Pointers for Defending the Faith, Part 5
And now we wrap up this series.
5. Unbelievers tend to believe that by providing a biological/sociological explanation for an event or action it is therefore unnecessary to have a theological explanation.
Unbelieving scientists, both in the supposedly “hard,” as well as the “social” sciences, have often claimed that the supernatural worldview of Christianity is simply impossible. Many have claimed that people of the ancient Near East were more prone to believing in supernatural beings and occurrences because they didn’t know any better. But, so it is thought, we can’t be too harsh on those overly superstitious people, they didn’t have the wealth of science knowledge about how the world runs as we modern folk do. Contemporary, especially western, Christians have no excuse though. We should know better and not place our hopes in such fairytales.
These people may say that we have no need to believe that God causes the plants to grow, because now we know about the laws of photosynthesis. Or, you may have heard, “We no longer believe that morality comes from God, because now we are aware of just how much society and family shapes our beliefs about right and wrong, etc.”
But this misses the point, and it misses it big. It also vividly demonstrates how pointer 1 (Unbelievers often don’t really know the story of the Bible) applies to many of us Christians. You see many times if we present a strong case for God’s divine plan for things we can fall into the danger of forgetting the “us” side of the story. Does God control and direct all things? Yes (Eph. 1:11). But does He normally do this apart from “normal” means? No. This sheds light on the case of morality above. Do we become conscious of standards of morality from our culture? Yes, we do. Do we become conscious of standards of morality from out parents? Without a doubt. Do we become conscious of standards of morality from out peers, friends, and all those with whom we associate? Again, yes. But does admitting this undermine the existence of a universal standard of ethical behavior? Not at all!
If the Bible is true, then it would seem (according to the worldview presented in it’s pages) that the normal, everyday means through which God has planned humans to learn standards of morality is through both relationships in general and he family in specific. Now, of course, the word of God ultimately is given (among other reasons) to correct the faulty beliefs we have about ethics. But, the notion of right and wrong action, desires and motives, are dependent upon relationships. When I do something that I shouldn’t, something I ought not do, I am breaking fellowship with someone, whether it’s my mother, father, the government, my “fellow man,” etc. I don’t own good behavior to the universe because if it’s ultimately impersonal, then it can make no demands (like “obey me”) at all! So, just as moral obligations depend on relationships with a person, in the same way ultimate ethical obligations are depend on a relationship with an ultimate Person. The horizontal (i.e. how we come to learn things) doesn’t cancel the vertical (the authority behind what we learn, if it’s true).
One more example, and we’ll come this series. Over the last decade or so, there has been much discussion over the possible existence of the gay gene. Are people with a homosexual orientation genetically “wired” this way? Well, at this point the jury is still out (though the evidence isn’t exactly powerful). But, what is conclusive evidence could be shown that all homosexuals share this gene (when I say “all” I realize I’m grossly exaggerating. But I’m doing it for effect.)? What would we do? Would we have to say that the Bible is wrong has it clearly states that homosexuality is against God’s original desire for human sexuality? In a nutshell, we don’t have to change a bit. We would be called to a stronger recognition that these people who have this gene struggle with a particular temptation to sin that we do not all share. But this doesn’t make it any less a deviation from God’s design. Christians believe in the Fall and original sin. We also believe that there is no part of who we are that hasn’t be touched by sin. To admit (if we had to) that a gay gene exists would simply be to acknowledge that the effects of the fall run deeper than we were initially aware of. The horizontal doesn’t cancel the vertical!
So, if you’re taking with someone and this issue arises, stay alert and spot it. It’s tricky…
