Somewhere in the middle

Most of my friends and people I've met over the years haven't been atheists. But you couldn't really describe them as agnostics or theists. They're floating around somewhere in the middle, sort of believing in a God but not really sure.

Antony Flew's book, "There Is A God", which I'm reading through at the moment came up with some very interesting points:

"Anthony Kenny ... suggested that it takes more effort to show that you know something than that you do not (this includes even the claim that the concept of God is not coherent)."
p54

It's so easy not to have a thought-through set of beliefs or at least opinions. It requires effort – a little bit of study and research. Even as a Christian you can be absent from any real convictions. Because convictions require a backbone of knowledge and understanding, and those are formed by gradual growth over time.

But your convictions are surely what makes you useful as a human being.

Interestingly, going back to Flew's book...

"The Thomist philosopher Ralph McInerny reasoned that it is natural for human beings to believe in God because of the order, arrangement, and lawlike character of natural events. So much so, he said, that the idea of God is almost innate, which seems like a prima facie argument against atheism."
p55

No one's born a Christian. And it seems no one's born an atheist or an agnostic. All those things require a system of belief, a formation of opinions, which babies don't have. It seems that floating around somewhere in the middle is the default position. A point from which not everyone progresses.

––––––

Similar blog: It's good to have an opinion, even if you're wrong

Antony Flew on Evolution

Some more from Antony Flew:

In my book Darwinian Evolution, I pointed out that natural selection does not positively produce anything. It only eliminates, or tends to eliminate, whatever is not competitive. A variation does not need to bestow any actual competitive disadvantage. To choose a rather silly illustration, suppose I have useless wings tucked away under my suit coat, wings that are too weak to lift my frame off the ground. Useless as they are, these wings do not enable me to escape predators or gather food. But as long as they don't make me more vulnerable to predators, I will probably survive to reproduce and pass on my wings to my descendants. Darwin's mistake in drawing too positive an inference with his suggestion that natural selection produces something was perhaps due to his employment of the expressions "natural selection" or "survival of the fittest" rather than his own ultimately preferred alternative, "natural preservation".

'There Is A God' by Antony Flew, p78-9

I also read a few years ago, I think in some Christian scientist magazine, that any mutation that did prove beneficial to an animal (something that's never been witnessed), within a few generations that mutation would become so dilute in the gene pool it would be as if it never occurred.

Antony Flew on the "Monkey Theorem"

Here is an outrageously long quote from Antony Flew, which I've included for the simple reason that it's really good, and I love it. Made a few highlights.

I was particularly impressed with Gerry Schroeder's point-by-point refutation of what I call the "monkey theorem." This idea, which has been presented in a number of forms and variations, defends the possibility of life arising by chance using the analogy of a multitude of monkeys banging away on computer keyboards and eventually ending up writing a Shakespearean sonnet.

Schroeder first referred to an experiment conducted by the British National Council of Arts. A computer was placed in a cage with six monkeys. After one month of hammering away at it (as well as using it as a bathroom!), the monkeys produced fifty typed pages – but not a single word in the English language. Schroeder noted that this was the case even though the shortest word in the English language is one letter (a or I). A is a word only if there is a space either side of it. If we take it that the keyboard has thirty characters (the twenty-six letters and other symbols), then the likelihood of getting a one-letter word is 30 times 30 times 30, which is 27,000. The likelihood of getting a one-letter word is one chance out of 27,000.

Schroeder then applied the probabilities to the sonnet analogy. "What's the chance of getting a Shakespearean sonnet?" he asked. He continued:


All the sonnets are the same length. They're by definition fourteen lines long. I picked the one I knew the opening line for, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" I counted the number of letters; there are 488 letters in that sonnet. What's the likelihood of hammering away and getting 488 letters in the exact sequence as in "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?"? What you end up with is 26 multiplied by itself 488 times – or 26 to the 488th power. Or, in other words, in base 10, 10 to the 690th.

[Now] the number of particles in the universe –  not grains of sand, I'm talking about protons, electrons and neutrons –  is 10 to the 80th. Ten to the 80th is 1 with 80 zeros after it. Ten to the 690th is 1 with 690 zeros after it. There are not enough particles in the universe to write down the trials; you'd be off by a factor of 10 to the 600th.

If you took the entire universe and converted it to computer chips –  forget the monkeys –  each one weighing a millionth of a gram and had each computer chip able to spin out 488 trials at, say, a million times a second [producing] random letters, the number of trials you would get since the beginning of time would be 10 to the 90th trials. It would be off again by a factor of 10 to the 600th. You will never get a sonnet by chance. The universe would have to be 10 to the 600th times larger. Yet the world just thinks the monkeys can do it every time.

After hearing Schroeder's presentation, I told him that he had very satisfactorily and decisively established that the "monkey theorem" was a load of rubbish, and that it was particularly good to do it with just a sonnet; the theorem is sometimes proposed using the works of Shakespeare or a single play, such as Hamlet. If the theorem won't work for a single sonnet, then of course it's simply absurd to suggest that the more elaborate feat of the origin of life could have been achieved by chance.

'There Is A God' by Antony Flew, p75-8

Antony Flew on DNA

The following is a long quote from Antony Flew's book title "There is a God: how the world's most notorious atheist changed his mind".

The last of my public debates, a symposium at New York University, occurred in May 2004 ... To the surprise of all concerned, I announced at the start that I now accepted the existence of a God ... In the video of the symposium, the announcer suggested that of all the great discoveries of modern science, the greatest was God.

In this symposium, when asked if recent work on the origin of life pointed to the activity of a creative Intelligence, I said:


Yes, I now think it does ... almost entirely because of the DNA investigations. What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinary diverse elements to work together. It's the enormous complexity of the number of elements and the enormous subtlety of the ways they work together. The meeting of these two parts at the right time by chance is simply minute. It is all a matter of the enormous complexity by which the results we achieved, which looked to me like the work of intelligence."

'There Is A God' by Antony Flew, p74-5

The truth they were hiding

These quotes speak for themselves really, about how powerful the way a Christian lives his life is. These are quite negative quotes which remind us how damaging it is to claim the name of Christ, yet continue to live a carnal, seemingly godless existence.

You can know all the right arguments to 'be a good witness' but everything that you get up to just hangs off your spirit. People see through the haze...

"I would have liked to convince my father that I had found what he had been looking for, the ineffable something he had longed for all his life. I would have liked to persuade him that the search for God does not have to be in vain. But it was hopeless. He had know too many blind Christians, bleak moralists who sucked the joy from life and persecuted their opponents; he would never have been able to see the truth they were hiding"
Katharine Trait, 'My Father, Bertrand Russell'

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Mahatma Gandhi

“The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Brennan Manning

Video resources for Life Group (Part 1)

Francis Chan: Crazy Love DVD
Excellent. Watch a few chapters and discuss each one with the group. Don't need the group to read through the book as the DVD works well as a standalone resource. I came up with all my own discussion questions for a more personal touch.

Ask Pastor John Podcast
http://www.desiringgod.org
Each video is about 3 to 8 minutes long and John Piper answers all sorts of different questions. Hundreds to choose from. I downloaded 15 of what I thought were the most apt for my life group and got them to vote on the ones they wanted to watch. Viewed 3 or 4 each evening. Very very good. Used 'Roxio Toast' to burn them onto a DVD as video.

Mars Hill Church Seattle YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/mhcseattle
Very good short clips for generating discussions. Watching a DVD longer than 20 minutes doesn't tend to work in a life group setting, so these clips tend to be very good. Use http://keepvid.com to rip videos from YouTube and Roxio Toast to burn the video onto DVD.

Mars Hill Church Seattle Website
http://www.marshillchurch.org
The preaches tend to be much too long for a life group evening. But some of the shorter clips a great, such as 'The Peasant Princess' Q&A sessions. Can generate a lot of discussions.

The Unforgivable Sin

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."
Matthew 12:31

On a very interesting note, my ESV commentary defines this sin: "this sin is committed today only by unbelievers who deliberately and unchangeably reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit in calling them to salvation."

I think what's interesting is that the commentary defines what the sin against the Holy Spirit actually is. That verse always scared the life out of me previously, because I simply didn't know what it meant, and whether or not I was guilty of it.

All very interesting stuff. Obviously the commentary is just one man's perspective on the verse and could well be wrong to some degree. But it does spark a lot of thought. Does the Holy Spirit work in all people everywhere, calling them to Him? Has everyone on earth been ministered to in some way by the Holy Spirit? And everyone who remains unsaved – have they all rejected the work of the Spirit in their lives?

I'm not sure you can definitely back those statements up with scripture (maybe I'm wrong!). But the following verses do hint at it. They state that God desires all people to be saved, and that it can only happen by the Holy Spirit.

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
2 Peter 3:9

"No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."
1 Corinthians 12:3b

Frustrations, time, and spiritual muscle

A lot of life is very hard work. Constant toil and struggles –  you pretty much have to fight to get the time to do anything, and put up with being knackered as a result. But maybe that's a good thing. Maybe God's allowing it all to happen to basically put you through a training regime.

"You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
Matthew 22:37

This is basically saying 'love God with everything you've got. Inside and out. Engage the whole of yourself in this task'.

When you have to engage your whole body against resistance for sustained periods of time to tend to do two things. You lose a bit of fat and gain a bit of muscle.

Maybe this is what God has got in mind for us on a spiritual level. To actually get time to read your bible and pray each day can take a lot of effort. And it makes us spiritually strong. If it was all too easy we'd become doughnuts.

He was talking about us

One thing that really struck me today was thinking about when Jesus died on the cross, he said "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do".

Previously when I read this I always thought he was simply referring to the immediate people around him who were crucifying him, and it in no way related to me in the present day.

But really, it's a prayer that reaches all the way through time. We all crucified Christ. And none of us knew it until we really got to grips with the gospel. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"... he was talking about all of us.

Hate can be a good thing

"The man who lived in this constant fellowship with God manifested in his daily life all the fruits of the spirit ... and with them was a hatred of their opposites – a loathing of every form of sin"
'Spurgeon: A New Biography' by Arnold Dallimore

Hate is something I definitely don't have enough of. Do I really hate the sin in my life, or do I half enjoy it? Do I accommodate it because it's easy to? And when I sin, do I go all inward-looking and self-defeatist?
Surely we should stir up an intense hatred of Satan.

I think you could argue that all sin is essentially demonic in nature, because to sin is to rebel against God. And that's what the demons did. Giving in to temptation is to go against the very being that sustains the universe and gives you life. Hatred of sin and Satan could well be another weapon in your pursuit of holiness.

Incredibly hard workers

One thing that's really come to mind from reading a number of biographies is that the people worth writing books about are always incredibly hard workers and very passionate people. None of them were slack. None of them were half-hearted. None of them started well, only to lose their way later on. They didn't backslide. They all persevered right the way through their lives to the very end.

A very interesting note I think. Although it's all about grace, to actually produce a life of meaning and substance requires hard work, diligence and real grasp of holiness. And these need to be sustained through all the years we live on earth.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."
Romans 12:11

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:58

Most Excellent Podcasts

These are by far the best podcasts I've come across, and would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to listen to preaches while they commute, go to the gym, do the house work etc.

Mark Driscoll
Mars Hill Church, Seattle
http://rss.marshillchurch.org/mhcsermonaudio
Some of the best preaching I've ever heard covering every topic imaginable.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones
http://podcast.oneplace.com/living_grace/3892126.xml
Brilliant teaching from a dead guy. Has an awesome accent.

John Piper
Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis.
http://www.desiringgod.org/feeds/SermonAudio/
Super-smart guy. Very well rounded.

Ravi Zacharias
http://www.rzim.org/rss/RSS-LMPT.aspx
Christian apologetics. Clever stuff!

Matt Chandler
The Village Church, Texas
http://www.thevillagechurch.net/podcast/sermons.xml
Sounds like Mark Driscoll's hilarious younger brother. In his 30’s. Also has a terminal brain tumour, which makes his teaching very real.

Tim Keller
Redeemer Presbyterian, New York City
http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sites/sermons2.redeemer.com/files/RSS_Feeds/Timothy_Keller_Podcasts.xml
Another clever guy.

Ian McCormack
http://www.aglimpseofeternity.org/media/media.xml
This New Zealand guy got stung five times by a box jellyfish and died. He then came back to life and these set of talks relate his experiences of heaven, hell and loads of other spiritual stuff. Definitely worth a listen.

Temptation, Meditation & Prayer

Spurgeon:

"He was well versed in the three things which, according to Luther, make a minister: temptation, meditation and prayer."
James Douglas, 'The Prince Of Preachers', 1894

I like this quote as it seems to lay out a string of three key areas: resisting temptation, having you're head in the bible and praying. Tie them all together and you could be a sharp tool in the hand of God.

Humility is Masculine (Part 2)

I've been pondering on the whole idea of humility, and how it is a very masculine trait. Instead of making you 'meek and mild' it frees you up for greater and bolder works. It enables you to roll with the punches, absorb jabs, brushing them off unscathed.

To grasp your own insignificance is a good thing. The vastness of the universe is mind blowing*. And to think that God measures the heavens with the span of his hand nearly makes my head explode (see Isaiah 40:12). God is big, we are small.

To be less conscious and worried about self is the opposite of pride (which is the original sin committed by Satan, and seems to be every persons default position). Humility, I think, is when your focus shifts from looking at yourself to looking at God. The less mindful you are about self, the less worried you'll be about the opinions of others. In turn, this frees you up for attempting greater and bolder works.

So what if you fail miserably? So what if you experience a bit of embarrassment or criticism? When you grasp how small you are, the less worried you'll be about it.

Ironically, this could produce the sort of man that the world celebrates: a risk taker, bold acts, unfazed by pain and hardships and the weight of other people's opinions. The difference being that you're not self-assured, but engulfed in the hugeness of God.

----- -----

*Interestingly, I recently learnt that the universe is the precise size that it needs to be in order to support carbon-based life forms. Any smaller, and human beings would not exist.