By Brace E. Barber
March 14, 2019
Christian Apologetics Speaker
The plane arrived in the early evening on cold day exactly seven days before the Championship. The players stepped off of the plane as the favorite to win the big game. Somehow their faces weren’t those of champions, they were downcast and distant. The look wasn’t that of determination. The players almost looked scared. After a week of game-preparation, the unimaginable happened. The players from both teams met in the middle of the field for the coin toss. Our team towered over the other boys in a way that made people wince at the tromping that they would give the opposing team. But instead of flipping the coin, the umpire waved his hands above his head and made the announcement over the loud speakers. Without explanation, our team had forfeited the game.
I haven’t stepped into social media much as I’ve built my career and companies, but with the beginning of my full-time ministry, I thought it would be a good idea to engage with the world in this way. It’s been interesting to see some of the reactions of people as they presume my stance on Atheists and Science. What struck me right off of the bat was one encounter revolving around the scientific evidence for creation, fine tuning and life. I was surprised because I believe that Christians are forfeiting the game before it starts, but what I’m seeing is that Skeptics have as little knowledge about the nature of the evidence as do Christians. If Christians would just take the opening kickoff, we’d truly be tromp the opposing side. I say, “tromp” to explain the scale of dominance, not the nature of it. We should always treat others with love and respect even if they disagree. We are not trying to win an argument, we are trying to win souls. The following interaction recently took place and I’m using it as an example of what to illustrate my point:
After being dismissed as having a different standard for evidence, I replied:
“We all use the same standards. All of us can point to Einstein’s theory of general relativity and understand that time, space and matter came into being at the same time. Edwin Hubble, among others showed us that the Universe is expanding in all directions. The implications of this discovery are that the Universe started at a point and before that nothing. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics isn’t obscure, and the fine tuning of 140 forces of nature, like gravity to 1 part in 10 to the 60th power isn’t in contention. My standard of evidence is the same as anyone’s willing to face viable evidence. When Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins and every other secular scientist has to move into conclusions that are beyond the ability of science to prove such as the multi-verse, alien seeding, computer simulation etc., then the standard evidence points to a conclusion beyond nature. So though we have the same standard for evidence, both Christians and non-Christians have explanations that are beyond nature. The Christian explanation, however, explains everything we see: Existence, Complexity and Design, the existence of transcendent moral standards, Evil and Suffering. The Christian explanation, as opposed to a grand accident, also provides purpose, value and meaning to life. It is the only explanation that offers hope. If there is a different standard of evidence of which I’m unaware, I’m open to being educated.”
Christians, Atheists, Skeptics, Buddhists, you name it, all use the same standards for evidence. Evidence, however, is far different from conclusions. The difference lies in how we interpret the evidence. As scientists lay out increasingly detailed evidence on the table before us, what’s stunning to realize is that everyone…EVERYONE, including secular scientists and celebrity atheists have moved to conclusions that are beyond nature to cause. Something that is beyond nature is commonly called Supernatural. The very people who are calling on you to reject God as supernatural, have run to the anti-god supernatural. So let the coin flip proceed and get into the game.
Practical Help
Brace E. Barber is a Christian Apologetics Speaker focusing on teaching Churches how to immediately stop the loss of Christian kids from the Faith. See more at Christian Apologetics Speaker