Hi Vernon,
You wrote:
> But why should Christians follow the materialists in believing that all
they
> see
> (with or without aid) is all there is?
> The Scriptures inform us that there is a supernatural cosmos that exists in
> parallel with our own. In God's wisdom,
> we are denied the finer details concerning this invisible domain - in
which '
> white
> dwarfs' might well perform some significant role. Who can tell? And where
is
> the
> Christian who would challenge the possibility?
Fine, being a Christian I agree that there is a spiritual aspect to the
universe, but from objective and empirical evidence, we know beyond all
reasonable doubt that the universe is billions of years old. I chose the
specific example of white dwarfs to illustrate this, but I could have taken
one of many other example. We know beyond all reasonable doubt how most
white dwarfs are formed, and we know, at least approximately, the timescales
involved, and they are certainly much longer than the YEC 6000 years
timescale.
If you claim that white dwarfs may fulfill some sort of a spiritual role,
then it is up to you offer an explanation. You seem to suggest that we can
know nothing of the universe by studying it, which is in contradiction to
Psalm 19.
> You further comment:
>
> The problem with the appearance of age argument is that it
> contradicts the very basic Christian tenet of searching for the truth.
>
> God having provided the truth concerning origins in the early chapters of
> Genesis,
> why turn your back on it and
> seek another 'truth'?
So in other words we should all go back to the Middle Ages and forget all the
science we have learned! God has provided us with brains to search for more
truths about His creation that the ancient Hebrews would not have understood.
> By the way, I gather there is currently some concern about the variability
> of the
> fine structure constant over time.
> Wouldn't you agree that this might well have dire consequences for the
basic
> assumptions upon which your idea of truth rests?
Any possible variations of the fine structure constant would have been by a
tiny amount over periods of billions of years, so would play no role at all
in the basic truth that the universe is billions of years old. It may,
however, modify some of our theories of the Big Bang and the early universe.
> Sincerely,
>
> Vernon
I've noticed a strange anti-intellectual streak in YECs in particular, and
some parts of evangelical Christianity in general, apart from obviously
ignoring the mountains of evidence that support an ancient universe and a
local Noah's Flood. I think that part of this is envy. In the past the
church was the center of scholarly inquiry, including science. Priests,
monks and the clergy were usually the most educated people in Europe in the
Middle Ages. Now to be at the cutting edge of science you need a Ph.D. and
understand all sorts of arcane concepts.
Christopher Sharp
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