Brilliant… but Foolish

Some of the most academically brilliant people of the world have made themselves very foolish by deciding in advance to ignore God. Sometimes they do it simply because they cannot bear rejection by those whom they consider to be the philosophically elite (who have, of course, also foolishly chosen in advance to ignore God).

Twice the Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”” (Psalms 14:1 and 53:1)

The Bible also says that such foolishness is inexcusable. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

In recent years the attempt to ignore God  has become even more inexcusable. Molecular biologists, for example, have uncovered vast quantities of evidence that make it mind-bogglingly improbable that life could have simple sprung into existence by sheer chance.

I have attempted (feebly, I admit) to introduce people to just a bit of such evidence on our web pages. (You can go to www.aboundingjoy.com and type “evolutionism” in the search window if you wish to read some of it.)

Through the years, a few atheistic evolutionists have read some of it and have written me very angry, hateful emails in response to these pages. I am glad that they have taken the time to read the pages (even though there are much more thorough treatments of these issues in places like The Discovery Institute or The Institute for Creation Research or Answers in Genesis). But the intensity of their anger betrays their lack of confidence in their position! If someone writes an article that claims the Easter Bunny is the creator of all living things, few may believe him, but no one goes into a rage! At most we may smile and move on to other issues.

But, to use just one example, Michael Denton wrote a book in 1985 called Evolution, A Theory in Crisis. Anyone who is sincerely looking for answers (as opposed to looking for a way to argue God out of existence), can do a careful study of his book and find overwhelming evidence that life could not have just happened by chance. I have written a brief summary of parts of that book called “Evidence Against Evolutionism from Molecular Biology.” Here are a few paragraphs from my summary.

“In the days when the theory of evolution was first proposed, it was assumed that there were certain molecules that had the characteristics necessary for reproducing themselves. The belief was that, over millions and millions of years, chance combinations of atoms finally reached a point where one of these molecules could suddenly reproduce itself. Thus began the simplest forms of “life.” Gradually, more atoms were added, the molecules got more complex, multi-celled organisms developed, etc.

“It is now known that there is no molecule that can reproduce itself without the involvement of many other critical molecules. Many have mistakenly believed that DNA molecules in isolation can somehow replicate themselves. They cannot. A biochemist named Harold Morowitz has tried to make an intelligent guess at how simple a cell could be, and still be able to reproduce itself. He has hypothesized that it might be conceivable for a cell to be able to reproduce itself with as few as one hundred protein molecules, all doing their respective functions (e.g. providing a cell membrane; synthesizing fats; providing energy; synthesizing the building blocks of DNA–the nucleotides; and synthesizing proteins). The cell would need a few messenger RNA molecules, ribosomes, enzymes, and, of course, a DNA molecule.

“There is no way for scientists to conceive of a cell reproducing itself with less complexity. These are bare minimum requirements. In fact, no known cell reaches this degree of simplicity, but this hypothetical cell represents the bare minimum of “ingredients” that could conceivably be self-reproducing.

“However, even this bare minimum cell, the simplest conceivable unit capable of self-replication, would be incredibly and awesomely complex. It would not be a “blob of simple protoplasm.” It would be an exquisitely complicated living “machine.” Each of the 100 or so protein molecules is an intricate combination of thousands of atoms. The DNA molecule is an intricate arrangement of literally billions of atoms.

“Even in its simplicity, this cell would be made up of billions of atoms which would have to be arranged in an extremely complex organization. Michael Denton says it this way:

There is no continuum of functional forms through which the gradual evolution of the cell might have occurred–just a yawning gulf which can only be crossed in one vastly improbable leap. (p. 260)

“He adds:

The complexity of the simplest known type of cell is so great that it is impossible to accept that such an object could have been thrown together suddenly by some kind of freakish, vastly improbable, event. Such an occurrence would be indistinguishable from a miracle. (p.264)

So What Should Christians Do about It?

First, don’t expect to be able to argue someone who rejects God into belief! It cannot be done!

But remember, there are two kinds of skeptics! (You can read about them here!) Some skeptics just get angry, or just enjoy a good argument. They are not really looking for truth. They are either convinced that it doesn’t exist or that they have already found it somewhere else. But there are other skeptics who are willing to sincerely consider the evidence. Their minds are not made up. For those people, God has given us a verse. “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” (1 Peter 3:15)

We may not have all the answers. But we should be able to find the answers.

That takes some mental discipline. We have to do some reading. And maybe some Internet searching. The truth is, we Christians are in danger of dumbing ourselves down along with the rest of the society around us. When God tells us to “gird up the loins of our minds” (1 Peter 1:13), He is telling us to become mentally disciplined! It’s very easy these days to be mentally lazy. Don’t give in to it!

There is a war going on out there!

Stay in the Battle!

Author

Steve serves as chaplain and teacher at Cross Creek Christian School in Sweetwater, TN. He previously taught math, physics, and ACT prep in public high schools in Tennessee and Texas. He has served churches in Tennessee, Florida, and Texas as minister of education, associate pastor, and senior pastor.

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