Truth and Consequences
by
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Have you ever asked yourself the question, does God exist? Have you ever wondered about the source of life on earth, and in particular, human life?
These questions were the subject of a conference sponsored by the Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College. Three basic approaches which attempt to answer these questions were discussed.
• Creationism
• Intelligent design
• Evolution
After attending this conference I felt challenged to dig deeper into these approaches and to analyze the voracity of their arguments. Evolutionists claim that all complex life has evolved from simple life forms over billions of years. They are adamant that their claim has been proven to be a scientific fact.
As a Professor of Mathematics I have spent considerable time working with students to help them develop logically correct arguments in constructing proofs. A careful analysis of the arguments posed by evolutionists revealed that they have a logical error in their ‘proof ’ that evolution is a scientific fact. This logical error is described in detail in chapter 2. A simple example from Major League Baseball is provided to illustrate the fallacy in their argument.
In addition to the fallacy in their so-called proof, there are two other deficiencies in their argument that are well known. First, evolutionists have no explanation concerning how living organisms came into existence from nonliving materials. Second, the fossil record does not support the existence of the many transitional species that would be necessary for the progression from simple life forms to the complex life forms present in the world today. Evolutionists admit both of these deficiencies. However, despite these shortcomings and the logical error in their proof, this does not mean that evolution is false. It simply means that at this point in time, their claim is merely a conjecture and not a scientific fact. Creationism and intelligent design also should be classified as conjectures.
Instead of attempting to answer the question concerning the existence of God, there is another approach which involves transforming the question into a proposition. A proposition is a statement that is either true or false. There is no middle ground. Thus, a proposition has a truth value: it is true or false. Period. Then the consequences of the two possible truth values can be analyzed.
There is a wide variety of interpretations and understandings of the word ‘God’. In order to compensate for this ambiguity the first question is transformed into the following proposition:
Proposition 1: An infinite, intelligent entity (IIE) exists.
What a person believes to be the truth value of Proposition 1 has no impact on its actual truth value. However, the truth value together with what a person believes about the truth value can have a profound impact on that person’s life, and quite possibly on what happens to that person after he or she dies.
If Proposition 1 is false, then all religions that worship a Supernatural Being—including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—are false. Evolutionists are probably correct in their belief that living organisms came into existence from nonliving materials, and that all complex life has evolved from simpler life forms over billions of years. If Proposition 1 is false, there was no Creator. There was no Intelligent Designer. Humans are merely an accident of nature. Every person will suffer the same fate so this ultimately leads to a dead end for all humans because there is no such thing as life after death.
If Proposition 1 is true, then the second question can be transformed into the following proposition:
Proposition 2: The IIE created life on earth, including human life.
If Proposition 2 is false, then the IIE played no role in the creation of life on earth, and the consequences are similar to those if Proposition 1 is false. Thus, if Proposition 2 is false, this too leads to a dead end.
However, if there is an IIE who created life on earth—and in particular, human life—then there was some underlying purpose for this conscious act. One possible purpose leads to Proposition 3.
Proposition 3: There is life after death.
If Propositions 1 and 2 are true but Proposition 3 is false, then this result also leads to a dead end for humankind. If there is no life after death, why did the IIE create life, and in particular human life, in the first place?
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About the Book
Have you ever asked the question, does God exist? Have you ever wondered about the source of life on earth—and in particular, human life? Creationism, intelligent design, and evolution are three approaches to answering these questions. While evolutionists are adamant that their claim has been proven to be a scientific fact, it turns out that their so-called “proof” uses an invalid logical argument. Hence, at this point in time, evolution is merely a conjecture and not a scientific fact. Instead of attempting to answer these questions through inductive arguments, Truth and Consequences offers a different logical approach that restates the questions as propositions. A proposition is a statement that is either true or false. Then the consequences of their respective truth values can be analyzed. The first proposition is: an Infinite Intelligent Entity (IIE) exists. If that proposition is true, it leads to a second proposition: the IIE created life on Earth, and in particular, human life. If both propositions are true, it leads to a third proposition: there is life after death. If any of these propositions are false, the bottom line is that it leads to a dead end. Ultimately, if these foundational propositions are true, it leads to a fourth proposition: Jesus lived some two-thousand years ago. By continuing to build on these propositions and follow their conclusions, we can better discuss not only the existence of God as such but also contemporary issues like modern-day threats to Christianity in America.
About the Author
Ralph Carlson has a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy, and he holds an MS and PhD in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh. He has been employed by Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Grove City College. Now retired, he and his wife, Kay, have three adult children.