God and Science

Best-selling author, speaker and advocate for Christian apologetics Dr. Alex McFarland, best-selling author and apologist Dylan Burroughs together bringing you truths for a new generation.

This is TMG radio disc Christianity conflict with modern science is creation myth, supported by true science or false assumptions. Hi Alex McFarland here along with Dylan Burroughs welcome back NG radio truth.

A new generation and were going to talk about science and God, can you be a Christian believer in God and also recognize the validity of science or if you believe in God does that automatically mean that your on scientific so that's our topic today and we welcome to the program.

Dylan it's good to be with you my friend. Great beauty is always Alex.

Looking forward to being together here soon a treat for a new generation conference coming up March 23 and 24th in Jamestown North Carolina have an exciting lineup of guests will be addressing many of the issues in our culture today from a Christian worldview and are excited to talk today about this issue of science. One of the major barriers for skeptics today.

This alleged conflict between Christianity and what the Bible teaches regarding creation and what science teaches in our world today. So let's dive right in your get a start. Alex you know I'm in a throw out a name that may be on people haven't heard in a while. Stephen J Gould and before tell you about Gould and some of his influence on the world. This week is talking about the passing of Stephen Hawking who is a theoretical physicist and he really got famous in the late 80s for a book called a brief history of time and I've read a couple of different editions of that and you know he was Dylan.

I also think you know very famous. He spent much of his adult life in a wheelchair and valiantly pursued science and his gifts and Stephen Hawking was the author of a brief history of time is been through several additions.

I remember when it first came out in 1988 and and I read it with great interest because he, even though he was a Darwinist and believed in evolution he did in a brief history of time. Talk about the fact that there had to be a first because there had to be God now subsequent additions I talked about there not being a need for a creator, or force cause and in fact famously couple of years ago Stephen Hawking said that the universe could have created itself and Dylan you whenever you use the words creation. I mean you're talking about mind intelligence intent, design order, so the idea that nothing could create something that chance could produce, intelligence, and that all of the great complexity and order of the solar system.

The universe life on planet Earth. The idea that all of that could have been created. Quote unquote by nothingness. I would say that's a much bigger step of faith required than theism, which is belief that God exists and God is the creator so I think it's timely that were looking at this topic because not really in already, Hawking is not even you know buried and have had a funeral and really, the media, and much of the world is speaking of him in in terms of of deity almost and that's probably understandable, since science itself is almost been deified by a lot of people, but let's talk about science and God Dylan, let me through another name out there. Stephen J Gould Stephen Jay Gould got pretty well known in the 80s.

He was influential during the Clinton years in the Department of Education and part of the reason that public school children are only given one model of origins, at least in part, is due to the influence of Stephen J Gould.interestingly and I've use this quote many times but Gould himself admitted that that Darwinism was based more on uniform materialism that there was no flood.

The fossils came about gradually by slow incremental burial uniform materialism.

This is the present is the key to the past. A lot of that came about. Gould admitted, not through evidence but through legalese and verbal sleight-of-hand because Charles Lyle himself was an attorney, not a geologist.

All of that to say this Gould Stephen Jay Gould who is one of the people that we could thank or I suppose blame for the idea that belief in God is inherently unscientific. Gould talked about what he called in OMA non-overlapping magisterium. Now what in the world. Does that mean Noma listen very carefully folks non-overlapping magisterium. What he basically was saying is that there are different ways to get knowledge, there's faith. That's one magisterium you can believe in God or you can believe in the tooth fairy or theirs.

Whatever you whatever works for you that you have faith in that's that's the way you see life. That's one of your magisterium or a philosophy or an assumption that oversees how we think a magistrate and then there science which and the implication is the true truth and Gould, and many of the evolutionist, and certainly Stephen Hawking was one of them. You dare not let the magisterium overlap nonoverlapping. In other words, you don't let faith into the classroom. You will let faith skew your true truth which is science and science is must be forever will be naturalistic so if you want to believe in God do that. Do it on your own time, but we don't let that into education now Dylan. I know that's a long warty introduction but this is where we are in the 21st century. Despite the fact that really the, the discoverers and the founders and that the icons in the sciences.

Almost all pre-20th and 19th centuries were believers in God, if not outright Christians but here we are today were science has been predetermined predefined that it must and can only be secular and I think there's there's a lot of negative consequence that were reaping because of that was certainly the case of one thing you mentioned that I want to bring up in more detail. This idea that many people say that science has disproven Christianity or the creation account of the Bible as science is not one field, its many fields is only people talk about science disproving the Bible's creation accounts tell me which field of science are you talking about, telling which line of evidence are you talking about and let's look at the information and see where it leads only come back one to talk more about this idea of the evidence in the sciences with whether it's a biased weather is accurate and where it leads. In comparison with our Christian faith cystic with us here truth for new generation radio will be right back. Attention all Christians would like to become more effective in presenting and doing building there, but this is Alex McFarland and I urge you to attend the 28th in addition of truth for a new generation and evidence. PNG is coming to Greensburg Carolina March 2024. Here, an amazing lineup. Josh McDowell apologist Jay Warner Wallace, Lorne Greene and Todd Starnes both from Fox News and much much more. This is Abraham Hamilton, the third of the American families of battle for the future of our nation and I want to see you. Actually, for new generation as we pray and get equipped to defend the faith, asking God to save our nation. Don't miss truth for new generation March 23 24 Greensboro, North Carolina. You may register@3foranewgeneration.com that's the truth of the war truth for a new generation.com first Peter 315 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have were instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the life he answers teams students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The life answers.

Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams. We train speaking churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times. From a biblical perspective like is there a God is the Bible true. What about gender and moral issues. Call me at 864977 2008 and we will arrange for the life answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

864-977-2000 eight and always be ready. Dylan Burroughs and Alex McFarland back with the entrée for new generation radio and talking about the sciences and how the sciences key ideas that may or may not be contradictory to the Christian faith. How do we know what is the information they wisely left you in the last segment were talking about science in general. But what do the sciences say about the evidence for the created world we have here today. So Alex is going to pick up where we left off and talk about this idea of the information behind the sciences and how it relates either.

This is all about the question of origins three things that every worldview really has to answer his origin, purpose, destiny, where did we come from, why are we here, where are we headed the word of God says in the beginning God created and in Dylan as I'm sure virtually everyone listing probably knows what you believe about our origins really will inform what you believe about all these other points of life is whelming if we really are just an accident.

If we just a biological naturalistic accident. We were created by God. There's no objective truth. I mean, there's that you know there's no real moral code that we have to follow if God was not a part of our past, God is not a part of our future. If God is not our creator God is never going to be our judge and really not only objective truth hangs in the balance. But what we might call transcendent meaning now. Now let me explain what I'm talking about, and great thinkers throughout the ages have pondered this transcendent meaning would be something that is is inherently a part of every person I meet are we human beings unique among the rest of creation. Do we have inherent worth and value and dignity and is there even such a thing as personhood and friends. You've got to understand some of the cultural ripple effect of RM embrace of Darwinism God's blessedness and certainly the that the stranglehold really that naturalism like that advocated by Stephen Hawking has had on the classroom part of the reason that babies are killed in utero.

That's abortion.

Part of the reason that that's been sold to much of the world and certainly America is this naturalistic belief that it's not a human being made in the image of God is.

It's just to shoot is just tissue and people found it more palatable to think of tissue being disposed off than the life of the eternal life of so and a person, a human being made in the image of God being snuffed out and so let's talk about some of these assumptions that really have touched all of our lives more than we might imagine, I'm holding my copy of first edition of Darwin's the descent of man on the origin of species, and he says that elbow. The last few pages, page 612 613 of origins species. He says I think these conclusions will be highly distasteful to many, Darwin says, but there can hardly be a doubt that we are descended from barbarians and much more. I can read but he goes on to say will have to look at both sides of the coin, the evidence now. To his credit, at least, Darwin understood the implications of his view.

Either we live in a created universe, and therefore God, or we live in an uncreated universe and there is no God made their there's really not a middleground not a logical defensible middleground.

So let's talk about the question. Can you be a Christian, a believer in God and also be scientific .1 as you said before the break, Dylan.

There is no one universally agreed upon discipline called science quote" there are the sciences and there the different branches of science, chemistry, astrophysics, cultural anthropology in a forensic pathology. There are these sciences in each branch of the sciences has its playbook and there are postulates and discoveries relative to the different branches of science, but when someone just glibly throws out sciences incompatible with God often asked which branch of the sciences are your referring to the second thing that I want to point out, second and third things that naturalism does not guarantee rationality and belief in God does not guarantee irrationality. Richard Dawkins has popularized the idea that if you believe in God you also probably believe in you know the tooth fairy and all sorts of other irrational things. And if your scientific quote" you are therefore seamlessly flawlessly. Rational faith is irrational, they would say, science is logical and rational in Dylan. That's just not that she is not logical. It also the best and brightest minds of history have been the pioneers in the sciences have also been believers in God. If not Christians themselves, but what were, to a point in our culture. Dylan where it's really almost like what I will call a false dichotomy.

Either you believe in God or your scientific and that that's just not a necessary bifurcation at all is it now it's certainly not historically as he mentioned some of our greatest thinkers throughout the generations of been people of faith, whether it be people prior to the time of Christ coming who held two view of one God is in the Jewish tradition and certainly throughout the Christian era, there been many of the top scholars and philosophers who have pondered these questions to come from the church you are people who believe in Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord and one thing I think that that people often miss is that they only look at one side of the information like you mentioned. They see Darwinian evolution and a textbook at school and that the only information you get, and therefore that must be correct, but as you mentioned this is one view, the Bible presents another view in their scientific evidence for both views and what will discover is that the information for the biblical worldview of creation is growing and that is compelling and is now to the level that it cannot be ignored in some of the top scholars of our time are starting to talk more about this view of what is called intelligent design where there is a being an all-powerful creator beyond behind all that we see and hear exactly God was no problem for Blaise Pascal Louis Pasteur Isaac Newton one writer who I enjoy reading Dylan is a writer named a Dr. Mario Livio LI VI he's a senior astrophysicist at the space telescope Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and he wrote a book called is God, a mathematician quote" and Livio says that there must be a God because there is mathematics not out of the future of born-again Christian pieces look in a naturalistic Darwinistic world war, with no God we would not have math and we have pure mathematics in math is objective, absolute, nonphysical, thanks for joining is a treat for new generation stick with this will be right back. If you're a Christian parent. You of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children, your pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum. The 21 toughest questions your kids will ask about Christianity. I interviewed hundreds of children ages 5 to 12 and we address actual questions from actual children. The spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids Jesus everything the book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 toughest questions your kids will ask the book study guide and video series. You'll find it@afastore.net that AFA store.net attention all Christians who believe that America needs a spiritual revival, an awakening, a message of the gospel for our times this is Alex McFarland encouraging you to attend the 2018 addition of truth for new generation. The conference on apologetics worldview and evidence for the Christian faith, Greensboro, North Carolina, March 23 and 24th hear an amazing lineup that includes Josh McDowell apologist Jay Warner Wallace born Green and Todd Starnes both from Fox News.

Attorney Dave Hamilton, the third of the American family Association music by the band and orchestra from North Greenville University, and much much more sessions for all ages equipping to share your faith confidently in any situation this truth for a new generation.com that truth for a new generation.com TNG 2018. Say a nation March 23 24 brought by North Greenville University. Christ makes the difference in welcome back to truth for new generation radio Alex McFarland Dylan Burroughs and were going to continue talking about God and science hey Dylan, I gotta tell you, I'm pumped about truth for a new generation coming up and it's good be great to come to Greensboro and here speakers like Josh McDowell and Jay Warner Wallace and them you might not be as is well known as Josh. But one of our speakers, Dr. Juan Valdes is a great thinker and he is one of the great talks on God's existence that I've ever heard people like Jay Warner Wallace Todd Starnes from Fox News folks you want to miss it. And this is a perfect event for people of any age, but especially young people in the website truth for a new generation.com there's still time to register to come to Greensboro and to learn how to defend the faith and maybe change someone's eternity by bringing them to hear these great defenders of the faith and bringing them under the sound of the gospel, but Dylan let let's talk a little bit about this. The fact that science has not enjoyed the unified front that a lot of people oftentimes assume I think in the media and certainly in many a public school classroom.

It's it's assumed that all of science is inherently Darwinistic and therefore naturalistic and let me just say it atheist and not all of sciences like that is no it's not a what we find out if we look at the latest discoveries in science regarding the beginnings of our universe that much of the our textbook material as an entire generation behind. I was talking not to long ago Stephen Meyer is cofounder of the intelligent design movement has a PhD from Cambridge and is studying molecular biology and what that shows regarding information that points toward an outside creator of all Time matters, space and information. He talks about the analogy of computer programming. He says you have to put in code to get code out it doesn't come from nothing. It can't come from nonexistence to existence and the same is true in our created universe.

You can't simply have material that comes from nowhere. It has to come from a point of origin and that point of origin is what we would call God so this doesn't take care of all of the issues that we have as Christians will re-debate the age of the universe, perhaps, but it does give us a unified platform of information in a growing level of evidence that shows there is an intelligent designer behind all that we know exactly exactly.

And you know talking about the absence of unified front that not all PhD's are atheist. Not all scientists reject belief in God.

Darwin himself didn't always have a unified front. As I said in the origin of species. He said it should be debated.

But listen to this, Darwin said. Elsewhere he said another source of conviction and the existence of God connected with the reason and not with the feelings impresses me is having much more weight and he talked about design.

Specifically, the I that he felt like the human eye. It would it's a stretch to believe that that could've evolved and he said quote when thus reflecting, I feel compelled to look to a first cause, having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of a man I deserve to be called a theist.

End of quote, noggin, theism, THD ISM theism. If you are theistic you believe in God that there was a creator. Now Christian theism.

That's another step in.

In the argument but you on the one hand, Darwin said there's no doubt that we have descended from barbarians on the other hand, he says there has to be a designer someone with the mind and intelligence we call that omniscience and and by the way science itself is the word sciences is a derivation of the word for knowledge and true science should be the quest for knowledge, wherever that quest might lead for so much of American academia, though, even though modern discoveries .2.it's being suppressed.

It's certainly being withheld from young people, it's being ignored, suppressed, people are being demonized because they have decided thanks to people like Stephen Hawking and Stephen Jay Gould that we cannot let the idea of a creator into the great conversation bring to the classroom and were paying the price for it and so scientists have not enjoyed the unified front. Many have assumed and let me just say this as we sadly are kind of running out of time to make two points. Dylan number one innovators and innovation has always faced resistance that the evidence for God is compelling, growing, and can't be ignored forever, and this is a bombshell for many, I'm looking at so many quotes Isaac Manley of Harvard Medical School and MD he said quote evolution is a fairytale, myth, society has suffered as a result of this adult fantasy evolutionists claim their theory is scientific, but where's the science end of quote. Dr. Ken suit, president of the international Association of sedimentology just a scientist in the area of geology. He says quote we've had enough of the Darwinian fallacy.

It's about time we cry, the Emperor has no close Arnold Penzias Nobel prize-winning physicist creation is supported by all of the data. So far, quote unquote, right now the story that that our culture has decided to embrace largely has been that there is no God, there are no morals, we do whatever we wanted to, but we gotta be revolutionary with gotta pray, we gotta stay informed. We've gotta speak truth speak it in love speak it. Respectfully, be prepared to defend what we say and the truth is pointing to the evidence of our great Creator and Savior. Psalm 19 I love it in the word of God. It says the heavens and earth bear witness to the glory of God and the salvation of God. When I think about the human eye with 137 million rods and cones processing hundred and 80 million pixels or images per second, sending electrical impulses to the brain at a speed of over 300 mph. The eyes dart and move and watch and internalize images more than 100,000 times a day during your waking hours.

Darwin was right. This could not have evolved by undirected chance or accident. It's time to speak up unashamedly confidently say we recognize the creator and he's not only God the creator.

He's God the Savior who offers himself to each and every person if were brave enough, courageous enough to act on his overtures to us truth for a new generation in association with Alex McFarland evangelistic ministries exists to equip Christians with the biblical worldview through conferences and camps for information about upcoming events visit for a new generation.com or give us a call at 877 yes God one that's 877 yes, God, and the number one TMG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland evangelistic ministries PO Box 485, Pleasant Garden, NC 27313 that's PO Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina 71 will give online@alexmcfarland.com generation.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time. As we bring you more true for a new generation on TMG radio