1. We can support our faith with reason and evidence
Why do you believe?
We can support our faith with reason and evidence
Thank you for coming. Averaging 100 per session. Survey indications are that it is valuable.
Hope you received the from your youth group leader with survey questions and responses. Some very interesting ones.
On your table is today’s presentation, a roster sheet and survey. Please complete the roster and if you have not completed a survey, do so at end today. If you have any new questions to write and new topics to suggest, please fill that out on the survey and leave all the forms on the table at the end.
Again I will try to leave minutes for questions at the end of our discussion today.
If you do not care for science, that is a good reason why you should pay more attention today. So that you can better understand certain confusing and important terms and definitions and how it affects interpretations of science claims. I’m a big believer and follower of science myself. But not bad science and not where science is clearly wrong. We will discuss a few issues like that today.
If I did not make it clear in my survey responses, when I talk about the youth exit or negative trends that show about our youth, I am speaking only of the study numbers in general. I do not believe the youth in our church follow the norms and if anyone thought I was talking about our church youth, I apologize. However, it would be naïve to think that no Christian youth from our church ever rebel or leave the faith and the church. It happens.
Let’s pray.

2. Agenda Session 1 – Intro, strategy, questions, challenges
Session 2 – Truth, God exists - arguments
Session 3 – Science key terms & issues
Session 4 – Bible reliability & Jesus1
Session 5 – Jesus2, Trinity, Atheism/Agnosticism, POE
Session 6 – Islam, Cults, other religions
Session 7 – Predestination/free will, those who never hear, NDE
Session 8 – Review & Final Q&A
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist – Geisler/Turek
Tactics – Greg Koukl
Who Moved the Stone – Frank Morison

3. Session 3 - Science issues
Terms/definitions
Science
Search for natural causes – logical fallacy
Theory/hypothesis
Cannot be just an idea to be accepted – evidence needed
Must be testable via scientific method
Proof
Almost nothing is certain. Probabilities based on evidence
Nothing
Not a thing. Cannot redefine to fit scientific claim.
Atheism
Belief there is no God. Cannot redefine to no beliefs about God or unbelief in God. That is agnosticism.
5 min – 11 slides – 49 min

4. Session 3 – Science issues
Terms/definitions
Human
Science says any hominid – primate with two feet walks upright
But modern humans only homo sapiens sapiens – around 50k-100k years ago
Species
Based on anthropology/taxonomy org chart
Different species of birds or dogs are still birds and dogs
5 min

5. Session 3 – Science issues
Other key topics
Transitional fossils
ie between reptile and bird – where are they?
Should be millions or billions
Bad definition includes any that have similar traits as transitional species
Who created God
Claim: If universe needs a cause, God needs a cause
No - God is uncreated
Impossibility of an infinite regress
Must be an uncaused first cause of all causes
5 min

6. Session 3 – Science issues
Other key topics
Multiverse
Theory to address fine-tuning problem
Claims to be a theory but no evidence
Infinite number of universes
So one like ours is bound to exist
Conveniently – never know outside our universe
Unfalsifiable
But even if so – needs a cause
Now all the universes need a cause
Does not prevent the need for a cause
5 min

7. Session 3 – Science issues
Other key topics
Miracles
Science - only natural world exists
Ignores unnatural
Supernatural – outside definition
Fallacy - assumption before looking at evidence
Creation of the universe and first life
No natural explanation
Miracles – Craig Keener
5 min

8. Session 3 - Science issues
Other key topics
Evolution – definition of terms is key
Macro evolution – all living things from a single organism
Micro evolution – things change over time
Science infers macro evolution from micro evolution
Evolution cannot explain first life
Evolution cannot explain DNA
Mutations usually neutral or harmful – copying error
Mutations do not add new biological information
No transitional fossils to speak of
No common ancestor proof
Inferred based on body plans (taxonomy) – assumes evolution
Definitions of human, species, transitional are tricky
Genetic Entropy – Dr. John Sanford
Icons of Evolution – Jonathan Wells
Darwin’s Black Box – Michael Behe
5 min (need work to reduce/consolidate)

9. Session 3 – Science issues
Evolution cont.
Survival of fittest contradicts morality
Self-sacrifice, compassion
Free will is an illusion
Then we are unaccountable
Then nothing wrong with belief in God
Why is nonbelief better or true?
Molecules in motion
No way to ground any argument
Ultimately makes evolution irrational
No grounding for moral values

10. Session 3 – Science issues
Other key topics
Humans and apes descended from common ancestor
Human DNA closer to chicken than chimp
Per geneticist Dr. John Sanford
No common ancestor identified (missing link)
All common ancestors inferred
Best identification requires soft tissue
Almost all fossils are only bones – often a piece
Voicebox is major problem
Chimps cannot create sounds needed for language
Symbology is major problem
Arts, worship, language
5 min

11. Session 3 – Science issues
Other topics
Cambrian explosion
35 major animal phyla created 543 million years ago w/in a 5 million year period
Sudden appearance defies principle of evolution
Evolution cannot explain the complexity involved to create new body plans so fast
Evolution does not create new biological information
This event corresponds to day 6 of Genesis
Darwin’s Doubt – Stephen Meyer
3 min

12. Session 3 – Science issues
Other topics
Flood – global or regional?
Science -not enough water to be global
But ignore oceans beneath earth crust, underwater springs
Hebrew for covered (kasah) – also resided upon
Hebrew for all the high mountains (kol heharim hugebohim) –hill or mountain or slope
Mountains of Ararat – not Mt. Ararat
“whole world” could be a metaphor - perspective
Mesopotamia area was considered the whole world
Kinds is not every species
No need for insects, fish, all cat family, etc
Could hold 16k-50k animals
Maybe only 2k animals needed – space equiv. 569 railroad cars
Genesis Question – Hugh Ross
3 min

13. Session 3 – Science issues
Other key topics
Age of the earth (YE vs OE)
Not a salvation or inerrancy issue
Difficult to engage strong science supporters from a YE view
Not a decision about science vs the Bible
Evolution and age of earth totally separate issues
Take a neutral position
Bible supports either one/Bible does not say how old the earth is
Unaware of non-Christian published YE scientist but many Christian OE scientists
Key issue – interpretation of scripture
Day (yom) – 4 meanings
Create (bara) – no prior existence
Made (asah)- past event
Morning – boqer – also means beginning of
Evening – ereb – also means end of
Genesis Question – Hugh Ross
Genesis, Science & the Beginning – Ben Smith
5 min

14. Resources www.resurgensconsulting .com - My site/blog General
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist – Geisler/Turek
More than a Carpenter - Josh McDowell
Science
Dr. Hugh Ross
The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel
Genesis Question
Why the Universe is the way it is
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
Tactics – Greg Koukl
Jonathan Wells
Islam
Icons of Evolution
Nabeel Qureshi – Seeking Allah Finding Jesus, No God but One
Michael Behe
Darwin’s Black Box
Dr. Stephen Meyer
Darwin’s Doubt
Signature in the Cell
Dr. Craig Keener - Miracles

15. Contact Info
Tom Griffin,
Apologetics for Tweens
Books by Thomas J. Griffin
Apologetics for Tweens – 5th-8th grade curriculum
$170-$245 complete set
$40-$86 per year w/Leader’s Guide
The Last Premise - $4.99 on Amazon Kindle
Geopolitical fictional novel nearing apocalypse – apologetics, romance, black ops
Letters from Art – Private/Unpublished
Historical romance novel from the depression era
Legacy of a Christian Father – Private/Unpublished
Guidance from a father to his son
Contact me for any questions you may have or if I can help you somehow or maybe you wish to be on my monthly list for updates about our progress in my ministry activities.
Review slide.