 Okay. Welcome everyone to our second lecture. I'll go ahead and share the notes and then we'll get started. All right. So, first we'll go through a theological response on what the Bible says about creator God and creation. Okay, so this is more of a chapter and verse. This is what the Bible says. Then after that we will get into a philosophical response. Let's see how much we can cover today and then we'll continue this next week. So, if you look at it from a theological response, what are the things that we can say? First, we say the Bible teaches us that God is an infinite being, like we said, infinite in time, power and understanding. He always existed because he is self-existent. So, God is self-existent. So, somebody say, if somebody thinks they're asking a very smart question, if God created the universe, who created God? So, they think a very smart question. It's actually a very foolish question. Because the very fact, the very say, we call somebody God means he's God and God is self-existent. He doesn't depend on anybody or anything for his existence. So, that question, it's ever an invalid question. Who created God? Well, if somebody created God then that person is God. The people who are asking this question, they are not believing the person who is God. The people who are asking this question, who created God, they are not believing the God. They are not believing God. They are not believing and it's like there is a person called God. So, then they are asking a question for the sake of arguments, just to argue. Well, by definition, God is infinite in time, power and wisdom, understanding. And God, by definition, is self-existent. So, the fact that they don't believe in God and then they ask this question, who created God? Okay, if you're asking a question, who created God? Well, we are saying God, by definition, is infinite and self-existent. So, the being who we call God is a self-existent being. He doesn't depend on anyone else for his existence. Now, we don't believe in that. That does not make the invalid question any more valid. The question is invalid because, by definition, God is self-existent. So, and we see this in Scripture many, Psalm 90 verse 2, from everlasting to everlasting. God, that means there was no beginning, no end, from everlasting to everlasting. You're God. Psalm 147, 4 and 5, great is our God, mighty in power, his understanding is infinite. There is no limit to his understanding. Same thing in Isaiah 40, some of these verses we've listed here. Verse 18, how can you liken God? How can you compare him? So, we are trying to understand the infinite with what is finite. Like our understanding is about finite things. And we are trying to understand the infinite in terms of the finite. So, there will be always limitations. There can be some understanding, but not full understanding because he's infinite. And our understanding is only about finite things. So, God is the verse 28. Isaiah 40, 28, he's the everlasting God. He neither faints his understanding is unsurpassable. Second thing is, the Bible tells us God created the universe. The Bible is very clear on that. So, we're giving a theological response, right? I mean, we're saying this is what the Bible says. So, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. That means what you're seeing out there, we call it the universe. What you're seeing in the universe, the heavens and the earth on the planet. Everything there in the universe, on the planet, God created. God caused it to come into being. Now, all things, John 1 verse 3, all things were made through him. Genesis 2 says the heavens and the earth finished, God rested from the work he had done. And the Bible also says that in six days, the Lord did everything. So we'll get into those details, right? How that happened. So, this is another thing the Bible says. In six days, God created everything. Now, according to science, earth evolved over billions of years. The earth is supposed to be four billion years old. And everything happened over time. We will study this. The Big Bang Theory says, way back in time, about 14 billion years ago, there was an explosion and then the whole, all of the universe came into being. And then over time, things happened on this planet that gave rise to life. And then over millions of years of evolution finally, you and I came. So, according to these theories, it took billions of years and of processes to bring us to where we are. But according to the Bible, in six days, God created the heavens and the earth. So, how do we reconcile the two, right? So, that brings us to the third point. God created the heavens and the earth in its initial mature form. Can the Bible is very clear about that? That in the creative act of God, everything was created in a very mature form. So, when we read Genesis chapter 1, different things were created on different days. And for example, when God said, let there be birds in the sky and creatures in the sea, they came into being and they came into existence in their mature form. And God said, let us make man. Adam was not created like a little cell. He was created as a man. So, maybe two seconds after Adam rose up from the ground, if God brought Adam to you and said, how old is this man? You might say, maybe 30 years old. I don't know. No, no, no, God, it's only two seconds. He just came up from the ground. Just two seconds, he stood up. You think 30 years. So, what do we say? That in the creative act of God, time, energy and intelligence was compressed. Time, energy and design, intelligence. It all came together in that moment. Why is this important? Because for us, intelligence is an evolutionary process. It grows gradually. It takes millions of years for us in the theory of evolution. But for God, he is infinite in wisdom. He has no problem in bringing it into realization, material form in some expression in an instant. So, we say, well, the star, see how much of energy one sun is so much of energy, it's emitting so much of energy. Therefore, for those stars to have come together would have taken millions and millions and millions of years for those gases to come together and start this reaction to give out so much energy. God said, no, I just said stars be stars came. He is infinite in power. So, in the creative act of God, God brought time, power and design together in an instant. For us, when we break it down, it will take millions of years for something like this to happen. So much of intelligence to come together, it will take millions of years. How it can come in one second? God did it. So, the age they calculate about the stars, age of the stars from the earth, so it doesn't point out accurately. The age of the stars or the earth that the scientists are calculating right now doesn't accurately point out to the original existence of the earth, right? Like the original time when God created the earth or does it? It does not because remember, scientific calculation is not precise, right? It is based on certain theories and that keeps on changing. Like maybe there was a time when people said earth was 4 million years old. Then they said, no, no, no, no, that's not it. We got new calculation. Now according to a calculation is 10 million years. Then no, no, no, no, no, it must be 1 billion. No, no, change, change. Now it's 4 billion change. So it's not a precise thing. It's something we are trying to estimate based on certain things. So it keeps on changing over time, right? So the estimation of the age of this universe or the age of the earth or the age of a certain planet or something, it is an estimation. It's something that is based on what we think we know at that time and that will keep changing. As we discover something or learn something more, we will, we could revise that. That is, I'm talking from a scientific perspective. So it's not necessarily. It is not the actual time in which God created the universe. Because we go according to scripture about, and we will study Genesis chapter 1 carefully, verse by verse, about 6,000 years, 6,000 years in calendar time, about 6,000 years. We go back in time, but we can trace the history of the human race. And somewhere there, God said, let there be likes. So we don't know exactly. We know from Adam's time. Okay, God said, let's create man. So you create Adam. From Adam's time, we have account. So we can say roughly, roughly according to Bible. From the time of Adam, it's about 6,000 years. And we will calculate, we will go back in that. But then somebody says, but according to my measurement, the earth is so many 4 billion years old. You're saying it's only 6,000. It is okay. Why? Because your 4 billion years was compressed in the moment. What the point I'm trying to make is, what we think would have taken 4 billion years to make happen. In the creative act of God, it was in an instant. Because everything was created in a mature form. So fine. According to our calculation, according to our understanding, we are saying 4 billion years. But God said, I just created it. I compressed 4 billion years in an instant. So think about this. Think about this. When we see a miracle, water is turned to wine. Can we do it today? We cannot. How you can change H2O to some alcohol? Those compounds are not even there. Only hydrogen, oxygen is there in the pot. And suddenly you're getting crepe juice. How scientifically it's impossible. But it is there. It is a creative act. It came into existence. Or when you multiply phyloz and two fish, you cannot. So according to science, matter is neither created nor destroyed. It only changes the form. But you got phyloz, two fish. And I know so much more bread came out of the phyloz. That means matter was created. So much more bread came. You had five loaves of bread, but 5,000 people ate. Matter was created. How was it created? And it was created as bread, not wheat flour, not some other, not even the form of grain. It was created as bread in a very mature form in the right texture. Everybody eating bread is the same like that. That was made, this was created. But it was done in a mature form in the right mixture, everything. So you say in the bakery, how long will it take to make the bread? Three hours. But this took three seconds. The moment it came, it came out as bread. I'm just giving examples that we can see where in the creative act of God, what may have taken for us a lot of time, a lot of processes, everything happened like that in this thing. But if you ask somebody, this is bread. To make this bread, it will take three hours. No, no, no. It just happened in less than a second. It happened. So that is the creative act of God where time, energy, and design are all compressed in an instant. So it is not contradicting, meaning if somebody says to make bread, it will take three hours. Correct. I'm not denying that. It will take three hours to make bread. That is correct. But that is a natural process. But I'm telling right now when this miracle happened, it took less than a second. I broke the bread. It became more bread. It took less than a second. So you're not saying that this natural thing is wrong. It is correct. That means according to your calculation, according to what we have understanding, that is a correct understanding only. But this is a creative act of God, which is outside the scope of that understanding. So what may have taken three hours? He did it in an instant. He created bread, fish for everybody. So now you think of it in the scale of a universe. So in the creative act of God, everything was created in mature form. Second thing that we also understand in creation from the Bible is God placed recurring natural processes and systems in creation. So God in Genesis chapter one itself, He said, let the earth bring forth fruit and trees. And let the fruit have seed in itself. What are you saying? He's saying, I'm creating something, but I'm also putting in place a process for this to continue on and on and on. So these plants all grow. They bring fruit, fruit has seed, seed goes on the ground, plant comes again. Then there's fruit, fruit has seed, seed goes on the ground, again it comes. So there's a natural process God set. So He's not creating every tree after that. He created the first tree or trees and in that He set a natural process. You keep multiplying and He put system in place where you put the seed in the ground, rain will come, water will come, seed will germinate, it will become a plant, plant will grow, it will bear fruit, fruit will have seed, that seed goes back to the ground. So He put that in place. He'll keep on repeating. So God created, but He also set this process in place. So when we look at the tree today, we're not saying this tree God came himself and planted it. It is here because in Genesis, He set a process in place for it to propagate. So it is a natural process. So whatever we are seeing around us, it is there because a natural process was set in place on the earth from the beginning. So trees keep, trees, plants, birds, animals, humans keep on, propagate. And then the third point we also understand in creation is that God entrusted the earth to man. Psalm 115 verse 16, the heavens belong to God, but the earth He has given to the children of men. That means He put man in charge of the earth. That's important to understand. Another thing the Bible teaches us, point four, is creation itself is evidence of the Creator. So this is a theological response and it'll also come under later on. We'll see there's a philosophical side to it, a logical side to it. But the Bible itself is saying, okay, you can't see God, but you can see His creation. And God is saying, my creation is my proof to you that I am here. So when the atheist says, there is no proof, you're looking at the proof, you are a proof that there is a God. Now, after seeing the proof, if you say I don't believe, that is a different matter. That means you are choosing to reject the proof, but you can't say there is no proof. You are a proof. Creation around you is proof that there is a God. So look at Romans 1, verse 19 to 22. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them. So whatever you want to know about God, you are there. It's manifest in them, but God has shown it to them. But since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen. So He's saying, look, God is invisible, but His invisible attributes can be seen. How? Being understood by the things that are made. Look at creation. Even His eternal power and Godhood, so that they are without excuse. So He's saying, you know, the things that are made, God's power, God's God, who God is, they can be seen through His creation. And so we have no excuse. Verse 21. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened, professing to be wise they became. So the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen, understood by the things that are made. So the Bible is telling us that we can learn about God through His creation. Through the finite, we can understand something about the infinite. God is so big, but we can understand some things. His invisible attributes, His intelligence, His wisdom, His greatness can be seen in His creation. So example. Psalm 19. It says, The heavens declare the glory of God. The foment shows us, and the day unto day, unto speech night and to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. The line has gone up through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. That means no matter where you are on the earth, when you look up at the sky, at the heavens, God's glory is being shown to you. The heavens declare the glory of God. How great God is, how infinite He is. So how many stars? How big this universe? And it says, Wherever you are on the earth, no excuse. You are able to see. If you had to see the heavens, only from North Pole, the people in South Pole say, Okay, I never went there. I don't know. No excuse for you. From South Pole also you can see. You look up, you see the universe. Whichever direction you are seeing, the heavens are declaring, heavens are speaking to you. God is so infinite. Or you can look at the human body. Psalm 139 verse 14, for I will praise you, for I'm fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are your works, and my soul knows very well. So even the human body is so fearfully and wonderfully made, and it's declaring how great God is. Right? The fool, Psalm 14 verse 1, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. So can you imagine? In the Bible, fool equals atheist. The atheist has said in his heart, there is no God. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. So just think about it, it's very, very strong. Right? So when these scientists, they're highly educated, they may have many PhDs after their name, and they said, there is no God. According to the Bible, you are a fool. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. But on the earth, they may be considered very wise. Oh, this is a scientist, so and so he's got so many PhDs. According to the Bible, this is a fool has said in his heart, there is no God. So fool is to say, there is no God. Right? So there is, there's this little quote here, and Bertrand Russell, his challenge, and he says, you know, when I see God, I'll ask him, why did you give so little evidence of your existence? But actually, God has given us so much evidence of his existence in his creation. You look at the universe, oh, so big, so amazing. And we will look at it from a scientific perspective. You'll see like, there's so many things that could not have happened by chance in the universe. So many things. The position, for example, the position of the earth, if we were even a little closer, we would all become fried chicken. Gone, too hot, little further, too cold, all frozen, frozen chicken. The earth isn't such a precise location from the sun. It's tilted at a certain angle and it's rotating around the sun. It's like, could this have happened by accident? No. It's so precise. And like there's so many things that are so precise, to begin to wonder, how could this have happened by chance? And you look at, look on the earth itself, you look at the plants, how, all the people we have been spending so much time studying about different kinds of plants. Try to study how the water comes from the soil, goes into the, and the plants grow and all that. Could all this have happened by chance? Then think about the animals, then think about the human body and you go into the cellular level, the single cell and you begin to look at it and say like, wow, so amazing. Could these, how could this have happened by accident? No. So wherever you look, you look in the universe, you look in nature around you, you look at yourself, there is so much evidence that there is God. The fingerprint of God is everywhere, everywhere. You can't escape. Then if you say God, you gave me no evidence. No wonder God is saying the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. It's like, what can I do more than this? The fool has said there is no God. Right. So that is theological. That is chapter inverse. Now, let's change a little bit. Let's try to do one or two. Let's give a philosophical response. When we say philosophical, it means we are just thinking. It's logic. It's reasoning. Just reasoning. I think. So a philosophical reason, first, cause and effect. So there is the law of cause and effect. It's very simple actually. We are sitting in this room. Suppose a ball comes flying in this room. Suppose imagine the window was open and ball came flying. And if I said, it just happened. It just happened. So now what will be our first question? Who threw the ball or who hit the ball? There is a cause. The effect is ball is flying in the room. You cannot have an effect without a cause. It is non-existent. But the atheist wants us to believe that you can have an effect without a cause. So he's basically saying, if you ask the question, where did the ball come from? How did it come? No, no, it just came. It just came. And you have to believe it just came. We say there is a cause. Somebody must have thrown it. Somebody must have hit it. Somebody must have made the ball first. It just came. It's not a valid, not a valid. Not a valid thing, right? Sean, you have a question. I know they say, everything is created with a big bang. That's the theory. I mean, even if it's a big bang, there's something attached to cause the bang. It's not happening. That's what I wanted to say. Right. So every effect has to have a cause. So that's a philosophical statement. That's just simple logic, simple reasoning. Can there be an effect without a cause? It is non-existent. So you apply that to the universe. Whatever has a beginning has a cause behind it. The universe had a beginning. The universe had a cause for its existence. Second, philosophical statement, which is also something theological that we can prove from scripture, which is, creation attests to a creator. Design calls for a designer. So if I put this mobile phone here, and I told you, over 35 billion years, the mobile phone just assembled itself, you would think this guy has to be in the mental asylum. I'm saying, no, no, no, 35 billion years, over 35 billion years, somehow everything assembled. And this phone came here. How does the phone have all these apps? They just came together. How does a phone know to give Indian time? It just happened. You will surely say something is wrong with this phone. He has to go to... Now, this phone is only a small part of this universe. The universe is much more complicated than this phone. There are so many things around in this world, in the universe. But what we know, everything had to have a designer. Somebody designed, and somebody made the phone. It didn't happen by chance. So there was a lot of thoughts, you know. So this was made, there was a maker, or there were many people who put their minds together to make it. It just didn't happen at random. So that's why I say, hey, there is creation. There has to be a creator. There is design in this. There is so much design. There has to be a designer. So just a philosophical argument, or a logical thinking. That's all. I think complicated, very simple. I'll just maybe mention one more, see how much time we have. Third thing is this. Morality and rationality. Okay. This cup is made of, I think, some ceramic. Okay. Let's say this is a clay cup, made from one example. Can this cup have the ability for morality to know what's right and wrong? It's just clay. Can this cup have the ability to think and reason? No. It's just clay. So think about us, example, human beings. This body, physical body, and this brain is actually matter. 75% of this body is only water. So this is a walking water bottle. 75% is water. And then it has cells, it has bones and things like that. But it's all matter. It will all go back to dust. So literally it is dust. But there are two things about this matter. That means this matter has the sense of morality, right and wrong. Where did that come from? Because technically there is no difference between this physical matter and this physical matter. It is just physical matter. It will go back to the dust. If you look at it as matter, if this body is just matter, you put it in the ground hill decay, it will become mud after some time. Just like this cup. But this matter has sense of morality. It also has sense of rationality. I can think, so these are two big things. Morality and rationality. Where did that come from? If you keep this cup here for many billions of years, can this cup suddenly evolve? Morality and rationality. Never keep it how long you want. Ten billion years. It won't acquire. It won't develop morality and rationality. It can only be given to it. So that is another third thing. There is something about us. We have the sense of right and wrong. Where did that come from? Right and wrong. And we also have the ability to think rationality. If we were just matter, if this universe was just matter, how could matter acquire something that is beyond itself? Morality. This is very unique. It had to be given to us. So lifeless matter cannot produce the mind or morality. God gave it to us because God is a moral being. He is holy. He is just. He is pure. So he gave that aspect of morality to us. So we have sense of right and wrong. This is right. This is wrong. So what happened to my? Yeah. Okay. And one more we can point to supernatural phenomena. So we see supernatural things happening. And so that points to the existence of God. Let's pause here. But these are four philosophical thoughts. So first we looked at theological chapter and verse about God and creation. Philosophical. We can present these things when we are talking to people. Just say, think about it. Think about it. We'll pick up here from point number four and go on. And then we will then slowly move into the aspect of faith and science. We'll introduce the idea of science. And you can be a person of faith and still have a handle on science. Science is not against faith. We will explain that. And then we'll go into looking at things from a scientific part. But we'll pick up here. We'll pick up here next week. Any questions? Let me just check online chat. Any questions from our online class? Prince, what happened to Prince? Oh, okay. So that's why he's joined us online. Okay. Online students, any questions from anybody? Okay. Fine. So we'll just continue this. Think about these things and we will develop this further next week. Okay. Can somebody please pray? Take the mic and pray and we will close and dismiss. Jesus, we thank you for this time, for this day that we have together. Lord, to come to know more about your word, to know that you exist. And Lord, I pray that as we learn and go through this Christian apologetics, that I pray that it would increase our faith in you and that we would be bold enough to share the message of the cross, Lord Jesus. And thank you, Jesus, for everything that we learned today. I pray that we would be able to remember it. And thank you Lord for this time. Amen. Amen. Okay. Thank you, everyone. God bless. Bye now. Bye.