Tag: Truth

Posted on

Why You Should Understand Thermodynamics and Information.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics is effectively the most fundamental law in all of science apart from, as you may have guessed, the First Law of Thermodynamics. The First Law is pretty simple and fairly intuitive; in essence, it just says that you can’t make something out of nothing. It doesn’t have the profound implications which the Second Law has.

From here on we’ll normally refer to the Second Law of Thermodynamics as simply “2TD”. What it says, in very, very simple terms, is that over time things get worse. This is also stated as things moving into greater chaos, or, more scientifically, as the “Increase of Disorder.” It may well be that in a particular place at a particular time things have become neater, better organised, cleaner or whatever, but overall there is always a decline because energy has inevitably been used. When used, energy degrades, and that degradation has an end point where it can never be used or do anything again. That is a very big deal indeed, since nothing happens without energy being used. This gradual degradation of energy is what tells scientists that the Universe had a definite beginning, and must also have an end, because the energy is running down so that the Universe is, in effect, gradually dying. (Physicists say “Entropy increases”.) This is a process which is quite different from, for example, planetary orbits which appear to be a cyclic, repeatable phenomenon. The degradation of energy is neither cyclic nor repeatable; it’s a one-off, single occurrence. It is, in fact, what gives us Time itself! If you ever wondered if Time was an invention of men to make life more convenient, or alternatively something that has an actual physical reality (as I did in my teens), you now have the answer; Time is a result of 2TD. I did say 2TD was fundamental, didn’t I?

This has implications for Eternity. If Time is limited, Eternity must be something different from Time and infinitely greater than Time. This concept of being Outside of Time gives us the understanding that Eternity is not Time going on, and on, and on, and on; it is actually the absence of Time. You can think of Time as a bubble within Eternity.

This understanding of Eternity and Time is also scientifically satisfying due to the principle that the “Cause is Always Greater than the Effect“. When we try to understand the beginning, or creation, of Time, that principle leads us to conclude that before Time existed there must have been something greater that could have caused it, which logically would be Eternity.

So the first points to take away from an understanding of 2TD are that Eternity is not a long extension of time, but the absence of it; and that time can run alongside or within Eternity. That’s a bit mind-boggling for most people, but follows logically from the science.

The next point to ponder is that Thermodynamics only relates to physical things: matter and energy. Such things are locked within Time. It is therefore a reasonable assumption that anything which existed in eternity/Outside of Time would also be completely outwith the matter/energy/time matrix that Thermodynamics defines. As such, it might also be non-material, and have no requirement for energy. Hold this in mind, and read on.

A related matter here is Information. Wherever we observe a high-level of organisation, which is the opposite of chaos or Disorder, Information is always involved. This is true regardless of whether that organised system is a living thing or an object like a car. The Universe is commonly defined as “All the Matter and Energy that exists.” But the Universe also contains Information; there happens to be bucket-loads of it on DNA! And two things science knows about Information are that, firstly, it only derives from Intelligence; it can never be created by chance. And secondly, that Information is a fundamentally different quantity from Matter or Energy. If it were not, it could be measured with the same units; but it can’t. Matter is measured in grams, Energy is measured in joules; and Information is measured in bytes. We use both matter and energy all the time to store or transmit information, but information has absolutely no fundamental or mathematical connection to either. The only entity it directly connects with is Intelligence. Since there is no Intelligence in the Matter or Energy within the Universe, and since there must be an Intelligent source for the Information on DNA, we should logically expect such a source to exist outside the Universe.

Putting all the points above together leads to a most interesting conclusion: such an information source would be outside the Universe, outside of Time, and non-material. That is exactly how we conceive of God or a spirit, and it is surely not coincidence that the most fundamental science implies the existence of such entities.

The Second Law also provides us with a devastating one-shot kill of Evolution. The many difficulties of Darwinian Evolution actually happening are always explained away by the supposed power of billions of years. But when we understand 2TD we know that billions of years of Time must produce chaos. That would be true even if the starting point were something highly organised. If the starting point is accepted as something as chaotic as a massive, mindless “Big Bang”, then the idea of aeons of Time ever producing anything organised is a double absurdity. Either Darwin’s Theory is wrong, or 2TD is wrong. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is never wrong! (This might just be why you never heard of 2TD in school. Pupils are forced by law to learn Darwin’s theory. Teaching them a physical law that contradicts it might cause doubts.)

Posted on

Is Christianity a Religion? No, it’s a Relationship with Jesus.

Since this site is primarily about the failure of Churches to represent true Christianity, a few words on what Christianity really is are in order. People are so conditioned to thinking of Christianity as something centred on churchgoing, especially the Sunday Service of Hymns and Sermon, that they find it hard to imagine any alternative.

The real fundamentals of Christianity, however, are not hard to understand. A person’s Christian Life begins with conversion, which is the acceptance of the validity of Christ’s Sacrifice and their personal need for it. (See Gospel if you are not clear on this.) The dynamics of this conversion in reality only involve Jesus and the New Christian. It may well be that some Church or Missionary, or tract or website, played a part in the conversion, but the power for Salvation comes only from Jesus, and it is only to Jesus that the new convert has allegiance. A new two-way loving relationship has been formed, very much akin to marriage, and everything now depends on the outworking of that relationship. This is what Paul is talking about in Philippians 2 when he instructs Christians to “work out your own salvation.”

Just as every Marriage relationship differs, every relationship with Jesus differs. The often wide differences are caused by the very different situations people are in when they turn to Christ, and differences in speed at which the relationship matures. No such thing as a typical, black and white, boilerplate Christian! Take two extreme examples:

  1. Imagine a drug addict and thief from an abusive home who eventually meets Jesus at age thirty.
  2. For comparison, think of an Amish person who decides at eighteen to accept Amish teaching, lifestyle and Baptism. (See The Special Place of the Amish in History for more on the Amish.)

Ten years on, the Amish person will almost certainly be leading a life that has every appearance of genuine conversion. Yet it’s possible that he is merely following his particular culture; it’s more difficult to see the effect of conversion on someone who already functions well, and lives in a society where things like sharing, faithfulness and modesty are normal. However, the ex-addict ten years on may still be dealing with issues from his previous life, even though he has made huge steps forward in his relationship with Jesus and improving his lifestyle. The permutations and variations are infinite. It makes it very hard to know who is really in a relationship with Jesus. There is no simple marker like weekly church attendance or Infant Baptism. It’s about working out the relationship because you love Him, because He first loved you.

For all Christians, and especially new ones, the key advice is to get soaked in the Bible from personal reading; sadly there are very few people who will give that vital advice. The teaching from churches, whether Protestant, Mormon, Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, or whatever is much more “Listen to us!”

Click here to browse other articles on the Home Page.

Or here to read more on “working out your own salvation.”

 

 

 

Posted on

Evangelical Really Means Zionist?

The root of the word “Evangelical” is the Greek euangelion meaning “Good News” or “Gospel“. One’s natural assumption therefore is that people described as Evangelical would have a primary interest in the Gospel: a passionate interest in adhering to it, promoting it, and proclaiming it to the unconverted. The reality is that Evangelicals, particularly in America, have been and continue to be the main proponents of Christian Zionism. Thus we may take note that Evangelicals do not have such a great concern with the Gospel at all. And that when America opened its new Embassy in Jerusalem the media talked about how Trump had strengthened his position “among Evangelicals”. Indeed, even though one of the speakers at the Embassy opening was John Hagee, arguably the World’s leading Christian Zionist, the phrase “Christian Zionism” hardly came through in the press reports.

Since Zionism is inextricably connected with the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple and restoration of animal sacrifice, it stands in complete contradiction to the Sacrifice of Christ that is central to the Gospel. A lack of enthusiasm for the Gospel is therefore to be expected of Christian Zionists; and using the word “Evangelical” to describe them is a piece of linguistic deception even greater than the equivalence attributed to the words “church” and “christian”.

See also Christian Zionism is a Contradiction in Terms.

 

 

Posted on

You Don’t Understand God? Of Course You Don’t!

It is sometimes said that God moves in mysterious ways. To us His ways must be, since His intelligence, knowledge and power are as far above ours as our own is above a cat. It is mere pride that makes us think we should understand Him perfectly, and the worst kind of pride and rebellion to use that lack of understanding to reject God or His ways.

Do you really understand how the Big Bang is supposed to eventually create Human Beings? Do you know what Gravity is, rather than merely what it does? Do you know how an electron changes from a particle to wave? Do any of these or other shortages of understanding on your part, cause you to reject mainstream science?

The idea that in the 21st Century there is no more mystery is a fallacy. There is no perfect, logical and complete understanding in any world view, scientific or otherwise. The argument that something is invalid because it falls outside of our perfect comprehension is one that could be used against any belief system. Such an argument fails in every case, since it is equivalent to saying, for example, that computers can’t exist because you don’t know how they work. The fact that this argument is most often used against Christianity is a sign of the times; the thing to know is that it is just as defective when used against Christianity as when used against any other belief.  

Posted on

“Church” is a Mistranslation.

People frequently discuss which are the better Bible translations. There is a significant group that holds to the Authorised Version as the best. It may well be, but even the Authorised Version, also known as King James Version or KJV, has a dire mistranslation that almost all other versions have followed.

The issue here is the word “Church”, which is used to translate the Greek word ecclesia. The meanings are not the same. Ecclesia only has the sense of a group of people with a common purpose. It can even refer to a rioting mob. There is no sense of hierarchy, buildings, rituals, connection with state power and the like which are associated strongly with the word “Church”. Significantly, William Tyndale, who burned at the stake for his groundbreaking Bible translation, translated ecclesia as “congregation”, emphasising, particularly in the language of the day, a group of people. But when King Jame’s authorised a translation for use in English Churches the translators were not given a choice about the word “Church”. The King insisted, indeed commanded. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about the KJV is that it was a deeply political publication, and can only be called “Authorised” because it was authorised by the King, the Head of State, not by any group of Christians. The saving grace for the KJV is that it was heavily based upon Tyndale’s translation, and Tyndale was not in the game for personal advantage or power. He always knew his life was on the line, and had no interest other than accuracy.

Sometimes in the Greek New Testament ecclesia is clarified as ecclesia theon, meaning “People of God”. The sense here of people who come together in fellowship, because of a common commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, is almost entirely lost in the word “Church” today. But the Churches find it very convenient, to say the least, in maintaining the idea that Christianity and Church are one and the same.

Posted on

Westminster Confession of Faith – Violence is Built-in!

I was first alerted to the corrupting nature of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) when planning a series of Church talks on Creation. At some point during the planning I was asked if I accepted the WCF. My reply was that I had never read it, was unlikely to do so due to its length, and took the Bible, which I had read cover to cover, as the ultimate Authority for Christians. I was accused of being a heretic and the Creation talks never took place.

At the time I was unaware of just how long the WCF was. With all the included proof texts, it’s the thick end of one hundred thousand words. The Bible is seven hundred and fifty thousand, so to read the WCF is a significant effort, at least bearing some comparison with reading the Bible itself right through. The difference is that the Bible is the Authority, while the WCF is just one more post-Biblical writing which lacks the Authority of Scripture. Would not reading the Scripture itself be an obviously better use of time? And why would people want to pin their faith on the WCF rather than Scripture?

It gets worse. WCF is a thoroughly Calvinist document, and as explained elsewhere on this site Calvinism is actually blasphemy. See Predestination 101. Further to that, as you will see below, the WCF was written as a legal document, and legal documents need to be read with great care. Even an experienced solicitor would baulk at digesting a legal document of that length. Does anybody really know what they are signing up to when they subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith?

Finally, here’s the killer. The WCF was drawn up during the English Civil War. Cromwell was fighting against the King in England, and the Calvinist Covenanters in Scotland were literally up in arms as well. An alliance between the two was a natural outcome, but since these wars were largely about doctrine, Cromwell and the Covenanters needed a doctrinal basis for their military alliance.  The WCF was created to provide that basis. This means that whatever the Confession says or doesn’t say about the use of violence is irrelevant; the reason for its creation means it has violence built in.

It’s interesting also that the one hundred and fifty or so “Divines” who wrote the Confession, supposedly after a most thorough searching of the Scripture, do not appear to have noticed the requirement to love, and specifically to love enemies, in the New Testament; nor the many pointers in the Old Testament to the utter foolishness of killing the King. Something Cromwell and his associates went on to do in the most premeditated fashion.

The best part of the WCF is perhaps its title. Westminster is the epicentre of politics and power in England. The Confession is not called the Christian Confession of Faith, but the Westminster Confession of Faith. Quite appropriate.

Posted on

Predestination 101

 

Yes, You have a spirit!

But how did you get it?

Predestination? Let’s start from a different angle:

The belief in the existence of a Human Spirit in each one of us is widely held across many belief systems, and, of course, is also Biblical. Ideas about the Spirit after death are also commonplace. But what about before birth? How does the human spirit come in to a human body? Where, if anywhere, was it before? These are obvious questions, but questions which nobody seems to ask, never mind answer.

All agree that the Spirit is eternal. For our purpose here it is enough to accept that “eternal” means beyond time and beyond the material world.

Logically, there are only a limited number of possible answers to the questions above :

1 The spirit existed before it became part of a person

2 The spirit came into existence when the person did.

3 People’s spirits attach to them randomly.

4 People’s spirits are placed in them by God’s decision.

The answers here have a powerful bearing on what the Bible says about Predestination. Calvin’s views on this are widely accepted by Churchgoers and Atheists alike, and naturally used by the latter to portray God as an ogre. But Calvinistic views are blasphemous – they present God as cruel and unjust, when the Bible makes it clear that though He may ultimately punish, He is overwhelmingly loving, patient and forgiving.

I am certain that answers one and four above are correct and provide a proper understanding of Predestination; that is, the Spirit existed before it became part of a person, and people’s spirits are placed in them by God’s decision. Firstly, the Scripture tells us that God has “foreknowledge”. This is often taken to mean that He knows exactly what will happen in all cases ahead of time. In reality it simply means that he knows each spirit in much the same way that we know other people. We cannot predict exactly what they will do and when, but we have a good idea of the sort of thing they will do; we know if someone is honest or dishonest, whether they are selfish or generous, and so on. Given our knowledge of their motivations and thinking, we have a fair idea of what they are likely to do in any given situation. Because of God’s infinitely greater understanding, and because He sees the “naked spirit”, not clothed and camouflaged in a human body, His ability to predict future actions is streets ahead of ours. Notice that this analysis is completely compatible with Free Will. The fact that God has foreknowledge of a spirits’ inclinations before He places it in a human body in no way effects that spirit’s Free Will.

The debate about whether men have Free Will or not should never have taken place in a Biblical context. Since God is both Just, and also punishes men for wrongdoing, the conclusion that men must have Free Will is unavoidable. Those who do not accept Free Will must deny that God is Just. They are making an error that is roundly condemned by almost the oldest book in the Bible, the Book of Job. It is a long and difficult book, but those who take the time to read it properly will discover that it has a very strong message: Do not ever question the Justice of God.

The second part of the answer, that God chooses the Spirit for each new-born, completes the understanding of Predestination. God not only has deep knowledge of each individual spirit, but he also chooses the time and place that it will live on Earth. This does not mean that every single act or incident is either laid down or known in advance; but that the particular desires of each person/spirit, added to the particular environment in which it lives, makes for a highly predictable path through life.

This also explains how God justly punishes the sons of God-hating fathers to the third and fourth generations, while showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Him. For those who love God, part of the blessing is to have descendants who will receive God-loving spirits. For those who hate God, part of the punishment is to have descendants who will receive rebellious spirits. Thus everybody (every spirit) ultimately receives punishment for their own wrongdoing; there is nothing of naturally righteous people taking a beating because of what Great-Granddad did. However, because the love descends for thousands of generations, it seems a lot of rebellious spirits will be blessed on Earth in ways they don’t deserve.

See also Free Will and Predestination: No Contradiction!