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If you are a Christian, never question whatever pseudo-science is popular among the chatterati …

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… otherwise, their God of the Gaps will get you!

From David Snoke at the Christian Scientific Society, whose annual conference this year is May 9-10:

One of the things I addressed in the MIT and Pittsburgh talks was how the “God of the gaps” argument has made many Christians afraid to question anything in the secular scientific world; the de facto implication of fear of God-of-the-gaps arguments is that we must never question anything for fear of being no-nothing Christians. Even bringing up this fear was encouraging to many young believers in the sciences. For more on this, see my article at this link.

Readers accustomed to normal thinking processes will doubtless wonder what this “God of the gaps”—marketed by Christian Darwinists as something to be avoided at all costs—even is.

Basically, the underlying assumption is: Darwin and his followers are absolutely right. So if you point to any of the vast patterns in nature that simply do not conform to their claims, they will just come along and fill in those gaps. And then where will your faith in God be?

Perhaps there are people out there whose faith would be shaken if the Darwinians, neo-Darwinians, or ultra-Darwinians ever turned out to be right about anything. But we lack the equipment to process that here. We think they are all well past their sell by date and that someone needs to open a window.

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News sezz: If you are a Christian, never question whatever pseudo-science is popular among the chatterati
Christian Scientific Society sezz: http://www.christianscientific.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Christian-Scientific-Society-Principles-v4.pdf
So, if you're a Christian, don't question the High Priests of Triniteria.JWTruthInLove
April 8, 2014
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no excuses for intellectual or moral cowardice. Human beings are not, or not yet, that smart. We are still very primitive relative to our numbers. Even if right about something in science its a miracle. there is no evidence against anything in the bible or about gOds existence and fingerprints in nature. the modern creationist revolution will be just another correction of diumb ideas done in small circles of not very competent researchers or thinkers. Just get in there and throw and take a punch. Pretty tough fighters run and patronize this forum.Robert Byers
April 6, 2014
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God is not a “God of the gaps”, he is God of the whole show. John Lennox and indeed He is! 1. Naturalism/Materialism predicted time-space energy-matter always existed. Whereas Theism predicted time-space energy-matter were created. Big Bang cosmology now strongly indicates that time-space energy-matter had a sudden creation event approximately 14 billion years ago. 2. Naturalism/Materialism predicted that the universe is a self sustaining system that is not dependent on anything else for its continued existence. Theism predicted that God upholds this universe in its continued existence. Breakthroughs in quantum mechanics reveal that this universe is dependent on a ‘non-local’, beyond space and time, cause for its continued existence. 3. Naturalism/Materialism predicted that consciousness is a ‘emergent property’ of material reality and thus should have no particularly special position within material reality. Theism predicts consciousness precedes material reality and therefore, on that presupposition, consciousness should have a ‘special’ position within material reality. Quantum Mechanics reveals that consciousness has a special, even a central, position within material reality. - 4. Naturalism/Materialism predicted the rate at which time passed was constant everywhere in the universe. Theism predicted God is eternal and is outside of time. – Special Relativity has shown that time, as we understand it, is relative and comes to a complete stop at the speed of light. (Psalm 90:4 – 2 Timothy 1:9) - 5. Naturalism/Materialism predicted the universe did not have life in mind and that life was ultimately an accident of time and chance. Theism predicted this universe was purposely created by God with man in mind. Scientists find the universe is exquisitely fine-tuned for carbon-based life to exist in this universe. - 6. Naturalism/Materialism predicted complex life in this universe should be fairly common. Theism predicted the earth is extremely unique in this universe. Statistical analysis of the hundreds of required parameters which enable complex organic life to be possible on earth gives strong indication the earth is extremely unique in this universe. - 7. Naturalism/Materialism predicted it took a very long time for life to develop on earth. Theism predicted life to appear abruptly on earth after water appeared on earth (Genesis 1:10-11). Geo-chemical evidence from the oldest sedimentary rocks ever found on earth indicates that complex photo-synthetic life has existed on earth as long as water has been on the face of earth. - 8. Naturalism/Materialism predicted the first life to be relatively simple. Theism predicted that God is the source for all life on earth. The simplest life ever found on Earth is far more complex than any machine man has made through concerted effort. (Michael Denton PhD) - 9. Naturalism/Materialism predicted the gradual unfolding of life would (someday) be self-evident in the fossil record. Theism predicted complex and diverse animal life to appear abruptly in the seas in God’s fifth day of creation. The Cambrian Explosion shows a sudden appearance of many different and completely unique fossils within a very short “geologic resolution time” in the Cambrian seas. - 10. Naturalism/Materialism predicted there should be numerous transitional fossils found in the fossil record, Theism predicted sudden appearance and rapid diversity within different kinds found in the fossil record. Fossils are consistently characterized by sudden appearance of a group/kind in the fossil record(disparity), then rapid diversity within that group/kind, and then long term stability and even deterioration of variety within the overall group/kind, and within the specific species of the kind, over long periods of time. Of the few dozen or so fossils claimed as transitional, not one is uncontested as a true example of transition between major animal forms out of millions of collected fossils. - 11. Naturalism/Materialism predicted animal speciation should happen on a somewhat constant basis on earth. Theism predicted man was the last species created on earth – Man (our genus ‘modern homo’ as distinct from the highly controversial ‘early homo’) is the last generally accepted major fossil form to have suddenly appeared in the fossil record. (Tattersall; Luskin)– 12. Naturalism/Materialism predicted much of the DNA code was junk. Theism predicted we are fearfully and wonderfully made – ENCODE research into the DNA has revealed a “biological jungle deeper, denser, and more difficult to penetrate than anyone imagined.”. - 13. Naturalism/Materialism predicted a extremely beneficial and flexible mutation rate for DNA which was ultimately responsible for all the diversity and complexity of life we see on earth. Theism predicted only God created life on earth – The mutation rate to DNA is overwhelmingly detrimental. Detrimental to such a point that it is seriously questioned whether there are any truly beneficial, information building, mutations whatsoever. (M. Behe; JC Sanford) - 14. Naturalism/Materialism predicted morality is subjective and illusory. Theism predicted morality is objective and real. Morality is found to be deeply embedded in the genetic responses of humans. As well, morality is found to be deeply embedded in the structure of the universe. Embedded to the point of eliciting physiological responses in humans before humans become aware of the morally troubling situation and even prior to the event even happening. 15. Naturalism/Materialism predicted that we are merely our material bodies with no transcendent component to our being, and that we die when our material bodies die. Theism predicted that we have minds/souls that are transcendent of our bodies that live past the death of our material bodies. Transcendent, and ‘conserved’ (cannot be created or destroyed) ‘non-local’, beyond space-time matter-energy, quantum entanglement/information, which is not reducible to matter-energy space-time, is now found in our material bodies on a massive scale. Moreover, God, as revealed in Christ, is the elusive 'theory of everything' that materialistic scientists are vainly searching for: As you can see when we remove the artificial imposition of the materialistic philosophy, from the scientific method, and look carefully at the predictions of both the materialistic philosophy and the Theistic philosophy, side by side, we find the scientific method is very good at pointing us in the direction of Theism as the true explanation. - In fact it is even very good at pointing us to Christianity: General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Entropy & the Shroud Of Turin - video http://vimeo.com/34084462bornagain77
April 6, 2014
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Barb, I enjoyed reading your comment. Thank you.Dionisio
April 6, 2014
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The "god of the gaps" argument is usually brought up by Darwinists, who object that God is arbitrarily inserted “as an explanatory fix” wherever there is no provable scientific explanation. In other words, the claim is that a designer becomes the “God-of-the-gaps,” as if “God” were a magic word to use whenever men cannot figure things out. The question really should not be about what fills the gaps (god or evolution) but rather what are the gaps referred to here? Are they merely small and insignificant gaps in our knowledge? Or are they are real chasms of plausibility that exist in Darwinian evolution? In reality, the gaps are fundamental breaches in aspects of biology that the theory of evolution has been incapable of bridging. In all fairness, evolutionists who rely on unsupported assertions effectively make the Darwinian theory their “God-of-the-gaps.” As presented in the Bible, the Designer is no “God-of-the-gaps.” His activity covers all phases, aspects, and details of creation. He is well described as the One “who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them.” (Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:24) For good reason, a first-century teacher wrote that God “created all things.”—Ephesians 3:9. In addition, God established “the statutes of the heavens,” the physical laws that govern matter and energy, which laws scientists are still studying. (Job 38:33) His design is comprehensive and purposeful, achieving his objective to form the earth to be inhabited by a staggering diversity of living things.Barb
April 6, 2014
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Christians are not supposed to believe in any god of the gaps. We believe in the God of everything. When John the Apostle wrote "In the beginning was the Word" he did not expect to submit that statement to any scientific committee for review and approval, because that statement is beyond science. The true God is transcendent to philosophical or scientific narrative. God is the Creator of the minds that make sophisticated computers and send robots to Mars. Those same minds, however, must be in awe of the elaborate biological choreographies / orchestrations that God reveals to us, via scientific research. Years ago I heard a Christian song that said "I can only imagine" and I thought that I could not even imagine what God has reserved for those who love Him. It's simply beyond my poor simplistic reductionist mind. But I definitely want to imagine, so I read the Scriptures and see what it reveals to me. We Christians crave for information coming out of research, because more and more they reveal the work of God. We look forward with great anticipation to the results of all the research going on around the world, specially in biology, because we know that they will reveal more wonders for us to delight in. I tip my hat to the genuine serious dedicated biologists in the world. God has given me a few personal friends who are biology scientists in Europe and America. I know how hard they work, and how much they know and still study to keep up with their work. I love them dearly and pray for their health, their professional success and their spiritual salvation. I pray for y'all too. God loves us all. But He wants a personal relationship with each of us. He has provided the Way to achieve that. Let's follow His Way. In the meantime let's sing Hallelujah!Dionisio
April 6, 2014
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