For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. - 1Corinthians 1: 26-29 (ESV)
Avowed atheist comedian Bill Maher recently opined on his television show that he was tired of liberals saying they "believe" in evolution; that evolution just "is." As a point of absurd comparison, Maher continued that he didn't "believe" that water boils at 212 degrees, it just does. Therein lies the arrogance of man on full display regarding conclusions they have reached versus conclusions God has explained in His Word. Before we go on it is important that we understand the variations of science. I believe in science. I used to teach science years ago. The science I accept as fact however is known as empirical science. Empirical is defined as:
Provable or verifiable upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory
The reason why Maher's example of boiling water is empirical science is that you can observe it. You can heat water 100 times and see that it will always boil at 212 degrees. Thus it is a scientific fact that water boils at 212 degrees. Now there is also theoretical science; that is science based largely on theory or laced with assumption. They may very well be the best assumptions available to man. They may be the most logical theories posited and agreed upon by the most brilliant men. These assumptions and theoretical conclusions may lead man to be able to monitor and observe. What they cannot do however is create true observation and experience as we see with the boiling of water. For a simplistic example let's look at the sun. We can observe that it rises in the east and sets in the west (yes technically it is not moving; we are). We can observe this every day, like clockwork, so to speak. Thus we can draw a scientific conclusion that tomorrow it will in fact rise in the east and set in the west. There is virtually no chance of it rising in the west tomorrow and setting in the north. That is observable, empirical science that leads to a confident assertion of fact. What we cannot conclude as fact is when this phenomenon began. Why? Because no one was around to record and observe it. We can guess. We can theorize. The even sadder truth for arrogant men is that someone was around and not only observed it but created it and recorded it!
And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. - Genesis 1: 16 (ESV)
The irony of course is that science will dismiss this because it is in the Bible and no man was there to witness the claim, yet the bulk of what we call science is based upon the exact same measure of observation. The true arrogance is when people like Maher conflate the observable science of boiling water with the theoretical science of evolution and pretend that they are the same. That they just "are." Nonsense. Has the general scientific community accepted the theory of evolution as fact? Probably but that does not make it fact. In the 1800's science thought the "medical" use of leeches for bloodletting was a good idea. For half of the 20th century science believed the continents were immovable. It wasn't until around 1950 that continental drift theory and tectonic plates were posited. Today's science is tomorrow's old wives tales in many cases.
Which is why it is laughable from a logical standpoint to hear people claim that I can keep my faith because they have science. Theoretical science requires more faith than religion! Take the big bang theory. This widely accepted "science" posits that all known matter once rested upon an area no bigger than the head of a pin and then randomly exploded, for no apparent reason, creating the entire universe - known and yet unknown. That somehow in this randomness, the earth was positioned perfectly to foster the development and sustenance of life. That prior to life there was a "primordial soup" of various elements and gasses out of which single celled organisms grew, again for no apparent reason. This leads to multicellular organisms setting up the chain of evolution leading to man. And you think I have faith? I simply believe that an all powerful God spoke everything into existence (uni-"single" & verse- "spoken sentence"). It takes a heck of a lot more faith to believe that life evolved from rocks! The inherent problem again however is in the myriad of assumptions that go into the big bang theory. The same level of assumptions occur within the theory of evolution. The simple truth is that macro evolution is as unobservable as God creating the universe. Where I can easily admit my position is faith based, the science believer claims fact and therein lies the arrogance. Remember who rules this world beloved:
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. - 2Corinthians 4: 4 (ESV)
Satan is the God of this world and the easiest way for him to increase his power is to decrease God in the minds of unbelievers. Wherever we are supposed to see the image of God, the devil instead wants people to see the image of man. At the core that is what evolution does. It places man where God should be. It allows man to boast in what God has done. That is what Bill Maher and so many others do regularly when it comes to the things of God. A very evil man once said that if you tell a big enough lie and repeat it over and over again, eventually people begin to accept it as fact. Evolution? Yeah, that's like water boiling - it just is...not.
Our key verses today however remind us that God does not think as man does. Our wisdom is not of worldly standards. Our wisdom is found in the fear of God and nurtured by reading His Word. We do not need noble birth or the appearance of power. Our citizenship is in heaven and our power rests in Christ and His Gospel. God chooses the foolish to shame the wise. God chooses what appears weak in the eyes of the world to shame the strong. He uses what the world might despise to bring to nothingness that which man dares to boast about. If you want to believe that your great great great grandfather was a monkey, you go right ahead. Just stop pretending that it is settled fact. It is beyond insulting to God. It is the height of the arrogance of man.
Rev. Anthony.
