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I am a born-again Christian, who is Reformed, but also charismatic, spiritually speaking. (I do not speak in tongues, but I believe glossalalia is a bona fide gift not given to all, and not as great as prophecy, for example.) I have several years of college education but only completed a two-year degree. I was raised Lutheran and confirmed, but I didn't "find Christ" until I was in the Army and responded to a Billy Graham crusade in 1973. I was mentored or discipled by the Navigators in the army and upon discharge joined several evangelical, Bible-teaching churches. I was baptized as an infant, but believe in believer baptism, of which I was a partaker after my conversion experience. I believe in the "5 Onlys" of the reformation: sola fide (faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); soli Christo (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (to God alone be the glory). I affirm TULIP as defended in the Reformation.. I affirm most of The Westminster Confession of Faith, especially pertaining to Providence.
Showing posts with label laws of nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laws of nature. Show all posts

Friday, April 9, 2021

Can The Supernatural Be Explained By The Laws Of Nature?



By definition, the supernatural is beyond the natural, not coincidences or flukes (i.e., the laws of nature) like the metaphysical is beyond the physical. But accepting the fact of the supernatural is not the stance of the scientific community. They are naturalists who believe in a natural explanation to everything; i.e., no supernatural. The laws of nature do demand an explanation for their being or existence and that leads to a Supernatural God or Lawgiver.

You cannot explain away a miracle by the laws of nature. Miracles are events not producible by the elements in question considering the time and manner of events available. Jesus is an example of someone who defied nature by walking on water and calming a storm. It is circular reasoning to say that miracles don’t happen because they are impossible—or haven’t been scientifically examined.

For God is a law to Himself and able to overrule the laws of nature for He made them. For instance, the force of gravity is specifically tuned to an almost infinitely small degree and if changed, no life would be possible. Why? Why is the speed of light what it is or is DNA only composed of four letters that seem to be the language of God? (Doesn’t this imply a Supreme Mind?) Science can discover the know-how but not discover the know-why. Why does the universe seem so fine-tuned for life? This Anthropic Principle needs an explanation if not from God as the Designer and Creator. Why are there laws of nature if not a God of nature? Soli Deo Gloria!

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

God Works In Mysterious Ways

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe?   Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands"  (Psalm 78:7, NLT).  
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.  You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not:  the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me"  (John 10:25, KJV). 
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).  

NOTE:  IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM.  MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT).  Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand.  He performs countless miracles."  (9:10, NLT).  Note he said "countless miracles."  Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles?  Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work.  The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious.  They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work.  For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and  the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion! 

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior.  His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request.  That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles!  Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV,  that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!"  The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God.  Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle?  What causes our motion?  If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law!  By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature!  Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.      Soli Deo Gloria!