Theology

William Dembski

The End of Christianity by William Dembski attempts to reconcile natural evil with a good God. The problem for Dembski, who believes modern science has proven that the earth and universe are billions of years old, is to explain how natural evil in the form of physical death and suffering could have existed before the Fall of Man while leaving God’s good character intact. Dembski creates an elaborate theology to address this problem.

Dr. Cornelius Van Til

“I propose to argue that unless God is back of everything you cannot find meaning in anything…” 1

Jewish Wedding Ceremony

It seems that more and more when talking with people about whom God is, and His characteristics, that their perception of God is more of their own making rather than what is revealed through the Scriptures. This invariably leads to a form of idolatry and total misunderstanding of who God is. The most common perversion of God’s character is to make “love” the only characteristic He has. This usually leads to these believing that God loves everybody so much He would not send anybody to hell. Just to let them see the illogical consequences of such theology an inquiry about Hitler is made. Somehow God cannot love Hitler enough, and he has to go to hell.

The validity and power of the Scriptures does not start with faith or belief, nor does God need for us to believe in Him for Him to exist. Facts are true or false, independent of what anyone thinks. Likewise, prophesies either are true or false depending on whether they come to pass or not, independent of who believes the prophesy is valid or invalid. The unique validity of the Scriptures is evident by the fulfilled prophesy given in the Scripture. Prophecy in this case is predicting what will happen before it takes place. Here is what God says about His prophets and their prophesies: “And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must belief that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  Hebrews 11:6

For those who adhere to a literal interpretation of Genesis and believe in a young earth, scripture is the first, final, and unrivaled authority (sola scriptura) on the questions of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of man, and the age of the earth. Young Earth Creationists (sometimes referred to as “YECs”) believe that the Bible is inerrant and clear in its teachings about origins. Good exegesis based upon the grammatical-historical hermeneutical approach and comparing scripture with scripture leads to the conclusion that the earth was created in six 24-hour days in the recent past. Nature viewed through the lens of scripture lends support to the recent creation view.

“But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the MostHigh.’ “

Isaiah 14:13-14 NASB

Figure 1

What is the reason for life, the universe, and everything else? It is a loaded philosophical question that the answer of “42” just really does not seem to answer well. It is humorous when we read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, to have the answer to such mysteries given in such a simplistic manner. But putting science fiction and humor aside we can give some simple answers also; they exist for very much the same reason every created thing does exist. They exist to give glory to their creator!

Figure 1 - This is the famous horsehead nebula. Actually it is a dark nebula classified as Barnard 33. From the Astrophotography Gallery of Bobby Middleton. Used by permission

Evolutionary thinking has changed the way people have viewed not just the world and human origins but also the way they view the cosmos and everything that possibly exists within its confines.

Evolution being the "scientific" foundation accepted in today's world has logically led to the acceptance of life on other planets simply because if it happened here by chance, then it could happen many other places in the universe. Millions of dollars are spent every year in the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project to prove their existence, yet no hard evidence exists of life on other planets or that any planets actually exist outside of our solar system.