A love poem about the law?
Jimi Hendrix's Last Words
The Second Temptation
Top 10 Quotes: Design in Nature
A friend asked me for a list of my favorite quotes about various topics covered in my book. Here’s a list of top quotes from famous scientists (most have won Nobel Prizes and other accolades) about the apparent design in nature. It should be noted that many of these scientists would classify themselves as agnostics or atheists.
This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” – Sir Isaac Newton
“The chances that life just occurred on earth are about as unlikely as a typhoon blowing through a junkyard and constructing a Boeing 747.” – Sir Fred Hoyle (Hoyle, an atheist, was so impressed with the precision of the chemical formation of carbon that he thought it looked as if “a superintellect has monkeyed with physics as well as with chemistry and biology.”)
“How was it that the initial density of the universe was chosen so carefully? Maybe there is some reason why the universe should have precisely the critical density?” – Stephen Hawking
“It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.” – Stephen Hawking
“The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the Big Bang are enormous. I think there are clearly religious implications.” – Stephen Hawking
“The more I examine the universe and the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known we were coming,” – Freeman Dyson
“Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with the very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the right conditions required to permit life, and one which has an underlying, one might say ‘supernatural,’ plan.” – Arno Penzias
“Mindless, blundering atoms have conspired to make not just life, not just mind, but understanding. The evolving cosmos has spawned beings who are able not merely to watch the show, but to unravel the plot.” – Paul Davies
“Consistent with the Maker Thesis, features of the universe and our planetary home appear to be customized for the existence of intelligent creatures and scientific activity; it is as if we were meant to uncover the secrets of the world around us.” – Melissa Cain Travis
“The world is too complicated in all its parts and interconnections to be due to chance alone. I am convinced that the existence of life with all its order in each of its organisms is simply too well put together.” – Allan Sandage
Top 10 Favorite Episodes of the Unbelievable? Podcast
Over the last year or so, I’ve listened to every episode of the Unbelievable? podcast. That’s over 600 episodes and 800 hours of content! I’ll have to ask the host, Justin Brierley, but I believe I’ve hit superfan status. Next level would be to attend a conference, assuming those are still a thing in the future.
As a superfan, I’m required to mention that conversations matter. Most conversations on Unbelievable? are between a Christian and a non-Christian. If you don’t like to hear the other side of a topic, then this show is not for you. Please slink back to your echo chamber. But, for earnest seekers of truth who want to weigh the merits of both sides of an argument, you’ve come to the right place.
As I re-listened to all the episodes that were deemed worthy of saving to my phone, I realized that my favorites were often the episodes in which the non-Christian presented a strong case or made interesting points for which I didn’t know how to respond. This forced me to think more deeply about my own Christian convictions.
Here’s my Top 10:
Jan 16, 2010: “Expelled” The Movie – Stephen C. Meyer vs. Peter Atkins. This was my first introduction to a debate involving Peter Atkins—a living legend in chemistry. When you’ve heard one theological debate by Atkins, you’ve heard them all . . . but you at least need to hear one! His view that “there isn’t a shred of evidence” behind Christianity (or any other religion for that matter) and that any reasoning which might evoke a transcendent being like God as “intellectually lazy” are some his more famous attempts to stonewall a theological conversation. This episode has as much to do with the presuppositions of materialism as it is about the theory of Intelligence Design. Regardless, Meyer and Atkins exchange a good volley of ideas. Since Justin’s goal is to have conversations that matter, I found it interesting that the movie Expelled, and this conversation in particular, highlight the scientific establishment’s interest in shutting down the dialogue even when they admit—as Atkins does in this episode—that Intelligent Design is asking some great questions.
Oct 12, 2018: Is Jesus the Jewish Messiah? Michael Brown vs. Jonathan Romain. This is a lively interchange between a Messianic Jew and a progressive rabbi. They cover a range of fascinating topics: the markers of the Messiah, the Jewish understanding of Jesus, sin, religious pluralism (many paths to God) vs. particularism (one path to God), absolute truth vs. personal preferences, and works-based vs. grace-based salvation. Rabbi Romain makes a good point that the problems in the world and in the Christian church don’t reflect the Jewish understanding that the Messiah has already come. If the Messiah had come in the form of Jesus, he reasons, then things wouldn’t be such a mess today. Mr. Brown counters that Jesus commenced the Kingdom of God as evidenced by the radically-changed lives of so many converts to Christianity.
Mar 22, 2019: Is Identity Politics the new religion? James Lindsay, Esther O Reilly and Neil Shenvi. As Justin admits, this wasn’t a typical debate format but more of a one-sided discussion. However, I found the interchange extremely helpful to thread together multiple movements within modern society. So, if you’ve been confused (or fascinated) by buzzwords such as: identity politics, cancel culture, intellectual dark web, critical theory, and woke politics, then perhaps you too will find this episode a must-listen. Making it all the more fascinating is the brief recap of Mr. Lindsay’s ‘grievance studies’ project—a hoax that he says helped reveal the fundamentalism that has taken over (the social-Marxist) academia and the extreme political left. An interesting observation in this conversation is that this is the latest recycling of the postmodern movement of personal preferences (or experiences) over objective truths. One of the unfortunate outcomes of this movement is the method of out-shouting the opposition so as to end a conversation before it starts. The heart-breaking human element in all of this is our insatiable need to be righteous. To be on the right side of history and judgment. For the Christian, those needs have been solved by Jesus himself.
Jan 12, 2018: The Tim Farron affair: Are evangelicals no longer welcome in politics? David Robertson & Jonathan Bartley. This episode addresses the hot button issue of the last decade: sexuality and gender. Is there tolerance for certain views that have become out of favor in popular culture? Or does the tolerance movement have an aspect of intolerance? The discussion touches on a contemporary question: can you be Christian and politically liberal? Or do certain issues (in this case, sexuality and gender) force you out of the liberal camp? In Tim Farron’s case, this one issue seemed to dominate all others, causing him to step down from political leadership. This is an unhealthy and dangerous outcome in my view. Since when did we have to align with every policy or belief of a political party in order to serve (or vote) for that party? Separately, has there ever been a political candidate that perfectly reflected your views? If you liked this episode, you might also like two shows featuring David Robertson and Terry Sanderson on secular tolerance and religious education.
July 10, 2015: Can Christianity be true if Christians can’t agree on doctrine? Andrew Whyte vs. Nabeel Qureshi. An excellent discussion in which Whyte uses the words of various Christian leaders to show the amazing diversity of opinions within Christianity. It’s a compelling argument to show internal dysfunction. Nabeel’s approach is to explain the difference between critical and non-critical issues and to point out that there’s almost no topic in which humans are in full agreement. One of Nabeel‘s best points is that God seems to delight in reaching us through diverse ways. At the heart of this discussion is how everyone lives in the tension of uncertainty. We all lack absolute clarity on so many matters in life. This episode reminds me of the amazing gift that Nabeel had for explaining difficult topics and his death remains a great loss to us in the apologetics world.
Feb 22, 2014: Why I am not an atheist – David Robertson vs. Matt Dillahunty. This was the first of two debates between these two. I’m picking the first one because it was the feistier of the two interchanges. Both guests are extremely quick on their feet and can give as good as they get. In an hour, they cover a wide range of topics.
Nov 13, 2015: Has science explained away God? David Glass, Peter Atkins & James Croft. Although this topic has been covered many times on Unbelievable?, I felt the need to include at least one on my Top 10 list since it was this topic that was so critical in my own conversion story. The inclusion of Peter Atkins and his viewpoints as a hardline atheist and materialist is helpful to see the extreme side of the spectrum. It’s a view that I found very enticing before I started investigating the truth claims of Christianity. I might also recommend the debate between Atkins and Craig from 2012. The highlight of that debate occurs in the Q&A in which Atkins dismisses philosophy as a waste of time and Craig counters that Atkins is actually using philosophy (specifically metaphysics) to make his claims about the physical world.
Mar 31, 2017: Can atheists believe in human rights? Peter Tatchell vs. Andy Bannister. Is morality from God or is it a human construct? This is a well-matched conversation between two well-spoken individuals who have given the concept of dignity and human rights much consideration. Both individuals bring excellent points to consider.
Mar 8, 2019: Don’t be meme! Randal Rauser and David Smalley. This is a good back-and-forth between two excellent guests who debate whether popular internet memes are addressing real issues versus caricatures. Do they set up strawman arguments or steelman arguments? It’s a cordial discussion that could’ve easily gotten heated.
Jun 10, 2016: Grill Greg Koukl – Questions on prayer, atonement & God’s hiddenness. Adding my favorite episode from the popular “Grill a Christian” series. Koukl is a veteran apologist who is no stranger to call-in radio and bringing clarity to tough topics. In this episode, he brings his insights into three very tricky topics which are often difficult to articulate in a conversation.
Honorable Mention. Occasionally, Unbelievable? will broadcast a formal debate in front of a live audience. Here are two that liked.
Oct 26, 2011: William Lane Craig vs. Peter Millican – Does God Exist? A great interchange in which Craig offers his famous 5-point argument for God. And if you’ve ever heard Craig talk about how he prepares for a debate, you’ll recognize how incredibly prepared he is for each point raised by his opponent. Though Millican is not a frequent debater, he also came prepared and was a worthy adversary.
Mar 22, 2014: William Lane Craig & Sean Carroll debate God & Cosmology. If you like the more technical arguments in modern cosmology, then this debate is for you. There are many areas which will be hard to follow for the average listener, but the back-and-forth between these two geniuses is really impressive and highlights the incredible planning that goes in to such a debate.
The Power of Testimony
Nabeel being baptized by his friend, David.
I love hearing testimonies of how people came to faith in Jesus. Sharing a personal story not only helps to break down the walls we put up around us but they can emphasize God’s transformational power—often in amazing and shocking ways! Listening to others’ life stories are some of my favorite memories from mission trips I’ve taken (housebuilding in Tijuana, retracing Paul’s footsteps in the Mediterranean).
Recently, Karlie and I were reflecting on the amazing life story of Nabeel Qureshi—a devout Muslim who converted to Christianity after years of thoughtfully weighing the evidence. A brilliant thinker, passionate speaker, and best-selling author, Nabeel’s conversion came at great personal cost—severing ties with much of his Muslim friends and family. But he couldn’t ignore the evidence he saw in Christianity or refuse Jesus’ great gift of forgiveness.
Nabeel’s story wasn’t a solo journey. In it, we find the inspiring friendship of a Christian named David Wood who encouraged, loved, and challenged Nabeel’s faith in Islam. Despite their differences, they became best friends and would often talk for hours about religion. David had his own jaw-dropping testimony—an atheist and sociopath who came to faith while in prison for the attempted murder of his father.
Every Christian has a testimony. Some involve great sacrifice like Nabeel’s or a complete transformation like David’s. Your story might not have that kind of drama but God’s gift of salvation is part of your story; part of who you’ve become. The Creator of the whole universe actually knows you and loves you! And that’s worth sharing with others. If you have difficulty approaching others about matters of faith, consider sharing your testimony. The miracle that Jesus has worked in your life can be an excellent witness to the truth of the gospel. Your testimony and the way you live your life may be the only gospel that some people read.
Crossing Samaria
Suppose you wanted to travel between Judea and Galilee. The logical path would be straight through Samaria. But in the first century, Jews would go out of their way to avoid Samaria by traveling through Perea, essentially crossing the Jordan River twice in their travels. Why? There’s a long history here, so let’s just say there were cultural differences. But, where we might see division, Jesus sees restoration.
In John chapter 4, we read of the amazing encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well near Mt. Gerizim. In their conversation, Jesus skillfully cuts through the barriers of her sin, the public standards of male and female interaction, ritual cleanliness (by sharing a cup of water), and the cultural differences of Jews and Samaritans. And then he offers her the “living water” and declares he is the Messiah. What can we learn from this encounter?
The path of Jesus allows us to truly love all people. Since God created everyone in his image, everyone is bestowed with infinite dignity and worth—that is wholly independent from your circumstances and the things that this world values. And that makes everyone worthy of our unconditional love. Even the oppressed. Even people that do not look or act like you, or that worship in a different way. This is Jesus’ model of game-changing love. All nations, tribes, and peoples will be represented in heaven (Rev 7:9).
Truly following Jesus’ message breaks down all barriers of race, gender, political affiliation, social status, and nationality. If the hatred and division you see in the world discourages you, then immerse yourself in Jesus’ teaching. He is the ultimate radical. Following him will free you to love everybody, including yourself, but also your enemies. It is through Jesus that God extended his grace to us. His desire is for us to extend grace to others. Jesus is the only answer to this broken world. He is the key to the life-changing, radically transformative, right-side-up system of love that can free you from every destructive personal situation.
5 Reasons Why I Named My Son After Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) is a personal hero of mine. Over the years, I’ve had a few “good” ideas that I thought were original, only to find out later that Pascal wrote them down more eloquently 350 years ago. I could’ve listed 50 things that I love about Pascal, but I’ve narrowed it down to 5. And yes, Karlie and I named our son Blaise not only because it’s a cool name, but because he was a pretty cool guy.
1. His ingenuity. Pascal invented the first computer (a mechanical calculator that used binary code), the hydraulic press, the syringe, modern journalism, the first public transportation system (a horse-and-carriage system for Paris), the vacuum cleaner, and the one-wheeled wheelbarrow. In addition, he was a forerunner of integral calculus and a co-founder of probability theory. There’s a ton of stuff named after him—Pascal’s Triangle, Pascal’s Law, Pascal’s Wager, Pascal’s Theorem, units of pressure are abbreviated Pa (for Pascal), and there are computer programming languages named after him. He did all of this despite poor health and a short life—he died at 39. After his death, his sister found hundreds of written fragments of Pascal’s thoughts (pensées in French) that were later collected and published.
2. He identified the human predicament: there’s something missing in our hearts—we all have an insatiable longing for transcendence.
“What else does this craving proclaim but that there was once in man a true state of happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object, in other words by God himself.” – Pensée 148
In other words, we all have an insatiable longing for happiness, love, aesthetics, meaning, and purpose that nothing under the sun can satisfy. We try to fill this gap with diversions, temporary pleasures, and escapisms. What is this abyss we all feel? According to C. S. Lewis, we feel hunger because there’s such a thing as food; and we feel sexual desire because there’s such a thing as sex. Lewis concludes, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." Pascal reasoned that God was the only thing that could fill the abyss in our hearts.
3. Pascal wanted people to be seekers and lovers of truth. But he also realized the temptations for truth to be twisted and distorted to meet our selfish desires. Here, Pascal plays the prophet, forecasting the fake news / post-truth invasion of modern times.
“Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies [are] so well established that unless we love the truth we shall never recognize it.” – Pensée 739
For Pascal, the truest or clearest picture of the world must explain the human condition and our peculiar proclivity to be both wretched and great. Pascal felt that Christianity, with love as its central tenant, was both too profound to plumb its depths yet could also be understood by children. Jesus is the perfect completion for everything we lack and desire. “In [Christ] is all our virtue and all our happiness” (Pensée 416).
Pascal came to know the truth of Jesus Christ through various ways, most supremely through a personal experience that affected him so greatly that he stitched his short reflection of that experience (Pensée 913) in to the lining of his coat pocket so it would always be by his side.
4. He provided insights into an old mystery: the hiddenness of God. Pascal reasoned that God wishes “to appear only to those who seek him with all their heart and hidden from those who shun him with all their heart” (Pensée 149). Pascal said that to know God, one must have a heart of humility and an earnestness to seek him. But if you wish to keep God hidden, allow your pride to flourish. In the end, Pascal felt there was enough light to find God for those seekers focused on the things of God instead of the treasures of this world. To paraphrase Pascal, God has given evidence sufficiently clear for those with an open heart, but sufficiently vague so as not to compel those whose hearts are closed.
5. Pascal’s Wager. Pascal recognized that we all have a free choice to accept or reject God but felt that a clearer illustration of the options, called Pascal’s Wager, would help reveal the potential payoffs, such that a logical decision could be made.
The wager assumes that everyone must decide whether God exists or not. You can’t bow out of this decision. If you put your faith in God’s existence and, after death, find that He does exist, then the eternal joy of heaven awaits you. If God does not exist, then nothing happens after death, and you’ve lost nothing. Alternatively, if you live your life believing there is no God and, after death, find that He does exist, then you will endure infinite loss—an eternity in hell separated from God’s goodness. If God does not exist, then nothing happens after death, and you’ve gained nothing. Pascal argued that since choosing God maximizes happiness, it is the only prudent choice.
Pascal’s Wager always resonated with me, partly because I pursued a career in finance and saw the intrinsic value of options. When I was 17, I learned about stock options and spent my summer break day trading option contracts. In my view—and to use an investing term—the “smart money” is on Jesus Christ. As C. S. Lewis remarked, “Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.” The emphasis, for both Lewis and Pascal, is that humans are betting with their lives.
The Wager is perhaps best suited for those who are on the fence—those who think the evidence for God’s existence is 50/50. But Pascal did not think the odds were 50/50. He wrote at great lengths about the evidence for the historicity of the Christian faith, the rationale for God’s existence, the trustworthiness of the Bible, and the uniqueness of Christianity’s diagnosis and remedy of humanity’s problems.
Pascal played an important role in my conversion to Christianity by helping me see the darkness of the human predicament without God, the temptations of apathy and distraction that diverted me away from God, and the value of an infinite payout—eternity in heaven. I’ll leave you with one more masterstroke from Pascal’s pen:
“Do small things as if they were great, because of the majesty of Christ, who does them in us and lives our life, and great things as if they were small and easy, because of his almighty power.” – Pensée 919
What can the biggest art theft in US history tell us about God’s sovereignty?
My favorite painter is Rembrandt. In his only seascape painting, The Storm on the Sea in Galilee, the apostles are in the boat with Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee. A violent storm has the boat near destruction and the apostles scramble to wake up Jesus who saves them by quieting the storm.
Mark 4:35-41 Jesus Calms a Storm
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
This painting used to be in a museum in Boston but in 1990 it was stolen, along with 12 other paintings, in what is considered the biggest art theft in US history.
Many have noticed there are 14 people in the boat. There should only be 13 people (Jesus plus the twelve apostles). The 14th person is Rembrandt, who put himself into the painting. Rembrandt felt that to really grasp the significance of the salvation story, you have to be in the boat—in complete desperation for your life—not from the safety of the shore.
At a recent Men’s retreat, I was reminded of our insatiable desire for control. Many of the men admitted a longing to be freed from this desire. Or to have God change their behavior when things didn’t go their way. At the heart of this problem is our pride and our lack of trust in God's sovereignty.
Imagine you're in the boat with Jesus. You’re with Him through smooth sailing on sunny days but also violent storms that put you in desperation for your life. God is sovereign over all. If Jesus is the captain of the ship, and indeed your very life, you don't have to be in constant pursuit of control. He will not fail you and we need not fear.
What is faith?
Along with 8% of the world’s males of Northern European ancestry, I am color blind. As is my brother. Although there are many colors we can see, we frequently mix them up. In elementary school, we colored the grass orange and the trees brown, much to the confusion of our friends and teachers. One time, we almost created an Amber Alert (though such a thing didn’t exist at the time) when we told a teacher we were waiting for our mom to pick us up in her orange Volkswagen bus, only to hop into my mom’s green bus.
Despite my inability to recognize colors, I collect the evidence around me to determine what I believe the color to be. Such evidence might include the time of season (people increasingly wear green, orange, and brown in the fall), or the occasion (red and green during the Christmas season), or common knowledge (blue and green are the colors of the Seattle Seahawks).
I also learned to pick up on clues about what clothes matched versus clashed—often learning via ridicule. Of course, the best evidence is the testimony of a reliable source, such as my wife. In the same way, we all gather evidence in an effort to make rational decisions despite unanswered questions. These types of faith commitments are everywhere. So, what is faith?
Faith is like putting your weight onto something, like a bridge, and seeing that it holds you up as you cross a river. You are forced to put your weight onto the bridge without complete confidence the bridge will hold you. Faith is a response to evidence—it involves a choice; an act of the will.
Many people think religious faith is like taking a blind leap into the dark. But from a Christian perspective, faith is following the evidence that leads into the light. Jesus did not ask his disciples to take a blind leap of faith about something they knew nothing about. Instead, he asked them to review the evidence.