Reasonable Faith
Hebrews 11:1-3
Preacher: David Williams
Hebrews 11:1-3; Ps 19:1-6. Theme: Reasonable Faith.
Sermon by Pastor David Williams. Strathalbyn Church of Christ. 20 Feb 2022.
What is faith?
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see, Heb 11:1_._ Faith is a solid certainty that gives us complete confidence. Complete confidence in what we do not see.
So, is faith irrational? Is it incompatible with science and reason? Does it defy logic? Does faith mean we are not in touch with reality. Too heavenly minded to be of any earthy use? But Faith is being sure of what we hope for. That sounds more substantial than clinging onto some irrational fancy. Today, we touch on faith and reason. It is a different sermon to what you are used to, but these are important subjects.
A Bible believing Christian enrolled in a science degree. From his first lecture, his faith took a massive beating. Daily, his beliefs were ridiculed. Vainly, he sought help from his pastor and church friends. All they could say was, “the Bible is true, science is not”. But this was no help when it came to writing essays. For a time, he stuck doggedly to his beliefs, trying to contradict his professors – professors who had spent a lifetime in their specialist fields and had debated with countless Christians. Within six months, the student gave up, and became an atheist. This story is repeated every year in hundreds of universities around the world. I have known many.
At the risk of being very simplistic, I will try to break this problem down to its essential issues. The battle is in truth a false one. For the battle is not whether faith or science is correct; it is a battle between faith and atheism. It’s an important issue for all of us, for 45%, nearly 1 in 2 Australians now say they have no religion.
Three issues will be discussed:
a. Atheism relies on bad science and blind faith.
b. Christians embrace science
c. True faith is reasonable, not blind
a. Atheism relies on bad science and blind faith.
It is not true that atheists have science, and we have faith. No, atheists too have faith – and one that is based on bad science. Good science works like this – it is based on observation. Scientists make observations and then draw conclusions from that evidence. In 1854, John Snow observed that cholera sufferers all used the same water pump in Soho. He concluded that contaminated water was the cause rather than bad air – people had assumed bad air was the culprit. Snow removed the pump handle and the outbreak ended. Snow made his observations and confirmed his conclusions by experimentation. But when scientists go beyond what can be observed, they are no longer in the realm of science but of philosophy, of faith.
Also, good science has an open mind. It is open to all reasonable possibilities. Logically, you can have a closed universe or an open one. A closed universe is simply the idea that the universe is all that there is. There is nothing outside the universe that controls or creates or explains it. Atheists are closed to the idea of an open universe – that something or someone outside the universe created it. Instead of accepting an intelligent designer – God – they come up with some very fanciful notions to explain why things are.
Stephen Hawkings was a brilliant scientist, but regrettably he strayed way beyond the bounds of science. He wrote, very perceptively, that the world is so wonderfully designed that it seems to have been designed by an intelligent designer. Things fit too well to be a matter of chance.
“Our universe and its laws appear to have a design that both is tailor-made to support us and, if we are to exist, leaves little room for alteration… the extreme fine-tuning of so many of the laws of nature could lead … some … back to the old idea that this grand design is the work of some grand designer …”[1]****
Despite seeing this design, he denied God. Now Hawkings was in a bind. He admitted the universe looks like it has been designed, but he denied the Designer. So, he had to invent something else. This was a multiverse. His idea is that as well as the universe we see, there is an infinite number of parallel universes – that we cannot see, or even discover. But we cannot even put his fanciful theory to the test.
Do you see - this is not science, it is philosophy. It is speculation. It is faith. Science works by observation and experimentation. But this multiverse can’t be observed. It can’t be tested by experimentation. “These other worlds are unknowable by us”.[2] ,. This is another religion, and a quack one at that. Even his fellow collaborator, Sir Roger Penrose called it “an excuse for not having a good theory”. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”, Ps 14:1. Hawkings, despite his scientific brilliance, was a fool when he stepped beyond the bounds of science and attempted to create his own religion – a universe without God.
However, even in this theory, Hawkings has failed to exclude God. For even if his incredible theory is true – of course in no way will it rule out God as he is the creator of all.
b. Christians embrace science
Christians have nothing to fear from good, sound science. Science is a grand pursuit in better understanding God’s creation, and so marvelling in our Creator. True science glorifies God – it is the study of his creation.
i. Adam
Do you know who the first scientist was? Adam. He was a skilled zoologist and botanist. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field, Gen 2:20. Naming someone or something is very important in the Bible. To the ancients, to name something was to know its nature. So, Adam had to first understand the nature and qualities of the various plants and animals to properly name them.
Adam was also charged as God’s steward to care for God’s whole creation. He was charged to Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth, Gen 1:28, and also to tend and watch over the garden, Gen 2:15. This enormous task called for extensive scientific skills. To be an able steward, he needed understanding in agricultural science, marine science and ecology for starters, to ensure that the creation prospered under his hand. Not as we understand them today of course – but he needed to carry out the work of a scientist: to observe, to develop theories as to how to best manage the created order, and to test those theories in the field. He would have quickly learnt that his tomatoes fared better if you added well composted manure, but they did not do well if you added salt to the soil.
ii. Modern science was propelled by faith.
The early scientists were Christians who were driven to explore the world because they knew it was designed by God. They believed these scriptures:
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen, Heb 11:3.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork, Ps 19:1.
Through everything God made, men can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature, Rom 1:20.
These early scientists knew that God had created a world of order, not of chaos. A world that was predictable, and so they were confident that science could reveal God’s handiwork and even something of God’s character. The great scientists, Newton, Kepler and Galileo – were all men of faith. Albert Einstein believed in a creative intelligence. Our scientists here know this to be true too – Glenys and Brian, Dr Harold and Dr Jeremy.
iii. Christians have nothing to fear from good science.
But a new threat has arisen. Like the atheists, the QAnon conspiracy theorists are trying to drive a wedge between faith and science. In a world that is going ‘post truth’ we need to hold to what is true – including the scientific truths about our God-made world.
c. True faith is reasonable, not blind
Atheists make the basic error of assuming that Christian faith is blind and irrational. But our faith is reasonable. True, we walk by faith, not sight, 2 Cor 5:7. And faith is being convinced of what we do not see, Heb 11:1. But this does not mean our faith is a leap in the dark, that it is irrational.
There is strong evidence for faith. I use the word, evidence rather than proof. Evidence works on what is most likely – what is probably true, whereas proof uses certainty. Proof belongs to the realm of chemistry and mathematics but not to faith, nor to life (1 + 1 always equals 2). But you cannot live life wanting proof before you make decisions. You may rely on good evidence that your beloved is likely to be faithful and a good prospective partner but you cannot prove this. Nor can we eradicate doubt in questions of faith, but we can be assured that a robust defence can be maintained.
As we have seen, there is scientific evidence for faith in the intelligent design of the universe. And this fits with what God says in his word. God has made everything beautiful for its own time, Ecc 3:11. In the process of creating, six times God declared it good. And finally, God saw all that He had made, and it was very good, Gen 1:31.
Mathematicians and scientists marvel at the way things work so well in the universe. If things were tweaked by the tiniest degree, worlds would collapse. Life would not be possible. As it is, creation fits together so precisely. It is like a finely tailored glove made to fit perfectly. And this perfect ordering is repeated in the trillions of interactions between the species on this planet.
Our faith is based on four evidences:
§ Scientific evidence
§ History
§ The Bible, and
§ Personal experience.
I have not the time to go through these in detail now. But eminent judges and historians, philosophers, scientists and theologians have been convinced that Christianity is true on the strength of robust evidence. Millions of Christians throughout history have been convinced because of their personal encounter with the Son of God.
While we strenuously defend our faith as reasonable, we cannot eradicate doubt in questions of faith. Doubt is our last topic in this mini-series on faith, and it deserves a separate sermon.
Resources
If you are interested in exploring these subjects, there are some excellent resources available.
· Centre for Public Christianity
· Books by Professors John Lennox and Alister McGrath
· You Tube debates between Lennox and the new Atheists
· If you know any Uni students, the very best thing they can do in their time on campus is to get connected with their local AFES or FOCUS group. They will not get simplistic answers from AFES as they deal with challenges from their professors.
As always, please speak to me if this raises questions for you or post a question in the offering box at the back.
Prayer Lord, give us confidence in you, in your word, in your truth. Give us the patience, words and courage to speak to those who deny your truth and your reality. In Jesus name, Amen.
Source:
· Lennox, J. C. (2011). God and Stephen Hawking: Whose design is it anyway?. Oxford: Lion.
[1] Hawking, S., & Mlodinow, L. (2012). The grand design. New York: Bantam Books
[2] Polkinghorne, J. C. (2008). One world: The interaction of science and theology.