 Okay. Welcome back everybody for our second hour on VC212, Christian Apologetics. We are looking at faith and science. Let me just go ahead and share the notes and we will progress in that lesson. Okay. Lesson three, we were just talking about faith and science, the fact that science doesn't have to contradict our Christian faith. I just move forward and look at a few other thoughts and insights on this. The next question that people may ask is, what about discoveries made in science that cannot be explained by biblical accounts? So what we must keep in mind is the Bible is not an encyclopedia. It's not like it records every animal, every bird, every tree, every historical event. That is not what the Bible is. So there will be a lot of things that we see outside which are not mentioned in the Bible. The Bible is not an encyclopedia of everything on this planet. It is not an encyclopedia of history or geography or botany or zoology. It's not that. So some people say, hey, look at these animals, they're not mentioned in the Bible. Yeah, all animals are not mentioned in the Bible. Or look at these plants or look at these places. They're not mentioned in the Bible. Of course, a lot of things are not mentioned in the Bible. Because the Bible is meant to point us to God, it is to teach us to God. It has some amount of history, some amount of geography, some amount of things about plants and animals. It's not a record of every plant and every animal. So obviously there'll be a lot of things that are science information in science which are not in the Bible. It doesn't, in any way, disprove the Bible or make the Bible any lesser. It doesn't make it. It's just that there is so much information outside. And there will be things that we may not have answers for. So Deuteronomy 29 and verse 29, somebody could read that. Deuteronomy 29, 29. Deuteronomy 29, 29. Deuteronomy 29, 29. The secret things belongs to the Lord our God. But those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Yeah. So there are some secret things which we don't know. Only God knows. There are secret things that belong to the Lord our God. But what has been revealed to us is for us to live and follow. So there are certain things God has revealed to us in the Bible. We live by that. But we also know there are a lot of things we don't know. It's okay. Leave it to God. So will science come up with information that is not mentioned in the Bible? Yes. Because the Bible is not a scientific encyclopedia of everything, physics and chemistry and everything. It's not. So obviously you will have information, but that doesn't intimidate us. It's very clear. We know Bible is not meant for that. It is meant to teach us about God and how to follow the instructions of God. Now, another important question. Should we use science to interpret the Bible? So this is again a problem. Now some good Christian, poor scientists have started doing this. They are using science to interpret the Bible. And then they come up with all kinds of things, all kinds of ideas. They're trying to fit science into the Bible. So example, let me just make some general statements and then we'll read what is in the notes here. In an attempt, so example, so science will say earth is about 4 billion years old. So how can I make the Bible say earth is 4 billion? Yes, you're going, you're trying to bring science and use that to interpret the scriptures. So we have different theories. Oh, okay, then we found the fossils, skeletons. This fossil is 1.4 billion years old. We found that dinosaur. So many billion years. We found that so many billion, all those things. So now they want to use science to interpret scripture. So they come to Genesis chapter one and all kinds of things people do. I'm just mentioning some examples. Okay, so between, and some of these things you may have heard, right? Between verse one and verse two, there were those big gap, like when I was discussing this. So many, there was a big gap between Genesis one, one, Genesis one, two. That's when dinosaurs were on the earth. That's when, you know, so we can adjust, we can make adjustment. So 4 billion years we can fit. Okay, or some others have said, no, no, no, each day is not one day. It is actually billions of years. So, so we will look at that. We look at Genesis chapter one a little later, but I'm just giving some examples. How they're using science to interpret the Bible. So, no, no, no, no. What God was telling Moses and Moses didn't know all this. He simply said day one, day two, day three, day four. But actually there were big periods of time, epochs. When the animals, I mean the plants came, then the animals came, so on. So, therefore, when somebody says this is 1.4 billion years old, yeah, yeah, yeah, it is correct, it is correct. Do you see it? Where do you see it? Between chapter verse three and verse four, like that. You know, so what is happening? And this is all happening. Like, you know, scientists are trying to explain the Bible using that. But it causes so much fuss. It is so much confusion. And second, it is a misinterpretation of scripture itself. Right. So what must we do? We should use normal rules of language to correctly understand the Bible. And the Bible has simile's figures of speech. So even today when we speak, we also, in our own language, you know, we, we, in day to day speaking, we also use figures of speech. You know, and that we say like, oh, man, that person was just a pain in the neck. He said, what, that person was your pain in the neck? No, it is just a figure of speech to say that that person was giving you a lot of trouble. Right. So even in our own language, we use that. So in the Bible, there are figures of speech. For example, you know, what people have used often is in Job 38 and Psalm 104, there is a phrase, the foundations of the earth. You can see the Bible is wrong. Where you got foundation? Earth is round. Where you have foundation? Earth is floating in the sky, in the space. Where you have foundation? And he said, no, no. This is just a figure of speech. He's saying that when God established the earth foundation, he created the earth. He established the earth. That is what foundation, starting the starting of the earth. So it's not that the earth was, the Bible is teaching us something wrong. It is using a figure of speech. That's all. And like this, you'll find many. Right. So and that is normal to any language. Any language we use figures of speech is part of the language. So we see that in the Bible and we shouldn't use that to say it's wrong. Then from our understanding, the Bible is final authority. While we welcome scientific discoveries that corroborate the Bible. So, you know, we say what the Bible says that is final. Science can change because they discover something today. They'll say something tomorrow. They'll discover something and then they will change what was said earlier. And their examples have happened that, you know, for instance, the early idea was that the universe was in an eternal steady state. That means nothing was created. Nothing. I mean, it was always like this. That was the initial scientific idea. That's what they thought. It was in a steady state. Everything was there. Just existed. Then slowly Einstein came. He started thinking. He started doing his calculation. He said, no, no, no, no, no. Things have had to have a beginning. Oh, then everybody said, yeah, yeah, yeah. Things have had to have a beginning till now. Everybody was saying everything was steady state. It always was there. But then somebody was doing thinking and came up with some idea. Oh, then they said, oh, the universe had to have a beginning. Okay. So now everybody is. So what we are saying is our understanding in science is something we are still learning and discovering. We can change. Science, our theories can change. Okay. So what we are saying is the Bible is final authority. We will stay with what the Bible says. This is what God revealed to man through his prophets. It's final authority. Science will keep changing fine. They will make discoveries and keep changing fine. But we stay with the word of God. So we're not going to change the word of God to accommodate the changing discoveries in science. And third is our goal is not to fight, but to present truth in love. Right. That means that we're not going to argue. We can only say what the Bible says. We'll present it in love. Right. And, you know, what they discovered in science. Fine. You're free to, you know, make those observations and so on. We're not going to fight this present truth in love. So the thing is we're not going to let science dictate our understanding or our interpretation of the Bible. The Bible is God's word. It is written in language of its time. But we're not going to change what the Bible is saying in order to accommodate scientific discoveries. So we'll be very clear with that. Another question that we must think about as we talk about faith in science is can science explain everything? So one, there are these big questions of life for which science and these are, you know, maybe we could say philosophical, moral questions. But they are big questions, which are important for us. They may not be important for a cow and a dog or animal or a bird. But for human beings, these questions are important. Okay. And science cannot give an answer. So what are those questions? Origin. Where did we come from? The dog is not going to sit and think, where did I come from? The dog is not worried about that. Animals are not worried. Birds are not worried about this. But human beings are asking the question. So we can't say, well, look at all of animals, but they're not worried about this question. Why are you worried? You're not an animal. So for us, this question is important. So we can't equate ourselves to an animal and do away with these questions. No, these are real questions. And there's a questions which we as human beings are asking. We can't just push it aside. Where did we come from? Origin. Who are we? So are we just another cow, dog, animal or something more to us? Because like we said in the previous lesson, something very different. People are moral beings. Animals may not think about it. But we are moral beings. So something different about us. We can't just equate ourselves. For us, who are we? Question is important. Why are we here? Question is important for us. How should we live? This question of morality. And where are we going? So these five questions, the big questions of life are important for us as people. We are asking these questions. And if you go anywhere in the world, again, we're going back, same thing. Any culture, any language, you sit down with people. They would like to think about this. Five questions. Where did we come from? Who are we? Why are we here? How should we live? And where are we going? So it is common to every human person. And faith, God's word, gives a clear answer. Whereas science is, you look at the answer. Science, if we can put it on a table like this. The Bible, Christian faith says, God created for us purpose. Science will say, hey, we just came over time. You happen to come. You're here. Who are we? Bible says you are created in God's image. If you look at atheism or scientific and naturalism, you're just a higher life form, more intelligent piece of mud. That's all you are. Christian, what is the purpose? You're here to glorify God. You're here to serve His purposes. Just find your own purpose. Do what you want. Just find something. How to live? God has given us His word. In naturalism, it is, okay, you define your own morality. That is why there is so much of problem in the world today, because each one wants to define what is right and wrong themselves. It's a much problem now. Whereas the Bible has already told us what is right, what is wrong. Now everybody is trying to do what is right for you. That is fine. But it may be wrong. It may be hurting somebody else. What is our destiny? There's eternity with God. Atheistic view would be nothing beyond this life. Once you die, you're gone. Finished. So you think about this. Science cannot give satisfying answers to these questions about life. These fine questions. We saw what kind of answers. Whatever you want. The word of God is giving us very clear answers. But like I said earlier, these questions are important for us as people. It matters to us. And if somebody is convinced about these answers to these five questions, then life becomes very meaningful. It is totally different as opposed to somebody with an atheistic view. Very different. Then if you look at science itself, science can tell us that something is there. It tells us example. There is gravity, but it cannot explain how it came into being. How did gravity come? And why? Who thought it was important to put it there? How it came? Why it came? I can tell you, gravity is there. You can use it for these things. You can use it to go up. You can use it to come down. It is there. This is the measure of it. You can use it for these purposes. But how did it come? Who put it there? Who thought it was important for it to be there? Who thought? So like this, in science, we discover many things. We can say what to use it for. But we cannot answer some questions. Why and how? Who put it there? So Italy does not answer every question. Even science does not answer every question in the natural world itself. So somebody says, the law of gravity did not create gravity. It only tells you gravity is there. No, no, laws are there. But who put the laws? Law of physics. Fine, fine, fine, fine. But the laws themselves did not create those things. The law describes it is there. It tells us how it works, but it didn't create. So there is something greater than the law. Someone who put the law in place for a reason. So we have to think about that. So there are many other things, many other laws in nature which we can describe. We know it is there, but they didn't bring the law itself into existence. They didn't create the law. And all these laws put together did not bring creation into existence. The laws are there. But you put all the laws together, it still cannot cause creation to come. So science cannot answer everything. Another question related to this is, has science done away with God? So some people say, hey, we have science, we don't need God. And so what are we saying? One we're saying is, so they think that we, just because we don't understand certain things, that's when we say God. If we understand, we don't need God. But we are saying, whether you understand or not understand, God is there. So there's a difference. They're saying, just because you don't understand something, you're saying God. So it's the God of the gaps. That means if you don't understand, you put God there. But we are saying that's not how we think. Whether we understand or don't understand, for us, God is everywhere. He's above everything. What we understand and what we don't understand. So their assumption, the scientists who, the atheist assumption, that we are just making up something for things we don't understand, that is not how we are thinking. We're not creating a God of the gaps. Fill in the blank. I don't know, put God there. For us, no, that is not how we are doing. Our God is not a fill in the blanks God. He's God who's above the whole full sentence. He's God. Even the blanks, I don't understand everything before and after. He is God. So for us, God is more than a fill in the blanks God. The second thing is, oh, and this was true of the ancient world, meaning the reason God, so man was man created God. And the reason man created God was whenever he encountered something bigger than him, he put God, lightning. Oh, I don't know how to control lightning. God of lightning, God of thunder, God of rain. So man created God. Whenever there was something he could not, it was bigger than him. So that is what they're pointing us to us as, oh, this is why you created, you want God. Something bigger you call God. No, there are many things that are beyond us, but whether there are things we can control, things we cannot control, we believe God created all things, is bigger than all things. So the God of the Bible was God even before the material world came in. So we didn't create God after lightning came and no, no, no. For us, God was there before the beginning. So he's not the material God. That means we didn't create God just because there was lightning and thunder. For us, God was there before and then he created everything, the world. Okay. So when they say you created God, man created God because he couldn't understand certain things. No, no, no. God was before the beginning. That is the God we believe. And the other part that we must present here is see our scientific discovery, study, learning, we are only discovering the universe. We didn't create the universe. Right. So no matter how wonderful, how brilliant our knowledge is, our knowledge did not create the universe. We're only discovering something already created. We're only discovering the universe that was already created. That means our knowledge itself is not greater. It is not greater than the creation and not greater than the creator. So science cannot do away with God because your science didn't create the universe. You're only discovering the universe. So science cannot do away with God. It's not greater than the universe that you're discovering is not greater than the creator. Right. So lastly, what we conclude is science done right will only lead us to a better understanding of God. So C.S. Lewis made a nice statement here. Men become scientific because they expected law in nature and they expected law in nature because they believed in a legislator. That means man is expecting nature to be very organized, to have design, to have all of that. Why? Because there is a designer. There is somebody who's created everything with law, with precision, with order. So that's what we are doing discovery. We're doing research and because we're expecting design, we're expecting intelligence and the reason we're expecting it is underlying that is there is an intelligent being who's designed everything. So the fact that you're practicing science is actually telling you that there is someone who's created everything, given order to everything. Which is what we need to respond. Last few thoughts here. Is science the only way to truth? See, for example, we have so many other disciplines. Science is not the only thing. There's business, history, art, language, music, all of that. Just because we have so many other disciplines, we don't say we don't need anything else. We don't say, hey, only thing you need is art. Art will explain everything. We don't say that. We don't say music will explain everything. So why is it that some says science will explain everything? No, science is one of the many disciplines to enjoy our worlds. But we need all of this and science does not do away with everything else. We need all of this. So our conclusion is that science can explain how and what, but the meaning and purpose is something bigger that we have to discover. And does science inherently include a leap of faith? The thing is this, that in many aspects of science, there is a lot of faith involved. Meaning you're actually believing something. For example, atheists, they actually believe in their philosophy. So they think, okay, what I am saying is true. That is belief. You're believing. So an atheist says, I have no faith. No, no, no, you have faith. You have faith in what you are. You're believing that that is true. So you can't say have no faith. You have faith in something. You have faith in what you are thinking, your line of thought. So is an atheist really a person without faith? No. An atheist is a person who has faith in his philosophy. He believes that is true. So you have belief. Secondly, if you look at what they are saying, that life came out of nothing. All this thing evolved over time, morality, rationality just evolved. Then that itself is faith in something that cannot be proven. Because if you ask a scientist, have you ever seen a monkey become a human? No, never seen. So you never seen a monkey become a human, but you believe it. I believe. Have you ever seen it? No, but you believe. So is there a leap of faith in that theory of evolution? Have you ever seen matter acquiring morality and rationality? Never. But you believe. You believe. So there's a leap of faith in their thinking, in their process. Actually, so believing what you, your philosophy, there is a leap of faith even in what some of the things they are saying. And there are many theories that cannot be proven. And so even in those theories, they say, okay, we'll start with the hypothesis. We'll say, let's assume this is true. The hypothesis is a belief that you're assuming it's true. It's an assumption. So so many assumptions they'll make, which is part of their actual practice. So they have a leap of faith in all these three counts. There is a leap of faith in science itself. So last we're close with this. Is belief in God delusion? Delusion means I just believing something that is not true. So the last bottom. So if God does exist, then atheism is a grand delusion and escape from the reality of a creator and a blissful avoidance of truth. So Stephen Hawking said this. There is no heaven or afterlife. That is a very story for people afraid of the dark. Then John Lennox responded. Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light. So, you know, so the thing is this, look, if you, if the science, if scientists and atheists are pointing fingers at us, look, they themselves are practicing what they are accusing us of. They're having faith actually on many counts. Now, John Lennox is a Christian who's all the scientists. I think he's with Oxford University. You can look him up, read his books. You can trust it. There are the websites that you can go to and look up. So let's just keep some time for questions. Any questions online? Yes, Sean. So suppose you're a scientist, right? So does what area of science you're specializing? Does that affect your faith in God? Like you said, you can be a scientist and you can have faith, right? Suppose if you're a scientist who like who's like a zoologist or a botanist and all that. So I don't think that will affect much. But when you go like when you become like a physicist and stuff like that, that you'll be in there. You'll go into this theory and stuff. So will that affect your faith in God as a scientist? I think just from my observation, I think you have people in all disciplines who are believers. And of course you also have atheists in all disciplines. I think it's kind of, it doesn't, I think that we can't always say that certain disciplines that are more believers or not. Okay. For example, this Hugh Ross and a couple others who were in the physicist astronomy, that space, and they all came to believe in God. And then you have people who are in other disciplines with life sciences, biology, and so on, who also are believers. So I think there's a, I mean, my observation is I think you have people in all disciplines who are on both sides of the fence, you know, the believers or the atheists. Yeah. Any other questions online? Okay. Any questions in the class? All right. So we will pause here for today and then next week we will get into creation. So the next few lectures will be a little, whatever I would say, more science based. Okay. Don't worry if, you know, if it's not something you're very excited about, just nod your head and let it go. But if you are interested in science, the next couple of lectures will be kind of interesting. But only in this area of creation and Genesis, we will explain Genesis chapter one and all that. And then we'll go off into other topics. Okay. So just hold on for a couple of classes. We'll look at it from a scientific perspective. And then we will get back into other things. All right. Let's close. Can somebody close? Okay. So Chaya, there's law which was created by God. Humans will investigate it. That's right. That's right. Okay. All right. Let's close and pray. Somebody could pray and then we'll dismiss, please. Heavenly Father, thank you very much for bringing here for this class, Heavenly Father. And thank you very much. I hope I understand your word, Heavenly Father. I hope I understand new things about your word, Heavenly Father. And Heavenly Father, help us to keep improving understanding as we go further in the subject, Heavenly Father. And I press all to keep up with it, Heavenly Father. And thank you very much for bringing new things to Pastor Ashish, Heavenly Father. Thank you very much once again for the lovely class, Heavenly Father. And bless all those present here, Heavenly Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, everyone. See you again. Bye now.