful, loving and intelligent Creator
  
• Skeptics suggest that perhaps there are an infinite number of universes that we cannot perceive, giving ours a chance to be the “lucky” one
  
• This is the “gamblers fallacy”; if someone flipped a coin a million times and it came up heads each time, we would not assume there were an infinite number of other, unperceivable coin flippers...we would know the coin flipping was designed (fixed) to come up heads all the time
  

3. Difference between simple sciences and complex sciences on creation vs. evolution debate

1. Problems with a naturalistic explanation for the origin of life

• Agnostic scholar Harold Morowitz estimated that “blind chance” would need 10^100000000 years to assemble the simplest living being; the age of the universe is only 15.5 billion years old
  
• non-bioactive contaminants: only 1/5 of amino acids are parts of living systems; nature has no way of separating the bioactive ones from the nonbioactive ones
  
• only left-handed amino acids can be used in life chemistry, right-handed ones are fifty percent, yet nature has no way of separating the left from the right
  
• destruction vs. construction: the second law of thermodynamics dictates that the universe becomes more disordered over over time; the decay rate of a proton is far shorter than the estimate 10^100000000 years for life to randomly form
  

2. Problems with the panspermia theory (extraterrestrial origin of life)

• organisms would have to travel great distances under harsh conditions, including intense radiation
  
• the criticisms of the spontaneous formation of life would still apply to wherever extraterrestrial life originated from
  

3. Other problems with the origin of life

• no one has been able to demonstrate how DNA, RNA and proteins simultaneously and spontaneously could have developed
  
• two of RNAs nucleotides can only be synthesized under freezing conditions, while the other two need boiling conditions; how would they form together?
  
• there are narrow windows of time for life to evolve; we know that life on earth was eradicated AND REFLOURISHED at least fifty times between 3.5 to 3.9 billion years ago
  
• we know that the atmosphere of the earth contained significant amounts of oxygen at least up through 4.1 billion years ago; the chemical reactions driving the formation of the building blocks of life would be 10 million times less efficient in an oxygenating atmosphere
  
• there are no transitional forms in the fossil record (in fact, the fossil record shows a flourishing of life increasing up until the appearance of man, when the appearance of new life forms seems to have stopped... consistent with the Biblical record of God creating life forms up through man, and then resting)
  

4. Evidence for a recent common ancestor

• Y chromosome
  
• the link between us and previous bipedal primates is impossible
  

1. Secular attitudes towards the Bible

• The Genesis account is a fairly tale that is contradicted by science
  
• The Genesis account is self-contradicting
  

2. Internal difficulties with Genesis creation accounts

• Jean Astruc did a simple chronological comparison of Ge 1 with Ge 2 and found supposed contradictions, claiming there were multiple authors of Genesis
  
• Astruc did not examinine the original Hebrew and understand that verb constructs in Hebrew were not the same as in his own language; some events in Ge 2 were not fixed chronologically in relation to each other
  
• Astruc’s analysis has been rebutted by conservative scholars, but nevertheless his ideas continue to be taught in universities as fact
  
• ”Higher criticism” evolved early this century based on Astruc’s analysis, as well as including criticisms based on the perception that the Bible contradicts the geological record of the earth
  
• the evangelical community has done a good job of addressing Astruc’s criticisms, but not scientific criticisms
  

3. Genesis creation accounts and the scientific record

• frame of reference in Ge 1:2 - “spirit over the waters of the earth”; the vantage point of the narrator of Genesis is from the earth’s surface
  
• earth’s primordial atmosphere: correctly described in Genesis as being transformed from opaque to translucent to transparent
  
• creation order: Sun, Moon and stars APPEAR on the fourth day; they are not created (Hebrew verb haya “to cause to appear” vs. Hebrew verb bara “to bring forth something entirely new”). Remember, the frame of reference is the earth.
  
• distinction of man and bipedal primates: evidence of spiritual expression only dates back between 8000 and 24000 years ago; fitting in with man being the first creature created by God to be body, soul and spirit.
  

1. Young-earth vs. old-earth debate

• evolutionists cling to what’s recognized as a flawed theory (Darwinism) because of the idea that the only perceived alternate -the young earth theory- is even more scientifically flawed; they believe that accepting this would be the same as turning their backs on established science
  
• the early church fathers spend only one tenth of one percent of their commentary on the creation time, had differing opinions on it, and considered it of secondary importance to the “who” and “how” of creation
  
• theistic evolution (God has created the universe but not intervened since) ignores the serious flaws of evolutionary theory and depersonalizes God by distancing him during the creation of life
  
• God is both the God of the Bible and the God of nature; it’s important to examine and reconcile both
  
• young earth creationists believe that an old earth would give Darwinists the foothold they need
  

2. “Literal” and “Figurative” language

• The King James bible misrepresented the original Hebrew of Genesis 1 when translating to English; Hebrew has a vocabulary of only about 3000 words, vs 4 million in English
  
• the Hebrew word for “day” -yom- has three literal (NOT figurative) meanings: a 12 hour period, a 24 hour period, and a long indeterminate period of time.
  

3. Biblical basis for old earth

• length of God’s days
  
• meanings of yom (12 hr, 24 hr, long period), ereb (the beginning of darkness, dusk, twilight or nightfall; closing, ending or completion) and boqer (breaking forth of light, day, dawn, dawning, beginning or origin)
  
• unusual syntax in Genesis; King James: “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Better: “It was evening, it was morning, day one.”
  
• open-ended seventh day
  
• sixth day events: God created Adam, put Adam to cultivating the Garden, had Adam name the animals, put Adam to sleep, made a mate.
  
• wording of Ge2:4
  
• figurative references to earth’s antiquity
  
• direct statements of antiquity
  

4. Theological basis for an old earth

• God reveals truth through nature (Romans 1)
  
• Creation reveals God’s attributes
  
• Word of God includes the record of nature
  
• the Bible describes a vast universe
  
• ”Death through sin” refers to humans only
  
• plant and animal death before Adam’s sin has no bearing on man’s need for atonement
  
• God’s rest will end
  
• long creaton days do no imply a limit to God’s power
  

1. Longetivity of Noah and contemporaries

• factors contributing to a long life: lower UV, vegetarian diet, fewer carcinogens, perhaps more disease resistant, but biggest factor may have been far fewer cosmic rays
  
• records of the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians indicate longer lifespans
  
• the Vela supernova: more intense cosmic radiation than from all other supernovas combined; two recent articles date the supernova at 9000-15000 years ago, or 20000 +/- 10000 years ago, which roughly coincides with the spread of humanity. The radiation from this supernova could conceivably be a reason why our lifespans are limited
  
• interpreting the Hebrew text; nothing indicates that the Bible is using figurative language for years
  

2. Growing a human population

• finding Cain a wife
  
• difference in marriage codes between Exodus and Genesis; brother/sister marriage was not prohibited until Exodus
  
• with the long life spans, the population at the time of Noah could have theoretically been several billion. The fact that it was not is evidence of the amount of violence and evil present in the world at that time (Ge 6:5)
  

3. The Flood as a story of judgement

• understanding degrees of defilement by sin; some sins defile future generations (Ex 20:5), some affect soulish animals (Josh 6:21), some affect material goods (Num 16:23-33), some sin defiles the land itself (Lev 18:24-28)
  
• biblical evidence for “limits” of God’s wrath; God’s wrath goes as far as human reprobation, He is not excessive in His judgement. If much of the earth is undefiled by man, there would be no need for God’s judgement upon it
  

4. Difficulties with the global flood theory

• flood is universal (from human perspective), not global; global flood theory not taught until 1923. Term “world” refers to the extent of a culture or civilization; e.g. “faith heard throughout the world” in Romans
  
• limited extent of sin; it was not necessary to extend wrath to places where man was not; e.g. Antarctica
  
• limited water supply; Genesis says that all water was earth-supplied and earth-bound. To cover a height of Mt. Everest, 4 and a half times the current Earth water supply would be needed
  
• Hebrew word for “cover” (as in water covering the world) could mean one of three things: (1) run of water over, (2) fall of rain upon, and (3) permanent covering
  
• limited tectonics and erosion; the energy required to raise up land again would have been devestating to the Ark and it’s crew
  
• exclusion of lower animals; only soulish animals affected by our sin. Animals that were stocked on board seem to be those that would have been needed by man immediately after flood; larger numbers of certain kinds were taken on board.
  
• no mention of place names beyond Greater Mesopotamia until Ge 10
  
• Ge 7:19: the mountains of Ararat, not Mount Ararat; could have been the foothills
  
• ark’s limits in size and strength
  
• speed of water’s recession; example of 3 ft covering of water in San Joachim valley that took 4 months to recede... a global flood would have taken an order of magnitude longer (if the water had somewhere to go).
  
• abundance and diversity of animals after the flood; would have required an impossible amount of evolution, for example, to have zebras result from the surviving horses