Athiests often use "science" to rebuff or intimidate Christians. They do it because it works so very, very well!
We start talking to an atheist about something we know, the Love of Jesus and a relationship with Him, so an athiest "throws the science card". Wham! Next thing you know the Love of Jesus is a distant memory and we're arguing some stupid theory about dinosaurs, evolution, "young Earth" and evidences of a world-wide flood. Lights out! Slam the door! It's over. ("Move along folks, there is nothing to see here...")
And the sad thing is that we act as if people come to Christ "because they encountered an irrefutable scientific proof that satisfied their doubts!"
Not!
C'mon! We could show grainy 8mm film clips of our Almighty Father creating the Earth, but it still wouldn't win these folks to Christ. You aren't going to win them over with a countervailing theory. In fact, when we throw up some half-baked theory that abuses technical information, we undermine our own credibility. Even if our theories are technically sound, they are still subject to the normal process of invalidation that assaults all scientific knowledge on the advance.
Unbelievers often use science as a tool to keep us at a distance because they don't want to know Jesus. (Not the other way around.) They understand better than we that we offer a Lord and Savior, not a theory, and that is exactly what they are trying to avoid! They use our fear of appearing foolish to draw us into unproductive diversions. And we fall for it hook, line and sinker.
Science is usually worshipped as a substitute for the Living God. We were all created to worship! If they reject God, they're still gonna worship something, no matter how silly or contradictory. What did you expect?
If you take a minute to think through what science is, worshipping that knowledge is silly at best. What is intimidating to us about a person worshipping beliefs that they know are incomplete and in error? Science is a terrible substitute for the love and intimacy offered by Our Lord and Savior which we are created to desire.
Scientific atheism generally follows the line that a "Living, Personal, and Loving God" does not exist. Look closely and you'll see some things interesting and consistent throughout these beliefs. Those adherents are generally arguing a negative proposition, ("because I haven't found it, it doesn't exist",) and they are generally using faith-like propositions to support this position. (Usually involving leaps of faith much greater than anything required in Christianity.)
Best of all, you have the perfect rebuttal: Your life! Your life is the evidence of God's existence, (not your arguments.) They may claim that you're superstitious or deluded, but believe me, they're watching to see if it works, because science is a lousy, lousy god!
Sometimes I suspect that Christians get most offended by scientific atheism because deep down in their hearts they're are afraid it may be true. Please don't read judgement into that. I'll be honest, I've known that fear and I understand it. I point this out because our fear of science has to be turned over to God so that He may remove it.
If we let a fear of science intimidate us so that we are argumentative, rather than loving; if we replace God's Love and the Gospel of Salvation with a theory of creation or design-science; if we sink below the high calling we've been given, then one of God's beloved lost children may not find solace in very thing they are starving for: The touch of their Loving Creator.
This must not be. We must overcome our irrational fear of science, for His sake.
We start talking to an atheist about something we know, the Love of Jesus and a relationship with Him, so an athiest "throws the science card". Wham! Next thing you know the Love of Jesus is a distant memory and we're arguing some stupid theory about dinosaurs, evolution, "young Earth" and evidences of a world-wide flood. Lights out! Slam the door! It's over. ("Move along folks, there is nothing to see here...")
And the sad thing is that we act as if people come to Christ "because they encountered an irrefutable scientific proof that satisfied their doubts!"
Not!
C'mon! We could show grainy 8mm film clips of our Almighty Father creating the Earth, but it still wouldn't win these folks to Christ. You aren't going to win them over with a countervailing theory. In fact, when we throw up some half-baked theory that abuses technical information, we undermine our own credibility. Even if our theories are technically sound, they are still subject to the normal process of invalidation that assaults all scientific knowledge on the advance.
Unbelievers often use science as a tool to keep us at a distance because they don't want to know Jesus. (Not the other way around.) They understand better than we that we offer a Lord and Savior, not a theory, and that is exactly what they are trying to avoid! They use our fear of appearing foolish to draw us into unproductive diversions. And we fall for it hook, line and sinker.
Science is usually worshipped as a substitute for the Living God. We were all created to worship! If they reject God, they're still gonna worship something, no matter how silly or contradictory. What did you expect?
If you take a minute to think through what science is, worshipping that knowledge is silly at best. What is intimidating to us about a person worshipping beliefs that they know are incomplete and in error? Science is a terrible substitute for the love and intimacy offered by Our Lord and Savior which we are created to desire.
Scientific atheism generally follows the line that a "Living, Personal, and Loving God" does not exist. Look closely and you'll see some things interesting and consistent throughout these beliefs. Those adherents are generally arguing a negative proposition, ("because I haven't found it, it doesn't exist",) and they are generally using faith-like propositions to support this position. (Usually involving leaps of faith much greater than anything required in Christianity.)
Best of all, you have the perfect rebuttal: Your life! Your life is the evidence of God's existence, (not your arguments.) They may claim that you're superstitious or deluded, but believe me, they're watching to see if it works, because science is a lousy, lousy god!
Sometimes I suspect that Christians get most offended by scientific atheism because deep down in their hearts they're are afraid it may be true. Please don't read judgement into that. I'll be honest, I've known that fear and I understand it. I point this out because our fear of science has to be turned over to God so that He may remove it.
If we let a fear of science intimidate us so that we are argumentative, rather than loving; if we replace God's Love and the Gospel of Salvation with a theory of creation or design-science; if we sink below the high calling we've been given, then one of God's beloved lost children may not find solace in very thing they are starving for: The touch of their Loving Creator.
This must not be. We must overcome our irrational fear of science, for His sake.
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