Infinite Regress and God

In my continued reading of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, the next chapter dealt with the proof that God does not exist.

Honestly, none of his arguments against the existence of God provided proof.  I’m not going to address each one of these in this blog.  However, I will say that his “proofs” are as weak or weaker than the “proofs” for God that he criticizes in the previous chapter.  In fact, Dawkins doesn’t even appear to realize that he uses his biases (just as he accuses Christians of using their own biases) to make his claims.  I found it amusing that this intelligent man is apparently unable to see his own logic flaws…especially when considering that he uses Christian biases to jocularly antagonize and belittle believers in the previous chapter. 

There is one point that he made, however, that made me stop cold and face an issue that I have avoided.  He introduces this as the problem of “infinite regress”.  One can find the definition by simply Googling (or Binging or Yahooing, etc.) it, but I’m going to put it in terms that anyone can understand.  If the universe is full of perfection, intelligence and complexity (from solar systems to ecosystems to internal body systems to molecular systems) that leads me to believe that they must’ve been designed by a Creator, THEN the Creator must be even more perfect, intelligent, and complex.  So who created the Creator?

I’m not going to lie.  I’ve thought about this before…often.  Dawkins didn’t amaze me with his brilliance by asking this question, but he did make me face a hard one. 

I think the standard answer has been, “Well, I don’t know.  But I have faith…and faith means that you don’t always have the answers yet you still believe.”  It seems like a cop-out.  However, there is logic behind it.  Simply put, we as humans don’t have all the facts.  As Christians we believe that when we do have all the facts, things will make sense.  Dawkins can’t accept this.  I’m sure he sees this argument as simple-minded and weak.  So, I’m going to expand on it with my own thoughts.  Am I offering “proof”?  No.  But I’m using the tools of Dawkins and his atheist cohorts…reasoning.

The universe and everything in it (that I can think of in my limited knowledge) was developed with a cyclical nature.  Think about it.  Planets make orbits.  Seasons come and go yearly.  There is a complex life cycle.  We have an intricate water cycle.  Women deal with a menstrual cycle.  Every process in our knowledge (or at least in mine) is based on a cycle.  It is my firm belief that “global climate change” is just another cycle but a longer one of which humans have very little data to realize that it is all part of the system.  (Can I have MY Nobel Prize now?)

I realized this even as a child.  In fact, when I first understood that through Jesus Christ we would have eternal life, it terrified me.  Have you ever really thought about it?  I simply cannot fathom anything eternal.  This is my challenge to you.  Go into a room by yourself (maybe tonight when you go to bed), close your eyes, and consider living forever.  It’s not something that you can do as you read this.  It’s not something that you can do in a minute.  Really think about what that means…what that looks like.  I did this as a child…I still do this occasionally.  Honestly, it scares the crap out of me. 

Because everything I know is cyclical, when I consider eternity I see it as a spiral.  This never-ending spiral continues to spin and spin and spin (like a barber pole) with no end.  Really, it is terrifying.  I remember being very young and thinking, “I don’t want to live forever!”  And I will not hesitate to tell you today that the concept still makes me nauseated.  I just cannot conceive of it.

Now maybe you’ve never thought about this to the depth that I have…until now.  But many people have.  In fact, I believe that this is why many believe in reincarnation.  Reincarnation is cyclical.  We can understand it.  In fact, in my limited human thinking, reincarnation is more appealing to me than eternal life.  Why?  Because it fits with my understanding of the universe.  Things come and go.  If I’m going to live forever, it must be in cycles.  But the Bible makes it clear that this is not the case.  (Hebrews 9:27-28)  Hmmm….so apparently there is something more that I don’t understand.

Can I prove that there is something beyond our universe that is NOT cyclical.  No.  But even people who lived back in Moses, David, and Jesus’ times must’ve had the same thoughts.  After all, I am nothing special.  So, if Judeo-Christian beliefs were all invented, why wasn’t reincarnation simply built into the plot?  It would’ve fit in better with our human understanding.  In fact, many other religions (Hindu, Buddhist, Kaballah, New Age, and many of the Greek philosophers) have done just that.

Our God is eternal.  Can I fathom it?  No…it is completely out of my realm of understanding.  In God’s wisdom and perfection, He created our universe with laws of nature that would make it perpetual and self-sustaining.  They are cyclical.  God, however, is not.  He wasn’t created, He hasn’t evolved, He doesn’t age…He is eternal.  God’s reality is totally separate from our reality.  He doesn’t live by our “rules”.  The “rules” were made for us!  God did, however, choose to enter our world through Jesus Christ and live by our rules for a short period of time.  However, while here He also demonstrated His ability to not follow the rules.  Hence the miracles…seen by thousands, recorded in history, and preserved in the Bible.

The only afterlife that makes sense, then, is an eternal afterlife with an eternal God.  The cyclical rules of this world will no longer be necessary.  Darwin, Dawkins, and Hawkings’ human logic models are meaningless in God’s kingdom.

Does it STILL scare me?  Absolutely.  It is beyond my comprehension.  But I’ve been assured that it will be heavenly.

Proof of God

I’m currently reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.  My decision to read this is not because I question whether God exists, it is to see what logic is used by atheists to try to “disprove” the existence of God.

There is an entire chapter where Dawkins lists the “evidence” that has been presented by past theologians for a Creator and personal God.  One by one he addresses these and attempts to prove them illogical.  And, to be quite honest, he makes good arguments. 

The problem with these types of arguments is that both sides have biases.  He makes underlying assumptions that I do not.  Just as a theologian makes underlying assumptions that Dawkins does not.  There is no reconciliation of this fact.  It really boils down to the fact that Dawkins does not want to believe in God.  On the other hand, theologians and true Christians know that God exists.  They do not have to prove it.

You see, the amazing thing about God is that when one accepts Him, He lives within them.  Can I prove this to you, oh skeptical one?  No.  Ha!  I won’t even try.  But it should be obvious by the changes in my life.  Of course, there are those who will choose not to accept that as “proof” either.  But…they would if it happened to them.

God gives His grace as a gift to those whom He chooses.  (Romans 8:29-30)  You see, there are some that will never believe because they were not elected by God to receive His grace...His gift.  This concept is beautiful and terrifying.  It’s beautiful because I know that I am not worthy of this gift, yet He has given it to me.  It’s terrifying in that I realize that some people will never receive or accept this gift and will suffer the consequences of their sins that I should have to suffer with them. 

I did not earn this gift of God.  I need to make that very clear.  I have not lived in such a way that God would look at me and think, “Well, that Gina sure is righteous.  I’m going to give her My grace.”  No, no no!  It is a gift…a totally undeserved gift!  I am humbled by the amazing grace of God.  Do I completely understand how or why God chooses His elect?  Absolutely not.  But God is sovereign.  He doesn’t need my input.  And…I trust him.

But I do not accept this gift without responsibility.  After all, faith is meaningless if it is not accompanied by action.  (James 2:14-17)  Just ask anyone who has been “turned off” to Christianity by hypocrites in the pew beside him.  My life has changed—my outlook, priorities, mission, pastimes, and attitude.  It is truly a miracle.  And God performs this beautiful miracle every day. 

The Bible tells us that the proof of God is all around us.  (Romans 1:18-21)

I don’t need to prove to you that God exists.  You already know it.  Whether or not you admit it is another question.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

Twice in the past week I've heard Christians that I respect discuss their concern of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD).  Let’s break it down. 

Moralistic—concerned with morality

Therapeutic—assisting in a cure

Deism--a movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe

This term was coined by Christian Smith of the University of Notre Dame.  According to the National Study of Youth and Religion, people who are MTD believe the following:

1. God exists. He created and watches over the world.

2. God wants us to be good, nice and fair to each other.

3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

4. God is not involved except when I need God to solve a problem.

5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

In my observances, I would stretch this a little further.  It is not just a youth problem, it’s a world-wide, every age problem.   In fact, I would guess that many of you reading this don’t even see anything wrong with the 5 beliefs listed above.  Let’s look at each one of these and see exactly what IS the problem?

God exists.  He created and watches over the world.

Yes.  Yes.  And, well…yes.  I hesitate a little on the last one because “watching over” seems to indicate that God makes sure that everything is A-Okay.  And, to be quite frank, everything here is not. 

Don’t think for one minute that God is not aware of everything going on in the world, but he does allow us to use our free will—which means that we often hurt others and ourselves.  Could he intercede?  Yes.  Does he intercede?  I’m quite sure that he does.  But God is sovereign and he makes those calls without needing (or heeding) the advice of us.

God wants us to be good, nice, and fair to each other.

Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  But there is more to this one.  Being “nice” to one another seems to indicate that we never should disagree.  But there are often times that we need to contradict or even confront (privately and with respect and love) when another person (particularly a fellow Christian) is out of line—in their faith, in their actions, in their beliefs, or in their words.  (Matthew 18:15-17)  When on the receiving end of this, it doesn’t feel very nice. 

Being “fair” is even more complicated.  It’s easy to see the importance of “fairness” when talking about paying your entire tax bill, awarding appropriate penalties to crimes, or honestly correcting mistakes even when they resulted in something favorable for you.  However, being “fair” gets fuzzy when we, or someone we love, is treated in a manner that we see as being unfair.  What is fair in this circumstance?  Is it to treat them unfairly back?

Being “fair” gets even more fuzzy when we become aware that someone has committed an act that we see as being not good, or not nice, or not fair.  We do NOT have the right to condemn others.  (Matthew 7:1-5)  As mentioned earlier, we do have a responsibility to contradict or confront (as described above) but this does not include the right to gossip about them to others or publicly criticize them.  God is our judge.  God will make sure that everyone is one day treated fairly.  Our best course of action is to simply pray for them. 

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. 

No.  The central goal of life is to glorify God.  (1 Peter 4:11, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Chronicles 16:29, 1 Corinthians 6:20)  Often when we make ourselves happy or feel good about ourselves, it is because we are glorifying ourselves. 

I was watching Andrew Witt sing live a while back.  (http://www.andrewwittmusic.com) Wow.  The thought that kept coming to me as I watched this talented and good-looking group of young men glorify God with their words, actions, music, and prayers was that fact that they could be using their talents to glorify themselves.  It amazes me that at their young ages they already know that their purpose in life is to glorify God. 

Now I’ll bet that if you asked Andrew, he would tell you that he IS happy and feels good about himself because he glorifies God.  You see, I think that he understands that these things are the effects of striving toward our goal…but are not goals themselves.

God is not involved except when I need God to solve a problem.
No.  This belief seems to refer to the concept of answered prayers so that is how I will address it. 

As a creation of God, man does not have all of the facts.  Yes, science has taught us much about our world but we don’t even begin to understand the complexity of God’s designs.  In fact, we use the rules of the laws of nature to explain our universe yet refuse to acknowledge that He made those laws!  It is truly laughable that we think we have things so figured out!

God has all the facts.  God sees the big picture.  He is not restricted by the laws of nature that he created for us.  He is involved when He sees fit.  In fact, I believe that he is involved with us personally and on a daily basis when we except Him into our lives and invite the Holy Spirit to live within us. (Romans 8:9-11)  We, on the other hand, are limited in our knowledge of God’s creation.  There are simply some things that we are not able (or meant) to understand.  We want Him to get involved when WE see fit.  Instead, we must trust him and not rely on the limited information that we have when it comes to the decisions that God makes in our lives.  (Proverbs 3:5)

Good people go to heaven when they die.
Yes and no.  People who go to heaven are good, but this is not why they got there.  The fact of the matter is that there are people that most humans would consider “good” that will not make it.

You see, one cannot earn his way into heaven.  It is simply impossible.  We are all sinners.  No matter how “good” you are, you are still a sinner.  Sorry.

We, however, can be saved by God’s grace.  It is a gift.  It is a gift to those who believe in Him; accept His son, Jesus Christ, as their Savior through baptism; (Mark 16:16) and repent of their sins (genuinely feel remorseful and try hard to discontinue sinning) (Acts 2:38).  God in his sovereignty chooses who He will save. (Romans 8:29-30)

We can fool people into believing that we are Christians.  In fact, we can live our public lives in a way that we even fool other Christians.  Even more scary, I think we can wrongfully convince ourselves that we are Christians when we really haven’t even taken the time to understand what that means.  I’m afraid that many people who call themselves Christian simply don’t get it.

One good test for yourself is to consider the fruits that you have received from the Holy Spirit.  (Galations 5:22-23)  The blessings that God bestows on his followers are amazing.

The bottom line is that if we want people to understand what Christianity means, we need to be honest in our teaching of it.  Sometimes that means that we have to tell people things that they don’t want to hear.