Science, Reason and Shortbread Cookies



Confidence has never been one of my strongest features. It might seem so, but that is just because acting is a stronger one. Struggling with confidence is a good thing, an ongoing exercise of finding the right balance. You don't want to be a soft, weak, unstable pushover, full of fear and headed for the Funny Farm, nor do you want to be an arrogant, over-informed fool who is headed for a humbling, shameful fall. The plight of the Atheist at Christmastime has been causing me to think about this lately. Have you seen the billboard, somewhere in the US, on the news? It says (with a nativity scene in the background):

"You KNOW it's a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON"

It will always be a mystery to me, how anyone could have so much confidence in oneself or other people, to the point of rejecting a diety of any kind over their own mind and body. You would think that with the plethora (that means a REALLY large amount...I just love how it sounds) of absolutely terrifying history of war, mental/spiritual disaster and other human tragedy, we would know better by now. Yet people still hold the human mind up as their Messiah. I know it's not all bad...but it is mostly. Sure, there is the odd hero story here and there in history of human achievement, but that's why they are so highlighted...because of the sea of failure we are constantly drowning in. We need these episodes of grace to give us a breather. They help us through as we continue to reject God and insist on pursuing man. I don't want to sound too negative, but the good news just loses it's effect when there is no bad news in the background. If we can accept and get over the truth of our helplessness, jump that critical hurdle, then the finish line would be in sight and the race can be won.

I appreciate science and reason. Philosophy class was one of my favorites in University and my favorite subject in our homeschool is "Think" class, formally known as Logic. It's an ongoing, all day long class, realized when Mom or Dad responds to kid questions or dilemmas by the simple "Think" directive. No other subject in my education amazed and drew me more than Biology. The pure sciences are a whole world of awesome. They are a never ending, mind boggling place for us to explore and test...and we should. But to come to a humanistic conclusion after having realized the depth of biology and the vastness of astronomy, to me, is foolishness. To elevate the human mind and body in light of what we now know through science itself, and to ignore or invalidate that which we cannot see or understand, will be our fall...and is the cause of our inability to achieve "Peace on Earth".

Science and reason fail when the supernatural occurs. You don't have to be a Ghost Whisperer to experience the supernatural. You simply need to have known love, heard a symphony or watched a child recover from disease under a perplexed surgeon. Robots, we are not. Gods, we are not. Dependent, limited, talented and very much loved...we are. Confidence comes from knowing we belong to a perfect God. Anything else is a masquerade. Having said all of this, I still have no problem sharing my shortbread cookies at Christmastime with any Atheist friend...just don't take away my shortbread cookies.

"We have a right to believe whatever we want, but not everything we believe is right."
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias is likely the best apologist I have ever read when it comes to reason and theology. Check him out.

Galatians 6:14-15 "But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."









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