Where Did We Come From?

INTRODUCTION (LIFE’S BIGGEST QUESTIONS Series Slide) Good morning! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church. This morning we are starting a brand new teaching series called “Life’s Biggest Questions” where we are going to take a look at the 5 biggest, most foundational questions of life. Now, these questions are different than the 5 most common questions of life. Those might be: What should I be when I grow up, who should I marry, why did the TV Show Lost have to end like that? And so on. We’re looking at 5 questions, that when we answer them, they completely shape how we live and our worldview (the lens through which we interpret the world) Here are the 5 questions we’re going to cover: (Show the series slide with all 5 topics until the next slide) Now, I want to submit that we all answer these questions one way or another. Not each and every one of us has studied or thought deeply about each of these questions… …but nonetheless, the way we are currently living our lives, is actually an answer to each one of these questions. And so finding the right answers to these incredibly important questions is foundational to your life. And so I actually want you to consider something. I want you to consider committing to coming here for all 5 weeks of this series. Even if you’re a bit skeptical. Even if it’s been a long time since you’ve been in a church. I want you to give this a chance. What’s 5 hours of your entire life? Not a lot. If we get to the end of the series, and I sound uneducated, or irrational, or crazy to you, then don’t come back. But if it sounds, at minimum like this could actually, logically be true, I want you to keep exploring truth with us. (Title Slide: Where did we come from?) Okay, let’s jump into the very first of “Life’s Biggest Questions” And that is: Where did we come from? And I don’t mean, where do babies come from (that’s a different subject), but we mean, “Where did life on earth even come from?” And even more importantly, where did the universe come from? The Hebrews of the Old Testament believed that God created the universe. In fact, the very first words of the Bible are: (Genesis 1:1) – NIV In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Could this actually be true, and logical? Or is this just ignorant superstition of an ancient culture? Now, I believe the Bible, but you may not (I don’t know your story…I know many of you are visiting for the 1st time today) But because I believe the Bible is true, I believe the supplementary evidence should also point toward its truth. And so we’re going to examine this 1st question from not only what we see in the Bible, but also from what we see in science And then next week, when we talk Question #2: “What’s wrong with the world, and how do we make it right…” …we’ll supplement our discussion with philosophy and history and culture, and so on. I want you to see not only the Bible’s teachings, but that there is a reasonableness to the truth that it claims. THE CELL & DNA So…to explore our question for today, I want to examine the amazing advances of science in 3 different fields Let’s take a look at the first one: 3 Scientific Fields 1. The Cell & DNA It may seem odd to start with such a small and microscopic thing when we’re answering massive questions like, “Where did we come from?” But many scientists and philosophers actually start here at the tiniest part of life. Let’s go back now to the days of Charles Darwin in the 1850’s & 1860’s By the way, speaking of Darwin, we’re not going to get too deep into the “evolution question” today because the process isn’t as important as the cause for this particular question “WHERE (not how), Where did we come from?” but if you do want to hear more on that particular subject, I encourage you to find a message on our website called, “Doesn’t Science Contradict Faith,” in our Reason to Believe series. But ever since Darwin wrote “The Origin of Species” in 1859, scientists have since been speculating that perhaps there was some sort of primordial soup present on earth… …where, if amino acids randomly interacted over millions of years, the basic building blocks for life could emerge. I suppose you could kind of imagine this theory to be true IF the smallest beginnings of life were really, really simple, right? Meaning, if the irreducible minimum of a cell was incredibly basic with almost no information or components If that were true, one might speculate (and it is total speculation), that a VERY basic cell could develop, and then everything evolves and builds from there, right? And in Darwin’s defense, scientists of those days, didn’t know even a fraction of what we now know about the cell, or certainly what we know about DNA But it’s not 1859 anymore. It’s 163 years later, and we’ve now discovered that what is indeed inside a “simple cell,” isn’t simple at all. So what is that we actually learned (especially in the last 50 years) about the intricacies of the cell and DNA? Well, we’ve learned that DNA is literally encoded information into alphabetic or digital form. DNA encodes instructions for proteins through a set of four molecules, each of which represents a letter of genetic code. Bill Gates once described DNA this way: “DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created” Bill Gates For example, DNA in a human is written in a code that is over 3 billion characters long. So, if you were to write out the code of your DNA in 12 point font in Microsoft Word, and then print it on paper… That paper stack (of the human genome) would be 424 feet tall. (Genome to Statue of Liberty Diagram) That’s taller than the statue of liberty! And that amount of DNA code is in the nucleus of EACH of your 40 trillion cells! And so why does that matter for today’s question? Because remember, one of the main reasons people walked away from faith in the late 1800’s and all throughout the 1900’s was because many, many people thought, “Amino acids could have interacted and made an incredibly basic and single celled organism and life could grow from there… …For SO many people that exact theory satisfied this question for them: “Where did we come from?” ” But we’ve now discovered that even the simplest living cells aren’t simple at all! We’ve learned that the DNA of even a single celled organism is highly complex…and filled with an operating code that tells that single cell what to do. In fact, in 2010, a scientist removed as much info as possible from the most simple single celled bacteria (very similar to the kind of 1st cell some scientists have theorized gave life to us all…and started life on this planet) And in this study, they learned that that single cell STILL had to have (in order to have life) 473 separate CODED genes in its DNA 473 different, and unique software commands! What does that mean? It means that it’s incredibly unlikely (honestly closer to impossible) that a random event could have led to the creation of (NOT SOMETHING SIMPLE!), but something as highly complex and functional as what we now discovered the cell & DNA to be Honestly it would be like lightning hitting a rock and making a computer. That’s what that old theory for “Where did we come from” is saying And so this is a first great example where the evidence is pointing in the direction of a Creator. To me, the most logical conclusion based on the fact that we’ve found highly complex software code in the smallest form of life is that there is a DESIGNER, and author of that code. Does that still take faith? To believe that a Designer, God, created humans and wrote that code inside us that tells us how to operate? Sure. That takes faith. But it also takes faith to believe that a random and unproven event somehow created complex and software like functioning DNA. Everything takes faith. You just want to figure out which side takes less faith. By the way, before we get to our 2nd point, if you want to dive deeper into some of these topics today, I put a number of books out on our Welcome Table that I would recommend you check out. Just take a picture of them (don’t steal my books) J PHYSICS & THE FINE TUNING OF THE UNIVERSE Okay, let’s take a look now at a second scientific field, and its amazing, and recent discoveries 3 Scientific Fields 1. The cell & DNA 2. Physics First, again, look at what the Apostle Paul says in the Bible about this: (Romans 1:20) – NIV For 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 people are without excuse. In other words, when we look at Creation, when we study the earth and the universe, we should (if it was created by God), see His design in it And some of the greatest discoveries of the last 50 100 years of science have been on this exact point For instance, scientists have discovered that our earth has been finely tuned for life. For example, if the earth’s tilt wasn’t 23.5 degrees, we’d all be dead. J Less tilt would make our equator unbearably hot, and more tilt would create a super unstable climate And there are plenty of examples just like that one: Like, the amount of precision in how close we are to the moon, how close we are to the sun, how big the earth is, the percentage of oxygen we have, the amount of water on earth….all have to be almost spot on to support life. Which is all incredible evidence that this planet isn’t anywhere near a random accident. Now, in response to these amazing discoveries, some have retorted, “Yes, that’s scientifically true. Our planet is finely tuned for life to exist, but there are millions of planets, and earth just happens to be the right goldilocks planet for life.” Maybe, but what we also can’t escape is that the laws of physics are also finely tuned for the entire universe to exist in the first place. +Take gravity for instance: Even if you were to increase every gravitational force in the universe by 1 part in 10 to the 40th (that’s a 1 followed by 40 zeros), our sun would not exist and neither would we. +If you changed the expansion rate of the universe even by one part in a trillion…it couldn’t support life as we know it. +If you increased the mass of the neutron by about one part in seven hundred, nuclear fusion in stars would stop. And there would be no energy source for life. And we could go on and on about the universe. In fact, scientists say that, there are now more than 30 (thirty!!) separate physical or cosmological (Cosmology is the study of the origin of the universe)…but more than 30 parameters that have to be balanced on a “razor’s edge of precision” in order for life to exist in the universe. The evidence in Physics for a Creator is now so overwhelming that the prominent Physicist Robert Griffiths from Carnegie Mellon has said: “If we need an atheist for a debate, I go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn’t much use.” – Physicist Robert Griffiths And so once again, in this massive question of life “Where did we come from?” we are each faced with a leap of faith after we examine the evidence. Actually, let me ask you a question as you think about this week’s Question of Life: Is it easier to believe that all of these finely tuned elements of physics were set by a Designer who created a Universe fit for you to live in… OR, is it easier to believe that these 30 different laws of physics were all randomly tuned each to the exact right parameter for life to exist? By the way, I’m going to cover even more of the common atheistic objections to these points about Physics in our House Groups Video this week. If you’re not in a House Group yet (our groups of 30 people that meet every week), THIS is actually a really good time to try one out. You can get in a group with other people and search for truth with us You can sign up out at the info table in the lobby Let me cover at least one of the objections right now, because it’s a very popular one in the last 5 10 years. The scientists that don’t have faith in God…upon seeing all of the parameters of Physics being set just right, have said, “Well, it may be true that our universe is set just right, but what if there are millions of universes? And ours is the only one that got it right?” This is what’s called the parallel universe theory, or multiverse theory. But if that we’re true, you still have to answer the question of, “Well, where did all of those universes come from?” So let’s ask that question now, of our own universe, which is, by the way, the only universe we have evidence of. Where did it come from? And there are a TON of scientific discoveries that have happened here too! THE BIG BANG 3 Scientific Fields 1. The cell & DNA 2. Physics 3. The Big Bang Let’s actually start this section on the science of the Big Bang with a famous argument from science, philosophy, and logic: It’s called the Cosmological Argument: The Cosmological Argument: 1. Everything that has a beginning has a cause 2. The Universe had a beginning 3. Therefore, the universe had a cause. Okay, let’s walk through this, starting with Premise #1: Everything that has a beginning has a cause. This is scientific fact. No one, and I mean literally NO ONE disputes this in science. A tree can’t just appear on the grass outside. It starts with a seed Everything that has a beginning has a cause. Okay, let’s move to Premise #2: The Universe had a beginning. Now, 100 200 years ago, scientists weren’t so sure about this one. But today, basically 99.9% of scientists believe in some form of The Big Bang Theory Maybe not every single aspect of it, but they all agree (even the Christian scientists) that the universe had a definite beginning. I’ll even quote renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking for you if that helps J “Almost everyone now believes that the universe and time itself had a beginning at the big bang.” – Stephen Hawking Or, how about Einstein, who watched information about the beginning of the universe be discovered during his lifetime? “Denying the evidence that the universe had a beginning was the greatest blunder of my scientific career” – Albert Einstein And the Bible makes the same point about creation having a beginning. (Colossians 1:16 17) – NIV 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. + So what then of those who say that the universe had a beginning…but “began from nothing” Well, let’s go back to the cosmological argument: The Cosmological Argument: 1. Everything that has a beginning has a cause 2. The Universe had a beginning 3. Therefore, the universe had a cause. In no other realm of science, would a scientist let you get away with, “Sorry Professor, that chemical reaction just began from nothing. There is no cause for it.” So if we’re going to be consistent (the logic follows), that the universe (Premise #3) needs a cause too. Something (or Someone) to create it. And while many people who are not scientists simply believe that the universe just popped into existence (uncaused), most actual scientists believe there has to be a cause for the big bang. But what if they don’t believe in God? What do they say? Well, some say we just don’t know yet what the cause is …but others say that before the universe, there was simply a gravitational singularity But then they still have to answer the question of, “But what caused the gravitational singularity to exist?” Now, if you’re a Christian, and you’ve ever had this conversation with someone before, and you’ve explained that everything that has a beginning must have a cause… …surely you’ve heard the objection, “Okay, but what caused God then?” That’s a really good question, and it’s fair. But you see, nothing has to precede God. Because look at premise #1. Everything that has a BEGINNING has a cause. God doesn’t have a beginning. He is timeless. (Psalm 90:2) – NIV Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. And think about this logically…The universe HAS to start with something that doesn’t have a cause: The person who doesn’t believe in God will want to continue to find scientific data about what caused the big bang, but where would it end? Let’s say 40 years from now they find something that looks like it was even before the Big Bang? Okay, but then what caused that? And what caused that? And what caused that? You see, we can’t keep infinitely going back to more causes There must, at some point, be an uncaused, first cause. It’s the only logical explanation for the beginning of time. Because space, time, and matter all came into existence at the Big Bang, we can conclude that the cause would have to be spaceless, timeless, and immaterial What does that sound like? God! (Hebrews 11:3) – NIV 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. CONSISTENT THOUGHT So what do we do with all this? When you find answers to life’s biggest questions, the best thing you can do is to live consistently with the answers you’ve discovered. Don’t be afraid of doing that…even if it feels a bit new and scary I heard an MIT professor say once that his children were “Nothing but a machine. A big bag of skin, full of biomolecules…” “But…he still loved them like they weren’t machines.” When someone pressed on how he reconciled such a cognitive dissonance, he said, “I don’t reconcile it. It just maintain 2 sets of inconsistent beliefs” You don’t have to live that way. Especially not anymore as the evidence for God continues to stack up. If you study DNA, and Physics, and the Big Bang, and the evidence shows that this was all an accident…and there’s no evidence whatsoever for a designer…. Then, by all means, don’t live as if God is real. Stop coming to church. Be consistent. Seriously. But if the evidence actually points to God, then follow that evidence. Do everything you can to figure out who God is, and to know Him. Listen if God is real, there is going to be evidence for it This is not a loosey goosey, emotional church where we just believe because we want to. I love this quote from Lee Strobel, an atheist turned Christian “Faith in God is a reasonable step in the same direction that the scientific evidence is pointing” – Lee Strobel And remember…you’re going to need faith either way. To believe that the universe popped into existence out of nothing, and that our universe was just accidentally finely tuned on a razor’s edge for life, and that the incredible operational code of DNA was just random chance (lighting making a computer)…to believe all that takes a lot of faith. A LOT Or you could have faith that there is a God, a designer. Who designed this universe, and this world, and even you…so you could have life…and ultimately so you could know Him. What we as Christians believe is that God did create this universe, and this world, and you. And He loves you so much, that even though your life is not perfect, and full of mistakes and sin, He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for you. And Jesus died for us, taking the punishment that we deserved. And it’s our faith in Him, that forgives us, and lets us know God, to have a relationship with the Maker of the Universe. And God wants that for you too. If you want to know more about following Jesus…I want to encourage you after the service today to head to the front right corner of the room, and we’ll have some folks from the follow up team who would love to help you with that. For everyone else, keep coming all 5 weeks, keep seeking truth, and keeping diving into the evidence for the Christian faith. All right, I’m going to pray, and then we’ll have one final song before we see you next week as we tackle another huge question of life, “What’s wrong with the world around us, and how do we make it right?” Let me pray. Copyright: David Sorn Renovation Church in Blaine, MN You may use this material all you like! We only ask that you do not charge a fee and that you quote the source and not say it is your own.