Lee Strobel
I thought you might enjoy my 2005 interview with Lee Strobel–lawyer, former legal affairs editor and reporter for the Chicago Tribune, former atheist… and now, for many years, a servant of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mr. Strobel was about to go skiing when I phoned him, and he said he could give me 15 minutes. But we hit it off, and wound up talking for an hour and a half.
In this interview, shortly after the publication of his book, The Case for a Creator, Mr. Strobel predicted that science itself would help lead us to belief in God and away from Darwinism. But unlike some Intelligent Design proponents, he doesn’t stop there. Science may teach us that there is an intelligent design that governs the universe, but we need the Bible, and faith, to tell us of the Designer.
Intelligent Design is often misunderstood. It does not seek to define the Creator. It is a scientific argument that the things we see around us had to have come from a source of Intelligence.
That is not, however, to say that the scientists in the Intelligent Design camp are not believers. I’ve seen bios on some of these and they tend to be believers and practicers of whatever belief system they are a part of. Many are Christians and I believe that they see their work as a form of ministry. They don’t seek to define God because they operate in the scientific realm. Their engagement in this matter is offering a scientific alternative to evolution.
The Bible, by contrast, is not primarily about science, but it is a source of information regarding creation itself, God and His dealings with mankind. Their are passages in the Bible which can be used to demonstrate compatibility with science, such as the description of the water cycle (the sea does not get full) or describing the earth as a circle, but it’s purpose is not scientific, but spiritual.
Some of the most ardent Christians are former atheists and some of the scientists in the Intelligent Design movement arrived at their convictions after being educated. To me, this is faith strengthening and gives me hope that many non-believers could still change their beliefs.
Obviously, we need more than Intelligent Design, alone. The Bible has gained a great deal of trust because of its prophecies and its track record along these lines. The Intelligent Designer posited by the ID movement, identifies Himself in the very first sentence of the Bible and as we read the early history of mankind we learn of His dealings. It’s essential knowledge, but not the province of Intelligent Design.
I was thinking this morning about atheism. Years ago I read a book called “Tornado in a Junk Yard.” It was a brilliant look at atheism and what it’s really saying:
Out of absolutely NOTHING, BY PURE CHANCE, (whatever “chance” is in the midst of “nothing,” and does “nothing” even have a “midst”?), anyway, out of NOTHING came order, energy, matter, and life!
Go figure.
I’m sure I still have that book in my attic.
That’s the thing. Even moderately complex systems designed by humans will go wrong quickly if a mistake is made. The most complex systems of human origin are laughable in comparison to the retinal cells in the eyes of the simplest living creature. Eyes, our or those in the animal kingdom, are incredibly sensitive and capable of perceiving more than any electronic sensor will ever be able to.
When I hear about self-driving cars, I scoff. It may happen, but they will never be able to replace the senses or judgement a human can bring to any situation.
Unfortunately, life has become evermore complex and the complexity is taxing human’s capacity. It’s not that we can’t handle complex situations; we can do that easily. However, when the complexity spills into all areas of life, there’s no refractory time and we become overloaded. We were not made to live in such a complex world. I can’t believe that the Creator had such a technocracy in mind when He made the world.
Amen.
Intelligent Design is self-evident – you know, like in our Declaration of Independence. Evolution is an exclusive faith defended by excluding all others. It posits that life came from non-life which is miraculous. Study a single human cell and tell me it is not designed.
Which is really the ENTIRE message of the ID movement.
I was listening to Fazale Rana talk about ID and he brought up the point that it evidence alone will not always compel a person to believe, adn that ultimately it is a matter of the heart. A person can have all the facts and still reject it. Satan knew God, but yet he still rebelled. There are matters that go beyond just knowing.
Good point. Some say, and during the Tribulation and rise of the Anti-Christ will shout it from the rooftop, that the earth was seeded by “aliens”.
Richard Dawkins says yeah, sure, life on earth might’ve been put there by aliens. Then he complained that Ben Stine tricked him into saying it.
I’ve heard that theory, which solves nothing, because the question then moves to the origin of the aliens.
Yes, some have speculated that the whole alien angle will be part of the great deception. And that Satan and his fallen angels will masquerade as aliens. Who knows if it will play out like that. But if it did it would certainly be a paradigm shift if people thought it were true.
We don’t need space aliens.
We have the Democrat presidential candidates.
That’s true. Dems are good at creating their own paradigm shift and fundamentally transforming America.
It sure does!
I didn’t really complete my point.
People seem to have the notion that somewhere out there, are people that have all the answers. Aliens, past civilizations, mystics of some obscure religion. What they are longing for, IMHO, is the paradise that Adam and Eve lost. That’s all. Had the first couple remained obedient, mankind would have had all the answers it needed to live happy, fulfilled lives. But they didn’t and they left us the mess we see today.
People long for paradise, but want it on human terms, not God’s terms. That WAS the first, and only issue; the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad. That determination has to remain with God.
I Know a person whom is a very zealous devotee of a fairly strict sect. She is also an ultra liberal whom supports abortion under certain circumstances and routinely tells other women to rebel against their husbands. She has broken up more than one marriage and caused a lot of suffering with her opinions, yet she will sanctimoniously claim righteousness as a member of the truly devout. In reality, her zeal reduces to using her religion as a vehicle for imposing her opinions.
The take-away is simple; humans must not claim for themselves what is the exclusive province of God.
That’s what communism is all about, achieving utopia. Of course it never turns out that way because they want Eden without God. But it’s the fantasy that compels them to keep trying. That philosophy is still alive and well today. In fact, that’s what globalism is all about at it’s core. In the West that utopian philosophy was articulated during the so-called Age of Enlightenment. You can see it in works like Thomas More’s Utopia and Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan. Even going back to Plato’s Republic he was trying to create a utopian society. All these ideas would achieve in reality is a totalitarian state ruled by a dictator.
The amazing thing is that their logic is 180 degrees out of phase with reality. The end of human rule is a prerequisite of paradise, because only God is capable of bringing this about.
Amen!
Wow awesome!
I am thinking back to when I went to a secular college in 1960 after getting an excellent Christian education. I assumed I was well equipped to deal with challenges to my faith. And I was majoring in biology and science.
Well, one of our first professors taught the theory of evolution. He was determined to convince us that there was no God – that it all happened by chance.
Well, I was away from home for the first time, lonely, going through a very difficult time, deeply depressed. And then I actually considered that what he taught might be true!
It was like looking over the edge of a cliff into a deep black chasm. I began thinking that if there is no God, then why should I go through all this pain? For a moment I considered suicide!
Then, by the Grace of God, I was suddenly reminded that one of our dear nuns had told us that FAITH IS A GIFT. You either have it or you don’t. Suddenly I realized that I DO BELIEVE! Then I had to decide whether I believed what the nuns taught us. And the answer is YES!
Problem gone. Doubts gone, never to come back! And I’m pushing 80!
Ever since then I have worried about other vulnerable youngsters getting into college and being confronted with what happened to me. Things have gotten much worse in colleges, and I am not surprised that the suicide rate is so high.
Please rescue them, Lord, as you rescued me.