Brief Overview of Creationist Cosmology

How should a Christian approach cosmology, the scientific study of the origin and structure of the universe as a whole?

As in any science, we have to distinguish between what we actually observe—the radiation that reaches our telescopes-- and theories that are constructed to explain those facts.

Some Recent Reviews Concerning Genesis

Here are a few recent worthwhile posts on Genesis and evolution:

1. Recent Challenges to the Doctrine of Inerrancy: Peter Enns and ‘Myth’ in Genesis 1
By Dr. John J. Yeo, Reformed Theological Seminary Atlanta. Yeo rebuts Enns' notion that Genesis 1 is related to ANE myth.

2. A Critique of “Creation, Evolution, and Christian Lay People,” by Tim Keller
By Dr. Adrian Keister (Ph.D. in mathematical physics from Virginia Tech).An excellent critique of Keller's pro-evolution stance.

3. The Enns Justifies the Means?
by Ken Ham. A Review of the latest book, just off the press, by Dr. Peter Enns, The Evolution of Adam (2012). Enns argues that we must accept evolution as a fact, which entails that there was no literal Adam nor a literal Fall.

Naturalist Meltdown

In a recent article "On Defining Naturalism as a Worldview", atheist historian Richard Carrier comments on the fact that, although many people claim to be naturalists, there is no common agreement as to how to precisely define naturalism. Of course, all agree that, as a worldview, naturalism is somehow the converse of supernaturalism. But how is one to clearly distinguish the natural from the supernatural?

Is the Church Anti-Science?

Recently, in the secular media, Christians who oppose evolution are scorned as being "anti-science". Such sneers, coming from atheists or liberal Christians, are hardly surprising.

But now the same allegation comes from within our own circle. A recent post--Church and Modern Science (hereafter referred to as CAMS)--on the Reformed Academic blog laments that the Canadian Reformed Church community has a negative view of  science, as evidenced by its opposition to an ancient earth and, more important, to evolution.

How (Atheist) Scientists Lose Their Way

Are Christians anti-science?

This charge is often made in the secular media. In a recent Time (Oct.3, 2011) article—“How Science Can Lead the Way”—Harvard physicist Lisa Randall disparages American politicians who invoke religion. She singles out Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry for defending the teaching of creationism in public schools, while viewing evolution as a mere theory, as well as for praying for the end of a drought rather than critically evaluating climate science.

Women, Voting, and Authority

In recent months there has been much discussion in Clarion, a Canadian Reformed magazine, as to whether women should vote in the election of office-bearers. In the past, only male communicant members could vote. However, the 2010 Canadian Reformed Synod decided to give each local congregation the option to extend the vote to women.

The Demolition of Adam

Did Adam really exist? Or is he just a metaphorical figure? (1)

That question is currently heavily debated in evangelical circles. The feature article of the June 2011 issue of Christianity Today notes that the issue is no longer just whether Adam had animal ancestry—that much is almost taken for granted—but whether all humans could have descended from only one couple.

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

Free will is one of the most perplexing philosophical mysteries. It gives rise to many deep questions. Do we have such a thing as free will? Do we really have a choice when we make a choice? Or are our choices completely pre-determined by our character and circumstances? 

The Shame of Calvin & Ruse

1. The Shame of Calvin College

In a recent article, The Shame of Calvin College in the Chronicle of Higher Education, philosopher Michael Ruse berates Calvin College for its stance on a literal Adam. Dr. John Schneider, of the Religion Department of Calvin College, had questioned the existence of a literal Adam and an historical fall into sin.

A Moving Earth?

Inevitably, in origins debates among Christians, the question is raised:
Since the church was wrong about the earth’s motion, and let science modify its interpretation of the Bible on this point, why should we not do the same for matters concerning origins?

On Mature Creation

1. If the universe is young, how can we see light from galaxies seemingly billions of light years away? One simple possibility is that of mature creation: if the stars and galaxies were created full-blown, along with their light, then the astronomical light we observe did not necessarily originate from actual celestial objects.

Cosmology and Eschatology

If it were shown that the universe is indeed headed
for an all-enveloping death, then this might...
falsify Christian faith and abolish Christian hope.

John Macquarrie (Principles of Christian Theology 1977)

1. Eschatology poses a major dilemma for Christianity. Many Christians see mainstream science as complementing the Bible, not contradicting it. They claim, regarding origins, that science tells us what happened (the what, when and how) whereas the Bible gives us the deeper interpretation (the why and by Whom).

Cosmology and Heaven

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy

Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1 scene 5

1. Cosmology: Ancient and Modern

Invariably, in discussions about the Bible and origins, the question comes up, "What about the ancient cosmology reflected in Genesis?”

Deflating Cosmology

1. "Is the theory at the heart of modern cosmology deeply flawed?"
This question is raised in an interesting recent article "The Inflation Debate” by Paul Steinhardt in the latest issue of Scientific American  (April, 2011, 304: 36-43). 

Recent Recommended Reading

Some recent recommendations:

1. In Search of the Beginning (2010, Pleasant Word: Enumclaw, WA, 389pp) by Dean Davis.

Presbyterian Appeasement

It is remarkable how hostile many otherwise conservative Presbyterians are towards young earth creationism. Why remarkable? Because Presbyterians profess adherence to the Westminster Confession, which affirms the inerrancy and full authority of Scripture (I-4,9) as well as, in particular, the creation of the world "in the space of six days" (IV-1). The latter confessional tenet seems to have become a source of great embarrassment to Presbyterians.

Dr Tremper Longman III versus Genesis I-II

How should we reconcile science and the Bible on origins? Much has been written on this in the last few years. Recently there appeared yet another, short, book:  Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins (InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL, 2010, 144pp. paperback).

Villainous Confessions

Recently I had the pleasure of stumbling upon an excellent piece of literature:

The Villainous Confessions of a Young Earth Creationist by Jim Owen, an historican at The Master's College. It is a well-written response to evangelical Darwinists, especially Francis Collins' book The Language of God and Mark Noll's The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Owen presents a penetrating critique of Collins and Noll--and a corresponding defense of the plain reading of Scripture. He does so, moreover, with great style, making this short book (104 pages on a downloadable pdf file) a very worthwhile  read.

The Star of Bethlehem

Speculation about the identity of the star of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12) is a perennial Christmas pastime. I was recently urged to examine a current Star of Bethlehem site. This site argues for a natural explanation, in the form of a triple conjunction, in 2-3 BC, between the planet Jupiter and the star Regulus in the constellation Leo.

Trojan Horse in South African Reformed Church

The Trojan Horse in the Dutch Reformed Church:
The Cancer of Evolution and Liberalism

Nowadays, challenges within Reformed Churches to Biblical teachings are widespread. This book, just published (in Afrikaans), describes how liberal and humanistic trends, including evolution, are undermining the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa.

Australia lectures: The Reformed Church & Origins

It has been some time since I last posted. This is due to a 4-week trip my wife and I took to New Zealand and Australia. In Australia I gave a number of lectures in several Free Reformed Churches. I must say that the highlights of our trip were the interactions we experienced with fellow believers. We greatly enjoyed and appreciated the hospitality received in both countries. The lectures were similar to those given here in the Fraser Valley last April. Below is a summary article, printed in Una Sancta (Vol.58:32-34, October 2010), a magazine of the Free Reformed Churches in Australia.

Proving God’s Existence

A spate of recent books have been written promoting atheism and agnosticism. Most of these are quite shallow. To counteract these, a new book presents a rather sophisticated case for theism.

Robert J. Spitzer, New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of contemporary physics and philosophy, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010, 319pp + xiii.

Dr Spitzer is a philosopher, a Jesuit priest, and a former president of Gonzala University. His (5) proofs are not really new. Rather, they are updated versions of old proofs going back to Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) and earlier.

The Evolution of Calvin College

The September issue of Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith features two articles by Dr. Daniel Harlow and Dr. John Schneider, Bible and Theology professors at Calvin College, on the theological implications of embracing evolution. They propose that Adam and Eve are purely symbolic litearary figures, that there was no historical fall into sin, and that the doctrines of original sin, Christ's atonement, election and eternal punishment need major revision.

Reviewing Intelligent Design

Intelligent design (ID) has been much in the news over the last few years. Advocates of ID assert that an intelligent cause is indicated by such things as the fine-tuning of the universe for life and the complexity of even the simplest cell. This conclusion has been fiercely contested by many Darwinists, who believe that everything can be explained in terms of purely natural causes. Darwinists charge that science should restrict itself to natural causes and that ID, to the extent that it posits supernatural causes, is thereby non-science. Here we review two recent books promoting intelligent design.

Aliens and Christians

Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? Lately there has been much discussion on this issue.

In a recent documentary Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking, British physicist Stephen Hawking claims that intelligent alien life forms almost certainly exist.

Dooyeweerd's Legacy

In a previous post I discussed the antithesis, tracing it from Abraham Kuyper's neo-Calvinism to North America via Cornelius Van Til and his followers. Another neo-Calvinist stream from Kuyper flows from Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977), a Dutch philosopher who taught for many years at Kuyper's Free University in Amsterdam.

Science, Neutrality and the Antithesis

A few months ago Dr. Cornelis van Dam defended the Biblical view of origins against secular science. He argued that scientific theorizing depends heavily on worldview presuppositions, particularly with regards to origins. Hence we should reject those theories and conclusions that conflict with God’s word.

This has recently been challenged by Dr Jitse van der Meer at Reformed Academic. He contends that, although background beliefs may be needed for the construction of theories, these do not normally distort scientific knowledge.

The Tragedy of the Free Church of Scotland

Recently I read Iain Murray's A Scottish Christian Heritage (2006, Banner of Truth). It covers the history of the Reformation in Scotland, from John Knox to about 1900. Much of it concerns the Free Church of Scotland, from 1843 (when it was formed by a large withdrawal from the Church of Scotland) to 1900 (when, for the most part, it joined with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which re-united with the Church of Scotland in 1929).

Luther, Inerrancy, Genesis

Rev. Wes Bredenhof has an interesting post on Luther on his blog. He has been reading the classic Christian Dogmatics by the prominent Lutheran theologian Francis Pieper (1852-1931). Rev. Bredenhof writes:

"In the chapter on Scripture, he discusses Luther’s position on inerrancy. It is interesting how inerrancy is often pegged as a fundamentalist concept, but here we have a confessional Lutheran holding to inerrancy whilst harbouring no sympathies for fundamentalism. He notes that Luther and subsequent orthodox Lutherans did not hold to inerrancy as a conclusion to be reached (a posteriori), but as a presupposition (a priori).

Were Warfield and Machen Reformed?

The renowned Presbyterian theologians B .B. Warfield (1851-1921) and J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937)--founder of Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church-- are frequently called upon in support of non-literal views of Genesis.