Life Christian Fellowship @ USC

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Stephen Hawking, the famed scientist and best-selling author (I personally think this man is smarter than Einstein), says the following about the limits of science in the foreword to his wildly popular book, A Brief History of Time:

“The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired.”

“What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?”

“If we do discover a complete theory [regarding the origins/nature of the universe], it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. The we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we should know the mind of God.”

To summarize, Hawking is saying that science can only answer the question of how the mechanisms of universe work; as for the question of why (i.e., what caused the Big Bang), he is keenly aware that no amount of scientific discoveries can answer that question. He stops just short of saying “It must be God who caused all this.”

Well, the Bible has declared this all along, simply and clearly. Its own “foreword,” the very first line of the Bible, says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [NIV, Gen1:1]“

What are some goals in your life? And what is your purpose in life? What’s the difference?

I’d like to think of the difference in these terms: goals equate to “things I want to do/have/be” and purpose is why you set those goals for yourself.

Shortly before I became a Christian, I noticed a pattern in my life–I had set many goals for myself, but had no real purpose for my life. It went something like this: I wanted to graduate near the top of my high school (a goal). Why? Because I wanted to go to a good college (another goal). Why? Because I wanted a good job (yup, goal), so then I can start a family, and then find a place to live, and then retire comfortably, and then… My life was being wasted away chasing after one goal after another, with no real meaningful purpose for my life.

What is your purpose in life? I think most people instinctively know that this purpose has to be greater than the sum total of one person’s desires and wants. When we think of “life’s purpose” we tend to and ought to grapple with things like truth, justice, character, loftiness, sacrifice, compassion, love — some of the best qualities about being human.

So this semester we grapple with these questions in light of what the Bible says we are created for…

In Acts 17, we read that Paul spoke at Areopagus (photo) in Athens, Greece. The Athenians had worshipped many Gods and had erected temples for them, and one of the temples was dedicated to Agnostos Theos, the unknown god. Paul shares the good news with these Athenians, saying that the god they did not know but suspected all along was there was in fact the God of the Bible.

Paul goes on to say he knows that this god “gives all men life and breath(v.25)” and that he is a god who is near, “not far from each one of us (v.27).” How does he know this? According to Paul, the proof lies in the resurrection of Jesus.

This is how the good news first came to some Athenians, and for centuries this is how it came to many who would later come to know God: the simple message of the Gospels is that we have a God who is near, who loves us and gives life — and we can be confident of this truth because God raised Jesus from the dead.

We read from the same passage in Acts that some Athenians who heard Paul that day “sneered” at him and dismissed him. But we also read that there were also few who began asking, “how can this be true?” and “can you tell me more?”

What about you? How would you respond to Paul? Will you be like those who dismissed him saying “bogus,” or will you dare to ask, “how can this be true?” and “can you tell me more?”

See you at the Bible study