Today I am going to introduce apologetics. An apology is a defense (Greek "απολογία" or "speaking in defense"). Apologetics is the study or practice of making a defense for something. It can apply to anything. There are Muslim apologists, evolution apologists, Mormon apologists. Any position that can be defended can be apologized. The church was commanded by the apostle Peter to "always be ready to make a defense (απολογία) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15). If you are like me, and most Christians/church-goers, I would imagine that this concept is not one you have given much thought to in the past. Make a defense? Either you believe or you don't believe. What is there to defend? The Holy Spirit has to do the work. If I get attacked, vengeance is the Lord's. Right? Wrong.
Paul tells us that "faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1, KJV, emphasis mine). Faith is NOT wishful thinking. It is a substantive conclusion based on strong evidence. Many in the church fall away quickly at the first hint of persecution or even upon having been made uncomfortable because they do not understand this concept. The core principles of Christian faith are absolutely based on hard empirical evidence, not on "blind faith", and not on just the words of some book either. The Bible is extremely helpful in coming to a working knowledge of God because it reveals who He is to us. But how do we know the Bible is true? What if you try to witness to someone and they simply say, "I don't believe your book." Does that shut you down? The good Christian apologist would get excited at that statement, not discouraged. Because now you get to lead them through the hard science that proves quite conclusively the existence of God, some aspects of what He is like, that the Bible's accounts are historically and empirically verifiable, even up to the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, and that all of nature essentially points to God.
This sounds like pie in the sky if you grew up in Sunday school and were taught "Bible stories" and you believe because your parents believed and it's just the thing to do in your community. I would argue, however, that you do not know what the real Christian life is like if you come from this perspective. I'll admit that I am slowly learning. My world has been widened substantially in the past few years as I have learned much more about what Christians go through every single day in many other countries. I would suggest a book to you. Read it with an open mind, whether you are a believer, a seeker, or a skeptic. It is called Tortured For Christ by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. You can even get a free copy mailed to you, absolutely no obligation. It is an autobiography of Pastor Wurmbrand, about when he, and many other Christians, were tortured (and many killed) in Romania at the hands of German Nazis (1941-1944) and then Soviet Communists (1944-1966). In 1966 he and his family were politically ransomed out of the country and allowed to come to the United States. Here he started an organization called Voice Of The Martyrs, an entity that raises funds and awareness around the world for persecuted and tortured Christians. This book is not for the weak-stomached. Apparently he wrote another one as well that is even more graphic than this one. He describes in disgusting detail exactly what happened to Christians and their families in these persecutions and in prison. I would encourage you to look into these very real stories of people in countries all around the world who are tortured for their faith every day. For a few more examples of Christian persecution worldwide, click here.
Why is this important? We were talking about apologetics. Yes. We were. And we still are. People are tortured and killed every day in the name of Jesus Christ. Why would they allow themselves to be treated in such a way? Why not just "renounce" their faith, as they are told would spare their lives? The answer is: because these people know that what they believe is the truth. The absolute truth. The no grey-areas truth. Their faith is rock solid because it is based on fact, not some 2000 year old fiction.
So what does "substance of things hoped for" mean? Substance refers to the core essence of a thing, and generally its physical makeup in reality. The substance of things hoped for would be the essence or material reality of things that one hopes for. For example, if you hope to buy a car with the money you have saved up, the substance of that hope would be the physical car. Not the thought of the car, not a painting of the car, but the car itself. "Evidence of things not seen" is related. In order to hope for the substance of a thing, you must have evidence first that the thing exists in reality. If you are putting all of your hope into buying a beautiful 1963 VW Karmann-Ghia, your hope starts with evidence that the thing exists. Maybe you have a picture of one on your wall. Not a painting, but a photograph. You go down to the car lot and look at all the different colors and styles they have. You test drive a few. All the while, you are busy saving up money frantically because you want this car so bad. But this is not blind faith. You know exactly how much it will cost, where to get it, and you have driven it already yourself. You wouldn't put your hope into buying, say, the Nautilus from H.G. Well's tale 10,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Why? Because you have no evidence that it exists in reality. It is not an actual submarine. It is the idea of a submarine that a brilliant man committed to paper long ago. You do not have a photograph of it. You cannot go to the submarine lot and take it for a dive. Other than the words on the page, you have no evidence that the Nautilus exists in reality. Many people think that God is the Christian's Nautilus. Other than words on a page, there is no evidence that He exists in reality. This is absolutely not the case.
Now, about evidence of things unseen. The previous example dealt mostly with substance. A substantive hope. Evidence is a piece of information that either supports or contradicts a claim. There are four types of evidence that are admissible in a court of law: real, demonstrative, documentary, and testimonial. Real evidence would include a signed contract, a murder weapon, a wrecked car, etc. It is a material object that is relevant to the claim in some way. Demonstrative evidence would include maps or diagrams, photographs that are attested to by a witness. This type of evidence demonstrates what a witness saw, and the witness verifies its accuracy. Documentary evidence is a document that supports or contradicts a claim. This would include a contract that is presented to prove its own terms. The best evidence, however, is testimonial evidence. Testimonial evidence is the only type of evidence that does not usually require another form of evidence to be admissible. It is the sworn testimony of an eyewitness, and generally it is able to put the rest of the evidence together into one cohesive body.
So how does this apply? It applies because all of the sciences, including criminology, are based on philosophy, the study of logic. True science requires evidence, just like a criminal proceeding does. And there are plenty of examples in the sciences today where we have almost absolute faith in certain perceived realities because of "evidence of things unseen". We cannot see the "plates" that supposedly make up the lower crust of the earth. However, every time an earthquake occurs, we see certain patterns of movement. The earth always seems to move in the same sorts of ways, in the same approximate locations. Earthquakes always seem to happen along the border lines of these alleged "plates". Plate tectonics is an entire field of geographical science completely based on evidence of things unseen. Of course, since we cannot see the plates themselves, it is a theory, albeit one that is well supported by evidence. The evidence does not contradict the theory, but supports it in almost every case. We have discovered many natural laws in the universe and these laws can be used to conclude that things exist which we cannot see. One of the latest is the idea of "dark matter" in astrophysics. Astrophysicists assume that dark matter exists, although they cannot detect it in any way except by pure logic. Based on the available information, it simply has to be there, even if we cannot detect it. Its non-being would throw everything else off. If you see concentric circular ripples in a pond moving outward from a central location, do you assume they just are and have no cause? That this pond is perpetually rippling in this pattern? No. You hypothesize in your mind that perhaps somebody threw a rock into the pond very recently, or that a fish poked its head above the surface to eat a fly. There is a cause for every effect. We know this. If we wanted to know exactly what caused the ripples, we would be able to find evidence that that would support or contradict our hypothesis.
This may shock some of you, but the Bible and the sciences do not contradict each other. On the contrary, many foundational scientific discoveries, and even whole branches of science, have come out of scientific endeavors sparked by phrases found in the Bible. For hundreds of years the pre-eminent scientists of the world were Christians who were worshiping God by studying His creation. I will write many posts regarding apologetics, how to defend your faith against your antagonists, and sometimes even against your own lingering doubts. The evidence in the physical (and metaphysical) world is substantial that what the Bible says is truth. The Bible claims to be truth. Science and philosophy claim to seek truth. Therefore the twain should meet. The Christians suffering all over the world have strong evidence for their belief. It's about time for the rest of us to learn what they know so that we can be as sure of our God as they are and live like we believe what we say we believe. If that offends you, I apologize.
Paul tells us that "faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1, KJV, emphasis mine). Faith is NOT wishful thinking. It is a substantive conclusion based on strong evidence. Many in the church fall away quickly at the first hint of persecution or even upon having been made uncomfortable because they do not understand this concept. The core principles of Christian faith are absolutely based on hard empirical evidence, not on "blind faith", and not on just the words of some book either. The Bible is extremely helpful in coming to a working knowledge of God because it reveals who He is to us. But how do we know the Bible is true? What if you try to witness to someone and they simply say, "I don't believe your book." Does that shut you down? The good Christian apologist would get excited at that statement, not discouraged. Because now you get to lead them through the hard science that proves quite conclusively the existence of God, some aspects of what He is like, that the Bible's accounts are historically and empirically verifiable, even up to the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, and that all of nature essentially points to God.
This sounds like pie in the sky if you grew up in Sunday school and were taught "Bible stories" and you believe because your parents believed and it's just the thing to do in your community. I would argue, however, that you do not know what the real Christian life is like if you come from this perspective. I'll admit that I am slowly learning. My world has been widened substantially in the past few years as I have learned much more about what Christians go through every single day in many other countries. I would suggest a book to you. Read it with an open mind, whether you are a believer, a seeker, or a skeptic. It is called Tortured For Christ by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. You can even get a free copy mailed to you, absolutely no obligation. It is an autobiography of Pastor Wurmbrand, about when he, and many other Christians, were tortured (and many killed) in Romania at the hands of German Nazis (1941-1944) and then Soviet Communists (1944-1966). In 1966 he and his family were politically ransomed out of the country and allowed to come to the United States. Here he started an organization called Voice Of The Martyrs, an entity that raises funds and awareness around the world for persecuted and tortured Christians. This book is not for the weak-stomached. Apparently he wrote another one as well that is even more graphic than this one. He describes in disgusting detail exactly what happened to Christians and their families in these persecutions and in prison. I would encourage you to look into these very real stories of people in countries all around the world who are tortured for their faith every day. For a few more examples of Christian persecution worldwide, click here.
Why is this important? We were talking about apologetics. Yes. We were. And we still are. People are tortured and killed every day in the name of Jesus Christ. Why would they allow themselves to be treated in such a way? Why not just "renounce" their faith, as they are told would spare their lives? The answer is: because these people know that what they believe is the truth. The absolute truth. The no grey-areas truth. Their faith is rock solid because it is based on fact, not some 2000 year old fiction.
So what does "substance of things hoped for" mean? Substance refers to the core essence of a thing, and generally its physical makeup in reality. The substance of things hoped for would be the essence or material reality of things that one hopes for. For example, if you hope to buy a car with the money you have saved up, the substance of that hope would be the physical car. Not the thought of the car, not a painting of the car, but the car itself. "Evidence of things not seen" is related. In order to hope for the substance of a thing, you must have evidence first that the thing exists in reality. If you are putting all of your hope into buying a beautiful 1963 VW Karmann-Ghia, your hope starts with evidence that the thing exists. Maybe you have a picture of one on your wall. Not a painting, but a photograph. You go down to the car lot and look at all the different colors and styles they have. You test drive a few. All the while, you are busy saving up money frantically because you want this car so bad. But this is not blind faith. You know exactly how much it will cost, where to get it, and you have driven it already yourself. You wouldn't put your hope into buying, say, the Nautilus from H.G. Well's tale 10,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Why? Because you have no evidence that it exists in reality. It is not an actual submarine. It is the idea of a submarine that a brilliant man committed to paper long ago. You do not have a photograph of it. You cannot go to the submarine lot and take it for a dive. Other than the words on the page, you have no evidence that the Nautilus exists in reality. Many people think that God is the Christian's Nautilus. Other than words on a page, there is no evidence that He exists in reality. This is absolutely not the case.
Now, about evidence of things unseen. The previous example dealt mostly with substance. A substantive hope. Evidence is a piece of information that either supports or contradicts a claim. There are four types of evidence that are admissible in a court of law: real, demonstrative, documentary, and testimonial. Real evidence would include a signed contract, a murder weapon, a wrecked car, etc. It is a material object that is relevant to the claim in some way. Demonstrative evidence would include maps or diagrams, photographs that are attested to by a witness. This type of evidence demonstrates what a witness saw, and the witness verifies its accuracy. Documentary evidence is a document that supports or contradicts a claim. This would include a contract that is presented to prove its own terms. The best evidence, however, is testimonial evidence. Testimonial evidence is the only type of evidence that does not usually require another form of evidence to be admissible. It is the sworn testimony of an eyewitness, and generally it is able to put the rest of the evidence together into one cohesive body.
So how does this apply? It applies because all of the sciences, including criminology, are based on philosophy, the study of logic. True science requires evidence, just like a criminal proceeding does. And there are plenty of examples in the sciences today where we have almost absolute faith in certain perceived realities because of "evidence of things unseen". We cannot see the "plates" that supposedly make up the lower crust of the earth. However, every time an earthquake occurs, we see certain patterns of movement. The earth always seems to move in the same sorts of ways, in the same approximate locations. Earthquakes always seem to happen along the border lines of these alleged "plates". Plate tectonics is an entire field of geographical science completely based on evidence of things unseen. Of course, since we cannot see the plates themselves, it is a theory, albeit one that is well supported by evidence. The evidence does not contradict the theory, but supports it in almost every case. We have discovered many natural laws in the universe and these laws can be used to conclude that things exist which we cannot see. One of the latest is the idea of "dark matter" in astrophysics. Astrophysicists assume that dark matter exists, although they cannot detect it in any way except by pure logic. Based on the available information, it simply has to be there, even if we cannot detect it. Its non-being would throw everything else off. If you see concentric circular ripples in a pond moving outward from a central location, do you assume they just are and have no cause? That this pond is perpetually rippling in this pattern? No. You hypothesize in your mind that perhaps somebody threw a rock into the pond very recently, or that a fish poked its head above the surface to eat a fly. There is a cause for every effect. We know this. If we wanted to know exactly what caused the ripples, we would be able to find evidence that that would support or contradict our hypothesis.
This may shock some of you, but the Bible and the sciences do not contradict each other. On the contrary, many foundational scientific discoveries, and even whole branches of science, have come out of scientific endeavors sparked by phrases found in the Bible. For hundreds of years the pre-eminent scientists of the world were Christians who were worshiping God by studying His creation. I will write many posts regarding apologetics, how to defend your faith against your antagonists, and sometimes even against your own lingering doubts. The evidence in the physical (and metaphysical) world is substantial that what the Bible says is truth. The Bible claims to be truth. Science and philosophy claim to seek truth. Therefore the twain should meet. The Christians suffering all over the world have strong evidence for their belief. It's about time for the rest of us to learn what they know so that we can be as sure of our God as they are and live like we believe what we say we believe. If that offends you, I apologize.
Great post.
ReplyDeleteMany have ignored the fact that scientists can be wrong. Black matter is assumed to exist because there has to be something there. That is a logical conclusion. On the other hand there may be several possible explanations, so it does not prove black matter exists. Such inductive reasoning frequently leads to false conclusions.
Many Christians are intimidated by scientific explanations, because they don't realize being a scientist doesn't ensure one is right.
You are absolutely correct. Dark matter and dark energy are only theories, like anything else science can come up with. And like others, they are based off of other theories. The theoretical network goes back a long way. According to NASA, a possible alternative is that Einstein's theory of gravity is incorrect. I was not purporting that these theories were correct (I have lots of issues with them, myself), only that they are logical based on given information. The universe screams that God exists, and that He loves us very much. Evidence always points to some conclusion, but it has to be interpreted. Unfortunately evidence that points toward God is in many circles at best ignored and at worst skewed to point away from Him.
ReplyDeleteBeing a scientist in no way ensures that one is right, especially the way "science" is done in our day. But what is fascinating is that many of the most amazing things to come out of scientific reasoning (especially about the makeup and origin of the universe) was stated in the Bible all along. Hymogenes, a scholar on the Hebrew Torah (around the time of Christ) concluded that the universe has 10 dimensions (only 4 of which are knowable) by reading Genesis 1. String theorists are just coming to that conclusion today, after billions of dollars spent on technology and labor. There are literally thousands of known examples such as this. Makes one wonder why we don't take the Bible a little more seriously.
I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. I would like to invite you to come on over to my blog and check it out. God bless, Lloyd
ReplyDeleteGood post and a good blog. I invite you to look my blog over and perhaps follow it as well.
ReplyDelete