How can humans – tiny specks of transient life that we are – have any significance in a universe so big and so old?
But if the universe were not so vast and so ancient, we would not be here. It has taken 10 billion years for the elements of life to build up in stars.
Many of the ‘constants of nature’, such as the gravitational constant, appear to be extremely finely tuned. Minuscule changes to any of these constants would mean that life could never have developed. …
It’s not an original idea, but Andrew Marr’s thoughts about the dangers of turning Darwinism into a secular religion are of some interest. Describing himself as a ‘lapsed Presbyterian Christian’ (“I had a blinding revelation of disbelief at the age of around 15”), Marr reminds us that science in general, and Darwinism in particular, can offer some of the nourishment that religion provides.
The natural history museums of both London and Oxford are ‘temples of nature’ and mimic cathedrals in their design. …
“They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance,” said Sir David in a recent interview in Radio Times. And the hate mail bit of the interview was headlined in The Telegraph, The Guardian, and many other newspapers and news sources.
I don’t disbelieve the story for a moment. There are hateful, lunatic minorities in all movements, from the animal rights lobby to the anti-abortion lobby.
But it’s not very scientific, is it? …
Noel Ford’s cartoon accompanies a story about the atheist bus advert in the Church Times.
It doesn’t need any comment from me.
…
John Blanchard discusses this in his book Does God Believe in Atheists? The argument against the existence of an all-loving, all-powerful God may be summarised as follows:-
1. Evil and suffering exist
2. If God were all-loving, he would wish to prevent evil and suffering
3. If God were omnipotent, he would be able to prevent evil and suffering
4. Evil and suffering are not prevented. Therefore, there is no such thing as an all-loving, all-powerful God
It is not incumbent on the apologist to demonstrate why or how such a God allows evil and suffering to exist.…
‘Humanity should accept that science has eliminated the justification for believing in cosmic purpose, and that any survival of purpose is inspired only by sentiment.’ (Peter Atkins, Oxford Chemistry Professor)
‘It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat posed by the AIDS virus, “mad cow” disease and many others, but I think that a case can be made that faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate. …
…What a relief it was to become an atheist.
I had become worn out and frustrated by my fruitless search for God.
I had studied holy writings from three different continents. No God there.
I had tried prayer and “positive thinking” as if they were the same thing.
I had wrestled with the problems of theodicy without even knowing that the word existed.
I felt that I had sought God everywhere – in the cosmos, in my neurones, in my bank account.
Various kinds of difficulties are alleged:-
On 21st October 2008, a debate was held between Professor Richard Dawkins and Dr John Lennox in Oxford’s Natural History Museum.
An earlier debate between the two of them can be downloaded here, and a talk by Lennox can be downloaded here.
The subject of the recent debate was Has Science Buried God? – echoing the title of a recent book by Lennox.
Melanie Phillips has a piece in The Spectator in which she notes, among other things, that
Dawkins now concedes that ‘a serious case could be made for a deistic God.’…
The destruction of the Canaanites is one of the most perplexing of the ethical problems in the Old Testament. How could God condone, let alone command, the treatment meted out by his people on the previous inhabitants of the land?
J. Oswald Sanders makes some helpful points:-
1. The nations were given the opportunity to make peace with Israel, Deut 20:10. This is what happened in the case of the Gibeonites.
2. These nations had been granted long probation and had received many unproductive warnings from Abraham, Melchisedec and others. …
