WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.480 Let me pray. 00:00:01.340 --> 00:00:04.719 We thank you, Lord Jesus, for being able to gather around your word. 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:10.160 And we pray it helped me as I speak it tonight that you would speak to us by your spirit 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.800 and grow us in Christ to your glory. 00:00:14.060 --> 00:00:16.179 And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:18.980 Now I got to choose a hobby horse tonight. 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:23.019 And so I've gone back away to something that I have preached before. 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:27.519 And for a time, read quite a bit about this, although not as much recently. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:36.019 But in the 1990s, or before the mid-1990s, when you start talking about science and religion, 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:39.159 it was either like you're a creationist or you're a Darwinian evolutionist, 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:40.340 and there was no ground in between. 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.120 And both camps pushed one another into different corners. 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:50.000 And a man came along called P.E. Johnson, who was a professor of law in the United States, 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:52.960 and he broke new ground. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:57.660 Because what he did, he looked at evolutionary arguments and the arguments of evolutionary scientists. 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:04.819 And rather than think science, he thought law and the nature of arguments 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:07.019 and the way arguments are won and lost. 00:01:08.140 --> 00:01:11.260 And he's also a very gracious man. 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:13.319 I think he's still alive, but a very gracious man. 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:19.139 And so he would work with people who believed and thought things that were very, very different from himself. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.839 And rather than being in a combative way with them, 00:01:23.479 --> 00:01:26.780 he'd come alongside them, go away on weekends, talk to them, 00:01:26.979 --> 00:01:31.039 submit what he was thinking to them to test against their thinking. 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:35.919 And I think relationally, probably modelled something for us that we could all learn from 00:01:35.919 --> 00:01:39.699 in terms of how we engage people when we disagree with one another. 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:45.120 And rather than try to prove God, he came from a different point of view 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:53.879 and worked in a way to show the deficiencies of the arguments for Darwinian evolution. 00:01:54.100 --> 00:01:58.020 So some stuff that we get in university and school is just taught as a given 00:01:58.020 --> 00:02:01.939 and maybe not reflected on in the way that it should be reflected on 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:06.520 and subjected to us thinking about it in ways that would be good for us to think about it. 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:11.479 So often if you said you're a Christian, you just get put in a basket case 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:14.759 rather than listened to and debated properly. 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:21.960 So the whole notion of intelligent design is the idea that maybe the earth is designed 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:23.519 without actually having to... 00:02:24.079 --> 00:02:28.460 So working in a secular field, you can bat for the idea that the earth is designed 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:36.280 without having to necessarily prove what sort of a person or an entity or a creator or a God 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:37.319 brought it into being. 00:02:37.420 --> 00:02:40.580 You could discuss that part of it without pushing further. 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:42.400 And I think it was a really clever thing to do. 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:47.040 It was done with a great deal of grace and it's been run on with a lot since then 00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:51.020 and sometimes with grace and sometimes with a total lack of grace 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:53.180 which hasn't helped the cause at all. 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:59.040 Pastors and preachers like me encounter all sorts of people in ministry 00:02:59.040 --> 00:03:04.420 and very early in my time of ministry I was doing marriage preparation 00:03:04.420 --> 00:03:11.760 with one of my relatives, my cousin who was a great friend but also she was my cousin 00:03:11.760 --> 00:03:17.180 and she was a teacher and she was marrying a guy who... 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:21.780 and he's married still to a guy with a PhD in geology 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:26.140 and now a professor in geology at a major Australian university. 00:03:28.040 --> 00:03:31.719 And he said as we did the marriage preparation, he's not a Christian 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:34.800 but he said he respected me as a Christian 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:40.740 and I said and I respect your knowledge of geology. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:44.900 And guess where the discussion went to? 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:48.879 It got into a discussion about creation and evolution 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.080 and how the world was formed 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:56.760 and for my friend, naturalistic evolution was an absolute given. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:59.439 Of course that's how the world was formed and how we've come about. 00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:04.260 He was a Darwinian evolution man, he still is through and through. 00:04:04.259 --> 00:04:07.459 He said that he believed in God 00:04:07.459 --> 00:04:12.620 but it wasn't all that clear where God fitted into his belief system. 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:17.680 It was a little bit like, oh well maybe God kicked the world into being 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:22.439 and then stepped away and allowed it to follow its evolutionary course. 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:31.099 Now when my friend talked geology and the details of his science, 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:32.159 guess what happened to me? 00:04:32.159 --> 00:04:33.000 I floundered. 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:35.939 Couldn't compete with him. 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:42.199 I could not presume to speak with him on his level or with his expertise. 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.959 And it was like being an absolute minnow at the foot of a giant. 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:54.039 And I threw a few ideas forward and he mashed me. 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:59.099 And if he was sitting here tonight and I did it again, he'd mash me again. 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:04.900 And so I said things like, I just tried things out like, 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:07.800 well what about the huge fossil fuel deposits in the world? 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:12.180 All the oil and the gas and the coal that we're now burning to our peril 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:13.920 and creating climate change from. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:23.540 Weren't all those things once living creatures and organisms, massive forests destroyed by some sort of cataclysmic event in our past? 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:26.160 Where did they come from? 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:29.259 Could they be the result of a worldwide flood? 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:34.199 What about the missing links in the fossil record? 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:46.319 What about the Cambrian explosion where the geological record shows that all of life arose in a relatively short geological time frame? 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:53.899 How does that sit with the long time frames that Darwinian evolution needed to occur? 00:05:56.379 --> 00:06:04.399 So I could ask some questions, but I couldn't compete with his knowledge and his understanding of geology. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:11.120 There was no way that I was going anywhere in a creation-evolution discussion with him. 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:14.600 I was the preacher that he was having on toast. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:21.259 That is until our discussion turned to Christ. 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:26.740 And I'll talk about that a little bit more as we get towards the end. 00:06:27.659 --> 00:06:40.420 So I called this talk, it's just a talk, and I called it Science and Religion, Mortal Enemies or Helpful Friends. 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:44.759 Science and Religion, Mortal Enemies or Helpful Friends. 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:48.639 I heard a talk a while back on science and Christianity. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.680 The speaker was Christian, he saw no conflict between the two. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:56.139 Heard some great stuff last year, or the year before, from John Lennox when he was in Sydney. 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:57.579 He's worth listening to and reading. 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:05.819 But God is creator, and the discipline of science is merely a process of discovering the wonder of a creation 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:08.779 that God designed and brought into being in the first place. 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:14.139 So for him, science describes and explains what God thought up and brought into being. 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:19.619 And in this system of thought, whatever science discovers is no threat to God, 00:07:19.659 --> 00:07:24.559 because we're just discovering things that are part of the magnificence of his creation. 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:31.519 Francis Bacon discovered the scientific method over 400 years ago. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:33.819 You've probably been taught it if you've done science at school. 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:39.979 And Bacon had a two-books understanding of the world. 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:42.359 He said, 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:58.300 And he encouraged us to learn, he encouraged people back then, 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:00.360 to learn as much as they could from the Bible, 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:04.920 but also to be learning as much as they can from creation or nature. 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:09.360 Michael Faraday lived in the 19th century, 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:13.199 and he's regarded as the greatest experimental scientist of all time. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:15.720 He discovered benzene. Is that petrol? 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:17.819 Close. 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:21.340 And electromagnetic induction. 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:24.800 So he was the guy that invented electric generators and motors. 00:08:25.340 --> 00:08:27.080 And as he lay on his deathbed, 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:28.360 a friend asked him, 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:30.040 What speculations do you have now? 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:32.920 And he replied, 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:34.820 Speculations? Man, I have none. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:36.599 I have certainties. 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:40.319 I thank God that I don't rest my dying head upon speculations, 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:42.379 for I know whom I have believed, 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:45.159 and am persuaded that he is able to keep 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:48.799 that which I have committed to him against that day. 00:08:50.959 --> 00:08:54.479 And so there is no shortage of scientists over time 00:08:54.479 --> 00:08:58.319 who have had a clear faith in a creator God. 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:01.199 Science and religion? 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:03.360 Mortal enemies? 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:03.440 Friends? 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:05.039 Or helpful friends? 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.019 The easy answer is that they're very helpful friends. 00:09:11.019 --> 00:09:17.019 Many significant scientific and brilliant medical discoveries have been made 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:20.919 as people have sought to use their inbuilt creativity 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.899 to search out and understand this universe that we live in. 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:26.799 If the creator God is true, 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.879 then seeking to understand this wonderful world that he has made 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:33.019 should be no threat to any of us. 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:37.100 In fact, it is something that we should pursue with energy and with vigour. 00:09:37.959 --> 00:09:40.279 Do science at university and at school. 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:41.539 None of my life. 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:43.279 Have my last three kids done any of it? 00:09:43.699 --> 00:09:44.179 No. 00:09:44.179 --> 00:09:50.219 Certainly not following the footsteps of an engineering father. 00:09:53.839 --> 00:09:59.519 But the harder answer may be determined by your own prejudices. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:05.620 Because matters other than science might prejudice your view about these things. 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:12.379 And I think some of our troubles begin when we move away from describing how the world is 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:16.779 to saying why the world is the way it is. 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:32.059 One of the world's leading evolutionary biologists has written, 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:36.919 if Darwinism is true, there are five inescapable conclusions. 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:39.959 There is no evidence for God. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.079 There is no life after death. 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:47.860 There is absolutely no foundation for ethics. 00:10:48.020 --> 00:10:50.759 There is no basis for right and wrong. 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:54.600 There is no ultimate meaning for life. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:58.360 And people really do not have a free will. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:04.580 The respected ABC science commentator, the late Robin Williams, 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:07.660 wrote a little book which was very popular for a while 00:11:07.660 --> 00:11:09.980 and probably still on the shelves of ABC shops. 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:11.780 And it was called Unintelligent Design. 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:15.779 And it was subtitled, Why God Isn't As Smart As She Thinks She Is. 00:11:17.199 --> 00:11:20.959 And so he was refuting this growing interest in the intelligent design movement 00:11:20.959 --> 00:11:24.139 and he was tenaciously defending his views on science. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:26.480 And he said things in it. 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:31.439 He said, I find it gobsmackingly outrageous that intelligent design can be allowed to pretend 00:11:31.439 --> 00:11:33.620 that our state of knowledge is inadequate. 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:38.899 It's incomplete, certainly, but expanding at a ferocious rate. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:45.620 And he also said, the science, the Darwinian naturalism, it's endlessly fascinating. 00:11:46.560 --> 00:11:48.679 It's also rigorously tested. 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:56.359 Why buy a vehicle from dodgy brothers when there is one tested and retested by the best firm in the business, 00:11:56.459 --> 00:11:57.500 which is Darwinian evolution. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:03.279 And so what he does, he takes this high moral ground and he effectively slanders intelligent design 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:07.239 as dodgy without interacting with the issues. 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:08.959 Play the man rather than the ball. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:16.180 On the other hand, this is one for Adam after the surface. 00:12:18.060 --> 00:12:19.820 Edwin Erwin Schrodinger. 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:25.960 I'm just reading a quote from a book at this point. 00:12:26.780 --> 00:12:29.680 Was perhaps the most important founder of wave mechanics 00:12:29.680 --> 00:12:34.500 and the originator of the most important equation in science. 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:37.340 Schrodinger's equation. 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:38.900 Who knows what it is? 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:42.639 Do you know? 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:45.740 Yeah, he does know. 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:46.440 Ask him later. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:51.560 I've never heard of him. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.740 I did physics at uni and I've never heard of him before. 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:55.680 Quantum physics. 00:12:55.820 --> 00:12:57.700 I probably switched off at that particular moment. 00:13:00.540 --> 00:13:02.780 But more than 60 years ago, he wrote, 00:13:02.780 --> 00:13:07.700 I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world 00:13:07.700 --> 00:13:09.700 is very deficient. 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.379 It gives a lot of factual information, 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:18.020 puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:24.860 but it's ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart. 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:27.860 And that really matters to us. 00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:34.720 It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight. 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:39.480 It knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good and bad, God and eternity. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:44.480 Science sometimes pretends to answer questions in these domains. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:49.480 But the answers are very often so silly that we're not inclined to take them seriously. 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:55.740 For more than 3,000 years, 2,000 years, 00:13:55.820 --> 00:13:59.240 the Bible has said that there is a contest in the world over truth. 00:13:59.340 --> 00:14:01.159 We've been there the last few weeks with Romans. 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:05.320 Romans 1, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:09.159 against all the godlessness and wickedness of people 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:11.779 who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 00:14:13.560 --> 00:14:16.340 Since what may be known about God is plain to them 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:18.440 because God has made it plain to them. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.440 For since the creation of the world, 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.940 God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:27.440 have been clearly seen, 00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:30.519 being understood from what has been made 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:32.740 so that people are without excuse. 00:14:33.820 --> 00:14:35.360 For although they knew God, 00:14:35.420 --> 00:14:38.320 they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:41.700 But their thinking became futile 00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:43.960 and their foolish hearts were darkened. 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:46.980 And although they claimed to be wise, 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:48.180 they became fools. 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:51.560 And they exchanged the glory of their mortal God 00:14:51.560 --> 00:14:53.860 for images made to look like mortal men 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.360 and birds and animals and reptiles. 00:14:58.700 --> 00:15:03.060 So the Bible is asserting that the imprint of our Creator 00:15:03.060 --> 00:15:07.000 is there to be seen in his creation. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.040 I'm going to say more about that in a moment. 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:13.199 But the passage also asserts 00:15:13.199 --> 00:15:16.179 that we are culpable in rejecting the truth. 00:15:17.219 --> 00:15:19.179 We put our fingers in our ears 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:20.399 and we close our eyes 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:22.259 because we do not want to know about it. 00:15:23.719 --> 00:15:24.559 You see the words, 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:27.379 we suppress the truth by our wickedness. 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:32.899 The creation clearly bears the markings of its creator 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:34.439 and we have chosen neither 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.300 to glorify him as God 00:15:37.300 --> 00:15:38.540 or to give thanks to him. 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:43.120 So we break the second of the Ten Commandments all the time. 00:15:43.220 --> 00:15:44.600 We live in a material world 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:46.820 and are so obsessed with what has been made 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:47.980 or what God has made 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.900 that we have turned away from him 00:15:50.900 --> 00:15:52.600 and we have turned to these things 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:54.420 that he has made or that we have made. 00:15:55.420 --> 00:15:56.920 And the Bible passage says 00:15:56.920 --> 00:15:59.440 that that makes us culpable. 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.620 We are as guilty as sin. 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:11.320 Who are we to sit in judgment on God? 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.560 The physicist Max Planck, 00:16:16.620 --> 00:16:18.120 who I don't think was a believer, 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:19.860 at least had a humility 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:21.560 as he went about his science. 00:16:22.680 --> 00:16:26.820 He said that science cannot solve the mystery of nature 00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:30.560 and that is in part because in the last analysis 00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:32.560 we are part of the mystery 00:16:32.560 --> 00:16:33.920 that we are trying to solve. 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:38.180 You almost need a bigger look from outside 00:16:38.180 --> 00:16:40.500 to see what's going on. 00:16:41.260 --> 00:16:42.960 And I think I want to say to all of us 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:44.879 that we need a return to humility. 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:47.760 We need to be able to gasp 00:16:47.760 --> 00:16:49.840 at the wonder of the world in which we live. 00:16:52.420 --> 00:16:53.820 There's a wonderful little... 00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:59.020 Not an easy book, 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:00.180 not too hard a book, 00:17:01.160 --> 00:17:02.200 but it's a great book, 00:17:02.260 --> 00:17:03.100 Case for a Creator, 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:04.340 written by Lee Strobel. 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:05.519 You'll find that at Coorong. 00:17:06.360 --> 00:17:08.820 But he summarises the thinking 00:17:08.820 --> 00:17:11.100 of many recent scientists 00:17:11.100 --> 00:17:12.420 in terms of some of the things 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:13.700 that we're talking about tonight. 00:17:15.420 --> 00:17:17.740 But he's got some great information in here as well. 00:17:17.820 --> 00:17:18.680 He said things like, 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:21.840 do you know that if the surface of the earth 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:22.919 was flat, 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:24.740 so if you brought all the mountains down 00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:25.639 and all the valleys are, 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:29.319 the entire world would be covered with water 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:30.599 to a depth of two kilometres? 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.179 Do you know that the earth exists 00:17:35.179 --> 00:17:37.119 in a place in the Milky Way galaxy 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.939 that protects it from huge amounts of radiation 00:17:39.939 --> 00:17:41.019 from gamma bursts 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:42.939 that come from exploding stars? 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:47.759 Do you know that Jupiter's circular orbit, 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:51.740 which is the largest planet in the solar system, 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:54.720 helps the earth maintain a circular orbit 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:57.039 that gives us steady temperature 00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:58.180 and predictable climate? 00:18:00.100 --> 00:18:02.700 That Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:05.220 have tremendous gravitational pull 00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:07.120 that draws in comets and asteroids 00:18:07.120 --> 00:18:08.680 and helps minimise the number 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:09.740 that strike the earth? 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:13.819 That if the earth's distance from the sun 00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:15.859 moved 5% either way, 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:16.740 we would die. 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:19.359 Oceans would boil off 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:20.859 or they would permanently freeze. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.880 The sun is just the right mass 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.460 and emits just the right amount 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:28.500 of red and blue light 00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:29.740 to sustain our atmosphere. 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:34.059 The moon stabilises the earth's tilt 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:35.579 at 23.5 degrees 00:18:35.579 --> 00:18:38.119 and this is what gives us 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:39.279 very mild seasons. 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:42.000 And I read tonight 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:46.099 that liquid iron surrounds the earth's core, 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:48.159 molten iron surrounds the earth's core 00:18:48.159 --> 00:18:51.679 and its heat is driven 00:18:51.679 --> 00:18:53.699 by radioactive isotopes 00:18:53.699 --> 00:18:55.119 going on inside the centre 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:56.019 of the earth all the time. 00:18:57.419 --> 00:18:59.859 And they create this sort of a dynamo 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:02.039 that generates the earth's magnetic field. 00:19:02.139 --> 00:19:03.179 It's a huge machine. 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:06.680 And the magnetic field of the earth 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:10.200 protects us from dangerous radiation 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:11.500 coming from outer space. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:15.259 And it stops the solar winds 00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:16.000 from the sun 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:21.720 stripping away our atmosphere. 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:23.700 If the solar winds from the sun 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:25.680 could touch the earth's atmosphere, 00:19:26.620 --> 00:19:28.660 the water vapour would just disappear. 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:29.380 We'd be gone. 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:33.340 And he's got this wonderful quote. 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:33.800 He says, 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.180 We are, by astronomical standards, 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:38.200 a pampered, 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:39.120 cosseted, 00:19:39.520 --> 00:19:41.000 cherished group of creatures. 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:44.120 Our Darwinian claim 00:19:44.120 --> 00:19:45.480 to have done it all by ourselves 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:46.320 is as ridiculous 00:19:46.320 --> 00:19:47.380 and as charming 00:19:47.380 --> 00:19:48.740 as a baby's brave efforts 00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:50.160 to stand on its own feet 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.320 and refuse its mother's hand. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.720 If the universe had not been made 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:57.439 with the most exacting precision, 00:19:57.720 --> 00:19:59.579 we could never have come into existence. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:02.059 It is my view 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:03.460 that these circumstances 00:20:03.460 --> 00:20:05.000 indicate that the universe 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.240 was created for people to live in. 00:20:10.439 --> 00:20:11.559 Or we turn inward. 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:13.240 That's the macro picture. 00:20:13.379 --> 00:20:14.099 That's outward. 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:16.299 The enormity of the universe 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:17.939 and our place in it. 00:20:18.639 --> 00:20:19.439 If you turn inward 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:20.000 and you go, 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.840 you look at the complexity of life, 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:23.259 the molecular biologists 00:20:23.259 --> 00:20:25.799 who are looking further and further 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:26.680 into our cells 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:27.420 and they're dazzled 00:20:27.420 --> 00:20:28.299 by what they see. 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:31.059 They're finding machines 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:31.680 in our cells. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:32.180 See, you know, 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:33.539 Darwinian evolution, 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:34.820 everything builds a little bit 00:20:34.820 --> 00:20:35.580 on everything else 00:20:35.580 --> 00:20:36.559 and they're looking 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:37.420 into our cells 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:38.380 and the tiny detail 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:38.940 of our cells 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:40.180 and how our molecules look 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:40.779 and they see 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:42.820 organisation there 00:20:42.820 --> 00:20:44.180 which needed to be complete 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:44.759 for it to work 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:45.480 in the first place. 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:46.360 It couldn't have just happened 00:20:46.360 --> 00:20:46.980 bit by bit. 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:49.559 They're blown away by it. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:51.160 It's called irreducible complexity. 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:53.500 We are so complex 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:54.759 that it couldn't have been like that. 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:57.240 That it couldn't have just evolved. 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:01.120 They said that, 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:01.680 did you know 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:02.400 that every cell 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:03.240 in the human body 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.039 contains more information 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:06.900 than 30 volumes 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:08.559 of Encyclopedia Britannica? 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.240 I think in today's terms 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:12.579 that's like a gigabyte 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:13.480 of information 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.339 in every cell. 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:18.880 The late astronomer 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:19.559 Fred Hoyle, 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:22.039 guess what his theory was? 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:24.920 He coined the phrase 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:25.720 Big Bang. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:27.140 Big Bang Theory. 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:29.559 And he wrote 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:31.039 that it is as likely 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:32.440 that life began 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:34.140 from random mutations 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:36.799 as it is that a tornado 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:38.099 blowing through a junkyard 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:38.700 could assemble 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:40.240 a 747 jumbo jet. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:43.579 The psalmist 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:44.620 looks at creation 00:21:44.620 --> 00:21:45.839 and he is blown away. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:47.819 The heavens 00:21:47.819 --> 00:21:48.980 declare the glory 00:21:48.980 --> 00:21:49.539 of God. 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:52.000 The skies proclaim 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:52.779 the work 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:53.640 of his hands. 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:56.059 Day after day 00:21:56.059 --> 00:21:56.880 they pour forth 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:57.380 speech 00:21:57.380 --> 00:21:58.680 and night after night 00:21:58.680 --> 00:21:59.859 they display knowledge. 00:22:01.120 --> 00:22:02.220 And there is no speech 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:02.839 or language 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:03.640 where their voice 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:04.500 is not heard. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:05.779 Their voice 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:06.339 goes out 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:07.220 into all the world. 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:10.259 In the heavens 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:11.200 he's pitched a tent 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:11.839 for the sun 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:13.279 which is like a bridegroom 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:14.000 coming forth 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:14.799 from his pavilion 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:15.799 like a champion 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:17.259 rejoicing 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:18.640 to run his course. 00:22:19.860 --> 00:22:20.740 It rises 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:21.339 at one end 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:21.860 of the heavens 00:22:21.860 --> 00:22:22.380 and it makes 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:22.880 its circuit 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:23.519 to the other 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:24.140 and nothing 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:24.700 is hidden 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:25.420 from its heat. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:28.079 So he looks 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:28.779 at creation 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:29.779 as we can look 00:22:29.779 --> 00:22:30.360 at creation 00:22:30.360 --> 00:22:30.940 tonight 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:32.840 and see it 00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:33.620 as reflecting 00:22:33.620 --> 00:22:34.620 the work 00:22:34.620 --> 00:22:36.100 and the glory 00:22:36.100 --> 00:22:37.380 of its creator. 00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:40.960 Some 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:41.940 I shouldn't say 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:42.500 scientists 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:43.840 but some philosophers 00:22:43.840 --> 00:22:44.920 look at a Bible 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:45.920 reading like this 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:46.360 and go 00:22:46.360 --> 00:22:49.180 oh how simplistic. 00:22:52.620 --> 00:22:53.860 Haven't we come 00:22:53.860 --> 00:22:54.799 to understand 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.019 how foolish 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:56.779 this is. 00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:58.440 The sun 00:22:58.440 --> 00:22:59.220 going around 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:00.019 the earth 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:01.579 we all know 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:02.740 that the earth 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:03.500 goes around 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:04.000 the sun. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:05.720 And so 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:06.480 you ridicule 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:06.900 the scriptures 00:23:06.900 --> 00:23:07.539 in a way 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:09.539 but you've got 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:10.059 into taking 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:10.500 into account 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:11.160 that the Bible 00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:12.200 writer is like 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:12.759 a scientist. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:14.660 Three thousand 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:15.240 years ago 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:15.880 he's observing 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:16.519 the world 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:18.059 and he's using 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:18.579 the tools 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:19.400 which are available 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:20.019 to him. 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:21.420 He didn't have 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:21.980 satellites 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:22.440 he couldn't 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:22.860 go away 00:23:22.860 --> 00:23:23.440 from the earth's 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:23.700 surface 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:24.240 and observe 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:25.160 things from afar. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:26.259 He described 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:26.900 what he saw 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:27.759 and it was awesome. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:29.180 and so 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:29.559 that the 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:30.059 regular 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:30.539 daily 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:30.920 march 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:31.220 of a 00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:31.700 blazing 00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:32.059 sun 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:32.480 rising 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:32.859 across 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:33.059 the 00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:33.299 heaven 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:33.980 giving light 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:34.539 giving heat 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:34.920 to all 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:35.299 and going 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:35.720 down at 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:36.019 the end 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:36.519 and he 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:37.119 gives glory 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:37.519 to our 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:37.839 maker. 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:42.440 Sure his 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:43.019 science back 00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:43.700 there had to be 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:44.440 modified along 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:44.759 the way 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:45.240 but he gave 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:45.599 a true 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:46.079 description 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:46.599 of what he 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:47.079 saw at the 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:47.400 time. 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:50.319 But he 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:51.099 goes further 00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:51.640 because he 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:52.339 drew attention 00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:52.960 to the fact 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:53.279 that the 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:53.720 creator 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:54.279 does not 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:54.980 just reveal 00:23:54.980 --> 00:23:55.379 himself 00:23:55.379 --> 00:23:55.940 by what he 00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:56.339 does. 00:23:56.339 --> 00:23:57.459 He speaks 00:23:57.459 --> 00:23:58.059 words and 00:23:58.059 --> 00:23:58.559 for those 00:23:58.559 --> 00:23:59.059 with ears 00:23:59.059 --> 00:23:59.559 to hear 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:00.240 he has 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:01.059 very specific 00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:01.659 things to 00:24:01.659 --> 00:24:01.859 say. 00:24:01.959 --> 00:24:02.159 It's the 00:24:02.159 --> 00:24:02.659 second half 00:24:02.659 --> 00:24:02.959 of this 00:24:02.959 --> 00:24:03.359 psalm. 00:24:04.399 --> 00:24:05.000 He changes 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:05.539 from talking 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:06.240 about creation 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:06.699 to talking 00:24:06.699 --> 00:24:07.039 about the 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:07.339 word of 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:07.500 God. 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:07.959 The law 00:24:07.959 --> 00:24:08.240 of the 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:08.539 Lord is 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:09.019 perfect 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:09.559 reviving 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:10.139 the soul. 00:24:10.899 --> 00:24:11.039 The 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:11.720 statutes 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:12.099 of the 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:12.579 Lord are 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:13.099 trustworthy 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:13.659 making 00:24:13.659 --> 00:24:14.039 wise 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:14.240 the 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:14.599 simple. 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:15.720 The 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:16.419 precepts 00:24:16.419 --> 00:24:16.679 of the 00:24:16.679 --> 00:24:17.019 Lord are 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:17.299 right. 00:24:17.419 --> 00:24:17.720 They give 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:18.139 joy to 00:24:18.139 --> 00:24:18.599 the heart. 00:24:18.899 --> 00:24:19.019 The 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:19.419 commands 00:24:19.419 --> 00:24:19.740 of the 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:20.059 Lord are 00:24:20.059 --> 00:24:20.419 radiant. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:20.859 They give 00:24:20.859 --> 00:24:21.699 light to 00:24:21.699 --> 00:24:22.199 the eyes. 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:22.899 The fear 00:24:22.899 --> 00:24:23.179 of the 00:24:23.179 --> 00:24:23.519 Lord is 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:23.899 pure 00:24:23.899 --> 00:24:24.659 enduring 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:25.180 forever. 00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:25.740 The 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:26.240 ordinances 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:26.560 of the 00:24:26.560 --> 00:24:27.040 Lord are 00:24:27.040 --> 00:24:27.540 sure and 00:24:27.540 --> 00:24:28.040 altogether 00:24:28.040 --> 00:24:28.600 righteous. 00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:29.460 They are 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:30.140 more precious 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:30.740 than gold 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:31.240 than much 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:31.880 pure gold. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:32.220 They are 00:24:32.220 --> 00:24:32.800 sweeter than 00:24:32.800 --> 00:24:33.220 honey than 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:33.680 honey from 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:34.100 a cone. 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:35.680 And so 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:36.340 God is a 00:24:36.340 --> 00:24:36.680 God who 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:39.180 speaks and 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:39.680 he speaks 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:40.140 through his 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:40.580 word the 00:24:40.580 --> 00:24:40.940 Bible. 00:24:44.620 --> 00:24:45.140 Francis 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:45.880 Bracken's 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.519 two books 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:47.060 he speaks 00:24:47.060 --> 00:24:47.800 a specific 00:24:47.800 --> 00:24:48.420 word through 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:49.019 the Bible 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:50.019 and a more 00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:50.800 general word 00:24:50.800 --> 00:24:51.620 through creation. 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:53.019 If you 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:53.540 haven't read 00:24:53.540 --> 00:24:54.000 the Bible 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:54.560 you can see 00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:55.240 something of 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:55.659 what God 00:24:55.659 --> 00:24:56.299 is like by 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:56.940 the creation 00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:57.339 that he's 00:24:57.339 --> 00:24:57.819 put us in 00:24:57.819 --> 00:24:58.240 and who we 00:24:58.240 --> 00:24:58.539 are and 00:24:58.539 --> 00:24:58.940 how we're 00:24:58.940 --> 00:24:59.200 made. 00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:00.200 But we 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:00.639 need to 00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:00.940 come to 00:25:00.940 --> 00:25:01.119 the 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:01.659 scriptures to 00:25:01.659 --> 00:25:02.079 find out 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:02.460 what God 00:25:02.460 --> 00:25:02.940 is really 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:03.299 like. 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:05.500 Now I've 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:06.059 spoken in a 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:06.259 really 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:07.159 generalised way 00:25:07.159 --> 00:25:07.859 tonight and 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:09.099 some of you 00:25:09.099 --> 00:25:09.480 may have 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:10.279 very detailed 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:10.940 learning about 00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:11.440 some of the 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:11.940 things that I 00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:12.299 know very 00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:12.799 little about. 00:25:13.139 --> 00:25:13.659 I'm sure some 00:25:13.659 --> 00:25:14.119 of you guys 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:14.619 and girls have 00:25:14.619 --> 00:25:15.039 done much 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:15.440 better at 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:15.879 science than 00:25:15.879 --> 00:25:16.299 I did at 00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:16.740 science at 00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:17.000 school. 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:19.639 You asked 00:25:19.639 --> 00:25:20.019 me a few 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:20.700 questions and 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:21.559 you soon find 00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:21.879 them out of 00:25:21.879 --> 00:25:22.200 my debts. 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:22.980 That's why if 00:25:22.980 --> 00:25:23.440 you ask me 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.340 about Schrodinger's 00:25:24.340 --> 00:25:26.220 equation, I'm 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:26.779 doing that. 00:25:27.779 --> 00:25:32.660 And I said 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:32.920 at the 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:33.980 beginning that 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:35.620 I was unable 00:25:35.620 --> 00:25:36.559 to talk on a 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:37.299 level playing 00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:38.240 field with my 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:39.519 PhD in geology 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:40.799 relative who is 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:41.539 deeply committed 00:25:41.539 --> 00:25:42.320 to Darwinian 00:25:42.320 --> 00:25:43.039 naturalism. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:49.379 but I was 00:25:49.379 --> 00:25:49.960 back in the 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:51.980 fray when I 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:52.500 was able to 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:52.839 turn the 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:53.639 conversation to 00:25:53.639 --> 00:25:54.440 Jesus Christ. 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:57.240 See most 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:58.039 people will say 00:25:58.039 --> 00:25:58.779 that Jesus was 00:25:58.779 --> 00:25:59.420 a good bloke 00:25:59.420 --> 00:26:01.019 and my friend 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:03.759 did but he 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:04.559 was quickly out 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:05.220 of his depth 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:06.079 when I asked 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:06.720 him to grapple 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:07.519 with who Jesus 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:07.920 is. 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:10.539 So the 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:11.120 Bible makes 00:26:11.120 --> 00:26:11.759 huge claims 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:12.460 about Christ 00:26:12.460 --> 00:26:12.940 and they are 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:13.680 closely linked 00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:14.160 to what I've 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:14.560 been talking 00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:15.259 about tonight. 00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:17.080 Christians, 00:26:17.320 --> 00:26:17.779 we have all 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:18.180 sorts of 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:18.700 debates and 00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:19.400 arguments about 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:19.779 how the 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:20.640 creator created 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:20.940 it. 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:22.480 But when 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:23.180 he comes to 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:23.660 Christ, 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:24.900 when it 00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:25.400 comes to 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:25.759 Christ, 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:26.440 who he 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:26.900 is, 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:28.039 is not 00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:28.759 negotiable. 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:30.940 John 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:31.539 chapter 1 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:32.140 verse 10 00:26:32.140 --> 00:26:32.580 says, 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:34.140 Jesus was 00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:34.460 in the 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:36.740 world and 00:26:36.740 --> 00:26:37.359 though the 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:37.920 world was 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:38.660 made through 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:39.180 him, 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:39.859 the world 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:40.380 did not 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:41.400 recognise him. 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:45.779 Huge claim. 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.180 The 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:49.200 creator God 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:49.900 stepped into 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:50.559 the world 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:51.819 and we 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:52.339 did not 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:53.279 recognise him. 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:55.599 It's not 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:56.319 the only place 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:56.740 in the New 00:26:56.740 --> 00:26:57.579 Testament that 00:26:57.579 --> 00:26:58.420 says such a 00:26:58.420 --> 00:26:58.640 thing. 00:26:58.759 --> 00:26:59.160 Colossians 00:26:59.160 --> 00:26:59.759 chapter 1 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:00.460 verse 15 00:27:00.460 --> 00:27:00.940 16. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:03.120 Jesus is 00:27:03.120 --> 00:27:03.700 the image 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:04.099 of the 00:27:04.099 --> 00:27:04.940 invisible God. 00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:06.759 the first 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:07.500 born over 00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:08.340 all creation. 00:27:09.860 --> 00:27:10.539 For by 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:11.980 him all 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:12.680 things were 00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:13.620 created in 00:27:13.620 --> 00:27:14.400 things in 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:15.460 heaven and 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:16.100 things on 00:27:16.100 --> 00:27:16.420 earth, 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:17.380 visible and 00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:17.900 invisible, 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:19.279 whether 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.200 thrones or 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:20.960 powers or 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:21.960 rulers or 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:22.820 authorities, 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.400 all things 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:25.080 were created 00:27:25.080 --> 00:27:25.880 by him 00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:27.279 and for 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:27.640 him. 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:32.320 Very 00:27:32.320 --> 00:27:33.180 bold claim 00:27:33.180 --> 00:27:35.220 that Christ 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:36.240 is number 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:37.100 one in 00:27:37.100 --> 00:27:37.320 the 00:27:37.320 --> 00:27:37.980 universe, 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:40.039 the creator 00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:40.799 of everything 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:41.820 and everything 00:27:41.820 --> 00:27:43.240 wonderfully made 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:43.799 for his 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:44.220 pleasure. 00:27:45.580 --> 00:27:46.680 It's a far 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:47.920 bigger claim 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:48.640 than Jesus 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:49.620 is my mate 00:27:49.620 --> 00:27:50.340 and just a 00:27:50.340 --> 00:27:51.039 good bloke. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:51.159 world. 00:27:55.159 --> 00:27:55.619 And so the 00:27:55.619 --> 00:27:56.259 Bible over 00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:56.599 and over 00:27:56.599 --> 00:27:57.180 affirms an 00:27:57.180 --> 00:27:57.980 intelligent and 00:27:57.980 --> 00:27:58.859 awesome creator 00:27:58.859 --> 00:28:01.019 who has shown 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:01.980 his face in 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:02.619 the person of 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:03.480 Jesus Christ. 00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:06.139 And you 00:28:06.139 --> 00:28:06.920 cannot hold to 00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:07.659 the majesty of 00:28:07.659 --> 00:28:08.220 Christ and 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:08.920 believe in a 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:09.299 world that 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:09.839 happened by 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:10.319 accident. 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:11.240 The ideas 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:12.099 are completely 00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:13.119 incompatible. 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.220 The Bible 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:16.960 makes a huge 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:17.559 claim about 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:18.299 Jesus Christ. 00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:18.799 He was in 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:20.740 the world and 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:21.140 though the 00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:21.559 world was 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:22.059 made through 00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:22.440 him, the 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:22.819 world did 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:23.460 not recognise 00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:23.900 him. 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:26.620 And that's 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:27.440 either true 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:28.019 or it's 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:28.380 not. 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:31.079 And if it's 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:31.599 not, you 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:32.120 can sleep 00:28:32.120 --> 00:28:33.039 soundly tonight 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:33.380 in the 00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:33.940 knowledge that 00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:34.380 at the end 00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:34.700 of your 00:28:34.700 --> 00:28:35.259 days your 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:36.039 molecules will 00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:36.660 be dust in 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:37.019 the ground 00:28:37.019 --> 00:28:37.420 with no 00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:37.740 further 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:38.279 existence. 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:42.240 But if it 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:43.039 is true, you 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:43.599 need to know 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:44.359 what follows. 00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:47.500 He came to 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:48.099 that which was 00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:50.120 his own, but 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:50.759 his own did 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:51.439 not receive 00:28:51.439 --> 00:28:51.759 him. 00:28:53.459 --> 00:28:53.919 Yet to 00:28:53.919 --> 00:28:54.339 all who 00:28:54.339 --> 00:28:55.139 received him, 00:28:55.859 --> 00:28:56.799 to those who 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:57.379 believed in 00:28:57.379 --> 00:28:58.259 his name, he 00:28:58.259 --> 00:28:58.779 gave the 00:28:58.779 --> 00:28:59.259 right to 00:28:59.259 --> 00:29:00.739 become children 00:29:00.739 --> 00:29:02.739 of God, to 00:29:02.739 --> 00:29:03.159 come into 00:29:03.159 --> 00:29:03.739 his family. 00:29:05.719 --> 00:29:06.539 And it is 00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:07.259 through believing 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:07.799 in the Lord 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:08.819 Jesus Christ that 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:09.359 we come into 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:11.379 his family and 00:29:11.379 --> 00:29:11.859 we can be 00:29:11.859 --> 00:29:12.319 called his 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:12.619 children. 00:29:12.739 --> 00:29:13.259 Not everybody 00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:13.919 is a child of 00:29:13.919 --> 00:29:14.159 God. 00:29:15.139 --> 00:29:16.199 Those who have 00:29:16.199 --> 00:29:17.059 believed in 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:17.779 God's Son, the 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:18.759 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:19.680 are invited into 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:20.519 the family and 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:20.940 called his 00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:21.259 children. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:23.039 And we 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:23.740 inherit all the 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:24.460 safety and 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:25.180 security that 00:29:25.180 --> 00:29:25.839 goes with it. 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:27.319 We are 00:29:27.319 --> 00:29:28.059 invited to be 00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:28.680 much more than 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:29.359 creatures of 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:29.980 the Creator. 00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:31.579 We are 00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:32.259 invited to 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:33.240 become his 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:33.640 children. 00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:36.920 So science and 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:37.660 religion, mortal 00:29:37.660 --> 00:29:38.180 enemies or 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:38.960 helpful friends? 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:41.180 From a 00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:41.900 Bible point of 00:29:41.900 --> 00:29:43.740 view, in the 00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:44.359 end it depends 00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:44.819 on where you 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:45.980 stand in terms of 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:46.779 relationship with 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:47.200 Christ. 00:29:48.740 --> 00:29:49.579 If you are in 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:50.139 the family, 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:51.839 science gives 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:52.559 us deep 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:54.619 appreciation for 00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:55.160 the work of 00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:55.720 the Creator. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:29:58.399 And if you 00:29:58.399 --> 00:29:58.920 want to stand 00:29:58.920 --> 00:29:59.559 apart from 00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:00.220 Christ, we 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:00.879 leave ourselves 00:30:00.879 --> 00:30:01.579 in a position 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:02.220 where the 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:03.899 Creator holds 00:30:03.899 --> 00:30:04.720 us culpable 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:06.279 for ignoring 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:07.399 what is plainly 00:30:07.399 --> 00:30:07.960 true about 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:08.160 him. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:10.799 Friend or 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:11.460 enemy of the 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:12.379 Creator comes 00:30:12.379 --> 00:30:13.000 down to where 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:13.619 you stand with 00:30:13.619 --> 00:30:14.019 Christ. 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:14.099 Christ. 00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:15.859 And you do 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:16.839 not need to be 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:17.299 a clever 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:18.200 scientist to 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:19.059 understand that. 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:20.680 Amen.