WEBVTT

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 Father, we confess before you that unless your Holy Spirit moves in our minds and hearts and wills,

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 the very depths of our soul, unless you, Father, move in us, we cannot understand your word correctly.

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 So we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently but deeply fall upon us,

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 fall upon our bodies, fall upon our minds, fall upon our hearts and our wills.

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 Father, may your Holy Spirit fall upon us and fan into flame within us

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 that we might use the best of our mind and the best of our heart and the best of our will

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 to seek to understand your word, but we know that that is never sufficient.

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 So we ask, Father, that you would lead us ever more deeply into your word,

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 that your word might go ever more deeply into us,

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 and that we may bear much fruit for your glory in our day-to-day lives.

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 And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

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 Please be seated.

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 Last week I didn't have a stopwatch.

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 I have no idea how long I preach for, so that can be a bit of a dangerous thing.

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 I'm going to do a couple of very un-Canadian things this morning.

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 I'm going to maybe cause a little bit of stress in the room,

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 and I'm sort of, I think, compelled to cause a little bit of stress in the room

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 because of the nature of the biblical text that we're going to look at,

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 and because, like, I'm going to mention creation and evolution and Christmas.

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 And that, as soon as I mention creation and evolution and Christmas,

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 in many Canadian contexts, it causes a little bit of stress.

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 And you might wonder why on earth I'm going to do that.

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 Andrew, could you put up the first slide, please?

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 Could you, we don't have to say the verse thing.

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 Could you read this with me, please?

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 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

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 He was in the beginning with God.

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 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

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 So we're going to look at today.

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 And the thing about this text is that it draws a...

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 Actually, when I...

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 You know, at first, when I was wanting to talk about this text,

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 I wanted to say that it sort of drew a line in the sand,

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 and then I realized after I'd been actually, you know, talking about it for a while,

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 so in my own head, I talk about it in my head,

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 that when I say drawing a line in the sand,

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 drawing a line in the sand is a very, very arbitrary thing.

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 You know, it's as if you have all this sand,

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 you're just not going to retreat anymore,

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 you're not going to give up anymore,

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 you're going to draw this arbitrary line right here,

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 and on the other side, but you're going to take your stand.

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 And the fact of the matter is,

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 is that this isn't drawing a line in the sand.

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 This text is pointing out a grand canyon

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 between what the Bible teaches and what a lot of...

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 and basically everything else.

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 And that causes a bit of stress for people

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 when we realize that it's sort of pointing out a big grand canyon

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 between what this text is claiming

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 and to which is generally believed in our country

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 and throughout the world.

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 Because this text is making a very, very bold claim

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 that, you know, look at the last sort of two and a half lines.

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 All things were made through him,

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 and without him was not anything made that was made.

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 And the word made is a perfectly good word,

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 but in the original language,

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 it just says something...

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 It goes sort of beyond the English word.

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 It'd be awkward to translate the original language into English,

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 but it actually...

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 The word that we use here is made,

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 actually in the original language,

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 says cause to exist.

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 Causes to exist.

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 And so this text is making a very, very, very big claim

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 that all things were caused to exist through him,

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 and without him was not anything that was caused to exist

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 that came into existence.

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 That's what the text is saying.

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 And it sort of flies in the face of what we learn

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 or students learn.

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 If you go to university, if you go to high school,

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 go to elementary school in this country,

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 where we're taught something very, very different.

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 And I'm not going to solve all of that.

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 I'm just trying to draw it out.

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 But I want to say a couple of things about that.

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 The first thing is that...

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 I'm going to be very un-Canadian.

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 Remember I mentioned at the beginning

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 I was going to be very un-Canadian.

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 Hopefully you'll extend me a little bit of grace.

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 Here's the first thing about what this statement is

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 and our culture.

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 You're cutting me some slack, okay?

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 Just for a moment.

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 I'm actually a nice guy,

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 even though I'm going to say something

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 which is a very rude thing to say in Canada.

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 And if you're here and you believe

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 what I'm about to sort of make a comment about,

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 I hope, you know, rather than being offended,

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 like I'll buy you coffee sometime this week.

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 I'll buy you lunch, okay?

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 Like I'm actually a nice guy.

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 But there's many people in our country

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 who are, you know, who are Buddhists and Hindus

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 and who believe in things like native spirituality.

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 But who here really honestly for a second

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 actually believes that any of the accounts

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 of these things is actually a real account of anything?

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 Like it's very un-Canadian to say

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 that native spirituality can't be possibly true,

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 but nobody believes that the world came to be

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 because ravens dropping seeds

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 or things are carried on the back of turtles

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 or like nobody believes that.

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 Nobody believes that that's the way things came to be, right?

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 Like nobody does.

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 Like if a person had a PhD in biochemistry

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 and said that he'd like to teach a class in biochemistry

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 and said that he was going to teach these things

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 as part of his lecture at the university,

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 he or she would be fired, right?

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 I mean, it would be beyond mockery.

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 In fact, if that was to happen at the Ottawa U or Carleton,

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 it would be on everything.

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 It would be on Letterman.

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 It would be on the late night.

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 It would be on all the comics

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 and everybody would be making fun.

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 And in fact, actually, in our culture,

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 there's a dominant story

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 about how all things have come into existence.

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 But practically speaking, in our culture,

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 there's not, you know, the, in a sense,

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 I'll call it the atheistic option

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 because that's actually what it is,

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 the atheistic option and the Christian option

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 and the Buddhist option and the Hindu option

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 and the Cree option and the Algonquin option

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 and the Navajo option.

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 And that's, in fact, not the case, right?

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 There's really only three options

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 that people think about.

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 And one of them, actually,

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 scientists basically always will tell you

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 that it's completely and utterly misleading.

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 The misleading one is this idea

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 that evolution is somehow making things

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 better and better and better

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 and that evolution causes things

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 and that we're moving in this particular type of direction.

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 And that's actually all it is

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 is just a romantic type of pious,

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 unfounded hope that science would have to say

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 it's actually not scientifically true,

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 that everything that happens

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 is just a result of time and chance,

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 that that's what evolution is.

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 It's purely and utterly chance.

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 There's no purpose.

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 There's no such thing as better.

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 There's really only next.

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 And, obviously, it's a very, very uncomfortable belief

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 and that's why people tend to quickly try to bring in

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 other types of things of purpose.

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 But it's actually, from a scientific level,

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 all you can say is before,

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 now, next.

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 And what governs these changes

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 is always just complete and utter chance,

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 really.

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 and then the only other option

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 I mean and it's usually just mocked

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 is the Christian option

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 because I mean that would also get you fired

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 maybe at Ottawa or Carleton

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 but at least our culture makes fun of it

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 like it's recognized that there is

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 at least some type of a credibility

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 or threat from it

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 and I want to say that

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 actually let's say this text again

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 could you say it with me

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 in the beginning was the word

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 and the word was with God

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 and the word was God

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 he was in the beginning with God

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 all things were made through him

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 and without him was not anything made

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 that was made

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 that's a serious philosophical and scientific claim

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 and it's that serious philosophical and scientific

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 claim

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 that

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 that actually helped to cause the birth of all science

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 and is the partially historically

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 the basis by which scientists seek order

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 in the world

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 because there's a sense that there's a knowable God

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 a creator and a plan and design

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 and that you can seek after the outline of the plan

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 and the outline of the design

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 and it's a serious option

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 be a whole other topic

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 a little bit about how it is

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 that we can reconcile this with science

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 I think it's easily done

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 I know that Christians can have

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 on one side of the Grand Canyon

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 the biblical side

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 that Christians can differ over the age of the earth

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 and a couple of other things

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 but those are arguments on one side of the Grand Canyon

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 it's different on the other side of the Grand Canyon

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 and it's a serious claim

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 I don't know how many of you have heard of the name of Thomas Nagel

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 he's a serious atheistic philosopher

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 often the more popular people who write books

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 aren't necessarily considered to be serious philosophers

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 but he is beyond any doubt

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 a very serious philosopher

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 and a long time atheist

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 and he just I think about a year and a half ago

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 caused a minor storm

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 because he wrote a book

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 showing why it is that evolution is not true

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 and he's an atheist

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 by the way at the beginning of the book

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 and the end of the book

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 he's still an atheist

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 he just basically wanted to point out

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 that while God obviously doesn't exist

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 and therefore everything that came to be

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 has to come to be by some means

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 that in fact evolution can't account for it

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 and that the sooner

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 that scholars recognize that it can't account for it

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 the proper account

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 that will continue to show that there is no God

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 will be found

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 and that's a

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 I mean he's one of a small group

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 of serious atheist thinkers

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 over the last five to ten years

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 who've started to express doubts

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 in academic journals and in books

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 as to whether in fact Darwinistic evolution

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 in fact can actually account

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 for the existence of all things

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 and every one of them who've written these books

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 still continue to believe that God does not exist

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 but they're merely pointing out

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 the fact that the theory doesn't work

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 that it can't account for important things

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 I believe that if you study it

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 we can't go into it right now in the sermon

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 but it's very very interesting

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 that John who's going to talk

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 and this is one of the two classic texts

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 as we go on to verse 14

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 that John that gives one of the most classic accounts

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 of the birth of Jesus

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 begins it with where we as Canadian Christians

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 are afraid to go

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 which is to publicly claim

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 that there is a God that does exist

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 who is the one who's created all things

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 and sustains all things

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 that in fact

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 if we were to watch a science fiction movie

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 and in the science fiction movie

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 going to unexplored places

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 they come across

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 an obviously very very ancient

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 and spaceship with no creatures there

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 and it's maybe the power source

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 is no longer functioning

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 and this ship of ours comes and discovers it

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 and if that happened in a movie

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 the very very obvious thing

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 especially if it happened early on in the movie

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 obviously it'd be the case

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 that for the rest of the movie

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 the movie is going to be consumed

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 with trying to figure out

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 who it was that used that ship at one time

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 who is this ancient race

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 and we would all know

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 that if one of the people

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 on the ship

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 our spaceship

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 if they were to say

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 no that ship did not

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 that just happened by an explosion

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 it purely happened by chance

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 there's nothing to seek

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 but that wouldn't be treated seriously

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 in the movie

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 because it would be very obvious

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 that if you saw something as intricate

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 as a spaceship

00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:29.420
 even with no people

00:13:29.420 --> 00:13:31.120
 that it was something built and designed

00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.419
 and that's at the heart

00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:34.840
 the simple Christian claim

00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:38.279
 that what we see around us

00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:39.799
 and that the universe

00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:42.360
 I mean just a cell

00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:43.759
 a human cell

00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:45.740
 just DNA is more complex

00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:46.560
 than that spaceship

00:13:46.560 --> 00:13:51.879
 and on one hand

00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:53.159
 that's why I was just talking

00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:55.000
 to a barista just a couple of weeks ago

00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.759
 and who's definitely not a Christian

00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:01.360
 and she said on one hand

00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.399
 okay I know that there has to be something

00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:04.840
 that created all things

00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:06.500
 because that can only account for it

00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:08.019
 but you're wrong

00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:11.019
 which was very refreshing to hear

00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:12.519
 it didn't bother me

00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:13.360
 or threaten me at all

00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:14.639
 and there are many people

00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:15.220
 in our culture

00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:16.840
 who are caught between this idea

00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:18.399
 that the order

00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.179
 and the complexity

00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:19.899
 and the beauty

00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:20.439
 that we see

00:14:20.439 --> 00:14:22.299
 has to be accounted for some way

00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:24.059
 and when science

00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:24.979
 and atheists

00:14:24.979 --> 00:14:26.059
 you know

00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:27.419
 when they push

00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:28.439
 to the idea

00:14:28.439 --> 00:14:29.240
 that in fact

00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:30.479
 everything just came to be

00:14:30.479 --> 00:14:31.039
 as completely

00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:31.419
 and utterly

00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:33.740
 as well as a chance

00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:34.319
 that there's this

00:14:34.319 --> 00:14:35.219
 conflict

00:14:35.219 --> 00:14:36.240
 in the soul

00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:36.839
 and the mind

00:14:36.839 --> 00:14:37.379
 and the heart

00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:37.979
 of many people

00:14:37.979 --> 00:14:38.500
 in our culture

00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:39.219
 which is why

00:14:39.219 --> 00:14:40.759
 in our culture

00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:42.019
 it's far more common

00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:43.339
 to slip in

00:14:43.339 --> 00:14:44.639
 ideas of purpose

00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:45.519
 and destiny

00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:46.959
 and design

00:14:46.959 --> 00:14:48.459
 in the theory of evolution

00:14:48.459 --> 00:14:48.939
 that

00:14:48.939 --> 00:14:50.839
 it's easy

00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:51.660
 to slip it in

00:14:51.660 --> 00:14:52.139
 it's easy

00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:52.660
 you know

00:14:52.660 --> 00:14:53.879
 evolutionary psychology

00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:54.879
 slips in

00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:55.560
 this idea

00:14:55.560 --> 00:14:56.540
 of things

00:14:56.540 --> 00:14:57.460
 being in us

00:14:57.460 --> 00:14:58.379
 because of some type

00:14:58.379 --> 00:14:58.960
 of design

00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:00.879
 and moral imperatives

00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:02.000
 and it gets slipped

00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:02.540
 into it

00:15:02.540 --> 00:15:04.780
 but it doesn't actually

00:15:04.780 --> 00:15:06.300
 the theory of evolution

00:15:06.300 --> 00:15:08.340
 cannot support that

00:15:08.340 --> 00:15:09.899
 it all crumples

00:15:09.899 --> 00:15:10.540
 if you think

00:15:10.540 --> 00:15:11.560
 if you think about it

00:15:11.560 --> 00:15:12.100
 very deeply

00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:13.480
 but let's read this

00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:14.100
 again together

00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:15.340
 in the beginning

00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:16.440
 was the word

00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:17.420
 and the word

00:15:17.420 --> 00:15:18.500
 was with God

00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:19.379
 and the word

00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:20.180
 was God

00:15:20.179 --> 00:15:21.859
 he was in the beginning

00:15:21.859 --> 00:15:22.839
 with God

00:15:22.839 --> 00:15:24.559
 all things were made

00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:25.339
 through him

00:15:25.339 --> 00:15:26.599
 and without him

00:15:26.599 --> 00:15:27.659
 was not anything

00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:28.159
 made

00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:29.159
 that was made

00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:30.439
 you know

00:15:30.439 --> 00:15:31.919
 not only

00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:33.519
 does this text

00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:34.539
 I'm going to do another

00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:35.639
 very un-Canadian thing

00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:36.059
 for a moment

00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:36.939
 and once again

00:15:36.939 --> 00:15:37.559
 I hope you're going to

00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:39.039
 give me some grace

00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:40.679
 if you're deeply offended

00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:41.399
 I'll

00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:42.939
 about this

00:15:42.939 --> 00:15:44.199
 I'll try to deal

00:15:44.199 --> 00:15:44.579
 with it

00:15:44.579 --> 00:15:45.259
 later on

00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:45.419
 because

00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:47.000
 I don't mean to be mean

00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:47.240
 but

00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:48.899
 there's a lot of fear

00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:50.399
 in Canada

00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:50.879
 right now

00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:51.519
 I think it's

00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:51.779
 you know

00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:52.399
 been made worse

00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:53.179
 by what happened

00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:54.079
 just a few blocks

00:15:54.079 --> 00:15:54.559
 from here

00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:56.360
 just a few weeks ago

00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:57.819
 and

00:15:57.819 --> 00:15:59.559
 I think it's made worse

00:15:59.559 --> 00:15:59.959
 by

00:15:59.959 --> 00:16:01.120
 ISIS

00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:01.679
 or ISIL

00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:02.379
 or whatever

00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:03.019
 however

00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:03.840
 we're supposed

00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:04.579
 to refer to them

00:16:04.579 --> 00:16:05.100
 and

00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:08.459
 you know

00:16:08.459 --> 00:16:08.919
 it just

00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:10.559
 these beheadings

00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:11.939
 and the terrible

00:16:11.939 --> 00:16:12.519
 terrible

00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:13.139
 terrible

00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:13.559
 terrible

00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:14.299
 things that are

00:16:14.299 --> 00:16:14.899
 being done

00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:17.819
 it causes

00:16:17.819 --> 00:16:18.799
 people to wonder

00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:19.340
 about their

00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:19.939
 safety

00:16:19.939 --> 00:16:22.199
 and people

00:16:22.199 --> 00:16:22.919
 wonder about

00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:23.319
 why

00:16:23.319 --> 00:16:23.919
 why

00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:24.759
 like

00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:25.139
 why

00:16:25.139 --> 00:16:25.879
 can't

00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:26.319
 these

00:16:26.319 --> 00:16:27.299
 people

00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:28.179
 and that's

00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:28.519
 the type

00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:29.019
 of language

00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:29.759
 that we use

00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:30.480
 okay I'm not

00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:31.439
 pardoning it

00:16:31.439 --> 00:16:31.819
 I'm just

00:16:31.819 --> 00:16:32.659
 I'm trying to

00:16:32.659 --> 00:16:33.240
 echo it

00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:35.459
 like why

00:16:35.459 --> 00:16:36.139
 don't these

00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:36.799
 people just

00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:37.319
 have this

00:16:37.319 --> 00:16:37.720
 sense of

00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:38.220
 our common

00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:38.840
 humanity

00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:40.079
 like why

00:16:40.079 --> 00:16:41.179
 are they

00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:41.519
 so

00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:42.539
 inhumane

00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:43.719
 like why

00:16:43.719 --> 00:16:44.039
 are they

00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:45.000
 so cruel

00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:46.740
 like why

00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:47.179
 why don't

00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:47.919
 they understand

00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:48.519
 that on one

00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:48.980
 level we're

00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:49.480
 sort of all

00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:50.079
 the same

00:16:50.079 --> 00:16:50.439
 and that we

00:16:50.439 --> 00:16:50.819
 should need

00:16:50.819 --> 00:16:51.139
 to get

00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:51.579
 together

00:16:51.579 --> 00:16:57.079
 just as I

00:16:57.079 --> 00:16:57.579
 think that

00:16:57.579 --> 00:16:58.079
 the sort of

00:16:58.079 --> 00:16:58.519
 the governing

00:16:58.519 --> 00:16:59.539
 story of our

00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:01.159
 elite institutions

00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:01.819
 of media

00:17:01.819 --> 00:17:02.459
 and culture

00:17:02.459 --> 00:17:03.179
 and academia

00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:07.639
 I don't think

00:17:07.639 --> 00:17:08.200
 they can really

00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:09.319
 account for the

00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:10.240
 complexity of the

00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:10.799
 world and the

00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:11.339
 beauty of the

00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:11.680
 world

00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.500
 I also don't

00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:15.019
 think they can

00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:15.700
 really account

00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:16.420
 for this whole

00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:17.060
 problem of

00:17:17.060 --> 00:17:17.880
 inhumanity

00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:20.019
 because you

00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:20.820
 see the idea

00:17:20.820 --> 00:17:21.700
 that there's

00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:22.120
 like one

00:17:22.120 --> 00:17:23.019
 human race

00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:24.340
 and that we're

00:17:24.340 --> 00:17:24.920
 to treat each

00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:25.840
 other humanely

00:17:25.840 --> 00:17:27.400
 is not a

00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:28.500
 scientific truth

00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:29.640
 it's not a

00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:30.860
 biological truth

00:17:30.860 --> 00:17:32.019
 it's a

00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:32.580
 theological

00:17:32.580 --> 00:17:33.360
 truth

00:17:33.360 --> 00:17:35.560
 that comes

00:17:35.560 --> 00:17:35.980
 from the

00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:36.759
 understanding

00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:37.500
 that there is

00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:39.060
 one creator

00:17:39.060 --> 00:17:41.000
 of one

00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:41.580
 humanity

00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:44.559
 and while

00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:46.059
 obviously it

00:17:46.059 --> 00:17:47.240
 is biologically

00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:47.899
 true

00:17:47.899 --> 00:17:49.359
 that human

00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:50.399
 beings by

00:17:50.399 --> 00:17:51.099
 definition are

00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:51.879
 human beings

00:17:51.879 --> 00:17:52.939
 and scientists

00:17:52.939 --> 00:17:53.839
 can prove

00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:54.619
 whether or not

00:17:54.619 --> 00:17:55.220
 something is

00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:55.579
 human

00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:57.740
 the fact

00:17:57.740 --> 00:17:58.960
 of science

00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:00.059
 doesn't create

00:18:00.059 --> 00:18:00.799
 within human

00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:01.399
 beings

00:18:01.399 --> 00:18:03.079
 any sense

00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:03.779
 of being

00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:04.559
 one united

00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:05.199
 humanity

00:18:05.199 --> 00:18:07.399
 that flows

00:18:07.399 --> 00:18:09.159
 from the idea

00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:09.800
 of there being

00:18:09.800 --> 00:18:10.380
 but one

00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:10.880
 God

00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:11.380
 who has

00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:11.660
 created

00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:12.440
 all things

00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:15.060
 it's a

00:18:15.060 --> 00:18:15.600
 theological

00:18:15.600 --> 00:18:16.259
 truth

00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:18.380
 it's not a

00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:19.120
 scientific and

00:18:19.120 --> 00:18:20.320
 biological truth

00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:23.620
 say this text

00:18:23.620 --> 00:18:24.300
 again with me

00:18:24.300 --> 00:18:24.840
 notice the

00:18:24.840 --> 00:18:25.420
 beginning of the

00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:25.779
 text

00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:27.099
 in the beginning

00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:27.899
 was the

00:18:27.899 --> 00:18:28.379
 word

00:18:28.379 --> 00:18:29.139
 and the

00:18:29.139 --> 00:18:29.539
 word

00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:30.200
 was with

00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:30.700
 God

00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:31.480
 and the

00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:31.839
 word

00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:32.319
 was

00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:32.779
 God

00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:33.879
 he was

00:18:33.879 --> 00:18:34.279
 in the

00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:34.579
 beginning

00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:35.180
 with

00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:35.700
 God

00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:36.920
 all things

00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:37.460
 were made

00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:38.220
 through him

00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:39.139
 and without

00:18:39.139 --> 00:18:40.200
 him was not

00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:41.220
 anything made

00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:42.119
 that was made

00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:43.339
 you know here

00:18:43.339 --> 00:18:44.119
 it says in the

00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:44.519
 beginning

00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:45.420
 it's obviously

00:18:45.420 --> 00:18:46.099
 echoing those

00:18:46.099 --> 00:18:46.599
 of you who

00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:47.099
 know your

00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:47.700
 bible a little

00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:47.899
 bit

00:18:47.899 --> 00:18:48.539
 it's echoing

00:18:48.539 --> 00:18:48.879
 genesis

00:18:48.879 --> 00:18:49.700
 chapter 1

00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:50.680
 it's saying

00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:51.599
 that before

00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.079
 there was

00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:52.579
 anything

00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:53.160
 there was

00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:53.759
 the word

00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:54.359
 before there

00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:54.839
 was anything

00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:55.420
 it's in a

00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:55.859
 sense before

00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:56.220
 there was

00:18:56.220 --> 00:18:56.740
 time

00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:57.579
 before the

00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:58.240
 big bang

00:18:58.240 --> 00:18:58.779
 before there

00:18:58.779 --> 00:18:59.279
 was anything

00:18:59.279 --> 00:18:59.759
 there was

00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:00.500
 the word

00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:01.940
 and in the

00:19:01.940 --> 00:19:02.640
 original language

00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:03.480
 next phrase

00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:04.059
 and the word

00:19:04.059 --> 00:19:04.519
 was with

00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:04.720
 God

00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:05.220
 in the

00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:05.579
 original

00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:06.200
 language

00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:07.619
 in English

00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:08.039
 there's only

00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:08.619
 one word

00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:09.279
 for was

00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:10.119
 but in the

00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:10.400
 original

00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:10.799
 language

00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:11.359
 there's three

00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:11.779
 words

00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:12.319
 for was

00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:13.220
 so that

00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:13.440
 in

00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:14.319
 sorry not

00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:14.559
 was

00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:14.900
 with

00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:15.599
 in the

00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:15.920
 original

00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:16.240
 language

00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:16.460
 there's

00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:16.740
 three

00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:17.140
 different

00:19:17.140 --> 00:19:17.480
 words

00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:18.039
 for with

00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:19.400
 and so

00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:20.460
 if I was

00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:20.799
 to say

00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:21.339
 that I'm

00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:21.799
 with my

00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:22.400
 dog

00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:27.200
 or I'm with my car and I'm with my wife,

00:19:27.820 --> 00:19:32.620
 the first two withs might or might not be one of the two different words,

00:19:33.060 --> 00:19:35.180
 but there'd be no mistaking that in the third case,

00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:40.320
 there's a word for with that's only used when a person is with a person

00:19:40.320 --> 00:19:42.840
 in the original language.

00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.560
 And in the original language, when it says,

00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:46.980
 in the beginning was the word,

00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:52.700
 talking about the word and that before all time,

00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:54.779
 before there's anything, there is the word.

00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:56.680
 And then the second phrase when it says,

00:19:56.779 --> 00:19:58.079
 and the word was with God,

00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:01.680
 that with is the word that's only used of a person with a person.

00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:05.740
 And so it's saying the word's a person

00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:11.400
 and this person is with God who's also a person.

00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:16.120
 And the word who's before all things

00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:21.699
 and is a person who's with God is also God.

00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:24.239
 And the word was God.

00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:30.399
 And it's saying here that there's two persons,

00:20:31.019 --> 00:20:34.839
 but it's also saying very clearly that there's only one God.

00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:36.559
 It's a deep mystery.

00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:39.719
 He was in the beginning with God.

00:20:39.899 --> 00:20:40.819
 It emphasizes it.

00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:43.919
 Augustine, who lived about 1,700 years ago,

00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:45.779
 when he was commenting about this,

00:20:45.840 --> 00:20:48.279
 he said that those words should be written in gold

00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.640
 in the most beautiful script in every church that exists.

00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:55.360
 That's what he said.

00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:58.700
 It should be there in gold because it's so central.

00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:00.860
 In the beginning was the word,

00:21:01.259 --> 00:21:02.940
 and the word was with God,

00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:05.120
 and the word was God.

00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:08.620
 He was in the beginning with God.

00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:12.639
 And there's this very, very clear teaching

00:21:12.639 --> 00:21:16.519
 that there is one God in two persons.

00:21:16.739 --> 00:21:19.539
 The deity of the Holy Spirit will be developed later on

00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:21.979
 in the Gospel of John and in other parts of the New Testament.

00:21:22.879 --> 00:21:25.079
 But here is the introduction of the book.

00:21:25.479 --> 00:21:28.879
 It's trying to communicate to us that there's only one God,

00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:32.860
 and this one God has made all things,

00:21:33.340 --> 00:21:36.920
 brought into existence all things.

00:21:37.800 --> 00:21:40.140
 And we human beings are things.

00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:46.440
 And human beings are made as a body and as a soul,

00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:51.640
 in fleshed souls or embodied spirits.

00:21:52.020 --> 00:21:53.080
 There are different ways to put it.

00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:55.600
 We're both soul and body, but we're just one thing.

00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:56.680
 We're not two things.

00:21:56.680 --> 00:22:00.259
 And God made both of those parts that make us us.

00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:03.580
 And because there is but one God,

00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:06.039
 and that one God has not only created all things,

00:22:06.080 --> 00:22:10.820
 this is also the basis whereby you should not rape the environment.

00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:13.220
 And it's going to be the basis.

00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:15.860
 If you read the Old Testament in Genesis 1,

00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:17.779
 it talks about how God has made all things.

00:22:18.120 --> 00:22:21.259
 And later on, there will be laws about the proper treatment of animals

00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:23.000
 and the proper treatment of people.

00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:25.920
 And it's all because of this understanding

00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.000
 that God is not part of his creation.

00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:29.480
 He's made all things.

00:22:29.860 --> 00:22:32.320
 All things are properly, fully his.

00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:36.060
 And because of that, all things are to be cared for.

00:22:36.440 --> 00:22:41.380
 And in particular, human beings that are made in the image and likeness of God.

00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:45.900
 Every human being is not just biologically a human being,

00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:49.660
 but what makes a human being a human being is not just biology,

00:22:49.840 --> 00:22:53.780
 but that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God.

00:22:54.560 --> 00:22:57.060
 And there is one humanity and one God.

00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:03.300
 That one humanity and one God is proven by biology and proven by science.

00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:08.119
 And philosophers like Thomas Nagel, who are serious philosophers and serious atheists,

00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:12.500
 said that the atheistic account of origins does not, in fact, hold intellectual water

00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:15.839
 and can't, in fact, account for all of the things that we see,

00:23:15.899 --> 00:23:18.519
 nor all of the experiences that we experience.

00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:24.259
 That the idea that all things come about as a result of time and chance

00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:26.680
 does not account for the fact that we see order.

00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.519
 And the fact that we have things like love and that we sense things like beauty

00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:33.759
 and we sense things like music as being glorious.

00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:37.559
 And that we can watch dance and think that there's something majestic

00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:45.519
 about a well-choreographed human being's dancing in beautiful choreography,

00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:49.440
 that there's something glorious and uplifting about that.

00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:55.519
 That the dance accounts for things better than chance accounts for things.

00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:01.740
 Dance accounts for things better than chance accounts for things.

00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:11.660
 And so, you know, our culture, on one hand, we have this sense that being human matters.

00:24:12.620 --> 00:24:17.519
 That in cultures where the human person has absolutely no value,

00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:21.700
 if you have a caste system, if you have a slave system,

00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:26.779
 if you have a totalitarian system, that being a person matters.

00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:31.160
 And that there should be this common sense of personhood

00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:33.200
 whether or not it is recognized.

00:24:33.560 --> 00:24:37.640
 That is, in fact, a theological truth that goes back to the book of Genesis

00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:39.960
 and the book of John and the entire scriptures.

00:24:42.840 --> 00:24:46.240
 And in fact, I would ultimately say that no other system of thought

00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:53.080
 properly grounds that fundamental experience and insight we have as human beings.

00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:57.820
 That Hinduism and Buddhism and science and atheistic science

00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:03.740
 cannot account for these things and ground them in a way which is both intellectually respectable

00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:08.000
 and scientifically examinable.

00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:12.179
 And it's just compellingly true.

00:25:14.179 --> 00:25:15.639
 Join with me in saying this again.

00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:21.000
 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

00:25:21.399 --> 00:25:23.519
 He was in the beginning with God.

00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:29.559
 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

00:25:30.059 --> 00:25:31.879
 Those of you who come to the church are probably wondering,

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.339
 why doesn't George have any points?

00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:35.940
 I kept struggling to have points.

00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:40.859
 And God said, George, how are you going to improve on John 1, 1 to 3?

00:25:40.859 --> 00:25:44.740
 Like, how am I going to improve on that?

00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:49.500
 And I was thinking, well, I guess I can't.

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:52.319
 So that's why we're going to keep saying it over and over again.

00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:55.519
 You get nothing else out of this, but you've started to memorize John 1, 1 to 3,

00:25:55.659 --> 00:25:59.699
 then angels are happy, God is happy, and I'm happy.

00:26:00.139 --> 00:26:01.000
 In fact, let's say it again.

00:26:01.379 --> 00:26:07.119
 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

00:26:07.439 --> 00:26:09.799
 He was in the beginning with God.

00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:16.159
 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:20.819
 So some of you might say, here's my last very un-Canadian moment, okay?

00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:29.619
 So some of you might say, George, okay, that's very, very interesting that you say that it's a theological truth

00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:39.579
 that if you have one God and one humanity, that there's this common, there's this sense of the dignity of persons,

00:26:40.419 --> 00:26:45.079
 and that there's a, you know, when you talk about treating human beings in a certain type of way,

00:26:45.179 --> 00:26:49.359
 that it, because human beings are all human beings, that that's a theological, that's a very interesting thing.

00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:53.219
 But ISIS believes all that too, don't they?

00:26:57.819 --> 00:27:00.459
 So that's the last un-Canadian moment.

00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:02.199
 I'm coming to a conclusion with it.

00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:04.319
 And so, George, what do you say about that?

00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:05.619
 It can't obviously be true.

00:27:05.619 --> 00:27:09.599
 And I would say, you're right, it's not sufficient.

00:27:11.219 --> 00:27:12.299
 It's not enough.

00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:18.399
 Because, you see, you could come to the conclusion that there's one God and one humanity,

00:27:18.539 --> 00:27:21.939
 but God is, in fact, very, very distant, doesn't care anything about humanity at all.

00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:27.619
 You could believe there's one God who's created all things, and therefore all human beings are sort of the same.

00:27:27.619 --> 00:27:33.459
 But actually, fundamentally, God views all human beings as slaves, as fodder, as being completely and utterly irrelevant,

00:27:33.879 --> 00:27:35.879
 and one doesn't want to really deal with them.

00:27:36.219 --> 00:27:41.899
 And, in fact, actually, when God is going to try to deal with these pesky little human beings that he has no particular regard for,

00:27:42.419 --> 00:27:46.139
 he'll pick a few that he likes, and the rest he doesn't really care about.

00:27:46.199 --> 00:27:49.459
 And when he even deals with them, he deals with them through intermediaries.

00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:52.939
 He doesn't actually deal with them directly, but through intermediaries.

00:27:52.940 --> 00:28:05.420
 You see, and I don't mean to cast dispersions, in the Koran, even the Koran is not God dealing with human beings directly,

00:28:05.580 --> 00:28:07.080
 but through intermediaries.

00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:15.940
 And, in fact, it's not clear from the Koran of the dignity and value of human beings.

00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:22.080
 It's not clear, in fact, whether human beings are but slaves that can justify slavery and all sorts of things.

00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:23.000
 Not directly.

00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:27.559
 I'm not saying that that's what the Koran does, but there's a missing piece.

00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:32.879
 Let's say this again, and then, Andrew, after we've said this again, if you could put up the next slide.

00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:34.939
 Join with me in saying this again.

00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:40.659
 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:43.199
 He was in the beginning with God.

00:28:43.659 --> 00:28:49.439
 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:51.000
 11 verses later.

00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:52.740
 And say it with me.

00:28:52.799 --> 00:29:03.480
 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:07.200
 And the Word became flesh.

00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:20.539
 John wants us to understand that every word we are going to go, if you go back and decide that between now and the next couple of weeks, you're going to read all of the Gospel of John.

00:29:20.620 --> 00:29:24.000
 You want to hear about Jesus as John bears witness to Jesus.

00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:28.100
 And John wants us to know at the very beginning that Jesus is not a great man.

00:29:28.099 --> 00:29:31.579
 And I am not insulting him when I say that.

00:29:32.659 --> 00:29:34.939
 Jesus is not a great man.

00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:37.179
 Jesus is God.

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:50.879
 Jesus is God who has taken, set aside his glory, and brought into himself our human nature in its completion, and walks amongst us.

00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:54.000
 And that is who we are reading about.

00:29:54.000 --> 00:30:00.480
 And this brings us to the final thing, which I can only touch on very briefly.

00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:03.500
 It brings on an unbelievable coherence.

00:30:04.259 --> 00:30:10.000
 You see, one of the things which is so challenging and embracing, if you try to read a philosopher like Thomas Nagel,

00:30:10.859 --> 00:30:14.539
 is that he doesn't believe you go to a better place when you die.

00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:18.220
 Die, you die.

00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:20.220
 Fertilizer.

00:30:20.220 --> 00:30:20.339
 Fertilizer.

00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:24.259
 And God didn't create us.

00:30:25.900 --> 00:30:28.100
 It's probably going to have to be by chance in some way.

00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:33.100
 We just have to figure out a better scientific mechanism and description than evolution has given us.

00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:37.940
 And we live our lives, and, you know, we live our lives according to whatever things about how to try to get along,

00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:41.200
 and, you know, basically utilitarian type of ethics, and you sort of get along,

00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:44.740
 and it's sort of best if you do certain types of things,

00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:47.640
 and there's a great consistency and coherence in it.

00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:55.280
 But notice here, the Bible is telling us that the same one who brought all things into existence

00:30:55.280 --> 00:31:02.960
 is the same one who comes and takes into himself our human nature and walks amongst us,

00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:07.960
 is the same one when you read John's Gospel who is going to teach us how to live,

00:31:08.320 --> 00:31:14.880
 is the same one who is going to die upon the cross to be the power of God for salvation for all who believes in him,

00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:21.040
 is the same one who will rise and defeat sin and death and all hostile spiritual powers.

00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:24.080
 He's the same one who will ascend into heaven,

00:31:24.080 --> 00:31:30.140
 and he is the same one who will return and will bring in the new heaven and the new earth.

00:31:30.540 --> 00:31:33.900
 And it's not that you have one type of account of creation,

00:31:34.560 --> 00:31:36.500
 another account of how to live,

00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:39.360
 another account of what is going to fix things,

00:31:39.600 --> 00:31:42.080
 and another account of what happens after you die.

00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:46.759
 It's not like the average Canadian, and I don't mean to insult anybody who's here,

00:31:47.139 --> 00:31:52.039
 who on one hand believes that, yes, everything that came to be came about as a result of time and chance.

00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:52.699
 That's evolution.

00:31:53.179 --> 00:31:56.599
 And yes, when I die, I'm going to go to a better place.

00:31:56.980 --> 00:32:01.799
 And yes, when I live my life, I'm going to live my life according to these types of moral rules.

00:32:01.899 --> 00:32:03.480
 And they never ask themselves,

00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:06.619
 one moment, if I'm going to go to a better place,

00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:09.139
 maybe that should affect the way that I live.

00:32:09.140 --> 00:32:13.120
 In one moment, if I'm just a complete result of time and chance,

00:32:13.340 --> 00:32:15.900
 how on earth am I going to go to a better place?

00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:18.680
 How on earth is that going to happen?

00:32:20.560 --> 00:32:23.140
 And it's only not viewed as incoherent,

00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:25.880
 because that's what everybody believes.

00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:29.980
 But it's not, I do not mean to offend,

00:32:30.060 --> 00:32:31.160
 it's not coherent.

00:32:33.780 --> 00:32:37.140
 Brave souls like Thomas Nagel recognizes that it's not incoherent,

00:32:37.140 --> 00:32:41.740
 incoherent, and lives his life in an attempt to be intellectually consistent.

00:32:43.280 --> 00:32:46.140
 But we see here that not only does the Christian faith,

00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:51.200
 not only does the Bible offer us this profound account

00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.480
 that everything, that the thing which is the most basic,

00:32:54.600 --> 00:32:56.140
 the beginning of all things is God,

00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:58.640
 that he's the one who brings all things into existence.

00:32:59.160 --> 00:33:01.140
 And that because he brings all things into existence,

00:33:01.800 --> 00:33:03.120
 we can have this sense that there's,

00:33:03.380 --> 00:33:04.320
 that's why there's order,

00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:05.399
 that's why there's beauty,

00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:06.500
 that's why there's joy,

00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:07.539
 that's why there's love,

00:33:07.639 --> 00:33:08.700
 that's why there's truth.

00:33:09.419 --> 00:33:11.179
 And that's why there's these things.

00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:12.359
 That's why we can recognize,

00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:13.519
 that's why we can discover,

00:33:13.679 --> 00:33:16.319
 that's why we can figure out how things work,

00:33:16.399 --> 00:33:18.899
 that's how we can dig and learn and dig and learn,

00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:22.799
 and we can be engineers and physicists and chemists and biologists

00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:25.720
 and moms and dads and dancers and poets

00:33:25.720 --> 00:33:27.740
 and artists and carpenters

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:30.059
 and have families,

00:33:30.159 --> 00:33:31.399
 and we can do all these things,

00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:33.680
 and there's this coherence there.

00:33:34.080 --> 00:33:35.820
 And the same one who's created all things

00:33:35.820 --> 00:33:38.940
 and we recognize that there is this fundamental problem

00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:40.720
 and it's not a problem with Islam.

00:33:40.920 --> 00:33:42.300
 It's not a problem with atheism.

00:33:42.420 --> 00:33:44.540
 It's not a problem with totalitarianism.

00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:47.400
 It's not a problem with Buddhism or Hinduism or Christianity.

00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:50.400
 That the fact of the matter is that every day in the newspaper

00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:54.000
 it convinces us that there's something fundamentally wrong with human beings

00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:56.580
 that human beings cannot fix for themselves.

00:33:58.040 --> 00:33:59.900
 I just watched on DVD The Giver.

00:33:59.900 --> 00:34:04.840
 And as soon as you see a perfect society in any Hollywood movie,

00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:06.040
 what do we all know?

00:34:07.220 --> 00:34:08.220
 There's evil.

00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:12.220
 It's evil masquerading is good.

00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:13.820
 Everybody knows that.

00:34:14.500 --> 00:34:18.980
 Except when we take psychology and spirituality and then we forget it.

00:34:20.340 --> 00:34:23.720
 But the Bible never forgets it and it goes after the heart

00:34:23.720 --> 00:34:27.180
 and it's saying that the same God who creates all things

00:34:27.179 --> 00:34:32.059
 is the God who comes and is amongst us in lowliness

00:34:32.059 --> 00:34:34.899
 and he comes to die.

00:34:35.779 --> 00:34:38.000
 And by telling us that, the Bible is telling us

00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:41.259
 that the problem of human beings is vastly worse

00:34:41.259 --> 00:34:43.619
 than we can possibly imagine and believe.

00:34:44.099 --> 00:34:47.379
 But the worth of human beings is vastly greater.

00:34:47.380 --> 00:34:52.000
 that God, the Son of God, would die upon a cross

00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:55.119
 so that we could be reconciled to him.

00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:01.960
 One of the most famous verses in the Bible,

00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:04.039
 John 3.16,

00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:08.599
 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son

00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:12.579
 that whoever believes in him should not perish

00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:14.079
 but have eternal life.

00:35:15.139 --> 00:35:18.900
 Spoken by God, the Creator, who walks amongst us,

00:35:19.300 --> 00:35:21.860
 who died upon the cross to redeem us,

00:35:22.279 --> 00:35:23.480
 to reconcile us to him.

00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:26.880
 Andrew, if you could put up the final slide.

00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:27.860
 I'm going to invite,

00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:29.800
 this will be up on the webpage later,

00:35:30.099 --> 00:35:32.559
 I'm going to invite you that this is a great prayer.

00:35:32.699 --> 00:35:34.980
 It's a prayer to begin the Christian walk.

00:35:35.059 --> 00:35:36.619
 It's a prayer to live the Christian walk.

00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:39.119
 Dear God, please grow in me

00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:42.300
 a humble, trusting, walking knowledge

00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:44.940
 of the greatness, glory, and grace

00:35:44.940 --> 00:35:47.320
 of Jesus, the crucified Messiah.

00:35:48.340 --> 00:35:49.460
 At whose birth we celebrate,

00:35:50.320 --> 00:35:51.300
 Jesus the Messiah.

00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:53.700
 And it's to be a humble,

00:35:54.300 --> 00:35:56.120
 to grow in us a humble trusting

00:35:56.120 --> 00:35:57.539
 of the greatness, glory, and grace

00:35:57.539 --> 00:35:59.120
 of Jesus, the crucified Messiah.

00:35:59.740 --> 00:36:00.420
 Humble trust.

00:36:00.580 --> 00:36:02.180
 Walking means that it makes a difference

00:36:02.180 --> 00:36:03.120
 about how we live.

00:36:04.180 --> 00:36:05.500
 You know, the mission statement of this church

00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:07.620
 is making disciples gripped by the gospel,

00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:08.660
 living for his glory.

00:36:08.780 --> 00:36:10.519
 That as the gospel grips us,

00:36:10.600 --> 00:36:14.400
 it will change how we live our 24-7 lives.

00:36:14.519 --> 00:36:16.240
 And I try to capture that in the word walking.

00:36:17.240 --> 00:36:19.600
 If the Holy Spirit has it all pressed upon you,

00:36:19.660 --> 00:36:20.960
 would you join me in praying that?

00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:21.820
 Could you stand?

00:36:23.139 --> 00:36:23.539
 Please?

00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:30.280
 And we'll just allow a moment of silence.

00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:31.559
 And you don't have to pray it out loud,

00:36:31.619 --> 00:36:34.059
 but if the Holy Spirit is pressed upon your heart at all,

00:36:34.619 --> 00:36:36.400
 the glory and the greatness of Jesus,

00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:38.179
 God, the Son of God,

00:36:38.260 --> 00:36:38.900
 the Word,

00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:41.320
 who was with the Father before all eternity,

00:36:41.720 --> 00:36:43.039
 who became flesh,

00:36:43.579 --> 00:36:45.159
 to die upon the cross,

00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:47.679
 so that all who believe and trust in him

00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:49.440
 will not perish,

00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:49.719
 will not perish,

00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:50.619
 but have eternal life

00:36:50.619 --> 00:36:52.599
 with the Father who has created all things

00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:53.799
 and will make the new heaven

00:36:53.799 --> 00:36:55.460
 and the new earth for us to dwell in.

00:36:56.719 --> 00:36:58.559
 And not just to know and trust Jesus,

00:36:58.679 --> 00:36:59.719
 but to know and trust Jesus

00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:01.179
 is to enter into a relationship

00:37:01.179 --> 00:37:02.279
 where we walk with him.

00:37:03.599 --> 00:37:04.359
 He guides us.

00:37:04.500 --> 00:37:06.179
 He'll change how we live our lives.

00:37:07.179 --> 00:37:09.179
 The prayer to enter the Christian walk

00:37:09.179 --> 00:37:12.419
 is the prayer to continue and grow

00:37:12.419 --> 00:37:14.299
 and deepen in the Christian walk.

00:37:19.339 --> 00:37:22.059
 So those for whom the Holy Spirit is pressed upon you,

00:37:22.139 --> 00:37:23.299
 please join with me in praying.

00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:24.779
 Dear God,

00:37:25.339 --> 00:37:27.000
 please grow in me

00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:30.199
 a humble, trusting, walking knowledge

00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:32.879
 of the greatness, glory, and grace

00:37:32.879 --> 00:37:35.599
 of Jesus, the crucified Messiah.

00:37:36.399 --> 00:37:38.460
 Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:39.440
 Bring us to Jesus.

00:37:40.440 --> 00:37:41.840
 Help us to trust, Father,

00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:43.480
 that all truth is your truth.

00:37:44.019 --> 00:37:44.780
 Help us, Father,

00:37:44.820 --> 00:37:46.780
 to press in to know more of Jesus

00:37:46.780 --> 00:37:48.079
 and to know more of the truth

00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:49.099
 and to know more of you

00:37:49.099 --> 00:37:50.480
 and to know more of your word

00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:53.019
 and have your word play a deeper role in us.

00:37:53.139 --> 00:37:55.320
 And all this we ask in the name of Jesus,

00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:57.420
 your Son and our Savior.

00:37:58.000 --> 00:37:58.340
 Amen.