Nothing Borrowed

by Dr. Tim Chaffey on November 20, 2009
Featured in Feedback

Great civilizations accomplished amazing things without believing in God, so why must He exist for logic to be true? Tim Chaffey clears up a few misconceptions in this week’s feedback.

logic, truth existing, morality, knowledge existing, science are not borrowed from the bible. the bible was finish around 1500 A.D. and im sure knowledge exsisted before the bible. During the time of the great pharohs, the egyptians were the most advanced civilization and “God’s people” were just slaves. God could care less what happens to his people on this earth, so why must we praise such a hateful being. i know my “earthy” father would not just sit back and watch his children suffer, so why would a god of “love” do so.
—L.

Thank you for contacting Answers in Genesis.

logic, truth existing, morality, knowledge existing, science are not borrowed from the bible.

Logic, truth, morality, knowledge, and science all stem from a biblical worldview, and only a biblical worldview. This does not mean that one must believe the Bible in order to believe in these things, but it does mean that the Bible must be true in order for one to use these things.

An evolutionary worldview cannot account for any of these presuppositions. If all we are is rearranged pond scum, then where does morality come from? How can we claim something is right or wrong if all we are is a random collection of chemicals that have no free will. Even atheist Will Provine admitted these things when he said:

Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear . . . . There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either.1

This is a consistent outworking of an evolutionary worldview.

the bible was finish around 1500 A.D. and im sure knowledge exsisted before the bible.

You stated that the Bible was finished around A.D. 1500. I’m not sure where you get your information, but the final book of the Bible, Revelation, was written in the first century. Even liberal scholars would date the completion of the Bible to the second century AD, so your dating is at least thirteen centuries different. The first English translations were being done around A.D. 1500. Perhaps this is what has led to your confusion here.

Knowledge did exist before the Bible, but our point is that knowledge is only possible if what the Bible says is true. We don’t say that someone has to believe the Bible, but that what the Bible teaches must be true for knowledge and science to be possible.

During the time of the great pharohs, the egyptians were the most advanced civilization and “God’s people” were just slaves.

The Egyptians probably were the most advanced civilization while the Israelites were slaves there. But what does this have to do with anything? Their technology and science were still only possible because God created mankind with the ability to understand the world that He made. Science would not be possible if evolution were true, since we would have no basis for the laws of logic, morality, or uniformity of nature, nor could we expect that our minds could accurately understand the world around us.

God could care less what happens to his people on this earth, so why must we praise such a hateful being. i know my “earthy” father would not just sit back and watch his children suffer, so why would a god of “love” do so.

Just because God allows His people to suffer does not mean that He doesn’t care about them, nor does it make Him a hateful being.

Just because God allows His people to suffer does not mean that He doesn’t care about them.

You claim that your earthly father would not just sit back and watch his children suffer. Would your father ever allow you to suffer the consequences of your own actions? Would your father ever allow you to participate in an activity in which suffering might occur? Would he shelter you from any type of harm ever happening? If God did not punish sin and simply let it slide, then He would not be a loving or a just God. If God did not allow us to participate in activities that could bring harm, then we could not really understand His tremendous love for us. God does protect us from certain dangers, but, at times, He allows us to suffer the consequences of our actions.

We are all sinners, and we all deserve death (Romans 3:23, 6:23). The fact that God allows us to live at all is an expression of His grace. Moreover, the Bible tells us why the Israelites were in bondage for approximately 400 years: it was because God was displaying tremendous mercy upon the Amorites (people who lived in the Promised Land) and giving them 400 years to turn from their wicked ways (Genesis 15:16). They did not turn from their ways, and God allowed the Israelites to take possession of the land He promised to Abraham.

Of course, the greatest demonstration of God’s grace is the fact that He Himself became a man and died in our place on the Cross. By bearing our sins upon Himself, He offers salvation to all who will repent of their sins and place their trust in Him. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Best regards,
Tim Chaffey

Footnotes

  1. Will Provine, Origins Research 16 no. 1 (1994), p. 9.

Newsletter

Get the latest answers emailed to you.

Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

Learn more

  • Customer Service 800.778.3390