genesis flood

8/8/2019 Genesis Flood

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THEGENESISFLOOD

ByDuaneWarden

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THECONTRIBUTIONOFTHE

FLOODNARRATIVETOTHE

MESSAGEOFGENESIS

Genesis1-11:Theprologue.Mesopotamia

isthesetting.

Genesis12-38:Themainbody.Palestineis

thesetting.

Genesis39-50:Theepilogue.Egyptisthe

setting.

Conclusion:Theauthorsworldappearsto

beMesopotamia,PalestineandEgypt.

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Thesearethegenerations:A

cluetotheauthorspurpose 2:4,Thesearethegenerationsoftheheavensandthe

earth.

5:1,ThesearethegenerationsofAdam.

6:9,ThesearethegenerationsofNoah.

10:1,ThesearethegenerationsofthesonsofNoah.

11:10,ThesearethegenerationsofShem.

11:27,ThesearethegenerationsofTerah.

25:12,ThesearethegenerationsofIshmael.

25:19,ThesearethegenerationsofIsaac.

36:1,ThesearethegenerationsofEsau.

37:2,ThesearethegenerationsofJacob

Conclusion:ItappearsthattheauthorwantedtoestablishcontinuityfromCreationtothedescendantsofJacob.

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IndicationsoftheAuthorsMethod

andPurposeinGenesis1-11

Halfoftheoccurrencesofthesearethegenerationsarebeforeorinthecontextoftheflood.

TherearetengenerationsfromAdamtoNoah.

TherearetengenerationsfromNoahtoAbraham.

TheauthorhurriespasttheprimevalhistoryofhumankindinordertobringustothefatherofIsrael.

Conclusion:Genesis1-11isnotdisinterestedhistory,butthefactualrecordingofeventsishardlydrivinghimtowrite.Thenarrativeisstylizedandservesthe

purposesoftheauthor.

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WhatStatementDoesTheAuthor

WanttoMakeintheFirst11

ChaptersofGenesis?WhenGodcreatedtherewasharmonybetween

Godandpeople,Godandcreation(Gen.1-2).

Theharmonywasbrokenbecausehumankindwasunwillingtobeinnocent;drivenbypride,peopleroseagainstGod.Theydidthingstheirownway.

ThenarrativesinGenesis3(firstsin),Genesis6-9(flood),andGenesis11(Babel)illustratethedis-harmonythatresultswhenpeoplewanttobelikeGod.

ThecallofAbrahamintroducedthepathtoarestorationofharmony(Gen.12-50).

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TheFloodNarrativeSupportsthe

ThemeThatUnitestheFirst

ElevenChaptersofGenesis

GodgovernstheworldofhumankindconsistentwithmoralprincipalsthatareinherentinhisBeing.

Godisangrywhenpeoplerebelagainstthemoralorderbywhichhegovernstheworld.

Menandwomenaremoralbeings.Godholdsthemmorallyaccountable.

ThesearetheconcernsofGenesis.Whetherthefloodwasuniversalorlocalhaslittlerelevanceforwhattheauthorwantstocommunicate.


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Genesis6:5:TheLordsawthatthe

wickednessofhumankindwasgreatin

theearth,andthateveryinclinationof

thethoughtsoftheirheartswasonlyevilcontinually.

Godtooknoteoftheextensivenessofsin.

Godtooknoteoftheintensityofthesin.

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Genesis6:9:Noahwasa

righteousman,blameless

inhisgeneration;NoahwalkedwithGod.

Genesis6:18:Iwill

establishmycovenantwith

you.

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QuestionsWeBringtotheFlood

Narrative Wasitauniversalflood?Wastheentireearthcovered

overbywater?

Howeverweanswerthesequestions,themessagesofGodssovereigntyandhisjudgmentremainthesame.

ThequestionisntwhetherGodisabletobringauniversalflood.

Thequestioniswhetherthedata,biblicalandnon-biblical,demandthisconclusion.

Mostwillgrantthatthebiblicaldataallowsforaliteralreading.Thequestionis,Doesitdemandaliteralreading?

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WhereDoestheDataLeadUs?

WasTheEntireEarthCoveredby

Water?

AliteralreadingoftheGenesisaccountsuggestsauniversalflood(Gen.6:7,17;7:19).

Beforethedevelopmentofmodernscience,therewasnoquestion.ReadersoftheBibleacceptedthefloodasuniversal.

Thegreatmajorityofmoderngeologists,seeminglywithnoaxtogrind,denythatthegeologicaldatapointtoauniversalflood.Thereinliestheproblem.

Despiteclaimsthatgeologicalevidencepointstoauniversalflood,theviewpointisnotwidelyaccepted.

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ForAllthatCanbeSaidinItsFavor,

ThereAreSeriousReasonstoDoubt

ThattheEarthWasEvenInundatedby

aUniversalFloodForthemostpartonlynon-geologistsbelievethat

auniversalfloodoccurringsome5-6thousandyearsagobestaccountsforthegeologicaldata.

Elaboratetheoriesofvaporcanopiesandsuchfortheantediluvianworldhavetheappearanceofbeingbornofdesperation.

WedontwanttoarguethatGodcouldnothavebroughtauniversalflood.Itisamatteroftheevidence.Hasauniversalfloodleftitsprintontheplanet?Theanswerappearstobeno. 12

GeologicalConsiderationsAside,

IsThereArchaeologicalSupport

foraUniversalFlood? Intheearly20thcenturyarchaeologistsfromtheUniversity

ofPennsylvaniafoundthicklayersofsedimentatsitesin

southeasternMesopotamia.Datafromthisexcavationarestillwidelycited.

Oncloserexamination,thesedimentatdifferentsitesdatedfromdifferentperiods.

OutsideMesopotamia,veryoldsitesintheNearEastsuchasJerichohadnolayersofwaterlaidsediment.

WhatistrueoftheNearEastistrueworldwide:Archaeologicaldataforafloodofworldwidescopeisvirtuallynon-existent.


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ThereAreManyFloodStoriesinthe

TraditionsofAncientPeople.

Somearguethatthestoriesareresiduesoftheremembranceofaworldwideflood,butthereareproblems.

FloodtraditionsarealmostentirelylackingintheoldtraditionsofAfricaandEurope.TheyareabsentfrommostpartsofAsia.

FloodtraditionsarecommonamongtheindigenouspeoplesofAmericaandthePacificIslands.

ManyofthefloodtraditionsthatexistbearlittleresemblancetothenarrativeinGenesis6-9.

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TheMostInterestingofAncientFlood

StoriesComprisesaPartofWhatIsCalledtheGilgameshEpic.

TheStoryItselfDatesfromtheEarly

SecondMillenniumB.C.Thoughthe

OldestSurvivingCopiesComefrom

the8thCenturyB.C.

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Aportionof

GilgameshEpic.

Theclaytablet

itselfisfrom

Assyria,butthe

epicitselfis

mucholder.

Inhisquest,

Gilgameshfound

astoryaboutaflood. 16

TheGilgameshEpicOffers

LikenessesandDifferencestothe

GenesisFlood Theherowaswarnedbythegodsthatafloodwascoming.

Heconstructedavesselthatwascube,120cubitsineachdirection.Ithad7storiesand63compartments.

Hedeceivedhisneighborsaboutthepurposeoftheboatsotheywouldntsuspectaflood.

Heloadedhisfamily,skilledcraftsmen,andtheseedofalllifeintohisboat.

Attheend,hesentoutbirdstofinddryland.Theravendidntreturn.

Heoffersasacrificearoundwhichthegodsgatherlikeflies.

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Question:Doesthefrequencyof

floodtraditionstestifytoahistorical

floodofuniversaldimensions?

Answer:Intheendthetraditions

seemtohavemoretodowithfloods

andtheirnearuniversalexperience

thantheyhavetodowithtestimony

toaworldwidefloodevent.

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ThereAreEnoughGeological

ObstaclestoaUniversalFloodto

DriveUsBacktotheText

DoesthenarrativeinGenesis6-9demandthatwe

readitasauniversal,world-wideflood?

DoesfaithinGodandfaithintheBibleashis

revelationrequiretheconclusionthatauniversal

floodinundatedtheearthsome5-6,000yearsago?

Howweanswerthesequestionswilldependto

somedegreeonthewayauthorsoftheBible

addressedtheircontemporaryworld.


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ASetOfAssumptionsLieBehindOur

UnderstandingofTheFloodNarrativePeoplespeakandwritewithinthecontextoftheworld

theyknow.TheworlddescribedintheGenesisnarrativewasthe

onetheauthorandhisreadersknewandexperienced,justasoursisforus.

Statednegatively,ancientpeopleknewnothingofasphericalearthanddistantlands.

TheworldthatmatteredtotheauthorofGenesisandhisreaderswasinundated.Fortheancients,thefloodwasuniversal.Thelanguageisuniversallanguage.

Genesismaydescribethefloodintheonlywaythatwouldhavebeenmeaningfultothem. 20

WasThereaFlood?Isthe

GenesisNarrativeaMythological

Description?

ThefloodispresentedasarealeventthattookplaceinrealtimeinMesopotamia.Thereisno

reasonforustotakeitotherwise.

TheGenesisFloodisfreeofcapriciousactsof

gods.ItisaboutGodsexpectationfromhis

creatures;itisaboutjustice.

Ajustman,Noahandhisfamily,tooktheanimals

oftheirworldandthroughobedience,saved

themselvesfromGodsindignation,Godswrath

againstsin.

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Aparalleltotheuniversallanguageused

ofthefloodcanbefoundintheNew

TestamentwhenPaulsaysofthegospel:

justasinalltheworlditisconstantly

bearingfruitandincreasing(Col.1:6)

SurelyPaulmeansthatthegospelwas

bearingfruitintheworldknowntohim

andhisreaders.22

Do We Have Problems with a

Universal Flood Because It

Would Be Miraculous?

Moses led Israel across the Red Sea on dry ground.Jesus was born of a virgin.

Are we to reject the miraculous because it is non-repeatable and hence non-verifiable?

The message of the Bible is often tied up in thetruthfulness of the historical witness.

To believe in God at all is to believe that he intervenes inthe world at his will.

The way one interprets the Bible becomes an issue whenthe observed world offers hard evidence that contradictsthe way the Bible has been interpreted.

The observed world calls into question a universal flood.

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Some of the more

spectacular claims about the

flood are about Noahs Ark

AtelevisionproductioncalledTheIncredible

DiscoveryofNoahsArkairedonCBSin1993.IthasreplayedontheHistoryChannel,Discovery,

etc.

Theprimarysourceforthedocumentaryturned

outtobeafabrication.

Eventssuchasthisoftenturnouttobemoreofan

embarrassmentthanahelptothosewhosefaithis

inGod.24

ModernAttemptstoLocateMt.

AraratLackCredibility Overthecenturiesmanymountainshavebeen

identifiedasMt.Ararat.Thecurrentonebe-camethemountainofchoiceinthe5thcentury.

TheBibledoesnotsaythattheArkcametorestonMt.Ararat.

Araratisaregion.TheArkrestedontheMountainsofArarat,aregionmentionedinIsaiah37:38andJeremiah51:27.

ThemountaincalledAraratinmoderntimeshaspopularskiresorts.Thelocalpeopleenjoyallthepublicitybroughttheirway.


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Fromthemid-5thCenturyaMountaininEastern

TurkeyhasbeenidentifiedwithMt.Ararat 26Mt.Ararat,EasternTurkey

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EnthusiastsWhoSearchforthe

ArkofNoahHaveLongHadthe

GoalJustWithinReachWoodthatwassupposedtohavebeenfromthe

Arkhasbeencarbondated.

Carbondatinghasshownthewoodtocomefromthemid-5thcentury,justthetimewhenChristiansbegantoidentifythismountainwithArarat.

Storiesandwitnesses,oncloseexaminationamounttolittle.

Picturestakenfromspacearenotconvincingaftercarefulexamination.

SeeLloydBailey,WhereIsNoahsArk?(Abingdon,1978)formoreinformation. 28

NewimagesofNoahsArkonMt.

Araratsurfaceregularly.Thisone

wascapturedbyacommercialsatellite

in2003.

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TheFloodHasBecomeaGateway

forProjectinganEntireInterpretative

SchemeonGenesis1-11

BymeansofFloodGeologyassertionsaremadethat

thefloodwasuniversalandthatithappenedintherelativelyimmediatepast.

Fromthere,theassertionisthatGenesis1-2describearelativelyrecentearth.

Theyoungearththeoryhasbeendrivenbyawayofreadingthefloodnarrative,andonlylaterawayofreadingthecreationnarrative.

AllofthiswouldbefinewereitnotfortheadditionalimplicationorassertionthatanyonewhobelievesdifferentlydoesntbelievetheBible. 30

WhatispopularlycalledFlood

GeologyissetforthinJohnC.

WhitcombandHenryM.Morris,The

GenesisFlood:TheBiblicalRecord

andItsScientificImplications

(Philadephia:Presbyterianand

ReformedPublishingCompany,1961)


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History:TheExtremes

Oneextreme:ThebiblicalcreationandfloodnarrativespartakeofancientNear

Easternmythology.Assuchtheyhaveno

bearingonhistory.

Theotherextreme:Thenarrativesareliteral

descriptions.Theyareintendedasnothing

buthistory.

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ABetterWay:TheCreation&Flood

NarrativesareInterpretedHistory.Using

MetaphorsandPoeticImaginationtheAuthorSetsForthRealEventsinTermsof

GodsSovereignRuleOverAgainstthe

AlternativeofIdolatry.TheAuthorof

GenesisPresentsHumankindasMoral

BeingsResponsibletoGod.

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WhyWouldGodUsePoetry&Metaphor

toSpeakofCreationandtheFlood?Why

aretheyintheBibleatAll?

Thestoriesspeaktouniversalpointsofcuriosity

andinterest.Theyteachimportanttruths.

Poetryandmetaphoruseuniversallanguage.The

languagespeaksacrosscultureandhistory.

Poeticdevicesengagelistenersorreadersona

levelwherenarrativealonefails.Theyteaseour

mindsfornewlevelsofunderstanding.

Poeticdevicessetforthuniversaltruthsin

memorable,strikingways.34

CONCLUSIONS

ForthosewhohavenotroublereconcilingscientificdatawithauniversalfloodinGenesis,werespecttheviewpoint.

Tothosewhobelievethescientificdatacannotbereconciledwithayoungearthandauniversalflood,wemaintainthattheGenesisnarrativedoesnotdemandsuchaninterpretation.

ThehistoricaltestimonyofGenesisistobetakenseriously.Therewasaflood.Thenarrativeisnottobedismissedasmythological,hencewithnohistoricalclaim.

ThefloodnarrativeisaboutGodsmoralgovernance

ofhisworld.Hejudgestheworldashewills.

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Creation/Naturalism;

Young Earth/Old Earth

How We Got Here

Before the Renaissance and the17th-18th century enlighten-ment,

theology and science were

happy allies.

Science supported dogma;

theology was the queen of the

sciences.

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First Signs of Tension

Late 16th, early 17th century Galileo

clashed with the church.

Baruch Spinoza (17th cent.) and

subsequent scholars, particular in

Germany, challenged the privileged

position of the Bible.

The Bible is to be interpreted like

any other book, no special pleading.


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Early Christian Response

to Scientific Revolution

American Restoration Movementwas young. First educationalinstitution was Bacon College, 1834.

Late 19th century conservativeChristians were more concernedwith higher criticism than withchallenges from science.

Many conservative Christians arguedthat evolution was the means Godused to create.

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In Spite of Tension as the

19th Century Yielded to the

20th, Theology Considered

Science its Ally

New scientific data added tothe perception that the worldwas a place of design.

The teleological argument wasevidence for Gods existence.

The publication ofOrigin of theSpeciesin 1859 did little tofragment the alliance.

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Science/Church at the

beginning of the 20th

Century

Some were concerned because

evolution required an old earth, but it

was no big problem.

Appeal to the geological record to

support a universal flood had little if

any support.

Some understood Genesis 1-2 on a

day-age model. Others held some

variation of a gap theory.

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The Conservative Search

for Fundamentals

Between 1910 & 1912 church leaders

associated with Dwight Moody published aseries of tracts called The Fundamentals.

About 1919 an organization appeared on

the national scene called Worlds

Christian Fundamentals Association.

On the whole, the leadership was welleducated and moderate.

Most, including its most public figure,

William Jennings Bryan, conceded that the

earth was vastly old.

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The Growing Divide

Pre-WW II conservative Christianscontinued to hold the scientificenterprise in high regard.

At the same time, an anti-evolution

voice was galvanizing. Conservative churchmen increasinglyattacked evolution as unscientific,speculative, untrue.

At that, many conceded that the earthis old. The gap theory of Genesisbecame more widespread.

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FROM THE FUNDAMENTALS

TO FUNDAMENTALISM

Duringthe1920sand30spopularspokesmenarose,wieldingquasi-scientificcredentialsanddatatoattackDarwinianEvolution.

Withinmanyconservativereligiouscommuni-ties,evolutionbecametheembodimentofasecular,godlessworldviewthatwantedtoshutGodoutofpubliclife.

Thepopularpresscoinedthetermfundamen-talism.

FundamentalistswerecaricaturizedasBiblebangers,ignorantandbarefoot,livinginsmallsoutherntowns.


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From Tension to Warfare

Inthe1920sspokesmenHarryRimmerpublishedmanybooks.About25areinHardingslibrary.

Rimmerwasnotascientist,butfoundedtheResearchScienceBureau.Hebecameapopularanti-evolutionlecturer.

WilliamJenningsBryanbuiltpoliticalfameopposingevolution.

Intheearly1920sseveralsouthernstatesoutlawedtheteachingofevolutioninpublicschools.

ThefamousorinfamousScopesTrialgotunderwayin1925andquicklydisintegratedintoamediafrenzy.

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The Roots of Hardening

Positions

EllenWhite(1827-1915)foundedSeventh-dayAdventism.Herfollowersconsiderherinspired.

Shefoundsupportforseventh-daydoctrineintheGenesisrecord.

WhitemaintainedthatthedaysofGenesis1wereliteral24hourperiods.Further,shemaintainedthatthefloodwasuniversal.

Herrevelationincludedthedeclarationthatthefossilrecord,geologicalformations,etc.wereplacedtherebytheflood.

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Flood Geology Comes to Life

Inthe1920sand30s,afollowerofEllenWhite,GeorgeMcReadyPrice,popularizedFloodGeologyintwodozenbooks.

Theviewpointwasthatinayearorlessstrata,geologicalfeatures,fossils,etc.hadcomeintobeing.

Theearthwaslessthan10,000-years-old.

Evolutionwasfalse.Thetimespanitrequiredwasnottobefound.

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Flood Geology

Becomes Dogma

Inthe1950sFloodGeologyreceivednewrespectabilityfromacivilengineeratRice,HenryMorris.

MorristeamedupwithJohnWhitcomb,anOTscholarfromGraceTheologicalSeminary(Indiana).

Theresultwasthe1961publicationofTheGenesisFlood.Itwasaninstantsuccess.In1995itwasinits35thprinting.

FloodGeology,literal24-hourdaysinGenesis,andintelligentdesigncametobepopularlyidentified.Itsbecomeastrawmanforthosewhomadelightofreligion.

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Extreme views tend to

gain adherents

Controversyhasbeenstirredbecauseofextremepositionsandinflammatoryrhetoricofsomeinthescientificcommunityandsomeinthereligiouscommunity.

RichardDawkins:Itisabsolutelysafetosaythatifyoumeetsomebodywhoclaimsnotbelieveinevolution,thatpersonisignorant,stupidorinsane.

HenryMorris:Nowthemostamazingthingaboutthiswholestateofaffairsistheabsurdityandimpossibilityoftheveryconceptofevolution.

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Facile representations of

contrary viewpoints is not

the exclusive domain of

religious adherents

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Faith, Creation, and the

Natural Sciences: Refusing

the Wedge

Tensionbetweenthescientificandreligiouscommunitiesisofrecentorigin.

Allalong,therehavebeenpeoplefromthesciencesandpeopleoffundamentalreligiouspersuasionwhohaverefusedthepolarization.

Manyscientistswithimpeccablecredentialsandnoteworthyaccomplishmentshavebeenpeopleofpietyanddeepreligiousfaith.

Leadersinthereligiouscommunityhavedaredtoallowthesciencestoexploreinwaysthathave

challengedtheirinterpretationsofScripture.52

Other Developments in the

Science-Religion dialogue

In1970theUniversityofChicagoPresspublishedasmallvolumebyThomasKuhncalledTheStructureofScientificRevolutions.

AndPost-modernismwasborn.

Ithasbecomeincreasinglyapparentthatscienceandreligioncannotliveeachinitsisolateduniverse.

Wepeopleofscienceandreligionaretogetherinthisthingcalledlife.

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FurtherConsiderations:

Howdoesthechurchsticktoitsownfaithwithoutbecomingimpervioustotruthsmadeknownfromoutsideitsfield?

Itissaidthatthedrivingforcesbehindsciencearepredictionandexplanation.Whichofthesedoyouthinkisthemorepowerfulfactor?

Isittruethatthedefinition,purposes,andjustificationofsciencearephilosophicalpresuppositionsaboutsciencethatcannotbevalidatedbyscience?

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DiscussionContinued:

Ifnaturaltheologydoesnotprovethat

Godexists,mayweatleastsaythatnatural

theologyisanimportantplankinacoherentviewoftheuniverse?

Cansciencebyitselfaddresssubjective

experience,e.g.,IthinkIamworriedabout

thesafetyofmychild.Couldyourunafew

teststoseeifIreallyam?


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FinalThought

Falseideasarethegreatestobstaclestothe

gospel.Wemaypreachwithallthefervorofareformerandyetsucceedonlyinwinningastragglerhereandthere,ifwepermitthewholecollectivethoughtofthenationoroftheworldtobecontrolledbyideaswhichbytheresistlessforceoflogic,preventChristianityfrombeingregardedasanythingmorethanaharmlessdelusion.

--J.GreshamMachen

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