Transcript overview - A Top Christian College in Southern California

reasons to believe and sword&spirit ministries present
practical applications for teaching
science from a biblical perspective
mark ritter
reasons to believe
swordandspirit.com
overview
purpose
me me me
specific examples
lingo,
attitudes,
ideas
summary
our multi-purpose
it’s for these kids:
Christian kids
so they can have a more
Rock-solid foundation,
and…
nonChristian kids
to expose them to the
overwhelming evidence of
the God of the Bible
me me me
experience
my problems w/ science
and the Bible
being disconnected :(
making the connection! :)
the God connection
God’s books =
66 in Bible +
1 around us
 written revelation
can’t use… sorta
 general revelation
can use… a lot!
if both have same Author,
teaching from either can lead one to Him
specific examples
anything
anthropic
goldilocks
big bang
mr flat
& family
copernicus
chem/life science
anthropic principle
the idea that The
Whole Shebang
was put together
for us
100+ evidences
range from atomic
to planet to solar
system to universe
including life!
some examples…
our gravity is just enough to keep this
thin layer of gases above us.
any more gravity
means a heavier, more destructive
atmosphere with more deadly gases
staying here.
less gravity
and we can’t hold onto oxygen and other
life-support gases.
our atmosphere is
20% oxygen.
any less?
humans aren’t here.
any more?
everything burns a lot
faster, and our bodies
age quicker.
carbon dioxide in our atmosphere acts
like a blanket and keeps us warm.
any less,
we freeze,
plants choke.
any more,
we fry in a
runaway
greenhouse
effect
the Moon has slowed us,
kept us steady,
given us tides,
stabilized our orbit.
without it,
life could
not exist.
its whole creation story
is a thing of amazing
wonder in itself
Venus, closer to the sun, has...
 an
atmosphere so heavy with carbon
dioxide it’s like being under a kilometer
of water
 a surface temp around 900°F
 a cloud cover of sulfuric acid
 no water
 not a shopping mall in sight
Mars, smaller & farther out, has
almost no atmosphere, and its water
reservoirs are essentially frozen, so
there is no life-giving water cycle
Jupiter and Saturn are at the
perfect distance to:
leave our sensitive orbit alone, but
 protect us from nasty, earthbound comets
and asteroids...

our sun is the perfect age, mass,
brightness, and generation for life.
anything else, we’re not here.
the faint sun paradox says that
through an amazingly complex list of
“coincidences,” the sun increased in
luminosity at the same rate the
greenhouse gases were removed from our
atmosphere so Earth could maintain a
life-friendly constant temp
for 4 billion years
our sun is a “bachelor,” a single star.
most stars have at least one other
companion.
of course, having no star
= a bad day, but…
if the sun had a buddy,
our orbit would destabilize
and we would not be here.
near
other big and destructive stars
our sun wasn’t born in a cluster,
like these four here in the Orion Nebula,
the Trapezium Cluster.
this bright star in the Trapezium is clearing away
planet-making material from its siblings
no planet-making material,
no planets.
no planets, no TV.
no TV, no life.
as to the stellar explosions
called supernovae:
closer to us?
life is exterminated
farther?
not enough local
planet-building debris
more frequent?
life goes away
more infrequent?
no planets
we live on the only street in our galaxy
which allows life, about 2/3 out...
closer to the nucleus,
we get supernovaed,
radiated to death,
and thrown out of
a stable orbit
by other stars
farther,
no planet-building material
we live in the perfect type of galaxy
for life, too, - the spiral.
goldilocks
one can see a
Goldilocks thing
going on here
not too X, not too Y,
juuuuust right
but other areas of
science can open up
opportunities, for
example…
copernicus & family
the revolution that
changed the ways of
astronomy can be used
to discuss philosophy
and theology
(e.g. myth that center
of universe = good,
aristotelian influence,
frame of reference
etc.)
mr flat & family
extradimensions can
give them the
Big(ger) Picture and
subtly introduce the
transcendence of
God
[demo Mr Flat]
big bang
the big bang implies
a beginning
a beginning implies
a Beginner
a discussion of the
philosophical
implications follows
chemistry connections
water: the perfect
molecule




shape
all states on Earth
density of ice
amazing solvent
the perfect nucleuselectron attraction
bond angles
reliable and repeatable
and predictable laws…
life science links
perfect design of
anything in the
body (any body)
perfect,
instantaneous
ecosystems
throughout history
the beauty of the
structure and
function of DNA
critical thinking discussions
purpose of mass
extinctions
end of the
universe!
other intelligent
life?
UFOs?
origin of life?
Cambrian explosion
purpose to lima
beans?
free extras!
Thanksgiving Food
for Thought
Mormon implications
no Kolob
 lack of life on planets
 end to universe

raised hand, open door
best times come when
students ask,
So what do you
think?
presenting them with
opposing
interpretations of
the facts often kicks
this door wide open
suggested lingo
interpretations v
facts
“design” instead
of ______
suggested growth
subscribe to a science journal!
read sci-bi books!
share ideas w/
colleagues - at
school site, or on
internet
some links:



reasons.org
godandscience.org
swordandspirit.com
from these you can be
led to a load of other
sites
suggested attitude
learn to:




lose the fear
passionately love the creation
(there’s so much to love)
see His hand in nature
allow alternate ideas
(e.g. evolution!), w/o fear, then discuss
them
remember:
trust God
the truth, in love
summary
 celebrate the creation in your
class through a variety of methods
 you then present Him and His glory
 the Holy Spirit takes care of the
rest