Nat Crawford - Executive Coach, Speaker, Leader

Continued from " Teleology - A Case for Intelligent Design - Part 1 " Professor Robbin Collins, highlights three examples, out of over thirty, of evidence for fine-tuning. [1]  First, there is production of oxygen and carbon in the stars. The astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle said, “I do not believe that any scientist who examined the evidence would fail to draw the inference that the laws of nuclear physics have been deliberately designed with regard to the consequences they produce inside stars.” [2]  Physicist Heinz Oberhummer and fellow scientists recently discovered that only a one percent change of strong nuclear force would create a thirty-to a thousand-fold influence on the creation of carbon and oxygen in stars. Oberhummer explains, “Stars provide the carbon and oxygen needed for life on planets, if you throw that off balance, conditions in the universe would be much less optimal for the existence of life.” [3] Second is gravity. If the fine tuning of the univers...

The teleological argument is the case from design. Teleological means “directed towards some goal.”  [1]  Sir Thomas Aquinas believed the fingerprint of God was on nature. Life’s processes and components appeared to have purpose. And their purpose was designed by a creator. According to Aquinas the natural world governed. Aquinas wrote, We see how things, like natural bodies, work for an end even though they have no knowledge. The fact that they nearly always operate in the same way, and so as to achieve the maximum good, makes this obvious, and shows that they attain their end by design, not by chance…There is therefore an intelligent being by whom all natural things are directed to their end [2]    Aquinas posited that nature shows signs of design by its working order. This is seen in natural things as they exist for a purpose with an appearance of design.                  One o...

Before I dive into teleology, let me blog briefly on the detection of design to expound on my last blog: The Case for Intelligent Design. It is first important to know what design means, as well as a way for design to be detected. The term “design” means the “purposeful arrangement of parts.” Imagine you were at Grand Central Station in New York. You walked into the main hall and it is very busy. People are rushing to catch their train. Others are stopping to grab coffee.  Over in the corner is a man selling magazines and newspapers. You look down to check the time. You look up and you see a woman motionless, apparently frozen.  You scan the room and see more than a dozen more motionless. This goes on for over a minute. You stare in amazement by this.  Another minute goes by and they all go back to their activities. In an instant they are freed from their paralysis.  Then from the balcony above you hear clapping and a loud “Great job everyone!” You ask a woman wh...

A common objection from skeptics and atheists is the denial to believe in a God in which you can't see. At face value, it is a fair question, but does it hold up to other beliefs in things unseen? I think it's first important to establish that just because something cannot be seen, does not mean it does not exist. We believe in electrons, wind, black holes, and gravity yet we cannot see them. If tomorrow I decided that gravity didn't exist and therefore I walked off the top of a building, my disbelief in gravity would prove me wrong. Remember the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 1:20, "God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly understood fro what has ben made, so that men are without excuse." I just last night watched the birth of my son, Gracen Zacharias. One minute he was in my wife's womb, swimming in liquid and being fed from a chord from within her. The next minute he breathes his first breath of air. He then...

Two weeks ago I began dealing with the validity and authenticity of the Scriptures. We discovered it is by far the most reliable ancient texts! This week we will look at it light of historical reliability. There are references in the New Testament to supposed historical people, such as Pontius Pilate, Caesar Augustus, Gallio, and so on. There's also references to places, such as the Sea of Galilee, Jericho, etc. There are also references to moments in time, such as the Roman census, droughts, the crucifixion of Jesus, etc. Take Luke 1:5, "In the time of Herod king of Judea" or Luke 3:1, "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar- when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-." He gives us checks to back up his Gospel. Proof in Archaeology The People Pontius Pilate - In the last century archaeology has given us many items th...