CAN SCIENCE POINT TO GOD? PANEL: JAMES TOUR, STEPHEN MEYER & ANDREWS FELLOWS

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Dr. James Mitchell Tour is an American chemist and nanotechnologist. He is the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of Materials Science & Nanoengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

This is the first time I have encountered Dr Tour and I must say I was impressed both by his testimony and his answers to tough questions. I intend to connect with his website http://www.jesusandscience.org.

Dr Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture in Seattle.

Andrew Fellows: From 2011 to 2016 Andrew was the chairman of L’Abri International. Now based in Cambridge, Andrew is the pastor of a newly formed church alongside his work of speaking and writing. He has a special interest in reaching sceptics and encouraging followers of Christ to develop the life of the mind so it includes the whole gospel to the whole world with all of its implications. IVP published his book ‘Smuggling Jesus Back Into the Church; How Not to be Worldly’.

This video is a Cambridge Q&A where James Tour, Andrew Fellows, and Stephen Meyer explain why Christianity best accounts for reality—through personal experience, philosophy, and science. The panel fields audience questions on meaning, doubt, divine hiddenness, the reliability of mind, and the resurrection. It is brilliant. Circulate it widely.

FOLLOW BABYLON OR FOLLOW GOD?

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If you’re good, the world will want you. If they’re good, the world will want them – your children. Both look legitimate — not sinister. The invitation won’t read, “Join Babylon.” It will sound like, “Be smart. Get ahead. It’s the best thing for you.”

But watch the cost:

  • A life so driven, God fades into the background.
  • Accomplishments so great, salvation looks too small.
  • A schedule so full, spiritual commitments are shunted to the sidelines.
  • Weekends are either supercharged with activities or spent vegetating due to mental exhaustion.
  • Debts so demanding that they shackle your freedom to serve.
  • A heart so full of everything else, it is too drained for spiritual vibrancy and usefulness.

That’s how Babylon wins — not by force, but by fascination, not by enslavement but by enticement. However, the reality is that enticement and fascination can become a form of bondage themselves.

Daniel had everything Babylon wanted — but Babylon couldn’t have him. He purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled (Daniel 1:8). He excelled, yet he never compromised. God came first, and everything else flowed from that single loyalty.

So, whose finger are you responding to in this season of your life? The one that is pointing you towards personal success and opportunity? Or, the one that is gesturing to you, “Follow Me.”

In twelve different conversations recorded in the four Gospels, Jesus said, “Follow Me,” twenty-one times.

In conclusion, consider the words of Romans Chapter 12 from the Amplified Version:

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]”. Romans 12:1-2 Amplified Version

Taken from article “If You’re Good” by Peter Ramsay, Heaven 4Sure. Start living eternal now and be prepared to rule and reign with Jesus in His coming Millennial Kingdom – http://www.millennialkingdom.net

GOD, THE SCIENCE, THE EVIDENCE

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As debates over science, meaning, and morality grow ever more polarized, a ground-breaking, accurate, and easy-to-read new book in English invites readers to reconsider one of humanity’s most profound questions: could science itself now point us back to God?

The international bestseller God, the Science, the Evidence, an accessible yet rigorous investigation, has sold more than 400,000 copies across Europe. Now, this landmark work comes to the English-speaking world in an updated and expanded version.

The publication of God, the Science, the Evidence marks a major milestone in the renewed global interest in the scientific evidence for the existence of God. Representing years of research and reflection, it presents complex ideas in a clear and engaging style, one that has already made it a cultural phenomenon throughout Europe.

At its core, the book tackles one fundamental question: Is there a Creator God? And it approaches that question through a single lens—rationality—by examining twelve independent fields of knowledge.

Get the book and use it to brings others to the truth of our Creator God who loves us. When people come to realise that evolution is a failed theory and they were created in the image of their Creator God, a God who loves them it will change their lives forever.

TWO GIANT INTELLECTUALS DISCUSS GOD

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Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with mathematician, author, and theologian Dr. John Lennox. They discuss the axioms and dangerous aims of transhumanism, the interplay between ethical faith, reason, and the empirical world that makes up the scientific endeavour, and the line between Luciferian intellectual presumption and wise courageous exploration. Dr. John Carson Lennox is a ​​Northern Irish mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist. Dr Lennox has been one of the most important apologists for me. I take every opportunity to listen to him. He has written books that will expand your Biblical knowledge and faith. He was a professor at Oxford and Green Templeton College (now retired) where he specialized in group theory. Lennox appeared in numerous debates with questions ranging from “Is God Good” to “Is There a God,” and faced off with academic titans such as Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, and Christopher Hitchens, among others. Lennox speaks four languages – English, German, French, and Russian, has written 70 peer-reviewed articles on mathematics, co-authored two Oxford Mathematical Monographs, and was noted for his role in translating Russian mathematics while working as a professor. I have also enjoyed listening to Jordan Peterson and seeing the positive impact he has had on male university students and watching his coming to faith after both his daughter and wife came to faith.

DISCIPLESHIP IS PRIMARILY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PARENTS

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Unfortunately it is not according to a Barna Survey. 51% of American Christian parents surveyed “expected the church to take the lead.” Only 49% of parents considered teaching their children about reason, faith, and Biblical Christianity to be their responsibility. Correctly children’s ministry leaders state that discipleship should begin at home.

The findings reflect another concerning trend, which shows 86% of parents “feel under-equipped” to teach their kids the Bible and basic theology.

There’s a deep challenge here, Barna stated. “If children’s ministry is going to be healthy, pastors must help both parents and their ministry leaders find common ground.” Discipling children should be a joint effort. For example, the Gospel is lived out in the home, alongside the Church, not just taught on Sundays.

The church needs to encourage parents to embrace their primary role, by teaching them how to have everyday faith conversations. Properly discipled mums and dads will be better prepared to disciple their kids.

Families, Barna continued, should be encouraged “to practice their faith together in everyday life—serving others, praying as a household, and applying Scripture in real situations.” This is “so the next generation grows resilient and ready to follow Jesus in the world beyond church walls.”

Barna’s insights are nothing new. They point back to the Puritans, who understood that every home was to be a little church. “A family is a little Church, a little commonwealth,” said William Gouge in 1622. “It is a school where first principles and civics are learned; whereby men are prepared for greater matters of Church and State.”

Or as Charles Spurgeon preached in 1875, “Men are as much serving God in looking after their own children, and training them up in God’s fear, as they would be if they had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts.” This includes “minding the house and making their household a church for God.” “It is a grand event when a family is saved!” Spurgeon cheered. “Oh, if households enter into Christ, the very bells of Heaven may ring again and again and again with a joy that has many joys within it!”

WHY BELIEVE IN SOMETHING YOU CANNOT SEE?

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“Science unequivocally requires that all things are composed of matter and energy. Therefore, immaterial substances—such as God or the human soul—cannot exist.”

However, science itself does not provide any substantiation for the premise. After all, if science can deal only with matter and energy, it can’t possibly show that other things can’t exist. Rather, this claimed requirement is a philosophical position called materialism, and there are substantial grounds for doubting it. ‘Materialism’ in philosophy doesn’t mean striving for material goods, but the belief that matter (or mass/energy) is all there is.

Immaterial Creator of the universe

Among the reasons for rejecting materialism are the compelling arguments that support the existence of an immaterial Creator of the universe. These include the design of living things, the fine-tuning of the universe for life, and the evidence that it has a finite age, among other arguments.

These features of reality are best explained by the biblical teaching that God is the Creator. If these arguments are successful, materialism fails.

Humans are more than mere machines

If materialism were true, humans would consist merely of organized matter, which we have reason to doubt. The renowned atheist Richard Dawkins eloquently articulates his perspective on human nature:

On one planet [Earth], and possibly only one planet in the entire universe, molecules that would normally make nothing more complicated than a chunk of rock, gather themselves together into chunks of rock-sized matter of such staggering complexity that they are capable of running, jumping, swimming, flying, seeing, hearing, capturing, and eating other such animated chunks of complexity; capable in some cases of thinking and feeling, and falling in love with yet other chunks of complex matter.

However, this materialistic perspective faces serious philosophical and scientific challenges. If humans are reduced to purely physical objects devoid of any immaterial aspect, it becomes exceedingly difficult to explain many basic truths about human beings.

Intrinsic value

The first of these is a person’s value. Physical objects have value only because we assign value to them. They are tools, not ends in themselves. Their value is extrinsic and dependent on changeable factors. Human beings, on the other hand, possess intrinsic value merely by virtue of being human, independent of external factors. We do not lose our value even if we lose significant capabilities—declining mentally or becoming comatose, to give a couple of examples.

Christians know that our intrinsic value comes from being made in God’s image We are not merely bodies but souls that can relate to God. Yet even non-Christians will often recognize the value of human beings, whether they recognize the source of that value or apply it consistently to all people.

Without intrinsic value, it would be hard to make sense of human rights, for example. We know it’s wrong to treat people as mere objects. But the evolutionary materialism of our age insists we have emerged unaided from animals, which originally arose randomly from simple chemicals. That means that people lack souls and do not bear the image of God. In other words, they can only be mere physical objects. In such a view, the intrinsic nature of our value cannot be accounted for.

First-person perspective

Second, physical objects lack a first-person perspective. They lack consciousness and self-awareness and are incapable of having a truly subjective point of view, using the self-reflexive pronoun ‘I’. Even complex computers and robots with artificial intelligence lack real awareness.

In contrast, human beings do possess a first-person perspective. We are conscious agents, capable of not only awareness but even self-awareness and the ability to articulate our point of view. It is difficult to explain this universal experience if humans are merely physical objects.

image of brain

“DAILY, WE ENCOUNTER MENTAL STATES THAT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED BY BRAIN MATTER ALONE.”

Intentional mental states

Third, humans possess intentional mental states. ‘Intentionality’ is a technical term in philosophy that refers to the power of the mind to represent or refer to other things. That is, some mental states can be ‘of’ or ‘about’ something else. Whenever people think, believe, desire, fear, or wonder, they direct their thoughts toward a specific subject or concept. They may think about breakfast, or experience a fear of spiders, for example. Physical events by themselves are not ‘of’ or ‘about’ other things in that same sense, so what happens in our minds is not physical. Daily, we encounter mental states that cannot be explained by brain matter alone.

Human emotion and other ‘felt’ experiences

Fourth, when a person feels joyful, upset, or anxious, the brain is part of the neural circuitry that plays a role in giving that person such experiences. The brain itself, though, is not joyful, upset, or anxious; the person is. The brain is only a complex organ—a physical object with physical properties, similar in that sense to a computer. A computer might be programmed to say, “I’m sad”, but the computer would not really feel sadness. Emotions like happiness, sadness, and fear are not material entities. They can only be experienced by conscious, sentient creatures who have a non-material aspect to their being, like humans and many animals. This is evidence that we are not merely brains in bodies.

Brain research subjects

Empirical studies show results consistent with the above philosophical arguments. For example, pioneering neuroscientist Wilder Penfield conducted over 1,100 brain surgeries in which he stimulated areas of the brain while patients were awake, and noted their responses. He was able to induce bodily movements, sensations, emotions, and memories. But the patients invariably testified that the response was like a reflex, not an action they chose to do. Penfield found he could not stimulate their will. Also, he could not cause them to draw conclusions, make decisions, or even think abstract thoughts (about, say, mathematics). Such experiments suggest that it is the immaterial self which is ultimately responsible for these activities, rather than the physical brain.

IMAGE BEARERS

God developed and populated the earth, which was initially empty (“without form and void”), as described in Genesis 1:2. He executed this task with exceptional precision and skill, thereby establishing a magnificent stage upon which to showcase His most significant creative accomplishment, humankind. Not only did God reserve the best for last, but He also created humans in a manner that distinguished them from animals. According to Genesis 1:26, humans were created to have a unique relationship to God. This was accomplished through the divine plan (“let us make man”), the divine pattern (“in our image”), and the divine purpose (“let them have dominion”). The attribute of being in the image of God (imago Dei) is not merely bestowed by God and retained by humans. It is what gives people special value (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9), and it is part of God’s design for human beings, who were specifically created to represent God on Earth and reflect many of His attributes.

TRUMP ALLY WINS IN POLAND, SHOCKING ALL OF EUROPE

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God is moving in Europe, and the latest move is in Poland. In 2022, it was in Hungary and Italy.

POLAND: Meet Poland’s new president, Karol Nawrocki, who is pro-life, pro-Trump, pro-Poland, and unashamedly pro-Christian. Nawrocki’s shock win was unexpected.

Commiserating the loss, the left-wing news organisation said Nawrocki’s win was a “significant blow to Tusk’s fragile government.” Poland’s new president is now head of the opposition. Even though the role is ceremonial, Nawrocki has the power to veto legislation, and veto he will. For context, Tusk is an ally of the previous President, anti-Christian Rafał Trzaskowski. Both favour de-Christianising Poland, prefer the European Union over Polish sovereignty, and are ideologically aligned with Marxian globalist ideology, such as LGBTQ+ism, climate catastrophism and abortion.

For AP News, the win was more about Donald Trump than Donald Tusk. Trump supported Nawrocki’s candidacy. While not outrightly suggesting Trump had interfered in the Polish election, AP did make a point of noting that Nawrocki “was at the White House last month.”

HUNGARY: In 2022, Katalin Novak, a pro-life, pro-family mother of three, became Hungary’s first female president.

In October 2021, Novak shared Hungary’s “pro-family mindset” with reporters from the United States as she described how the country established a new constitution in 2011 — replacing a former communist constitution recognizing Hungary as a “People’s Republic.” The 2011 Hungarian Constitution protects “the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman,” supports family systems and caring for the elderly, and recognizes life from conception.

ITALY: In 2022, Giorgia Meloni makes no secret that she is eager to go down in history as Italy’s first female prime minister under the slogan “Dio, patria, famiglia” (God, fatherland, family).

As a politician, she is a skilled debater. In addition to her undeniable charisma, she possesses a comprehensive dossier and language skills. The latter came in handy during the recent campaign when she addressed critical foreign media directly in English, French and Spanish.

She claimed her opposition attacked national identity, religious identity, gender, identity and family identity. I can’t define myself as Italian, Christian, woman, mother. Now I must be citizen X, gender X, parent one, parent two. I must be a number because when I’m only a number, when I no longer have an identity or roots, then I will be the perfect slave at the mercy of financial speculators. We will defend the value of the human being -every single human being.”

She says of herself, “I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am Italian, I am Christian. You can’t take this away from me!”

TRUE TRUTH BRINGS JOY UNSPEAKABLE

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  1. Truth exists and is knowable.
  2. Truth upheld brings blessings.
  3. Truth disregarded brings consequences

I am more convinced than ever that embracing a biblically informed worldview of “true truth” brings “joy unspeakable” (1 Pet.1:8) and “abundant life” (John 10:10) as Jesus promised to obedient followers.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Erroneous thinking and anti-biblical worldviews have consequences. For many, it leads to addictions, health problems, and even premature death or suicide. For everyone serious about aligning with the radical and amazing plan God ordained for your life, let me strongly encourage you to fulfil your destiny by embracing a biblical worldview.

More than 30% of the Bible is Biblical prophecy, and much of it is now fulfilled, which proves that the rest of the prophecies—there are about 2000 of them—are about Jesus’ second coming to Earth, to defeat the Antichrist and his army at the battle of Armageddon, and to initiate His Millennial reign with the glorified Saints.

Have you read my recent post – Will you escape the wrath of God? If not, I urge you to do so.

GOD IS LOOSENING SATAN’S HOLD ON THE U.S.A.

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In November, Trump was elected President of the USA largely on the basis of putting God back in His rightful place (In God We Trust). In December, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bible sales were up 22% while sales of other books were essentially flat. In fact, in 2019, 9.7 million copies of the Bible were sold in America. Last year, that number approached 14 million, with most sales driven by “first-time buyers.”

Then there is football, with Ohio State players preaching to students last summer and on national television after winning the national championship, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson praising Jesus at the Fiesta Bowl, and Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh leading his team in the Lord’s Prayer, God-talk on and off the field has been conspicuous this season. 

Or consider the “moment” God is having among secular thought leaders. Richard Dawkins and Elon Musk, recognizing the importance of Christianity to the West, have labeled themselves “cultural Christians.” Former New Atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali experienced and defended a conversion to the Christian faith, as did her husband, well-known historian and Hoover Institute fellow Niall Ferguson. Former atheist and popular historian Tom Holland’s bestselling book has changed the narrative about the positive role Christianity has played in making the Western world. Psychologist and author Jordan Peterson often references Scripture and just released a 500-page book attempting to draw lessons and meaning from the Old Testament. And, of course, podcaster Joe Rogan recently interviewed Christian apologist Wesley Huff for his 14 million subscribers. 

Justin Brierley, co-host of the “Unbelievable” podcast and author of The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, thinks we are seeing something significant: 

[T]hey say God moves in mysterious ways. I see signs that he is moving in the minds and hearts of secular intellectuals. Many of them are recognizing that secular humanism has failed and, against all their expectations, seem to be on the verge of embracing faith instead. 

Brierley thinks this “wider turning of the secular tide in the West,” is a result of secularism’s failed predictions. A couple of decades ago, the New Atheists promised a rational utopia in the wake of religious decline. Instead, we got a crisis of meaning, widespread “confusion, a mental health crisis in the young, and the culture wars.” Now, a “New Theist” movement has sprung up, and even those not converting to Christ have toned down the anti-Christian rhetoric. Some are even suggesting that faith is good for the world.  

Still, Brierley cautions that what we’re seeing is far from a revival. Many of the “cultural Christians” of our moment are not believers, nor are they claiming to be. There’s a big difference between regarding Christianity as a “useful fiction,” able to restore vigor and cohesion to the West, and submitting to it as the ultimate truth that demands our allegiance and devotion. For the millions of new Bible owners, the difference is between looking for sage advice and looking for God. Neither a better world nor a better you is what Christianity fundamentally offers.  

Though a “vibe shift” in favor of religion is welcome, and cultural Christianity is genuinely a good thing, Christ does not claim to be “useful.” He claims to be the risen Son of God and King of kings, before whom every knee must bow. Those hoping to make Him “useful” overlook that the West did not become a great civilization because people believed Christianity offered good advice, but because they believed it was true. Anyone who tries to use the God of the Bible to some earthly end will only be repeating the blunder of Mainline Protestantism, not doing something genuinely new or important. 

At the same time, the truth about Christ is compelling. Thus, the renewed interest in this cultural moment can be welcomed and celebrated. Secularism has failed to satisfy the human soul or build the utopia that was promised. But Christ will not fail, not in this world nor in the age to come. Our task is to point insistently to the full and glorious truth of His rule and reign.  

We can direct the curious to resources like The Bible Project, or Graeme Goldsworthy’s classic book, According to Plan, both of which explain what the Bible is and what it teaches. Proven apologetic classics like C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity are incredibly helpful resources for those willing to give God a new look. Most importantly, the Church must be the Church, with the Word faithfully taught and lived. After all, we know that God’s Word will not return void, and He is at work through His people in this and every cultural moment.

FAMILY BURNED ALIVE FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST

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NAIROBI, Kenya — A Muslim couple and their adult son who received Christ in November were burned to death on Dec. 26 in eastern Uganda, sources said.

In the Budini Nyanza area of Kaliro town, Kaliro District, 64-year-old Kaiga Muhammad, his wife, Sawuya Kaiga, and their son, Swagga Amuza Kaiga, 26, put their faith in Christ on Nov. 22, 2024, when members of an undisclosed church visited their home and shared the Gospel.

The pastor of the church, undisclosed for security reasons, said that after the three family members received Christ’s salvation, they requested prayer for Swagga Amuza Kaiga, who was suffering from malaria. “We prayed for the son, and immediately he was restored to good health,” the pastor claimed in an interview with Morning Star News. “The three members of the family who gave their lives to Christ decided to keep their faith secret for fear of Muslims of the area, since Muhammad himself was a committee member in one of the mosques in Budini Nyanza zone.”

On Dec. 15, area Muslims noted Muhammad leaving the church’s worship service in a nearby village and informed area chairperson Wangule Abudu. The chairperson on Dec. 16 went to Muhammad’s home to question him, and Muhammad openly told him that he and other family members had given their lives to Christ, the pastor said.

The angry Abudu gave Muhammad one week to renounce Christianity, saying that if he refused, he would mobilize the Muslim community against the family, according to a relative who was away when the parents and son accepted Christ.

“Abudu said that our family had blasphemed the name of Allah and embarrassed the Muslim community,” the family member, whose name is withheld for security reasons, told Morning Star News.

Area Muslims on Dec. 26 set the family’s house ablaze with gas and burned the three members of the family beyond recognition, said a neighbor who had arrived with others too late to save them and the structure.

Kaliro police arrived after the lives had been lost and, after investigating, arrested Wangule Abudu, 62, and Ismail Njagi, 20. The two Muslims were being kept at Kaliro central police station on charges of murder and arson, sources said.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Bumanya Heath Centre for postmortem.

The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

Jesus told us that persecution comes with being a Christian and that prior to His return, it will escalate to refine the church, and only those totally committed to Jesus will be saved.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Also, it is hard to understand how the Pope and so many others who call themselves Christians believe that we all serve the one God. The Christian God says to love our enemies, and Allah says to kill them.