Facts & Faith
1992 Volume 6, No. 1
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Science in the News: Evidence Builds, Loopholes Shrink in the Case for Creation
By Hugh Ross
So many apologetics-relevant articles have appeared in science journals over the last quarter that I find myself agonizing over which scientific breakthrough to discuss. The only solution I can find to my dilemma is to try a shotgun approach, though I would love to go into greater depth and detail on each of the items reported.
New Test of General Relativity
The validity of general relativity is important to our understanding of the origin of the universe. In recent studies, general relativity has passed the observational tests for its reliability to better than 0.007 percent accuracy.1 However, these precise verifications were derived from weak-field examples (such as the Sun and the Earth) only. The term "weak-field" refers to the comparatively low surface gravity of these objects.
Astrophysicists have had a desire for some time to put general relativity to the test in the strong-field case. Though some testing was begun in 1982 on the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16,2 the reports have not been very impressive. In January of this year, however, an international team of astronomers published the results of ten years' high-quality observations not only on this same pulsar but also on two others, PSR 1534+12 and PSR 1855+09.3
A binary pulsar is a system wherein a neutron star orbits another star. The gravitational field strength of the neutron star is typically a hundred thousand times that of the Sun. The four astronomers applied three separate tests of general relativity to each of the pulsars. In every case general relativity passed with flying colors. In the case of PSR1913+16, it passed with an accuracy of better than 0.5 percent.
Some theologically significant theorems were derived from general relativity two decades ago by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose.4 One of these theorems states that if the equations of general relativity accurately describe the physics of the universe, then all the matter, energy, space, and time of the universe can be traced back to an ultimate origin just a few billion years ago. Such a conclusion is uniquely consistent with the biblical doctrine of creation. Thanks to this new confirmation, the room for doubting the if clause of the theorem has shrunk beyond reasonable concern.
New Evidence for Design
Two American physicists recently published a paper on the necessary cosmic conditions whereby the solar system could contain the elements essential for life.5 Since the 1960s astronomers have realized the emerging solar system would need contact with the exploded remains of supernovae in order to possess sufficient heavy elements for rocky planets and life chemistry to be possible.
One of these elements, flourine, is only made in sufficient quantities on relatively rare objects, namely the surfaces of white dwarf stars bound into binary systems with larger stellar companions. The larger star must be orbiting closely enough to the white dwarf that it loses significant material to the white dwarf. At the surface of the white dwarf, some of this material is converted to flourine. Then, the white dwarf must lose this flouridated material to interstellar space in order for it to be incorporated into a future solar system. What this sequence means is that the universe and our galaxy must assume very narrowly specified characteristics if life on Earth is to obtain the flourine that it needs.
In the same paper authors Davies and Koch estimate how many supernovae explosions in our galaxy would be necessary to explain the quantity of elements heavier than helium. The answer: an average of one every three years from the origin of our galaxy. Since the present rate is less than one supernova every fifty years, the rate must have been extremely high in the early history of our galaxy. The need for sufficient supernovae debris in the interstellar cloud that spawned the solar system places additional constraints on the characteristics of both the cosmos and our galaxy.
The need for special populations of supernovae and white dwarfs at just the right time and place in our galaxy adds, in the words of British physicist Paul Davies, to the already overwhelming evidence for the design of the cosmos. Such exquisite design points to a personal God, to a Designer with the unique characteristics of the God of the Bible.
The significance of these findings is underscored by the response of John Maddox, a member of the editorial board of the prestigious British journal Nature and a staunch opponent of theism. He could not let them go without comment.6 The only way he could find around the obvious implications for creation is to suggest that life need not be at all like terrestrial life as we know it. What support did he offer? None. Probably because there is essentially none.
As physicist Robert Dicke observed some 25 years ago, if you want astronomers (or any other life forms), you must have carbon. Boron and silicon are the only other candidates on which complex molecules can be based, but boron is extremely rare, and silicon can hold together no more than about a hundred amino acids. The narrow constraints pointing to the Designer-God of the Bible reasonably assume that life must be carbon-based.
Shrinking Time for Origin of Life
Also released in January was a lengthy review paper by Christopher Chyba and Carl Sagan on the origins of life.7 The reason for the plural, origins, is that the authors present their belief that life originated several times on Earth before it really caught on. As they point out, evidence for life on Earth extends back 3.5 to 3.8 billion years, but so does evidence for conditions that frequently exterminate all life forms. Hence, the plural, origins.
Their conclusion: since the miracle of life must have occurred repeatedly, it must not be really a miracle. An alternative conclusion: God intervened in the system repeatedly to form and protect life.
Chyba and Sagan offer no realistic explanation for the sudden appearance of life under severe conditions. The first fully formed cells show up in the fossil record as far back as 3.5 billion years. Limestone deposits have been discovered with ages of 3.8 billion years. Geologic measurements and theories for limestone formation involve the remains of organisms. Other implicit evidence for life 3.8 billion years ago lies in measurements of the ratio of 12C to 13C in ancient sediments.8 These ratios indicate a plentitude of life on Earth (comparable to what presently exists) in the era between 3.5 and 3.8 billion years ago and give some evidence for life even earlier, perhaps back to 3.9 billion years ago.
Chyba and Sagan focus mainly on extraterrestrial impacts. Though the work is quite recent, there is now no doubting the conclusion (based on radioactive dating of lunar craters and comparisons of lunar, martian, and mercurian cratering) that Earth and other inner Solar System bodies experienced heavy bombardment early in their history.9-11 From 4.25 until 3.8 billion years ago the bombardment of Earth was so intense that life could not possibly have survived. From 3.8 until 3.5 billion years ago the bombardment continued to decay exponentially to its present comparatively low level. However, during those 300 million years more than a few life-destroying events must have taken place. Thus, the scientists doing the bombardment research concluded that life must have sprung up on Earth in less than about 10 million years.9
Chyba and Sagan never mention this conclusion. It means that life must have arisen on Earth in a geologic "instant" of time (something less than a few million years). Though that seems like a lot of time for those of us living only a few decades, it is a deathblow for those trying to explain life's origins without divine input.
Prebiotic soups even under highly controlled laboratory conditions have proven to be dismal failures in producing anything remotely resembling life. For example, nothing departing from a random distribution of left- and right-handed prebiotic molecules has ever been demonstrated in any of these laboratory experiments, and yet life chemistry demands that all the molecules be one way or the other.
If with all of our learning and technology we cannot even come close to making life in the lab, then how can we expect it to "happen" in just a few million years in the chaotic world of nature?
Chyba and Sagan glossed over the deleterious effects of extraterrestrial bombardment, focusing instead on what they think may be a saving feature: specifically, that this extraterrestrial bombardment might deliver concentrated doses of prebiotic molecules. While it is true that comets, carbonaceous meteorites, and interplanetary dust particles are sometimes relatively rich in prebiotics, they are not rich enough. The few molecules that might show up in life systems are outnumbered by those that would get in the way--useless molecules that would substitute for the needed ones. Moreover, as in all instances outside of organisms, no favoritism toward left- or right-handedness is revealed.
The other straw at which Chyba and Sagan clutch is the hope that atmospherics at that time were not too unfavorable for life. Acknowledging that there is no possibility for a reducing atmosphere 3.8 billion years ago, Chyba and Sagan suggest that perhaps a neutral one existed, one wherein the ratio of hydrogen gas to carbon dioxide was ten percent. Wishful thinking. Atmospheric physicists established more than five years ago that Earth's atmosphere has been fully oxidizing for at least the last 4 billion years.
Under oxidizing conditions, processes producing amino acids and nucleotides operate more than 30 million times less efficiently than they do under reducing conditions.12 This means that natural primordial soups will be far too dilute in prebiotics, and worse yet, subject to destructive chemical processes. Worse yet again, the minute amino acid production will yield almost entirely the simple acid glycine.13 The more complex acids needed are virtually missing.
According to Charles Thaxton, Walter Bradley, and Roger Olsen, authors of The Mystery of Life's Origin, naturalists and materialists have good reason to despair over the origin-of-life problem. I have only presented a few. Drs. Bradley and Olsen have agreed to describe more completely for us some of the newest reasons in a future issue of Facts & Faith. Meanwhile, please pray with us that in their despair, at least some skeptical researchers will begin to hope in the only true source of hope, our God and Savior.
References
- Vessot, R. F. C., M. W. Levine, E. M. Mattison, E. L. Blomberg, T. E. Hoffman, G. U. Nystrom, and B. F. Farrel, "Test of Relativistic Gravitation with a Space-Borne Hydrogen Maser," Physical Review Letters, 45 (1980), pp. 2081-84.
- Taylor, J. H. "Gravitational Radiation and the Binary Pulsar," Proceedings of the Second Marcel Grossman Meeting on General Relativity, Part A, edited by Remo Ruffini (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing, 1982), pp. 15-19.
- Taylor, J. H., A. Wolszczan, Thibault Damour, and J. M. Weisberg, "Experimental constraints on strong-field relativistic gravity," Nature, 355 (1992), pp. 132-36.
- Hawking, Stephen, and Roger Penrose, "The Singularities of Gravitational Collapse and Cosmology," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A, 314 (1970), pp. 529-48.
- Davies, R. E., and R. H. Koch, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 334B (1991), pp. 391-403.
- Chyba, Christopher, and Carl Sagan, "Endogenous production, exogenous delivery and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules: an inventory for the origins of life," Nature, 355 (1992), pp. 125-32.
- Maddox, John, "The anthropic view of nucleosynthesis," Nature, 355 (1992), p. 107.
- Schidlowski, Manfred, "A 3,800-million-year isotopic record of life from carbon in sedimentary rocks," Nature, 333 (1988), pp. 313-18.
- Maher, Kevin A. and David J. Stevenson, "Impact frustration of the origin of life," Nature, 331 (1988), pp. 612-14.
- Oberbeck, Verne R., and Guy Fogleman, "Impacts and the origin of life," Nature, 339 (1989), p. 434.
- Sleep, Norman H., Keven J. Zahnle, James F. Kasting, and Harold J. Morowitz, "Annihilation of ecosystems by large asteroid impacts on the early Earth," Nature, 342 (1989), pp. 139-42.
- Chyba and Sagan, p. 128.
- Schlesinger, Gordon, and Stanley L. Miller, "Prebiotic Synthesis in Atmospheres Containing CH, CO, and CO," Journal of Molecular Evolution, 19 (1983), pp. 376-82.
Special Feature: Creation Makes the Cover
Millions of people saw (and read, I hope) the cover story for the December 23, 1991, issue of U.S. News and World Report entitled "The Creation: Religion's Search for Common Ground with Science." For once, an article in a popular magazine did more than focus on polar extremes. In fact, the authors lamented that the modern debate "has amounted to little more than a shouting match between extremists on both sides--religious fundamentalists who dismiss evolution as a Satanic deception, and atheistic naturalists who assert that science offers the only window on reality and who seek to discredit religious belief."
I was disappointed that no distinction was made between evolution as a word meaning physical change through time and evolution as a theory that all changes in life forms occur strictly by natural processes. The article did point out, however, that a growing number of conservative Christian scholars are recognizing that "there should be no conflict at all between science and religion." Professors at Wheaton College (where I will be speaking next month) were quoted as saying that "when science [man's attempt to interpret nature] and theology [man's attempt to interpret Scripture] seem to conflict, both should be open to testing and revision. It certainly does not mean Scripture is wrong, but it may well mean the interpretation is faulty." The same must be said for science, of course.
Putting the current debate in its historical context, the authors pointed out that the perceived impasse between science and theology is a recent phenomenon. To their credit, they acknowledged that modern science arose from Christian roots, and that in past centuries science was advanced by devout men of faith.
The article closes with a survey of conservative and liberal opinion on the interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis. Though our view was not represented, I am nonetheless pleased. This report is the most balanced I have yet seen in the secular press. I pray that it will be one of many and that we will begin to see more water and less gasoline poured on the flames of the controversy.
Puzzles & Paradoxes
By Kathy Ross
Charles W. Harrison, Jr., of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Virginia Pilegard of Fresno, California, both pointed out a difficulty in the presentation of our most recent puzzle and its solution. To their eyes, and probably to others', the (a - 1) exponent could easily have been mistaken for a multiplier. My apologies for the confusion this must have caused.
Mr. Harrison also observed that few if any preliminary algebra students would know that N0 = 1, where N is any finite number. Actually, I did not expect them to know that because I did not know, and I took a few math courses beyond preliminary algebra. I only expected young students to use the simple trial and error method I used, a method which, I heard through the grapevine, irritated some mathematicians among our readers. They thought I was promoting sloppy problem-solving techniques where mathematical rigor should have been encouraged. Again, my apologies.
The new puzzle, created by Solomon W. Golomb, requires some creative thinking. I hope it will provide at least a few moments of pleasurable diversion.
[graphic excluded]
How is it possible to relocate only one of the four matchsticks in this configuration to form a perfect square?
The problem (not really a paradox) presented in our latest issue, Vol. 5, No. 4, drew one respondent, Rabbi Daniel E. Lapin, president of Toward Tradition, Santa Monica, California (also Miami, District of Columbia, Seattle, and San Jose). He says that with many scientists attending his synagogue, the problem of an apparently inaccurate value for pi in I Kings 7:23 comes up often. Here is his explanation:
"A circle with a diameter of 10 units and a circumference of 30 is quite impossible in the universe as we know it. What is more, in describing [the dimensions of] a specific circle, we need only state the diameter, leaving circumference to take care of itself. Stating both diameter and circumference is rather like stating both length and width of a square; redundant. Therefore, in the verse under discussion, our first warning of an incongruity is the word 'and its circumference' (one word, in Hebrew).
"This problem word is printed twice in all Hebrew Bibles, once in the text and once in the margin, spelled slightly differently. (This, as you know, is quite a common interpretive device.) The difference between the two spellings, 'VeKavah'and 'VeKav,'is only one letter--the letter 'Heb', the fifth letter of the alphabet... 'Heb' has a numeric value of 5 because it is the fifth letter.
"One of the most important techniques for deriving meaning in Hebrew is naturally the numeric, or 'gematria', method, in which the numerical sum of the letter values in a particular word add up to a total that hints at the meaning of the word. For example, the sum of the letters in the Hebrew word for year, 'sbana,'adds up to the number of days in a year. The numeric value of the letters in the word for pregnancy, 'herayon,'is 271, the average human gestation period in days.
"In our case, I explain to my inquisitors, the two numeric values indicated by the two spellings for 'circumference' add up to 111 and 106 respectively. Now, using those numbers as a corrective factor for the inaccurate figure of 3 for pi in the verse, we get the following: 3 X 111/106. Or 333/106. Which simplifies to 3.141509 and so on, which is a great deal more accurate. In fact, it is an accuracy not attained in Europe until the 16tb Century..."
I must admit my preference for a simpler approach, one supported by Gleason L. Archer in his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (available from RTB--see page 14).
Whereas the exact calculation of pi is essential for scientific, engineering, or manufacturing purposes, to express proportions in an approximate way is both common and acceptable in ordinary communication. For example, the moon is often described (even in texts) as having a diameter one-fourth the size of the earth's.
The matter of significant figures may also have a bearing in this case. Notice that the diameter of the Sea of cast metal, 10 cubits, is given to one significant figure only. In other words, the 10 could represent a rounding off to the nearest whole number. The same may be true, then, for the 30-cubit circumference. It gives only one significant figure and may represent a rounding off.
Yet another explanation, developed by Dr. Harold Lindsell and described briefly in Archer's book, takes into account the thickness of the basin's rim. If a ten-cubit (180-inch) string reaching across the bowl-shaped vessel from outside edge to outside edge were used to measure the inside circumference of that same vessel, exactly three measures of that string would do the job. As Archer suggests, "Let the skeptic try it and see!"
Look for a solution to the puzzle and a presentation of another Biblical paradox or problem in our next issue.
Special Thanks
The effort to serve more effectively and efficiently in the fields where God sends us has required our taking time to find new office space. What a task that has been! It started over a year ago when the directors determined that a move was necessary. The picture at right illustrates why.
The simplest solution would have been to acquire additional square-footage right where we were on the campus of Sierra Madre Congregational Church. The problem was that the congregation and its ministries have grown so large that their facilities already are overflowing. So, we began to look elsewhere.
Staff and volunteers scouted out hundreds of leads in and around Sierra Madre. One place in nearby Monrovia seemed an excellent possibility, though it would have required major restructuring. Plans were rolling full speed ahead until a city official turned us down flat. Other places were too large or too small, and all were too expensive.
Discouragement was creeping up on all of us when a friend gave us the name and number of a Christian couple who own business property in Glendora, about ten miles east of Sierra Madre. This couple had space available in a small commercial center, which we determined would be suitable for our needs. They offered us a favorable lease agreement, and we signed it in early December.
Since then, with the hard work of our staff, plus many volunteers and a few paid contractors, walls have been built and painted; doors, ceilings, and shelves hung; carpet cleaned or laid; special wiring installed; furniture and computers moved in; and telephones connected. We're up and running--not sprinting just yet, still settling in, but we're gaining momentum. Our thanks to all who have given above and beyond regular gifts, to all who have helped in any way (through prayer and/or physical labor) with this sizeable undertaking, and to all who came to celebrate and dedicate the place with us at the January 31 open house.
Field Report
Because so many friends have helped and staff have gone the extra mile (and then some), the ministry of speaking, teaching, and writing has continued through the upheaval of moving. The Simon Greenleaf University course led by Hugh and convening at First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton has drawn 80 students and will continue through April. The diversity of enrollees--atheists, skeptics, apologists/evangelists, information seekers of all kinds--adds to the excitement of each session.
Responses to our "Reasons To Believe" series on Trinity Broadcasting Network have been more encouraging than ever. Despite problems with inconsistent start times and occasional unannounced pre-empts, many calls and letters have brought us amazing stories of changed lives, of spiritual births and renewals. A few examples of this correspondence may be found in the Letters column.
One of the new fields of ministry we entered this past quarter encompassed four university campuses in Ontario, Canada. Hugh met with greater hostility toward Christians and Christianity than he has yet encountered anywhere in his international travels. Amidst the sneering and jeering, many of the students and faculty who braved severe storms to attend outreach talks responded warmly to the message that the God of the Bible has made Himself known, even through the research of physicists and astronomers. The Creator and Ruler of the universe awaits our individual surrender to Him.
Good things have happened in these and other venues, too, as the following list briefly describes:
Churches - The Sunday morning "Paradoxes" class at Sierra Madre Congregational is growing even larger (more than 80 now attend, and there is space for a few more) in its new room at 154 West Sierra Madre Boulevard and its new start time, 10:05 A.M. West Los Angeles Baptist was the site of an InterVarsity-sponsored outreach to international students and scholars from U.C.L.A., U.S.C., and elsewhere. More than 100 attended, mostly Asians but also Middle Easterners, Americans, and others, to hear why a scientist believes in God, more than that, why he is a Christian. The Q & A session indicated that the message got through. The college group of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, near the campus of U.C.L.A., invited Hugh and Dr. Alex Metherell (RTB board member) to speak and to dialogue with them at a winter retreat in Idyllwild.
Campuses - Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada, organized an outreach tour that included events for students and faculty at the University of Guelph, the University of Ottawa, the University of Western Ontario, and Hugh's alma mater, the University of Toronto. Though opposition to the message was vocal, the response cards revealed hungry, open hearts. The CCC group at San Diego State sponsored a noon-hour talk on UFO'S.
Radio - Rich Morthland, host of "On the Air," KPOF, Denver, CO, interviewed Hugh regarding the time scale for creation. Many callers posed excellent questions, and for the first time in the program's history, the majority of calls came from men.
Television - The "Reasons To Believe" series, 15 programs, will rerun this spring over TBN and its affiliates worldwide while several new programs are produced for broadcast later this summer. In December Hugh was interviewed by Hal Lindsey on the "Praise the Lord" program.
Business and Professional Groups - Open Forum for skeptics continues to meet monthly at the University Club in Pasadena. Attendance has been excellent and discussions intense. Some minds and hearts are visibly turning.
Conferences / Conventions - Pomona First Baptist served as the setting for an American Baptist Men's Conference. Hugh led two plenary sessions, one on Science and Creation and another on the Flood, for more than 150 men eager to be equipped for effective faith sharing.
Others - A group of Christian home educators and the Bible Science Association of San Fernando Valley wanted to hear the case for long creation days. More than 175 gathered in a home (equipped with short-circuit television) for this presentation. The response was clearly enthusiastic.
From Africa
The news is personal this time. We are pleased to announce the birth of a son, Aaron Elyahu, to David and Liz Block, RTB leaders in South Africa. Aaron, the Blocks' first child, arrived on December 28, 1991, bringing indescribable joy to his father and mother. Look for photographic evidence in a future issue. Dr. Block is a professor of applied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His inspiring slide presentation, "The Heavens Are Shouting!" has touched lives across South Africa, Europe, and North America.
From Australia
Bruce Ogden, on a recent trip to the U.S., stopped in to see our new facilities and to discuss plans for an RTB outreach trip to Australia in 1993. A team of two (probably Hugh and Alex Metherell, who was born in Australia) will speak in churches, on university campuses, and on radio and television broadcasts. Bruce also picked up more materials for distribution, including the new videotapes, which Australia's largest distributor of Christian videos will make available in Christian bookstores across the nation.
The wise man is one who knows the difference between good sound reasons
and reasons that sound good.
from Pearls of Great Price, Minneapolis: Wright-Mohr Enterprises, 1989.
Letters
"Thank you very much for the material you sent. I hope to use it as a witnessing tool here on death row. I would certainly enjoy receiving the free year's subscription to 'Facts & Faith'..."
--Gary, Atmore, Alabama
"On Sunday, 11 August at 9 A.M., I watched 'Praise The Lord' Club on television. I have seen the program 8 or 9 times, but this was special--very special .... Before I met Jesus I used to worship the stars (thought Jesus was an astral voyager, a druid, etc.). Now, for the first time I heard scientifically that God made 100 billion trillion stars just for Earth's existence. This is quite an eye opener. In fact I was so glued to the program I was afraid to go get a pen in case I missed any part, and now I've forgotten most of what I heard. So I'm really--this is the hard part--asking for help....
"...I am trying to be a Christian (from a very, very non-Christian background ... ). Up to August 11, 1991, I thought the universe + time was bigger and greater than God. Now you know why it took long and was difficult for me to write!
"Next I heard Dr. Alex .... He said the correct terms for sweating blood. That's how I gave my life to Jesus. [Someone] told me that Jesus sweated blood for me so I could be saved and born from above. Well, I'm a coppersmith and among other things I make Roman nails-1/4" to 1/2" square by 4" to 6" long. It's only now I understood what was happening to Jesus on the cross .... So, tomorrow I'll walk about 4-1/2 miles to the nearest post office to send this to you.
"If you don't write back, it's okay. Most people at church here think I'm strange/mad/weird or too stupid. So I've stopped going to church. Not that I've been a friend of Jesus for long. But I ask questions and I'm told to 'keep quiet.' I think it's because they don't know? But from being an Anglo-Saxon worshipping the stars, perhaps you'll help me to worship God who made them! Please help."
--Philip, Boksburg, Rep. of South Africa
"Thank you for your ministry. Because of your program my husband, who has 3 degrees in science, is now a believer. He and so many others need these detailed and highly intensive studies to challenge their minds intellectually and to make good working sense out of the Bible..."
--Barbara, Sumner, Washington
"We have been watching your 15-series TV program on TBN as often as we can get it. Last evening was a question-and-answer session with questions directed to yourself and Dr. Rogstad.
"Our reaction to this program is that the questions were not responded to directly enough so that we felt they were unanswered; the communication and discussion between the two of you was much better than between either of you and your audience; and that your program would be much more influential on the audience/age-group if there were more discussion between the audience and yourselves.
"We submit these criticisms in Christian love and in ignorance of all TV production problems hoping that our reaction may be of some value to your future efforts..."
--Herb and Margaret, Roseburg, Oregon
[Your critique is both valid and valuable. Thanks. I'm glad to report that the interaction with this audience of young believers went much better off the air, without the pressures and distractions of the taping. Our inexperience with this sort of production shows, but we want to learn and to improve. -KR]
"...We have had the pleasure of seeing your new program on TBN and have enjoyed seeing you on 'Praise the Lord.' We have scientific agnostics in our circle of friends as well as young people who are highly influenced by the Eastern philosophies. I used the 'flat people' analogy with a young girl, and I was so thrilled to see that she was open to a discussion about God and Jesus. I need more help through your books ...."
--Debi, Henderson, Colorado
From the President's Desk
Dear friends,
I have just come across one of the clearest examples of subjective bias in scientific research that I have yet seen. While one group of researchers is declaring that the intelligence quotient of human beings has no genetic component, another group is claiming that homosexual behavior is genetically determined. Researchers who have raised objections to these "conclusions" and especially those who have backed their objections with solid data have been rewarded with threats of dismissal and charges of bigotry. Will political correctness continue to gain clout in dictating the results of scientific research? It's a frightening prospect.
Why is science the favored club to pound secularists' dogma into the minds of the populace? Perhaps the answer is that science can be a powerfully intimidating weapon.
On a recent ministry trip to four universities in Ontario, Canada, I was reminded how easy it is to exhort people to take a stand for truth without considering what kind of courage that stand requires. On my arrival my hosts (Campus Crusade for Christ) warned me that I would be facing some stiff opposition. Students and faculty would not even show up at my events unless I shared the microphone with outspoken atheists. That sounded unpleasant, and my experiences of the next four days confirmed my anticipation. The unpleasantness, however, was vastly outweighed by the fruitfulness. Response cards revealed that for every vocal attacker there were ten to twenty others quietly indicating their interest in Christianity.
I realized, however, that whatever little bit of courage I mustered was nothing compared to what I was asking of the resident Christians. At each campus I asked to meet with the Christian professors to discuss strategies for outreach. At two of the campuses, the CCC leaders (not new to their posts) had found none. At only one campus did I actually get to meet with some, and there it was three. My meeting with the three underscored just how much antagonism toward Christianity exists on the Canadian academic scene and how difficult it must be for a professor to make his personal faith in Christ known, let alone present evidences for that faith. I could speak and run, but they must remain on the campus to face their tormentors daily.
Unquestionably, the normal Christian life is a call to courage, and all the more so as the Day of the Lord approaches. When one of us shrinks back, the rest have a tougher time. But, when one stands firm, the rest are emboldened. How can this courage be built in us? I believe it comes through the support of praying friends--and strangers. Thank God for the student groups who prayed for me around the clock while I was in Ontario. Let each of us pray daily for growing courage both in ourselves and in others who serve the Lord.
Sincerely,
Hugh Ross
Let us Reason: Truth Outside the Bible: Who Can Detect It?
Part Thirteen in a Series
By Hugh Ross
Part Eleven of this series of responses to people's stated reasons for unbelief offered a brief digression. The purpose of that piece was to clarify our views on the importance of the Word of God and of the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing a person to an eternal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
In that article, "The Reach of the Gospel," I affirmed my conviction that the Bible is God's unique, verbal revelation of Himself to the human race. Whatever else in the universe is true will be consistent with the Bible's message. All truth is God's truth. And I believe God does communicate through additional channels, as the Bible itself says.
In addition to the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation we have the facts of nature (see Psalms 19:1-4) as an expression of God's character and personality. Through fulfilled prophecy we have the facts of history to strengthen our faith and attest to His truth about the way people and societies work (or don't work). In godly marriage and family life He provides a tangible illustration of the relationship He seeks with each one of us (see Ephesians 5:22-33, for example).
Some may argue that one or another portion of God's communication to man is superior to, or supersedes, another. However, if we take seriously the doctrine of the complete inerrancy of God's Word, and we at Reasons To Believe do, then this notion is nonsense. Truth does not contradict truth. It all fits together.
It is normal, though, for one book to be more or less clear and specific on a particular doctrine than another book is. We understand, for example, that while both Hebrews and Esther deal with redemption, Hebrews gives more specific teaching on the subject. Similarly, though both Leviticus and medical research give us guidelines for sanitation and disease control, medical research is more definitive and specific. Hence, it is wise to interpret Esther on redemption in the light of our understanding of Hebrews, and it is wise to augment and amplify the guidelines of Leviticus with the findings from research in pathology.
I know few, if any, Christians who would disagree with this perspective. However, one vocal and influential group of believers is promulgating the notion that the mind of an unregenerate man cannot understand the word of God as expressed in the facts of nature (not to mention history or whatever) without first coming to understand the Bible. In other words, nonchristian scientists have no hope of correctly interpreting their findings until they first have come into a relationship with the Lord and a correct interpretation of the words of the Bible.
At least one assumption that seems to underlie such a belief is that the worldview of any nonchristian is so rigidly fixed against God that no contradiction of that view would be acknowledged or tolerated. I see this assumption as false.
Since the clearest and most specific discussion of who can recognize truth is found in the Bible, let's took there for a response to this teaching. In his first sermon to the Gentiles, Peter declares, "God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right" (Acts 10:34-35). Notice that knowledge and understanding of the Bible is not singled out here, for the written Word was not even available to the vast majority of people and nations when Peter made this statement.
Romans 1 and Revelation 16 describe wicked people as those who know the truth but refuse to submit to it. In these and other passages we see "the darkening of the mind" as the end of a process rather than an initial condition. Romans 1:25 describes the wicked as those who have "exchanged the truth of God for a lie." How could they exchange truth for something else if they never had it?
Revelation 16:9 gives a horrifying preview of blasphemers cursing God for the plagues they are suffering. Clearly, they know that the plagues have come from Him. Apparently even the most depraved nonchristians are able to recognize some truth.
Psalms 19:1-4 suggests that the truth made known to all people (not only to the people of Israel) includes more than just the existence of God: "The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." Presumably, the point of their message is to draw unbelieving men to their Maker and Savior.
In Romans 7:23 and 25 Paul says, "I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.... I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."
According to Paul's words, the mind recognizes that God's law is right and good, but in attempting to do what is right apart from the power of the Holy Spirit we discover our weakness, our bondage to sin. The problem is not that the mind cannot comprehend truth, it's that the flesh cannot produce obedience to it.
Let's turn now to the realm of human experience for a response to the issue at hand. Consider this point: If only the minds of Biblically-knowledgeable believers are capable of recognizing truth, then the only scientific discoveries we can trust are those that have been or will be made by believers. Everything else is suspect. Furthermore, no one could ever come to Christ as a result of evidences or research of any kind. My own life story is a testimony to the contrary, and I know that the same can be said for many men and women of the past and present, including some who are reading this article.
I'm sure that in these few words I have overlooked many important points on both sides of the question. For additional consideration, may I recommend Don Richardson's book entitled Eternity in Their Hearts. Our cassette tape "Job and the Gospel According to Creation" and ten-tape album, Biblical Paradoxes, also include relevant discussion. (See page 15 for two of these resources.)
Meet Our Board
By Daphne Trager
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Tom Delahooke, an avid athlete in 11 individual sports such as tennis, surfing, skiing, and golfing in his after-work hours, also enjoys serving as an active team player with Reasons To Believe. Tom first met Hugh through the Open Forum, a monthly luncheon and Bible discussion for skeptics, held at the University Club in Pasadena. Now he is the moderator of the group with Hugh as the regular speaker. Tom is particularly interested in using the Forum as an aid to personal evangelism among friends from various religious (or nonreligious) backgrounds who may not yet be open to attending a church.
"I am not a scientist," he says, "but, I am fascinated to see how God's revelation in nature is consistent with God's revelation in the Bible. It is stimulating to see how Hugh brings things together."
Born and raised in Ohio, Tom came to California at age 15. He has resided in the San Gabriel Valley ever since, attending Pasadena High School and Pasadena City College, where he was student body president, and settling in Arcadia after graduation from U.C.L.A. He is now a chartered financial consultant with Northwestern Mutual in Pasadena, specializing in life insurance and investments.
"While at PCC at the age of 17 1 met a beautiful young woman named Nancy. She was a Christian. I wasn't. She had a sincere faith but wasn't yet well versed in the Bible. In fact, she didn't know what the Bible teaches about being 'unequally yoked,' and we married at age 20."
A combination of friends' witness and the message heard at churches he visited culminated in his readiness to respond to a call to accept Christ during a Billy Graham Crusade at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1963.
Tom and Nancy grew together in their knowledge of God's Word and began serving as youth leaders at Arcadia Presbyterian Church, a role which they still enjoy. They have two daughters, Susie and Sandy, and five grandchildren. Tom says that an annual highlight of his family and spiritual life has been attending Forest Home Christian Family Camp in the San Bernardino Mountains. In addition to serving as an RTB director, Tom is a member of the board of an interdenominational organization called Adventure with the Bible, through which he received his first formal Bible instruction.
The Near Side: The Learned Society
By Rob Kroeger
The first time I attended the convocation of a learned society I was deeply impressed by a grave and ceremonious sense of occasion. I conducted myself with a reverential, almost apologetic, attitude. I had no delusions of grandeur about the terms of my admission to student membership in the American Physical Society. You paid the $15 application fee, and you were a member. Still, the congratulatory letter that informed me of my election to that august body set a certain scholastic tone.
I had worked almost one year in my field. Although I had been mostly tied up with wrenches and oscilloscopes, I felt I really should have been acquiring some familiarity with the literature of the field. It seemed everything I was reading in those days had "Introduction" in the title.
My ignorance bore down heavily on me at the conference. The president of the Society rose to introduce the first speaker. He observed that although Professor Weiskopf was wearing no name tag he certainly did not need one, for not only his name but also his face and his noteworthy accomplishments were well known to us all, and certainly he needed no further introduction. From the vigorous applause all around me I gathered that the president was telling the truth.
It was only during Professor Weiskopf's opening address that I found out it had been another banner year for particle physics. Apparently some rather earth-shaking developments had completely escaped my notice in the newspapers. I would dearly have loved to ask someone what they were, but I resolved not to make a fool of myself in public by asking stupid questions. I had my career to worry about.
It was a long, exhausting day.
Out in the Hyatt lobby between late sessions, coffee and cookies were served. I stood awkwardly against a post, feeling that I must look silly not engaging anyone in conversation yet not daring to impose myself on any of the important scholars who thronged about me in two's and three's. A man in a well-tailored suit hovered nearby. He was disengaged from any conversation, and I nodded deferentially toward him.
"Good evening," he said, nodding back. "Is the coffee to your liking?"
"Yes, it is, thank you," I said, quickly brushing the cookie crumbs from my fingers and extending a hand toward him. "I'm Rob Kroeger. I'm a grad student at the University of Pittsburgh."
"I see," remarked my companion as he shook my hand. He made no further reply, so I presumed he was waiting for me to go on.
"I've just begun working with the direct photon experiment in R807 at the ISR. That's Bill Willis's group."
"Ah," said the stranger, and fell silent again.
That's when I noticed he was wearing no name tag. Perhaps, I reflected, he is like Dr. Weiskopf. I'm supposed to know who this man is. Could he be Carlo Rubbia or maybe Caibibo? Still he made no reply. What an uncanny man! What an awkward silence! I went on, "We're trying to look for any evidence of annihilation diagrams in the P-Pbar data, but the background subtraction is a headache. My companion nodded with ponderous slowness, pursing his lips and tugging thoughtfully at the fold of skin under his chin as he ruminated upon my words. I cringed under the scrutiny of his powerful, analytical mind. It was like a searchlight exposing each flaw in my statement. His silence was crushing me.
When I could stand it no more, I ventured a tentative, "And you are..."
The thoughtful man straightened to his full height, paused a moment and said, "I am the night manager. Name is Simms." He paused again and nodded, "If there's anything I can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let me know."
Rob is a post-doctoral research assistant in particle physics for the University of Tennessee, currently working at the Stanford Linear Particle Center. He writes fiction for fun.
Word from the Editor
By Kathy Ross
Intellectuals. Are these the people for whom the ministry of Reasons To Believe was formed? This question we have often been asked. Its answer has sometimes been assumed. The answer I would give (you can hear it coming, can't you?) is "yes and no." The answer depends upon which definition of the term intellectual one chooses.
Most dictionaries give two (or more) meanings for the noun. One is "a person of high intelligence." In the several dictionaries to which I referred, this definition was cited second or third, and yet it's the one that many people, if not most, seem to think of first. Though I hope that Reasons To Believe does have a message and materials that can impact people of exceptional mental acuity, I cannot say that the ministry was created with this specific stratum of society as its primary focus.
My "yes" applies to a much broader group of people to whom the broader definition of the word applies.
Intellectual also describes a person who is "devoted to learning, to analyzing, to creative thinking." Such people may or may not have advanced education. They may or may not work in professions/jobs that require graduate degrees. They may or may not spend several hours a day reading. They are men and women, young, old, and in between--who ask probing questions (unless they have been beaten down too often for asking), who want to understand the how and the why of things, who seek something more than pat, superficial, or "party line" responses to complex issues.
They are not always appreciated or accepted by others. Many have received pejorative labels, such as "rebel" or "Doubting Thomas" or worse. One of our deep desires, in addition to building the faith of such people and equipping them for effective outreach, is to assist their friends, families, and churches in understanding them, embracing them, and benefiting from them. Let us give them a sense of belonging in the body of Christ. Let us create in our fellowships a place where they can do more than just survive, but where they can thrive. I believe that's the message of I Corinthians 12:14-26.
Pray-ers' Closet
In the fall issue of Facts & Faith you were asked to pray specifically for our office space need. You did, and God answered wonderfully. Please read the story under "Special Thanks," p. 6.
Since many readers are newly acquainted with Reasons To Believe, many may also be unaware of the opportunity for involvement with the prayer team, the group which we consider the "front line" of the ministry. Prayer team members commit themselves to spend time regularly (at least once a month) uplifting our praises and requests to the Lord. These items are listed by each staff member in a monthly letter. Pray-ers who live near enough meet together monthly, led by Mal Scharer and Bob and Sharon Stuart, at our offices, 731 East Arrow Highway, Suite G, Glendora, California. Please call the office at (818) 335-1480 for dates, times, and further information.
Once each quarter, usually in January, April, July, and October, pray-ers have an opportunity to devote a 24-hour period (Friday evening to Saturday evening) to corporate fasting and prayer. A set of notes giving some background and some practical details is available upon request from the office. Again, those who live near enough come together, in this case from Saturday mid-morning until Saturday evening, to gain the special benefits of interactive participation in this unique spiritual adventure. Each fast concludes with a communion celebration and a light "break-fast" supper, consistently a rich time of fellowship. Our next prayer-and-fasting day is scheduled for April 4. Please call a few days ahead to let us know of your plans to join us for this occasion.
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