Dr. John Oakes did a sermon on God and Science recently in San Diego. There were multiple requests that the audio be made available. The class was not recorded, but we are posting a nearly identical class taught in London, England in June, 2014.

1. God and Science
Science and the Bible
King’s College, London
6/11/2014
John Oakes PhD

2. First…..First…..
Post-Exile ProphetsPost-Exile Prophets
Saturdays 9:00-10:30Saturdays 9:00-10:30
Six consecutive SaturdaysSix consecutive Saturdays
Beginning October 4Beginning October 4
Light refreshementsLight refreshements
(aka Jan’s muffins)(aka Jan’s muffins)

3. Thomas Huxley, Darwin’s “bulldog”
“We are as much the
product of blind
forces as is the falling
of a stone to earth, or
the ebb and flow of
the tides. We have
just happened, and
man was made flesh
by a series of
singularly beneficial
accidents.”

4.  In the universe of blind physical forces and
genetic replication, some people are going to
get hurt and other people are going to get
lucky: and you won’t find any rhyme or reason
to it, nor any justice. The universe we observe
has precisely the properties we should expect
if there is at the bottom, no design, no
purpose, no evil and no good. Nothing but
blind, pitiless indifference. DNA neither knows
nor cares. DNA just is, and we dance to its
music.

5. Accident or Design?
William
Paley

6. The Teleological Argument
Evidence for Design in Nature
The Anthropic Principle
Boeing 747
Design or
Accident?

7. 1. Ideal solvent to support life (dissolves ions and
molecules
2. Right boiling and melting points
3. High specific heat
4. Solid floats on liquid
5. Contracts from 0 to 4 degrees centigrade
Water

8. Designed Elements?

9. Carbon: The Central Element of Life
3-D molecules
Large, complex yet flexible
molecules

11. The Ozone Layer:
Is oxygen a designed element?

13. a) b)
DNA

14. Protein

15. Nature creates order, but not information

16. A House of
Cards: Order
and Information.
A much better
analogy for
living things.

17. Simplest life form: break it down
• E. coli: about 1 trillion bits of information.
• E. coli have 3000-4000 different proteins.
• DNA and RNA to make and be made by
these proteins.
• Lipids (membrane), Carbohydrates, etc.
• The simplest living cell is an unimaginably
complex nano factory

18. Charles Darwin
“It is mere rubbish
to think at this
point of the origin
of life. One might
as well think of the
origin of matter.”

19. Science before the 1950s:
The universe was NOT created.
Hebrews 11:3
“By faith we understand that the universe was
created… so that what is seen has been made from things that
are not visible.”
Genesis 1:3
God said “Let there be light,” and there was light.
The Big Bang
· 1929 Hubble. The Red Shift: The universe is expanding.
· 1965 Penzias and Wilson, background microwave radiation.
Physicists now:
The universe was created.

20. Physics:
The Finely Tuned Universe

21. .
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22. Fine Tuning of the Universe
Constant A Little Bigger A Little Smaller
1. Gravitational constant very short-lived stars no stars
2. Ratio of electrons to protons no stars or galaxies no stars or galaxies
3. Strong Nuclear Force no hydrogen, fusion only hydrogen
4. Weak Nuclear Force all H2
 He at big bang no He at big bang
no heavy elements
5. Electric Force no chemical bonding no chemical bonding
6. Expansion rate of universe no galaxies universe collapses quickly
7. Ratio of matter to antimatter too much radiation for life not enough matter
for galaxies to form
and many more….

23. A finely-tuned
instrument
built by
humans. Good
to one part in a
billion?

24. Fred Hoyle on Fine-TuningFred Hoyle on Fine-Tuning
“… a super-intellect has monkeyed with
physics, as well as with chemistry and
biology.”

25. Antony Flew Considers God...Antony Flew Considers God...
Flew is increasingly persuadedFlew is increasingly persuaded
that some sort of Deity broughtthat some sort of Deity brought
about this universe. He says heabout this universe. He says he
has in mind something like thehas in mind something like the
God of Aristotle, a distant,God of Aristotle, a distant,
impersonal "prime mover." Itimpersonal "prime mover." It
might not even be conscious,might not even be conscious,
but a mere force. In formalbut a mere force. In formal
terms, he regards the existenceterms, he regards the existence
of this minimal God as aof this minimal God as a
hypothesis that, at present, ishypothesis that, at present, is
perhaps the best explanation forperhaps the best explanation for
why a universe exists that canwhy a universe exists that can
produce complex lifeproduce complex life

26. The Right Kind of Galaxy
Spiral Irregular
Eliptical

27. The Right GalaxyThe Right Galaxy
• Our galaxy is a spiral, which producesOur galaxy is a spiral, which produces
stars over much of its history.stars over much of its history.
• Not an elliptical, where star formation endsNot an elliptical, where star formation ends
before there are many heavy elements.before there are many heavy elements.
• Not an irregular, where radiation eventsNot an irregular, where radiation events
would have destroyed life.would have destroyed life.

28. The Right Star LocationThe Right Star Location
• Right distance from center of galaxy:Right distance from center of galaxy:
- Closer: too much radiation, disruptive gravity- Closer: too much radiation, disruptive gravity
- Further: too few heavy elements- Further: too few heavy elements
• Right relation to supernovae:Right relation to supernovae:
- More or closer: exterminate life- More or closer: exterminate life
- Less or further: too few heavy elements- Less or further: too few heavy elements
• Right number of stars in systemRight number of stars in system
- Zero – pretty cold!- Zero – pretty cold!
- Two or more – unstable orbits if planets at all.- Two or more – unstable orbits if planets at all.

29. The Right Kind of Star
The Goldilocks Star

30. The Right Kind of Planet
Right distance
Rocky planet with plenty of
oxygen and water
Thin, light planetary “crust”
Huge moon for stable
planetary rotation

31. Conclusion:
“Since the creation of the world God’s
invisible qualities—his eternal power
and divine nature—have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has
been made, so that men are without
excuse.” Romans 1:20
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his
hands. Day after day they pour fourth
speech. Night after night they display
knowledge Psalms 19:1-2

32. Part II
Science and the Bible
Delos B. McKown:
“Christianity is scientifically unsupported
and probably insupportable, philosophically
suspect at best and disreputable at worst, and
historically fraudulent.”

33. Papyrus Ebers

34. The Ebers Papyrus:
“To prevent hair from turning gray,
anoint it with the blood of a calf
which has been boiled in oil or with
the fat of a rattlesnake.”
“A mixture of six fats, namely those
of the horse, the hippopotamus, the
crocodile, the cat, the snake and
the ibex.... to prevent hair loss.”

35. Drugs of Choice in Papyrus Ebers:
• Lizards blood
• Swine’s teeth
• Putrid meat
• Moisture from Pigs’ ears
• Excreta from animals including human
beings, donkeys, antelope, dogs, cats and
flies

36. “I will not bring on you any of
these diseases...”
Exodus 15:26
“The pig... is unclean for
you...those that walk on their
paws...the weasel, the rat...are
unclean for you.”
Leviticus 11

37. “The sting of a hornet is healed by
the house-fly, crushed and applied to
the wound.”
“The gnat, feeble creature, taking in
food but never secreting it is a
specific against the poison of the
viper.”
An ancient Hebrew medical manuscript.

38. “Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will
be unclean for seven days. He must purify
himself with the water on the third and
seventh day...take some hyssop, dip it in the
water and sprinkle the tent and furnishings
and the people who were there.”
Numbers 19

39. Semelweiss

41. Vienna, 1847
• In maternity wards one out of
every six women dies.
• Obstetricians ascribe deaths to
constipation, fear and poisonous
air.

42. Death Rate falls from
18% to 0.5%

43. Thymol: A Powerful Disinfectant

44. “As long as he has the infection he remains unclean.
He must live alone; he must live outside the
camp.”
Quarantine for infectious disease
Leviticus 13:46

45. LEPROSY
• Killed millions of people in Europe and
around the world for thousands of years.
• “Fear of all other diseases taken together
can hardly be compared to the terror
spread by leprosy.”
—Dr. George Rosen

46. Leprosy

47. MEDICAL COMMUNITY HAD NO
ANSWERS
They taught that it was brought on by
eating hot food, pepper, garlic and the
meat of diseased hogs.
Other physicians said it was caused by a
malign conjunction of the planets.
Leviticus 13:46
“As long as he has the infection he remains
unclean. He must live alone; he must live
outside the camp.”

48. The life is in the blood
Leviticus 17:14 “… the life of every
creature is in its blood. That is why I have
said to the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the
blood of any creature, because the life of
every creature is its blood; anyone who eats
it must be cut off.’ ”

49. Bloodletting
The most common medical practice
in 1700s and 1800s

50. 1693).
George Tiemann & Co. American armamentarium
Bloodletting Instruments from 1800s

51. “For the generations to come,
every male among you who is eight
days old must be circumcised...”
Genesis 17:12
Vitamin K
Prothrombin: a clotting protein.

52. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
days
%ofnormal
Clotting Protein Peaks on Day Eight
Available Prothrombin

53. DayDay
CircumcisedCircumcised
Number of HebrewNumber of Hebrew
BoysBoys
Number of DeathsNumber of Deaths
11 823823 44
33 759759 66
55 693693 88
77 855855 33
99 770770 22
1111 698698 44
How Did Abraham Pick the Eighth Day?

54. Other reasons I believe the Bible isOther reasons I believe the Bible is
inspired by Godinspired by God
Fulfilled messianic propheciesFulfilled messianic prophecies
Fufilled types, prefigures and foreshadowsFufilled types, prefigures and foreshadows
Historical accuracyHistorical accuracy
Consistency of message and lack ofConsistency of message and lack of
contradictioncontradiction
2 Tim 3:162 Tim 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God….All scripture is inspired by God….