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That Happy Certainty - Gospel | Culture | Planting
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Faith, Physics & Evidence on Radio 4

‘But where’s your evidence?!’ Whether it’s amidst heated debates over climate change, or the claims and counter-claims of the Leveson inquiry, the cry for evidence is a regular part of our everyday existence. After the dust of a media frenzy has settled, we all understand the need for evidence when making assertions and forming opinions. And yet often when people turn to think about Christianity, they assume that we’re the only ones not talking about evidence. In the realm of ‘religion’, suddenly believing something becomes not about evidence, but about that mysterious substance called ‘faith’. Ever heard a variation of this: ‘that’s easy for you to say, if only I had your faith’?

Given all that, you may find it interesting to have a listen to the latest episode of Radio 4’s ‘Beyond Belief’ programme, downloadable here. This week host Ernie Rea was dialoguing on whether modern physics leaves any room for God, and his guests were Dr John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and a Christian, Dr Usama Hasan, Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University and a part time Imam, and Dr Mark Vernon, Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, London who has degrees in physics, theology and philosophy and who is agnostic.

What I found particularly refreshing was hearing John Lennox, on national radio, highlight that the so-called New Atheists have done a jolly clever thing in convincing the general public that faith is believing where there is no evidence. In doing so they portray science as this great grown-up champion who’s thankfully come along to defeat ‘faith’, wielding his powerful weapon of rationality, and thus finally liberate us from our primitive ways. In their view faith just stands there, blindfolded to the light of reality, looking both feeble and horribly naive. Consequently the media always introduce the debate as ‘faith vs science’, with ‘believers’ being squared against those who ‘believe in science’, as if the two were opposing.

As Lennox tried to make clear, this is a completely false dichotomy. Science is essentially, as far as I understand it, the act of observing the world and trying to come up with explanations based on what we’ve observed. In that sense, it’s neutral. Like the court judge, science sits and listens and watches before then making a judgment call. Therefore surely the real fight is ‘naturalism vs theism’ and the grounds of this battle must always be evidence; does a God-shaped worldview or a God-less worldview best fit the presenting evidence we observe? 

As part of the programme it was an unusual treat to hear the testimony of a man who’d moved from a naturalist position to becoming a Christian. However when Rea asked the man what would happen if some theory were to be discovered that ruled out the possibility of a God, he then explained that his own personal experience of God would become the grounds for him continuing to believe. Now, I don’t meant to in any way question that man’s experience of God, and I certainly do think we should be more ready to describe how God is working in us, but it was interesting that this answer was then picked up by Vernon as an example of believers not believing because of evidence but because of subjective experience. It seems to me, in line with what Lennox was explaining, that we’re missing a massive opportunity to demolish an unhelpful stereotype of Christianity, disseminated in part by New Atheism, by not pointing to the evidence for our faith.

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April 25, 2012by Robin Ham
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The Adjustment Bureau God (Part 1)

Zoe & I watched The Adjustment Bureau this weekend and it got me thinking about a few things. As Saturday night entertainment goes it’s a pretty little flick; at only 1hr 40m it certainly doesn’t feel long. It’s loosely based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, which explains why, as genres go, it’s a bit difficult to label. As you would expect from Dick it’s got his kinda science-fiction edge, whilst also resembling something of a Bourne-style thriller, yet at the heart of the plot is the romance of its two main characters. David (an upcoming politician) and Elise (a contemporary ballet dancer) are played by Emily Blunt and Matt Damon, and together they form a great combo. With Blunt’s charm and good banter and Damon’s clean-cut cool and Bourne-composure, they essentially make the film. It’s also shot on location across New York City by Director George Nolfi, and I’m sure if I was more familiar with the city then I’d echo Damon’s comment that the film reads as something of a love letter to the city. My intention in the next few paragraphs isn’t to reveal every twist and detail of the plot, but please still take this as something of a spoiler warning!

Religion as inherited out-of-touch morality: escape ‘the Plan’!

As a film its blend of genres make it feel quite strange and it seems for that reason it’s received mixed reviews, but it certainly raises some really interesting issues, mainly pertaining to the role of the Bureau that makes up the film’s title. This Adjustment Bureau are a mysterious group of men, a sort-of cross between the Agents in the Matrix and a divine legion of guardian angels. Except that these guys aren’t guarding you for your sake; they’re guarding and ‘adjusting’ your life to ensure that it all goes ‘to plan’. This higher plan is central to the plot of the film, and its a clear allusion to the belief that there is a divine being who has a set plan for your life, only that in the film the God character is not-so-subtly known as ‘the Chairman’. As the AB adjust David & Elise’s lives to ensure the Chairman’s plan is carried out, it not surprisingly raises issues such as predestination, free will, and working out your destiny.

To make this more interesting you also get Anthony Mackie playing a renegade member of the Bureau, Harry. He’s assigned to Damon’s character and tasked with ensuring the relationship between David & Elise fails to develop. But as Harry sees how the couple ooze with a sense of ‘meant to be’, he faces a crisis of confidence. This leads him to have second thoughts about the whole plan thing. It seems his role is effectively the Suddenly-Questioning-The-Religious-Framework-I-Grew-Up-With character, and so we see him beginning to realise that he doesn’t know why ‘the plan’ is good, after all that’s only what he’s been told. Consequently he begins to question whether he can be sure the chairman is always right. As Harry interacts with David, the latter encourages him to think whether any of us really needs the plan anymore. This is surely a picture of the mood-of-our-age in the west, as we increasing believe we need to throw off the shackles of our inhibiting religious heritage, and become free to be ‘whoever we really are’. Because David & Elise’s relationship seems so clearly right, then surely the plan is wrong. As such, the ‘gods’ that our forefathers have passed down to us are now out-of-touch and inhibiting, and any inherited morality that either we can’t really explain or doesn’t fit with our experience needs to be thrown out.

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April 23, 2012by Robin Ham
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Paul Tripp & the Heart

I’ve spoken to many people who were really grateful for Paul Tripp’s teaching at New Word Alive 2012, a fortnight ago, on ‘Marriage is a matter of the heart’. My wife was one of them (I was elsewhere on site, enjoying the Bible Overview track), and it’s been great to chat together about what Paul said since. The talks are now available for download or CD purchase here, which I intend on making the most of soon. Others have been expressing thanks for his teaching on the blogosphere.

God seems to have used Paul’s teaching of the Scriptures to particularly focus us on our hearts, rather than merely externals, and apply the gospel of Jesus into them. Not only that but he has a terrific moustache, and a great sense of humour.

Here is a fresh and challenging article by the Trippster over at the Gospel Coalition blog, exemplifying his heart-focus, on The Recipe for a Successful Pastor.

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April 20, 2012by Robin Ham
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About Me

Hello, my name is Robin. Welcome to That Happy Certainty, where I write and collate on Christianity, culture, and church-planting. I’m based in Barrow in South Cumbria, England, where my family & I are part of Grace Church Barrow.

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“If we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of God, that our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we are the beloved children of God, we would be ever so happy and grateful to God. But because we often fear and doubt we cannot come to that happy certainty.”
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