Science, moral, spiritual and biblical skeptics, evolution, religions, paths to heaven, afterlife, supernatural, heaven, karma, enlightened, universe, big bang, creation, apes, humans, information, mutation, natural selection

Science, moral, spiritual  and biblical skeptics

Part I

Hi all you fine people out there! How have you been this week? I have been under the weather, ill with a sinus and bronchia congestion infection. I still have a ways to recover but I am determined to get this blog out to you all!

How many of you have come across people that want to challenge your faith in Jesus and or the Bible or the science/history of the Bible? It happens every now and then with me...and I have learned some great tools I’d like to share some of them because they can help tremendously to defend and share the faith of Christ. 

First of all there are a few things that need to be clarified. When a skeptic tries to dissuade you from defending the Bible/your faith, there are four basic positions of ‘attack’; spiritual, moral, scientific, and biblical. And behind each of these positions is a root idea. Each root idea can be brought into the light by a probing question. Then you will have a good sense of where the skeptic is coming from and what he is really asking. Let’s take a deeper look…

When a person states objections like: And uses red flags words like:

• Many paths lead to God.                                                      *basically good
•                                    * People can get to heave by many ways.                               *enlightened
•                                    *What you believe creates your destiny.                                *heaven
•                                    *Imagine your future and it will create your destiny.             *karma
•                                    *Meditation brings you closer to enlightenment.          *organized religion
•                                    *The afterlife                                                                           * holy
•                                    *The supernatural                                                                    * meditation
•                                    *Other religions/cults
•                                    *Questions about God

You have encountered a spiritual skeptic. “The root idea behind most spiritual objections is: ‘Good works get you to heaven.’”¹

So the “Probing Question to ask is: ‘How good is good enough (to get you to heaven)?’”² From there you can answer other questions they may have. Keep in mind the root idea and if the person just rephrases the question, lead them back to the probing questions.

When a person states objections like: And uses red flags words like:

• The universe (Big Bang, etc.)                                                          *The Big Bang
• Evolution                                                                                          *information
• Keeping reason and faith separate                                                    *evolution
• God is a crutch you use to explain things you don’t understand      *mutation
• Creation in six days is a nice story                                                    *natural selection
• There are so many similarities between apes and humans
• It’s plain to see we evolved from apes

You have encountered a scientific skeptic. “The Root Idea behind most scientific objections is: ‘The natural world is all that there is.’”³

So the Probing Question to ask is: ‘How much faith is required for that belief?’”⁴

Scientific skeptics are usually highly educated and can ask probing questions themselves. An example is “What scientific basis do we have that indicates an intelligence may have created or caused life to arise.” The answer lies in reason, something the scientific skeptic doesn’t believe can be connected to faith. But “complex, meaningful information does not arise by chance, and it cannot be reduced to physical causes. Therefore, it is no blind leap of faith to conclude that living things containing the voluminous code of DNA demand an intelligent cause.”5 All of our answers lie in information.

Facing the scientific skeptic is one area were we may have to brush up on facts. If the answers don’t come to you right away it is fine to let them know you will get back to them with an answer. Next week we will look into more ways to identify and counter the scientific skeptic’s  objections.

Keep in mind speaking with skeptics is not a one time ordeal. Often it is the building of a relationship and earning their trust with the facts.

Until next week, God bless and take care,

Willow Dressel 

This week in the night skies; for the northern hemisphere, “Thursday, March 27, On the traditional divide between the winter and spring sky is the dim constellation Cancer. It's between Gemini to its west and Leo to its east. Cancer holds a unique object: the Beehive Star Cluster, M44, in its middle. The Beehive shows to the naked eye as a dim, cloudy glow if your sky is fairly dark. Look for it a little less than halfway from Pollux to Regulus. With binoculars it's a snap even in a polluted sky.”⁶

For the southern hemisphere; “The Last Quarter Moon is Monday March 24. Earth is at Autumnal equinox on the 21st. Jupiter is the brightest object in the evening sky, visible all evening. Mars is prominent in the late evening sky. Saturn rises higher in the evening sky. The Moon is near Saturn on the 20th and 21st. Bright Venus is at its furthest distance from the Sun in the morning sky. The Moon is near Venus on the 27th.  Mercury is bright in the morning sky.  The asteroids Vesta and Pallas are visible in binoculars.”⁷

References:

^{1-5, and in general} Foster, Bill. Meet the Skeptic, A Field Guide to Faith Conversations. Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2012. Pp 34, 35, 49, 89, 90.

⁶http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance

⁷http://astroblogger.blogspot.com