Tag: creation

Can Laws Like Gravity Create Something from Nothing?

If gravity created the universe, the universe wasn’t created out of nothing.

kevingdrendel1 Comment
Photo by Tyler Drendel at the Garden of the Gods

I’m not a scientist, and I am not even “a science person”, though I have become much more interested in science as an adult than I was as a child. I am more of a philosophical and theological person. My background is English literature, world religions, and American jurisprudence (law).

We give scientists quite a bit of deference in our modern society, and so we should. They are peeling back the layers of this universal onion in which we live. Scientific discoveries are fascinating, life-changing and significantly valuable.

I would be quickly lost in the weeds in a discussion of science among scientists, but scientists are human. They have flaws, and they usually are not schooled in philosophy or theology.

For instance, Stephen Hawking is one of the most brilliant scientists of our age. In his book, The Grand Design, he says, “In a world in which a law like gravity exists, the universe can and will create itself out of nothing.”

This isn’t a statement of science; it’s a philosophical statement with theological impact. The question is: does it make sense?

Continue reading “Can Laws Like Gravity Create Something from Nothing?” →

Who Created God?

The question “Who created God?” has stumped many a person who believes in God, but the question is flawed.

kevingdrendelLeave a comment
Depositphotos Image ID: 10605683 Copyright: kevron2002

One of the “show stopping” questions posed by atheists is this one: If God created the universe, who created God?

It is a clever question, and has stumped many a person who believes in God, but the question, itself, is flawed. Let me explain.

In my response, I am indebted to John Lennox who’s answer to this very question is embedded at the end of this blog article. John Lennox, is a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University and a frequent speaker on topics of science, philosophy and religion. He has twice debated the vocal atheist, and Oxford professor, Richard Dawkins, who wrote a book, The God Delusion, using this question as a centerpiece.

The flaw of the question is that it is loaded with the assumption that God was created. The response of the Christian (or theist generally) is that such a notion (that God was created) is not a notion about God at all, but a notion about a god – a created thing. Another word for such a thing is an idol.

Continue reading “Who Created God?” →

What If Time Is An Illusion?

When we “look back” it may seem as if time was a dream.

kevingdrendel2 Comments
Photo by Beth Drenbel
Photo by Beth Drendel

What if time is an illusion?

A self-described atheist threw out this proposition offhandedly in a conversation I had with him recently. I think it makes sense to respect the people we dialogue with, including atheists, so I chewed on that proposition a bit.

As often is the case, I woke up this morning thinking about things that I had been thinking about the night before. In my reflection, it dawned on me that, perhaps, he was right: time is an illusion. It actually makes some sense, but maybe not like he imagined. Let me explain.

Continue reading “What If Time Is An Illusion?” →

The Bible is More Reliable than the Law of Thermodynamics

kevingdrendel5 Comments
canstockphoto25350327

Consider[i] the story of astrophysicist, Hugh Ross. He was a child prodigy raised in a secular, non-religious home in a secular community. He read all the books on science in his local library and knew he wanted to be an astrophysicist at an absurdly early age.

At 9 years old, he brought home a book on creation myths from the library. It summarized 100 different creations stories from different cultures around the world, and wrote all of them off based on the science he already knew.

At the age of 17, he read through the first few chapters of Genesis for the first time. He was surprised to recognize elements of the scientific method and some congruity with the scientific record. Listening to him describe his observations and conclusions while reading the creation story in Genesis for the first time are truly remarkable. 

Continue reading “The Bible is More Reliable than the Law of Thermodynamics” →

Read the Bible Yourself and then Decide

kevingdrendel2 Comments

In the Bible by Leland Francisco

Believers and unbelievers alike make mistakes in reading the Bible. People rely on certain passages and certain viewpoints to the exclusion of others. People miss the forest for the trees, as they say.

Within the “Church”, the number of denominations is partially a result of different emphases on different aspects of God, the Bible and other things. When this proclivity tends to the extreme, it results in things like witch hunts and cults. Many of the dark periods of church history are, in part, examples of an inflexible adherence to specific certain truths, doctrinal, political or other views of Christianity to the exclusion of others.

Any overemphasis on specific passages or positions or facts can lead to an unbalanced view of God and error. Continue reading “Read the Bible Yourself and then Decide” →