Torch, Fall/Winter 2009

Fall–Winter 2009 | TORCH 15 T he man certainly had a way of communicating. Whether encouraging his young apprentice Timothy or preaching to godless Athenians, the apostle Paul reached his audience by first figuring out where they were coming from. In Acts 17, for instance, he tells the people of Athens that the unknown god they worshipped was, in fact, the Creator who “gives to all people life and breath and all things” and that “in Him we live and move and exist.” He then says, “In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.” Interestingly, Paul frames his discussion of theology around the theory of origins. In order to support the theology of a single God, he states that God created all things. If only it were that easy today. We continue to struggle over origins as the evolution-creation debate rages on. What theory is correct? The answer to this question either strengthens or destroys Paul’s theological stance. But as it was in the days of Paul, so it is today. The names may change, but the essence of the arguments remains the same. Paul addressed the Epicureans and the Stoics in Athens, and in today’s culture creationism faces off against naturalism and transcendentalism. Proper Prejudices As frameworks from which to explain the world, origin theories are not testable in the sense of laboratory experiments. Rather, they stand or fall based on their ability to provide a consistent explanation of all observed phenomena. One must then evaluate whether inconsistencies are due to limited data and understanding or to a fatal flaw that demands rejection of the model. In either case, origin theories arise from a set of prejudices. But as cosmologist Steven Weinberg explained, “The great thing is not to be free of theoretical prejudices, but to have the right theoretical prejudices.” Naturalism holds that the sum of all existence can be observed or measured and therefore any theory of origins depends solely on natural causes. Consequently, the universe is either eternal or the result of natural processes. Complex phenomena such as the cosmos, life, and the human mind must come from simpler origins. Transcendentalism maintains that metaphysical principles extend beyond sensate knowledge. Origin theories based on this worldview do not regard the physical world as permanent, but as temporary and in the process of change. Complex phenomena are not the result of blind chance but the expected outcomes of a universal essence or consciousness. Creationism proposes that everything results from the purposeful act of a transcendent Creator. The cosmos, life, and the human mind, as well as spirit beings, were created in functionally complete forms. Complex phenomena were inherent in creation from the beginning and reflect the omnipotence, omniscience, and creativity of a personal intelligence. New Beginnings The word “cosmos” refers to the systematic order of the universe. From before Aristotle to as recently as the 1960s, many scientists maintained that matter and the universe were eternal. But based on validated scientific theories and recent observations, it becomes necessary to concede that the universe has a definite starting point. As a result of this discovery, naturalism is forced to go beyond