Jason Browning, a Calvary Chapel Elder, who also has a local Creation Science ministry in New Jersey, has written a book composed of fifteen short chapters, each focused on a distinct proof for the existence of God.
Click to Expand Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - The Bible's Witness, begins by pointing out that many Theistic apologists tend to begin with scientific evidences, in hopes that they will make skeptical readers more open by the time they get to the Biblical argument. However, Browning does the opposite - he begins with the Bible, which is the only argument from special revelation - God's Word to man. All other proofs, he notes, are from natural revelation.
Browning notes that there are two main proofs of the Bible's reliability:
Browning then touches on the fact that "The Bible does not try to prove that God exists, for this knowledge is written on our hearts". Supporting this, he cites Romans 1:20-25, which states in verse 20 that "The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse". He notes that on judgment day, no one will be able to cite lack of evidence as a reason for disbelieving, because of the complex design that God's creation manifests - "look in the mirror". He also references Psalm 19:1-4, stating that "ordinary observation alone declares God's existence". I agree wholeheartedly.
Chapter 2 - Information, begins by defining "information" as "instructions" or a "blueprint". Browning then distinguishes information from the physical representation of information, such as DNA. He asserts that information can only come from a mind, and that there is no natural way for information to come about. The only mechanism proposed for information to come about without a mind is the process of mutation, and natural selection. However, Browning points out that most mutations are neutral or harmful, and just as likely to change information that is already in the "right" position, undoing the rare accidental successes that had occurred prior.
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 2
Even if beneficial mutations did increase DNA information a little, the number of identified beneficial mutations is small, whereas it would take billions of such mutations to generate the information content of the human genome. We should be inundated with reports of beneficial mutations but we are not.
Chapter 3 - Formation of First Life, is focused on Abiogenesis. Browning covers the Miller-Urey experiment (1952 AD), notes that it did not come anywhere near making life, that the experiment has a number of flaws that make its results impossible in the real world, and also that origin of life experiments have not progressed very much since that time. He then addresses the RNA World hypothesis in a similar manner. I wish this chapter would have gone into more depth, and explained more of the science involved.
Chapter 4 - Design and Beauty of Living Things, states that design can be inferred when three characteristics are met:
As an example of evident design, Browning cites the metamorphosis of the monarch butterfly. Every single reproducing monarch butterfly begins as an egg, then hatches as a caterpillar. After some weeks, the caterpillar attaches itself to a leaf, to begin the chrysalis stage, wherein it will literally dissolve itself, and reform as a butterfly. If a monarch does not go through this entire process, there is no reproduction.
Chapter 5 - Second Law of Thermodynamics, discusses the titular scientific law that states that "the universe is getting constantly more disorderly" (quoting Isaac Asimov), explained further with:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 5
What does this important sounding law mean? It is simply the everyday and scientific observation that everything naturally, on its own, moves continually towards irreversible mixing and decay. If you don't paint your house, the wood will rot. If you don't tend to your garden, weeds will grow (mixing plants you want with the plants you don't want). Eventually (if God were to let it go that long) the stars would release all of their energy and the universe would die a "heat death", where every place would be at the same (very cold) temperature and no work could be done (the scientific definition of "work" is the transfer of energy from one object to another).
Browning discusses that the Second Law of Thermodynamics is operative on any closed system - the universe, for instance. He notes that although the earth is not a closed system - as it receives energy from the sun - that energy nevertheless must be utilized by a mechanism, machine, or external influence/mind which causes an increase in order to occur. He notes that the process which makes the sun's energy useful for biological work is photosynthesis - a very complex chemical process, which would have taken an extremely long time to evolve ("if that were possible").
Chapter 6 - Irreducible Complexity, discusses systems in which "nothing works until everything works" - "what good is a heart without a circulatory system?". Browning covers the example of the bombardier beetle, quoting Creation Magazine:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 6
From twin "exhaust tubes" at his tail, the bombardier beetle fires into the face of his enemies boiling-hot noxious gases with a loud pop... Common sense tells us that this amazing little insect cannon which can fire four or five "bombs" in succession could not have evolved piece by piece. Explosive chemicals, inhibitor enzymes, glands, combustion tubes, sensory communication, muscles to direct the combustion tubes and reflex nervous systems - all had to work perfectly the very first time - or all hopes for "Bomby" and his children would have exploded.
Chapter 7 - Existence of the Universe, starts with the following deductive argument:
Browning touches on the fact that most Materialistic attempts to answer the above argument involve getting "something" from "nothing", which inevitably involves redefining their "nothing". He then reformulates this argument in terms of the Kalam Cosmological Argument:
Browning notes in passing that "the Bible really doesn't support the sequence of events as proposed in the Big Bang scenario", however, some verses do refer to God "stretching out the Heavens" (Isaiah 45:12), which may produce similar observations.
Chapter 8 - Fine-tuning of Physics, discusses the fact that "a minor change in any one of dozens of universal parameters would make life impossible". Browning lists 11 such parameters - such as the speed of light, and the weak and strong nuclear forces, and then references an article in which Hugh Ross describes more than 150 such parameters.
Browning then explains that Materialists most often appeal to a multiverse theory as a way to get around the astronomical impossibilities of these parameters all simultaneously being in the proper range for life, and that such explanations have left the realm of observational science. He then notes that there must be a way of accounting for the bare existence of all of these forces:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 8
For that matter, what is "gravity" or the "strong nuclear force" really? These are phenomenons which have been given a name and description, but why they exist and what they really are is another question. The Bible answers this question. In Colossians 1:17 it says: "In Him [God the Son] all things hold together".
Chapter 9 - Fine-tuning of Earth for Life, begins by stating that Hugh Ross calculated the odds of one planet in the universe being suitable for the existence of life to be 1 in 10282, which Browning states, falls tremendously below the number of atoms in the universe - 1080. He lists 14 of the dozens of identified criteria that make a planet habitable, such as having an oxygen-rich atmosphere, a moderate rate of rotation, the presence of liquid water, and a magnetic field.
He then quotes again from the aforementioned article by Hugh Ross, which explains why each parameter must be tuned a certain way in order for life to be possible on earth, for instance:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 9
- Rotation period
- If longer: diurnal temperature differences would be too great
- If shorter: atmospheric wind velocities would be too great
- Magnetic Field
- If stronger: electromagnetic storms would be too severe; too few cosmic ray protons would reach planet's troposphere which would inhibit adequate cloud formation
- If weaker: ozone shield would be inadequately protected from hard stellar and solar radiation
Chapter 10 - Abrupt Appearance in the Fossil Record, begins by asserting two problems which arise for the evolutionary view of life's origins when observing the fossil record:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 10
1. All major body plans appear in the rocks within a small window of geologic time, with no traces of any prior simpler forms. This is commonly referred to as the "Cambrian explosion" of life. The Cambrian period is the oldest rock layer containing any significant amount of fossils.
2. The oldest fossils, whether found in the Cambrian layer or later, are already fully-formed and tend to change very little after that.
Chapter 11 - Human Consciousness and Language, begins by noting that humans are different from animals in two distinct ways - self-awareness, and language. Browning notes that in Genesis 1:26, mankind is called out specially as being made in the image of God. He argues that a bare naturalism ends in a determinism, wherein free will is only an illusion. I find the way that Browning presents this argument to be a bit weak. Maybe it should have emphasized the absurd amount of complexity required for self-awareness. He also notes the Tower of Babel event (Genesis 11) as being responsible for the diversity in human language.
Chapter 12 - Human Reasoning and Logic, takes a Presuppositionalist approach, arguing that all logical conclusions ultimately cannot be trusted, without the knowledge that our reasoning is grounded on the foundation of God having imparted to His creation the ability to think and reason. Browning quotes C.S. Lewis:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 12
Thus a strict materialism refutes itself for the reason given long ago by Professor Haldane: 'If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motion of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true and hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.'
Chapter 13 - Sexual Reproduction, notes that "Gradual development of continually mutually compatible reproductive machinery is absurd". Browning also points out that "evolution has no foresight to know that a future mode of sexual reproduction would be beneficial".
Chapter 14 - Morality, deals with the fact that humans have an intrinsic morality, but also raises an interesting point concerning instincts in general:
Top 15 Evidences for God and Creation - Chapter 14
Animals operate with "instincts", but how did these evolve? Are "knowing danger", "where to find food", "it's time to migrate now", or "I should live with a group" strictly genetic traits? Acquired behaviors and learning cannot be transmitted genetically to subsequent generations, yet instincts are present from birth.
Browning then references Romans 2:14-16, which bears witness to the fact that God has written morality on the hearts of every single person in the form of a conscience.
Chapter 15 - Miracles, notes that many have experienced miracles, that likely, more miracles happen than we think, and then briefly covers the miraculous ministry of the Lord Jesus, along with the seminal miracle of His resurrection.
This book was a fun and light read - but over and over again, at the conclusion of every chapter, I found myself having wanted a much deeper presentation of the proof being discussed, and particularly, more scientific references and explanations. I also desired more frequent and thorough engagement with the naturalistic responses to the points presented.