Neo: To say then that it is evidence of God is the classic GOTG argument. Yes, as a theist you are preaching to the choir.
Neo - WITHOUT God, the gaps of what is possible would otherwise be impossible, and irrational to believe possible without an intelligence behind it. And that goes to whether God worked by instant creations (whether short or long), or via evolutionary means. That term, GOTGs gets thrown around as if we can perfectly know how things were assembled - and a universe from a given moment - that is an enormous, yes, gap, to explain.
Neo: Paul also asserted that a life of celibacy is better than marriage? you agree with that?
For SOME, absolutely. Paul clearly wasn't applying that to everyone - that's a poor analysis - see 1 Corinthians:7 - Paul is very pro-marriage and pro-sex: "... each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time.
Neo: The point is, you are invoking God in creation by fine-tuning and intelligent design but you don't give any good reasons for the counter-arguments against these.
That is because I don't believe there ARE good counter arguments to the astounding things that blind, random, unprogrammed/unguided things can produce. I find that immensely illogical - as did Einstein, as finally did, famous atheist Anthony Flew. We have ZERO evidence of unintelligent things creating themselves, or of exhibiting massive intelligence.
Neo: Things happen naturally (the reason why you are not a yec?) over time. e.g. 14 billion-year-old universe, epochs of life on earth rising up and dying etc, mass extinctions, yet whatever that was, the sole centre of everything is man. Doesn't make sense to me at all.
One - that's because you don't believe what Scripture says about the Creation. But that IS the reality: ONE creature (man!) has our capabilities of creativity, deep psychological awareness and thinking, high level of communications, the importance of deep love and complex relationships - all such things FAR surpassing what is in the animal kingdom. We were absolutely created to seek love and God, and so that relationships and communication is supremely important to us - there is NO animal remotely like us. Out of vast millions of lifeforms, we are the only one. That is exceptionally unique.
Neo: God intervenes at special points to influence or fix or guide things. Again this is redundant if point 1 is true.
To GOD, however, He has done what He has is all the same - you look at it from a procedural, technical view - one thing is merely a logical mechanical outcome, yet the other, some miracle. But yours is an artificial way of looking at God. How God has created and dealt with the universe is ALL "God stuff." You are merely upset because you think such things should break down via your unproven science views, as if it is illogical for God to do this or that. You and I have the brains of worms, in comparison to God. It is arrogant to think YOU know how God would or had to do this or that. It is YOU who is illogical, because you suppose to understand how a Creature of infinite capabilities and intellect should logically do things - but by WHOSE logic? Yours.
Neo: I maintain that in a fine tuned-intelligent designed universe, the Andromeda should never be on a collision course with us.
Neo, are we meant to live forever? Was man created to never die (post the Garden)? Why should we ever get sick, age, etc? Does Scripture not indicate there WILL be an end to THIS time? God has purposes for each stage of the universe and His creations - clearly, there were things gradually put in place for the day we would arrive, and things set up to even make that possible, and sustainable. But where did you get this idea that just because there would, eventually, be catastrophe for this world (if it played out naturally), that God meant for it to end that way? Does He not know the future? Did I build my own house thinking it would last for thousands of years, or more likely for the time I and some subsequent generations will be able to use it? Things are designed for what God purposes them. No, you can't prove that to unbelievers. But my argument is with things you have problems with as a believer.
I've also used the analogy - a man builds a house. There is chaos in the building process, materials randomly everywhere, strewn across a building site. There is a garbage pile for leftover materials - unorganized, messy, chemicals and paints intermixed with scrap wood, etc. Does the GARBAGE pile matter - or is not the intended focus planned for what comes out of it, the intended use and period of use? Later, house garbage goes to a chaotic dump somewhere - far away from homes and neighborhoods, so as to not pose a hazard. Such dumps sometimes catch fire, create chemical hazards, etc. - all as a result of homes being built and people living in them. The focus is not the chaos of the garbage dumps - it's the homes people live in. And the homes were never expected to last forever - only for whatever projected time length they would be useful and livable. Even WE realize that nothing we create is expected to last forever, nor how long exactly. But God sees the future. He knows whether or not it matters IF the universe were to continue, that our galaxy will experience catastrophe - because IT'S IRRELEVANT as to His purposes for our galaxy. Why? Because He also tells us that He has PLANNED an ending - one replaced by something far grander - perfectly ending as PLANNED by God. So, your argument falls apart, because YOU don't know the purposes for things, nor their orchestrated time lengths. Do YOU know the things God does? Doe you know His precise purposes and timings for what He has created? Course not! Which means your logical analysis of how God would do this or that is pointless.
Sorry, Neo, you're my brother, but I just see huge flaws in your thinking. But if you fail to accept what Scripture teaches, if you continue to think what YOU know negates it, none of it will make much sense to you. Again - a Messiah is necessary, God must become man and be tortured and crucified, be resurrected, and our eternal destinies rest upon believing these - HOW is that logical, from our perspective. Why wouldn't God have done things more logical, less painful, have explained things more clearly, etc., etc? It's only logical from God's way of thinking, correct? While we can logically follow the historical and prophetic markers that show Jesus and the NT must be true, and Jesus Who He claimed to be - it's still not logical that an all-powerful God would do things in such a way. And so neither should you assess things based purely upon man's best logic. What does Scripture say? "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." So, don't think that science or man has refuted Scripture - it's a very dangerous approach to truth.
