WhatWillBeYourDefiningMoment?

TheFourGreatQuestionsofFaith

1. Origin:wheredidyoucomefrom?

2. Morality:howareyousupposedtolive?

3. Meaning:whatisthepurposeofyourlife?

4. Destiny:wherewillyougowhenyoudie?

StrongRationalism“Nooneshouldbelieveapropositionunlessitcan

beprovedrationallybylogicorempiricallybysenseexperience.

Proofisanargumentsostrongthatanormalpersonwouldnothaveanyreasonfordisbelievingit.”

ProblemswithStrongRationalism“Nooneshouldbelieveapropositionunlessitcanbeprovedrationallybylogicorempiricallybysenseexperience.Proofisanargumentsostrongthatanormalpersonwouldnothaveanyreasonfordisbelievingit.”

1. Itdoesnotliveuptoitsownstandard.Itisnotprovable.2. Itassumescompleteobjectivity,animpossibility.3. Itisimpossibletoliveby,foranyone!

Noonelivesbythisprinciple.NOONE.

Listeria Salmonella

E.Coli

Staph.A.

HepatitisA

StrongRationalism…&Faith

• Imagineapplyingstrongrationalismeverytime– Eatingatarestaurant– Eatinganythingatall,evendrinkingwater–Drivingonthe401

EVERYpersonlivesbyactsoffaithEVERYday,inlifeordeathsituations…whethertheyknowitornot.

Reason&Faith:PerfectComplements• Faith:Belief,trust,orconfidenceinsomeoneorsomething,suchthatyouact onit.

• Faith:Acceptancethatburdenofproofissatisfied.

• Burdenofproof=Balanceofprobabilities

Reason&Faith,Together

Inmostcases,certainty(100%proof)isimpossible.

ReasonandFaithworktogether:whencertaintyisimpossible,reasongetsyouascloseaspossible,thentheremainderisanactoffaith.

TheFourGreatQuestionsofFaith

1. Origin:wheredidyoucomefrom?

2. Morality:howareyousupposedtolive?

3. Meaning:whatisthepurposeofyourlife?

4. Destiny:wherewillyougowhenyoudie?

QuestionsofOrigin:Causality,Contingency,&TheArrowofTime

• Wheredidyoucomefrom?– Andbeforethat?Andbeforethat?Andbeforethat?

E=mc2

Science,Causality&Fine-Tuning• Modernsciencetellsus:– Theuniversehadabeginning, itisnotinfinitelyold.Hawking&Penrose.– Theuniversecontainsastounding amountsofenergy.Einstein.– Energyhadtobeinjectedintotheuniverse fromoutside.1st LawofTD.– Theuniversestartedordered, decayingeversince.2nd LawofTD.– Energy,matter,dimensions, physicallaws,physicalconstantsare

allfinely tunedforlifetoexist.Davies,Penzias,Sandage,etc.

TheBeginningofExistence“Itwouldbeverydifficulttoexplainwhytheuniverseshouldhavebeguninjustthisway,exceptastheactofaGodwhointendedtocreatebeingslikeus.”

StephenHawking,Britishphysicist

"Astronomyleadsustoauniqueevent,auniversewhichwascreatedoutofnothing,onewiththeverydelicatebalanceneededtoprovideexactlytheconditionsrequiredtopermitlife,andonewhichhasanunderlying,dareIsay,supernaturalplan.”

ArnoPenzias(Nobelprizeinphysics)

E=mc2

Science,Causality&Fine-Tuning• Modernsciencetellsus:– Theuniversehadabeginning, itisnotinfinitelyold.Hawking&Penrose.– Theuniversecontainsastounding amountsofenergy.Einstein.– Energyhadtobeinjectedintotheuniverse fromoutside.1st LawofTD.– Theuniversestartedordered, decayingeversince.2nd LawofTD.– Energy,matter,dimensions, physicallaws,physicalconstantsare

allfinely tunedforlifetoexist.Davies,Penzias,Sandage,etc.

Thereissome“force”fromoutside theuniverse,outsideoftimeandspace,thatcausedauniversetoexistandinjectedmind-blowing amountsofenergy,order, andrationality,tocreateauniversefine-tuned forlife.

Whichoftheseisaperson?

Maslow’sHierarchyofNeedsMorality&Meaning

ConsciousRationality

Love&Relationship

Physical

Personhood• Whatdoesitmeantobea“person”?• Consciousness• Rationality• Relationship• Morality• Meaning

Wrong.

TheProblemofPain“MyargumentagainstGodwasthattheuniverseseemedsocruelandunjust.ButhowhadIgotthisideaofjustandunjust?Amandoesnotcallalinecrookedunlesshehassomeideaofastraightline.WhatwasIcomparingthisuniversewithwhenIcalleditunjust?”

CSLewis,Britishauthor

OriginsofPersonhood

Howcouldthiscomeaboutby

chance?

Morality&Meaning

ConsciousRationality

Love&Relationship

Physical

ReasonableDecisionsofFaith• God:The“Force”ispowerful,rational,personal.– Conscious,rational,moral,loving,meaningful

• You:Origin,Morality,Meaning,Destiny?

• Intellectualintegrity,thenecessityofchoice

• Ourdecisionssolidifyourcharacter– Whatwillbeyourdefiningmoment?