Naturalism

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Naturalism

• The idea that
• Nature is all there is.

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• It seems self evident that if everything came
  from God or Nothing, it must have come from God.
  God or Nothing leaves only one real choiceGod.
• It would seem that if God has no competitor, but
  Nothing, he has nothing for competitor. "God or
  Nothing" and "only God" are synonymous
  expressions.
• From the mind of Jonathan Edwards

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NYT Editorial 1996

• This whole issue might make for an amusing
  academic debate were it not for the potentially
  grave consequences for society at large. If we
  are unwilling unilaterally to brand scientific
  nonsense as just that, regardless of the
  sensibilities might be offendedreligious or
  otherwisethen the whole notion of truth itself
  becomes blurred. Our democratic society is
  imperiled as much by this as any other single
  threat

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G K Chesterton

• The Christian is quite free to believe that
  there is a considerable amount of settled order
  and inevitable development in the universe. But
  the materialist is not allowed to admit into his
  spotless machine the slightest speck of
  spiritualism or miracle.

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William Dembski

• Intelligent Design (ID) is a biological theory
  that holds that a designing influence is required
  to account for the complex information-rich
  structures in living systems."

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• What is the main target?
• Is it origin of life research?
• Is it neo-Darwinism?
• What is it?

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• What is the big target?
• In the words of Phillip Johnson it is
  metaphysical naturalism or materialism or
  just plain old naturalism it is the idea that
  nature is all there is.
• Modern science today is totally based on
  naturalism. In all of intelligent design's
  arguments against both Darwinian evolution, and
  the chemical origin of life, it is their
  naturalistic base that is the ultimate target.
• The important aspect of Darwinian evolution is
  its naturalistic claim that all life is a result
  of purposeless, unintelligent, material causes.

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• Why is ID a big tent?
• All who are lined up against Naturalism are
  welcome in the ID tent.
• We need each other!

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The Naturalistic Filter

• They totally misread what we have to say.
• Texas Statewide Biology Textbook Adoption
• The latest issue of Time magazine Stealth
  Attack Against Evolution

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What is Naturalism?

• Naturalism asserts, first of all, that the
  primary constituents of reality are material
  entities. By this I do not mean that only
  material entities exist I'm not denying the
  reality the real existenceof such things as
  hopes, plans, behavior, language, logical
  inferences, and so on. What I am asserting,
  however, is that anything that is real is, in the
  last analysis, explicable as a material entity or
  as a form or function or action of a material
  entity. Theism says in the beginning God
  naturalism says in the beginning matter.
  William Halverson

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Naturalism

• "It is like suffocating in a particularly bad
  London fog. And just as fog cannot be kept out
  by walls or doors, so this consensus comes in
  around us, till the rim we live in is no longer
  distinct, and yet we hardly realize what has
  happened..."
• Francis Schaeffer
• "the great redemptive religion, which has always
  been known as Christianity is battling against a
  totally diverse type of religious belief and the
  root of the movement is naturalism.
• J. Gresham Machen

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The Matrix-Type World

• Morpheus Let me tell you why you're here. You're
  here because you know something. What you know,
  you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it
  your entire life. That there's something wrong
  with the world. You don't know what it is, but
  it's there. Like a splinter in your mind
  driving you mad. It is this feeling that has
  brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking
  about?
• Neo The matrix?

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• Morpheus Do you want to know what it is? (Neo
  nods his head.) The matrix is everywhere, it is
  all around us. Even now, in this very room. You
  can see it when you look out your window, or when
  you turn on your television. You can feel it when
  you go to work, or when you go to church or when
  you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been
  pulled over your eyes to blind you from the
  truth.
• Neo What truth?
• Morpheus That you are a slave, Neo. Like
  everyone else, you were born into bondage, born
  inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or
  touch. A prison for your mind. (long pause,
  sighs)

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Psalm 1001-3

• Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands
• Serve the Lord with gladness,
• Come before his presence with singing,
• Know ye that the LORD he is God
• It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves
• We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

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Training your Mind

• To know wisdom and instruction to perceive the
  words of understanding
• To know wisdom and instruction shows us how to
  live our lives had a have moral wisdom, but
• To perceive the words of understanding means to
  train your mind,
• to develop you to think.
• This is the book of the Bible to develop your
  mental skills.

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• That is why they are put into maxims,
• they are very symbolic
• you have to wrestle with them
• they are very challenging to a mental discipline
  
• they are for you to develop a way of thinking and
  
• to develop your mind to think clearly"

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Phillip Johnson

• "To get the intellectual world discussing a new
  and possibly unwelcome question, it is not enough
  just to write a book or make an argument. We
  have to inspire a lot of people to start doing
  intellectual work based on the right questions,
  work of such high quality and persuasive force
  that the world cannot avoid discussing it

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• These thinkers have to produce books and articles
  that explore in detail what happens when you call
  materialism into question rather than take it for
  granted. As the discussion proceeds, the
  intellectual world will become gradually
  accustomed to treating materialism and naturalism
  as subjects to be analyzed and debated, rather
  than as tacit foundational assumptions that can
  never be criticized for. Eventually, the answer
  to our prime question will become too obvious to
  be in doubt. When philosophy conflicts with the
  evidence, real scientists follow the evidence.
  (Signs 37-38)

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The Power of the Deductive Argument

• Nature is all there is.
• Life exists.
• Therefore, natural processes brought forth life.

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Remember!

• No arguments on behalf of intelligent design can
  possibly succeed against naturalism on
  naturalism's own terms.

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Strategy 1Point out the Dependence on
Naturalism

• "Once it becomes clear that Darwinism rest on the
  dogmatic philosophy, rather than on the weight of
  the evidence, the way will be open for dissenting
  opinions to get a fair hearing. In a nutshell,
  that is the strategy." (Signs, p.36)

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What about the Bible?

• It is vital not to give any encouragement to
  this prejudice, and to keep the discussion
  strictly on the scientific evidence, and the
  philosophical assumptions. This is not to say
  that the biblical issues are unimportant the
  point is rather that the time to address them
  will be after we have separated materialistic
  prejudice from scientific fact. (Signs, 36)

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A question to ponder

• "How could the materialistic, philosophical,
  naturalistic base dependency of Darwinism been
  brought into the discussion and used for our
  benefit?

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Strategy 2Demonstrate the Weight of the
Evidence

• The question for now is not whether the vast
  claims of Darwinism evolution conflict with
  Genesis, but whether they conflict with the
  evidence of biology.
• To make this question visible, it is necessary to
  distinguish between the dictates of the
  materialist philosophy and the inferences that
  one might legitimately draw from the evidence in
  the absence of the materialist bias.

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• So I put the simple question to the Darwinian
  establishment What should we do if empirical
  evidence and materialist philosophy are going in
  different directions? ..... Should we follow the
  evidence or the philosophy? (Signs, 36)

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Conclusion

• In conclusion, we have a worldview clash. We
  need to chip away at the foundation of their
  worldview by first, demonstrating their
  dependence on a naturalistic philosophy and
  second, by demonstrating the weight of evidence
  that stands against Darwinism

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• Remember, keep chipping away with objective
  empirical evidence, and keep pointing out their
  deductive reasoning depends on the premise
  Nature is all there is. Remind them that they
  may be wrong.

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The Discussion Questions

• 1. When engaged in a discussion with an
  evolutionist, how can you demonstrate their
  argument depends on a naturalist philosophical
  assumption, and then bring this assumption into
  the debate? Also, is this possible without
  bringing religion into discussion?

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• 2. How would it impact society if science is
  defined as naturalism and naturalism is false?
• 3. Can science be defined without a naturalistic
  assumption? If so, define it.
• 4. Is science defined as naturalism able to say
  ID is false?

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Questions to ponder

• What evidences do the Naturalists have that make
  them so confident they are right?
• Why has the biological community failed to
  convince the public that evolution can account
  for full diversity of life? That is, why have
  they failed to convince the public that
  naturalism is true?
• How long before Common Descent enters the trash
  bin of history?