Restitutio

What is a miracle? Does it mean God breaks the laws of physics or merely that he intervenes within the system? After considering several definitions of miracles from Christian thinkers, Will Barlow interacts with a number of biblical incidents to explain what a miracle is and is not. He examines the parting of the Red Sea, Moses getting water from the rock, the collapse of Jericho’s walls, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire, and Daniel in the lions’ den. For each Barlow looks at how God performed the miracle, shedding light on how science and scripture interact.

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Miracles

• Defining a Miracle

What is the big deal with miracles? Why are miracles important?

• Thomas Jefferson famously refused to believe in miracles – his edited version of the NT had all of the miracles removed

Richard Swinburne on miracles:

“What the theist claims about God is that he does have a power to create, conserve, or annihilate anything, big or small. And he can also make objects move or do anything else…He can make the planets move in the way that Kepler discovered that they move, or make gunpowder explode when we set a match to it…”

“or he can make planets move in quite different ways, and chemical substances explode or not explode under quite different conditions from those which now govern their behavior. God is not limited by the laws of nature; he makes them and he can change or suspend them – if he chooses.”

Francis Collins on miracles:

A miracle is “an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin.”

William Lane Craig on miracles:

“You see, natural laws have implicit ceteris paribus conditions—that’s Latin meaning, ‘all other

Having looked at the basics of earth science last time, we are now ready to consider Noah's Flood. As always you'll learn the major options for interpreting this biblical event. Some Christians understand the flood to have been a local event, largely limited to the region of Mesopotamia. Others hold to the notion that this flood covered the entire planet, rising above even the highest mountains. No matter which position you take, you'll have to answer key biblical and scientific questions. 

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0xPsa6WrPE&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV1Etu1jXO3jbUQ6CFI-2k6W&index=13&t=4s

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Noah’s Flood

• Considerations• Global or local?• Evidence for Noah’s Flood• Implications of Noah’s Flood

Considerations

• Rain before the flood?• Plate tectonics and evolution• Scope and evolution• How big was the ark?

Rain before Noah’s flood?

Many have taught that, before Noah’s flood, there was no rain:

Genesis 2:5-6   When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up--for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground--

Scholar Mark Futato suggests that “mist” should be translated as “rain.”

• In the context, there are two “problems”

• No rain• No man to till the ground

• Thus, “mist” could equal “rain”

Reasons why “mist” could be better:

• If you hold late tectonic shift, mist would be required (“land” singular in Genesis 1:10)• The sign of the rainbow — the rainbow is only physically possible with rain• Possibly rain kicked off the modern water cycle - this answers the objection “where did the water go?”

Plate Tectonics and evolution

What we believe about plate tec

So far we've considered physics and biology in our exploration of scripture and science. Today we begin to consider how earth science and the bible fit together. This becomes particularly significant when considering interpretations for Noah's flood. We'll get to that next time. But, for today, our teacher will lay out the basics of geology and earth science to give us a good overview. He'll also cover radiometric dating, which has a bearing on how scientists determine the age of the earth.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VzgrLAFXfg&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Flhim.org%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt

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Geology, Earth Science, and Atmospheric Science

• Geology• Important cycles• Plate tectonics

Geology

• Types of rocks/rock cycle• Geological principles• Dating methods• Structure of the Earth

What is Geology?

Geology is the study of the Earth and the processes related to the Earth.

• Geologists study rocks (and the rock cycle)• Subfields include atmospheric studies (meteorology), volcanology (studying volcanos), and mineralogy (study of minerals)

Types of Rocks

There are three major categories of rocks:

• Sedimentary - formed by pressure acting on sediment• Igneous - formed by lava• Metamorphic - formed by extreme pressure and heat

The Rock Cycle

Since wind and water are constantly affecting change, there is a rock cycle.

Geological Principles

There are several main principles of geology:

• Superposition• Cross-cutting relationships• Uniformitarianism

Dating Methods

There are major types of dating:

• Absolute dating• Relative dating

Absolute Dating

Absolute dating is based on radioactive decay. What is radioactive decay?

• Some forms of certain elements are (by nature) unstable• Over time, these elemen

I’d like to take an opportunity to interrupt this Scripture and Science class. We’ve just done three episodes on evolution. The first one covered the basics of what evolution is. Our second teaching evolution covered biblical problems and the third surveyed some scientific problems. Then Will interviewed Sam about his beliefs in both Christianity and evolution. I figured we’d just leave it there and move on to hear what Will had to say about geology. But after seeing various comments coming in, I decided it would be good to interject some of my own thoughts both defending my reasons for honestly engaging with evolution as well as my reasons for still not believing in it.

My reasons:

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Since it's inception, evolutionary theory has remained controversial for many. Although one might think only uneducated laypeople find the idea unpalatable, quite a sizeable minority of scientists too struggle to come to terms with Darwinism. In today's episode, Will Barlow explores a number of major scientific objections to evolution, including the Cambrian explosion, mutations as an insufficient mechanism, irreducible complexity, and the fossil record itself. Additionally, he briefly explores the issue of abiogenesis--the presumed starting point for any evolutionary development.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdx6kuhRqQY&feature=emb_imp_woyt

See below for notes.

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Scientific Objections to Evolution

• Evidence problems (open scientific questions)• Methodological problems• Evolution or design?

Evidence Problems

The theory of evolution has several major open problems that are yet to be solved:

• The Cambrian Explosion• Mutations

The Cambrian Explosion

Much of the fossil record could be viewed in a light to support evolution, but the Cambrian Explosion poses a big problem:

• The theory of evolution requires slow changes over a long time• Cambrian explosion was a big change in a short period of time

Simply put, what is the Cambrian explosion?

• Evolution would predict species would diverge and lead to new genera, families, orders, classes, and then phyla• Most animal phyla (and many major classes within them) appear fully formed in the Cambrian period

“According to modern paleontologists James Valentine, Stanley Awramik, Philip Signor, and Peter Sadler, the appearance of the major animal phyla near the beginning of the Cambrian is ‘the single most spectacular phenomenon evident in the fossil record.’”— Jonathan Wells, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Inte

Having looked at what the theory of evolution teaches last time, today we're going to think through how well evolution fits with the bible. Will Barlow covers two main scriptural objections that young earth creationists bring against evolution before exploring three more issues that arise from the perspective of old earth creationism. How does Genesis 1 fit with evolution?

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZysp0JF3CA&feature=emb_imp_woyt

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Genesis 1 and Evolution

• Review of evolution• YEC and evolution• OEC and evolution• Non-literal views and evolution

Review of evolution

Misconception #1: “It’s just a theory!”Misconception #2: It means to explain how life beganMisconception #3: Evolution says that humans evolved from apesMisconception #4: Evolution is a progression from simpler organisms to more complex organisms

YEC and Evolution

How does YEC view evolution?

• In short, YEC reject the theory of evolution• YEC make both Scriptural and scientific arguments to defend their position - we will focus on the Scriptural arguments for now

Scriptural Objection #1

“Adam and Eve are no longer the first humans, and original sin goes out the window. This does irreparable damage to the biblical redemption narrative. The Bible says that death came into the world because of man’s sin (Romans 5:12) and that all of creation labors under a curse because of sin (Romans 8:22). Scripture also says that Christ is the last Adam, come to redeem us from the sin brought into the world through the first man, Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45).”

“If Adam were a mythical figure, which is what evolution demands, even in a Christianized form, the entire parallel between the two Adams and the kinsman redeemer concept is destroyed. By advocating evolution, theistic evolutionists are undermining th

Having taken a short break from our Scripture & Science series, we are back. Today begins a series of three episodes exploring evolution. Whether you believe in evolution or not, it's important to understand what the theory claims and how evolutionists reason. In this episode, Will Barlow briefly explains how evolutionists explain the gradual change from one species to another. He dispels four common misconceptions and delves into the genetic insights popularized by Francis Collins who is both an evolutionist and a Christian.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDi6QRlyfSE&feature=emb_imp_woyt

See below for notes.

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Biochemistry and Evolution

• Common misconceptions with evolution• General framework of evolution• Modern evolutionary theory

Common misconceptions with evolution

Misconception #1: “It’s just a theory!”

• Often, opponents of evolution will state that it is a theory (and use that term pejoratively)• However, evolution does account for much of the scientific evidence and has made many successful predictions

Definition of “theory”“A scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed.”-Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show of Earth, pg. 9

Common misconceptions with evolution

Misconception #2: It means to explain how life began

• Often, opponents of evolution attack the beginning of life problem• However, evolution does not attempt to account for the beginning of life; this is the theory of abiogenesis

Renowned Historical Jesus Scholar and Princeton Theological Seminary Professor, Dale Allison's life changed forever when he was just sixteen years old. In fact, he has chronicled nine profound spiritual experiences throughout his life. These extraordinary moments of transcendence led him to a comparative study to learn more about what is happening to people all around the world in our time. The result? A book that catalogues and describes weird encounters with angels in white, sudden terminal lucidity, near death experiences, and even encounters with evil spiritual entities. This is not the typical sort of book written by someone who has made a career of scholarship within a guild that generally prefers naturalism and reductionism to the miraculous or inexplicable. Nonetheless, now tenured and sitting atop a mountain of published successes--and without concern about his career--Professor Allison feels free to explore his own numinal episodes as well as those of a staggering number of others--most of whom keep such experiences to themselves.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://youtu.be/H4_ZSJH6SRs

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Today we’re taking a little break from our Scripture and Science class for an author interview. I’m talking with Mary DeMuth who wrote, Love, Pray, Listen, which is about parenting wayward adult kids with joy. Because faith is not genetic, our children get to decide for themselves whether or not they will follow Jesus. Some believe in the home and then stand strong a lifetime. Others, have to go over fool’s hill and after a period of rebellion, come back to the faith with a powerful testimony. Still others, leave and never come back. What’s more, you have no idea what’s going to be the case with your kids. We parent, we teach, we pray, we love, but God has not given us the right to force our adult kids to believe. How do we deal with this? Well, Mary DeMuth has some answers to encourage you and help you maximize the possibility of them coming back to the faith.

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1. Your book is for the parents of adult wayward children. What made you want to write about this?

This episode rounds out three sessions focused on physics. Today we're learning about the incredibly precise conditions required for life to exist in our universe. From the strength of gravity to the properties of carbon or water to the beauty of math and the stars, Pastor Will Barlow enumerates several key ways in which the cosmos is finely-tuned to support life. Next he covers several of the common responses atheists put forward to explain this incredible precision. Barlow briefly responds to each before concluding that the God hypothesis fits the best.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQYtxleTue0

See below for notes.

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What is fine-tuning?

Fine-tuning is the idea that the existence of life on Earth is due to remarkably precise “settings” in the natural world.

• Example: baking a cake vs. baking a “fine-tuned” cake• Example: Finding a watch in a forest

Fine-tuning in Scripture

Romans 1:20   For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Categories of fine-tuning

• Cosmological• Properties of carbon and water• Beauty in math, physics, and nature

Cosmological fine-tuning

Example One: The Balance between forces

• A 1% change in the strong nuclear force would have a 30-1,000 fold impact on oxygen and carbon production in stars• Small changes to gravity would make large life impossible• The balance between gravity and electromagnetism allows for gentler yellow stars like our Sun

“The expansion speed, the material content of the universe, and the strengths of the basic forces, seem to have been a prerequisite for the emergence of the hospitable cosmic habitat in which we live.”-Martin Rees, physicist and skeptic

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