Science and Faith

So recently, and by recently I mean the past 4 years of college, I have encountered many atheists and many people who believe that science is more effective at explaining the universe, life, and basically anything that you would learn about in a science class (which covers a lot so I won't bother listing) than religion. I think all too often this is due because of someone's personal feelings about religion or specifically the ideas or history behind a particular religion. So today, I want to look at some of the things that science and religion clash against in the realm of the physical. This should be pretty short and I will mostly just be asking questions, mainly to science as I am biased toward religion.

To Science:

I feel like there are a lot of times that religious people makes fools of themselves, using weak, if having any weight at all, arguments and analogies that never seem to fit into what the rest of the scientific community says. Religious people will say "Prove there is no God" when they do not know of any proof that God does exist. There always seems to be a disconnection of issues between science and religion, because a lot of religious people don't know why they believe what they believe and people of science want proof before they can say something is true. Although, I think that people of science are equally at fault for blindly following what the rest of the scientific community tells them. So, I have a theory or rather a proposition: Let's take a step back and attempt to put away our biases and look at both arguments. I am going to be completely honest when I say that I do not understand all that happened that created this universe, I am not scientifically oriented and I am not going to attempt to argue a point because I feel I am not educated enough on the subject to make a definitive statement. So I have some questions, just things that have never seemed to really add up to me when it comes to the realm of science, these are simply ideas that do not make any sense to me and they are not designed to be offensive or overly critical.

1.) According to one of my old textbooks ('Geosystems' by Christopherson) 'Pangea' began its breakup about 65 million years ago. Humans have been said (by many of my atheist professors) that they started evolving 5-7 million years ago. My questions is: How is it that humans were evolving in different parts of the world while it was split apart? But really, How is it that different places produced the same species?

The reason I ask this is because the timeline doesn't seem to add up and the idea behind evolution is that species evolve according to their environment, that they adapt to their surroundings and that they eventually become another species.

2.) How is it that scientists come to the ages of different soils, rocks, fossils, etc.?

I have a hard time believing someone when they say "Well, 102 million years ago...." because they weren't there 102 million years ago. In reality it seems more like people just pull numbers out of thin air, and I know about the whole 'carbon-dating' thing - but that doesn't seem sufficient enough to make an absolute statement like most scientists do.

3.) How do you know that the 'Big Bang' happened?

This is partially tied to the previous question, I just don't understand how so many people can make a definitive statement on simply (what appears to be) someone's imagination. There is no proof. I once heard an atheist say "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" and I apologize...but there really doesn't seem to be any.

4.) Where are all the missing links?

Going off of the statement above (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence) it seems that evolution needs an extraordinary amount of evidence to support it, and I have yet to see any. I have heard a lot of speculation and opinion but no 'hard' evidence.

To end the 'science' portion, I just want to reiterate that I am in no way attempting to debunk your claims, these are just legitimate questions that I have.

To religion (actually more towards Christianity):

1.) Why do believe that God (or an Intelligent Designer) exists?

I want you to really think about this question, because I think far too often a Christian will have a religious experience and immediately accept everything (especially if the person is younger) without thinking about why.

2.) How do you think you come across to an atheist?

Most people in the scientific community do not have much respect for those who believe that the universe was created. It is important to take a moment to think about this before rushing in to argue with a bunch of atheists, because I feel like having an intelligent conversation is significantly better than having a heated debate - because then both people can consider what the other has said rather than being stuck on 'winning the argument'.

I know that this post can have a negative effect on either side, all I ask is that when it comes to this debate - it's getting a little repetitive and ridiculous.

-In Christ

Roger W

Worship: Action, Place, Attire

I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents have been going to the same church since the 80's; so naturally I grew up surrounded by a certain style of worship. From what I can remember, the worship at our church was very bland and it bored me to death....it might have just been because I was young; anyway, it seemed repetitive. I began attending a private, Christian school in 5th grade, this school tried to make worship cool and fun. Well needless to say that the tactics they used were uninteresting, because what 10 year old boy wants to stay inside and sing when he can go play outside? (Yes, I know there are exceptions - but as a whole) As I grew older and started going on mission trips with my school, the worship changed. Suddenly I saw and heard people speaking in tongues, dancing, and even at times just running around the room. I usually didn't pay any attention to it, in fact I knew that the way that I worshiped was perfectly fine. In college, my first year actually, I was exposed to a denomination that I had never heard of known as the Assemblies of God. In case you don't know, these are the people who do the running, jumping, and speaking in tongues. This group of Christians (whom I will not name) was very emotionally oriented in everything they did and they put a significant weight on speaking in tongues; this weight was so significant that I never really felt like I was a part of the group until I translated what a girl was saying when she was speaking in tongues. Unfortunately, I lied about the entire thing because I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to be accepted by them without some form of 'manifestation of the Spirit'. I deeply regret my decision in doing that, but I was (and still kind of am) young and stupid. With all that said, there are three things that I want to talk about today and all of them have to do with worship. I want to discuss worship in regard to action, place, and attire and to see what is important and what is not and hopefully be as Biblical as possible.

I want to address the 'action' part of it first because I feel that area is where most people get confused. David does several different things when he is worshiping. He has not only screamed at the top of his lungs, but he also does it through written word with the Psalms. In Psalm 138, David says that he worships God with his heart; which it appears as though it doesn't depend on the certain action that we do but rather it depends on where our heart is. I am reminded of Matthew 7 where Jesus describes people who did and did and did but never loved and never followed Him; Jesus says he will tell those people "I never knew you". Or what about Matthew 22 where we are commanded to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" or Luke 9 where Jesus tells them to take up their crosses and follow him. It appears as though there is no action that God requires of people, except if nothing else to just follow Him. The question is, is there any form of worship that God disapproves of? If worship is not focused on Him, then I think it is quite obvious that selfish or misguided worship is something that God does not approve. The real question is, are you worshiping as a church-goer or as a follower of Christ? I believe that the ACTION of worship can replace true worship which can and will become an idol. A perfect example is that of the charismatic movement, I am referring primarily to the most extreme form of this movement such as being 'drunk on the spirit' or smoking 'Jehovajuana'. Where Jesus is no longer enough, so people take worship a step further because they no longer feel the excitement - it is very similar to drugs, once someone becomes numb to one drug they feel the need to get that initial 'high' again so they experiment with others. Therefore, it shouldn't matter whether or not your hands or raised, or even if you're just sitting quietly. The point is where your heart is; worship God with everything you have, with all of your heart and make sure that your actions are truly for him and not for yourself.

Recently I was at a catholic church for my girlfriend's choir concert (UNT choir) and I walked in wearing cargo shorts, button-up collared shirt, flip flops, and to top it all off, my 'Dallas' hat. I hung out in the narthex (lobby) for a bit but as soon as I stepped into the nave (sanctuary) this older woman comes up to me and tells me that I am being very disrespectful by wearing my hat inside the church and I that I should be ashamed of myself for disgracing the Lord's house. So I took off my hat and as the old lady walked away I chuckled to myself and how silly that was, and then it hit me as to how serious she was on the whole matter. I started wondering why it was that she held the sanctuary in such a high regard, so high that she was angry that I would dare wear a hat while inside. It didn't make any sense to me, at first. In the old testament there were specific places of worship and they were regarded as holy ground. In the new testament, it was primarily the Pharisees and other religious leaders that dwelled in the temple. Jesus spent very little time, we're told, inside the temple; in fact He spent a lot of time outside the city and among the people. Jesus in his most distressing time went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. In the early Christian church congregations would meet in people's houses, and in Acts 16 Paul and Silas prayed and worshiped God through song. After reviewing all of this, it still didn't make any sense to me as to why this woman would be so adamant about me not wearing a hat inside the church, especially since it wasn't even during a church service. I keep coming back to this idea of it being a matter of the heart. I was not trying to be disrespectful and I certainly didn't think it mattered simply because I was in a church, to watch a secular choir nonetheless. It seemed like this woman had elevated the value of the church as a building and I wonder to this day if she holds the same or greater value to the church as a congregation. I cannot say for sure whether or not this woman's heart was in the right place, but what I can say is that it is ridiculous to think that a specific place has some sort of inherent sanctity just because that happens to be a place of worship. If that is the case, then my car, my bedroom, my living room, my bathroom, and that fountain I go to sometimes to pray, are all somehow sacred because I worship God there.

This brings us to the last topic of worship I want to talk about, attire. The question is, does it matter Biblically what we wear while we are gathered as a church? Again, I want to go back the life of Christ; Jesus was a poor carpenter who did not have wealth or power. So we can safely assume that He didn't wear an Armani suit and shiny leather shoes but he wore something more like boots and coveralls. The Pharisees were like those guys you see on wallstreet, dressed to the nines and basically ignoring everyone around them talking on their state of the art bluetooth headset. On a side note, I think this was part of God's humor: having a poor carpenter make the religious intellectuals look stupid. Also, in 1 Timothy 2 Paul warns the women to not dress themselves with pearls or expensive clothes but rather with 'good deeds'.

To kind of wrap things up, I want to bring it back to what seems to be the resounding conclusion of it being a matter of the heart. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 15 that our heart is what defiles us, not our actions; but our actions are a result of the state of our heart. This issue is not "What should I do or not do?" but rather, are you pursuing Christ? are you loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? or are you simply performing actions to make yourself look or feel better? Friend, in Galatians 6 Paul states "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God." - All we can boast in is the cross, therefore we cannot boast in ourselves because the cross is the only thing worth boasting in.

-RW

Hell and Bell: The Hell Controversy

First off I would like to say that no matter what the situation is, we should be praying for Rob Bell - no matter what stance he takes in the book and no matter if he is a heretic or a man of God. Prayer is so far beyond what we make it out to be, clearly we should be praying for everyone. With that said, I am going to try to look at the current situation from an unbiased standpoint (even though I am already biased).

I have never really cared for Rob Bell myself, I have felt that his style is too ambiguous and for me, I like directness and honesty from a pastor or any leader in the church for that matter. Personally I feel that being direct and authoritative (especially when in a preaching/teaching position) because it is your job to proclaim the Word of God. No, it should be your JOY to proclaim the Word of God. That is why I like guys like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Matt Chandler - because they are direct and while they call out sin they do it in a loving way. THIS is my bias and I want you to know what it is prior to me drawing out this situation so that you may test to see whether or not I was giving both sides their credit.

First, I want to address the side that I usually assign myself with. A lot of the reformed church-goers seem to be crucifying Bell for a simple video he made for his book. They have been rude and condescending towards Bell and everyone in support of him. Brothers, why are we readying the noose for someone who has not yet revealed to have done wrong. This is ridiculous how we have spent our time bashing a man who has such influence rather than praying for him. I am reminded of 1 Timothy 2 that we should even pray for kings and ALL who are in high positions. Brothers, I am also reminded of Romans 13 which tells us that every authority has been put into place by God. I wish to appeal to you, not to assume anything until you go and read it for yourself.

Unfortunately, the other side is guilty of the very same thing. There have been blogs written, twitters tweeted, and insults thrown at those who questioned what it was that Rob Bell was teaching.

People criticizing John Piper just as much as people who are criticizing Rob Bell - you who are sitting on your couch eating cheeto's need to realize that pastors who are as well known as Piper and Bell are going to suffer much criticism from the ignorant public about what they do and how they justify it. These men are in authority positions, I again plead Romans 13 to you. Pray for these men, whether you agree with them or not.

The only issue I have with the video presenting his book, is that he continues to be ambiguous and unauthoritative. People view this ambiguous speech of his to be a broad and deeper theology than everyone else - but it appears as though that he says a lot without saying anything at all. When I look at his church's website and go to the things they believe, I walk away with no real sense of why they have that section because it just sounds like hyper-spiritual non-sense with no scripture to back it up. I know most of this is just Rob Bell's style, but sooner or later you have to explain what you mean instead of just keeping the audience waiting (i.e. Lost). Because is our JOY to proclaim the good news, to be given that responsibility is an awesome one - but it comes with serious consequences if you rely on your own understanding.

Among the blogosphere, there has been a lot of talk about if a loving God would send billions of people to hell. Unfortunately, the answer is yes. The reason I say 'unfortunately' is because my heart breaks for these people but when I look at the scripture it is evident that it is not about God sending people to hell, it is about God SAVING people from hell. None of us deserve to go to heaven, there is no reason for God to allow anyone to be in His presence. Isaiah says it better than I could put into words "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." Isaiah 64:6 and also Romans 3 which quotes the Psalms

"As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”

We are dirty, unrighteous, and we are ill-deserving of God's great and wonderful mercy. In Ephesians 2 it describes us as children of Wrath by nature. Later on in Ephesians 2, it tells us that we are saved by grace and not by anything that we do, but by Him who gives the grace. There is so much more here than asking our Creator why He dares to send billions of people to hell, He sends them because that is what they deserve, that is their 'wages' as described in Romans 6:23.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns please feel free to email me

rogermwinters@gmail.com

In Christ,

Roger Winters