practical applications for teaching science from a
biblical perspective(or patsfbp!)
mark ritterreasons to believeswordandspirit.com
reasons to believe and sword&spirit ministries present
overview
purposeme me mespecific exampleslingo,attitudes,ideassummary
multi-purpose building
it’s for these kids:
Christian kidsso they can have a more Rock-solid foundation and not fear science, and…
nonChristian kidsto expose them to the overwhelming evidence of the God of the Bible
= win/win situation
me me me
experiencebeingdisconnected :(making the connection! :)
the God connection
God’s books = 66 in Bible +
1 around us written revelation
can’t use… sorta
general revelationcan use… a lot!
if both have same Author,teaching from either can lead one to Him
specific examples
anything anthropicgoldilocksbig bangmr flatcopernicuschem/bioelementary
anthropic principlethe idea that The Whole Shebang was put together for us100+ evidencesrange from atomic to planet to solar system to universeincluding life!some examples…
the ultrathin outer layer
of our planet - the
crust - is just the perfect
thickness…
any thicker, it doesn’t move, and we end up with no continents, just oceansany thinner, we have continuous destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity
our mass is just enough to keep this thin layer of gases above us
any more mass ( more gravity)any more mass ( more gravity)means a heavier, more destructive means a heavier, more destructive atmosphere with more deadly gases atmosphere with more deadly gases staying herestaying here
less mass (less gravity)less mass (less gravity)and we can’t hold onto oxygen and and we can’t hold onto oxygen and other life-support gasesother life-support gases
our atmosphere is 20% oxygenour atmosphere is 20% oxygen
any less?humans aren’t hereany more?everything burns alot faster, and ourbodies age quicker
the thin invisible ozone layer keeps us alive by absorbing nasty radiation from spaceless ozoneand we roast in uv lightfrom the sunany moreand we don’t getenough of the sun’slife-giving energythrough to thesurface
carbon dioxide in our atmosphere acts like a blanket and keeps us warm
any less,we freeze,plants chokeany more,we fry in arunawaygreenhouseeffect
lightning strikes once a second on this planet
more often?too many firesless often?not enoughnitrogen wouldget “fixed”into a formusefulfor life
the Moon has slowed us,kept us steady,given us tides,stabilized our orbit
without it, life couldnot existits whole creation storyis a thing of amazingwonder in itself…
creation of the moonvery early on, a Mars-sized planet struck “Earth1” at exactly the right angle and velocity to shear off our crust, strip off our heavy atmosphere, give us a thicker core and more radioactive material, and provide us with a life-sustaining Moon
Venus, closer to the sun, has...
an atmosphere so heavy with carbon dioxide it’s like being under a
kilometer of watera surface temp around 900°Fa cloud cover of sulfuric acid
no waternot a shopping mall in sight
Mars, smaller & farther out,
has almost no atmosphere or plate tectonics, and its water reservoirs are essentially frozen, so there is
no life-giving water cycle
Jupiter and Saturn are at theperfect distance to:
leave our sensitive orbit alone, but protect us from nasty, earthbound
comets and asteroids
our sun is the perfectage,
mass,brightness,
& generationfor life
anything else, we’re not here
the faint sun paradoxfaint sun paradox says that through an amazingly complex list
of “coincidences,” the sun increased in luminosity at the same rate the greenhouse gases were removed
from our atmosphere so Earth could maintain a life-friendly constant
tempfor 4 billion years
our sun is a bachelor, a single star - most stars have at least one other companion.of course, having no star means a bad day, but…
if the sun had a buddy,our orbit would destabilizeand we would not be here
our sun wasn’t born in a cluster, near other big and destructive
stars like these four here in the Orion Nebula, the Trapezium Cluster
this bright star in the Trapezium is clearing away planet-making material from its siblingsno planet-making material,no planets.no planets, no TV.no TV, no life.
as to the stellar explosions called supernovae
closer to us?life is exterminated
farther?not enough local
planet-building debrismore frequent?
life goes awaymore infrequent?
no planets
we live on the only street in our galaxy which allows life, about 2/3
out...
closer to the nucleus,we get supernovaed,radiated to death,and thrown out ofa stable orbitby other stars
farther,no planet-building material
we live in the we live in the perfect perfect typetype of of
galaxygalaxy for life, too, - the for life, too, - the spiralspiral..
goldilocks
one can see a Goldilocks thing going on herenot too X, not too Y, juuuuust rightbut other areas of science can open up opportunities…
copernicus & family
the revolution that changed the ways of astronomy can be used to discuss philosophy & theology(e.g. myth that center of universe = good, aristotelian influence, frame of reference, “the Bible is all wrong,” etc.)
big bangthe big bang implies a beginning
a beginning
implies a Beginnera discussion of the philosophical implications follows
mr flat & family
extra-dimensions can give them the Big(ger) Picture and subtly introduce the transcendence of God
[demo Mr Flat]
chemistry connections
water: the perfect molecule shape all states exist on Earth density of ice amazing solvent
the perfect nucleus-electron attractionbond anglesreliable and repeatable and predictable laws…
life science links
perfect design of anything in the body (any body)perfect, instantaneous ecosystems throughout historythe beauty of the structure and function of DNA
critical thinking discussionspurpose of mass extinctionsend of the universe!other intelligent life?UFOs?origin of life?Cambrian explosionpurpose to lima beans?
elementary, my dear!
one can emphasize things at the elementary level as well!
the attributes of dinosaurs(Design-o-saur)the water cycle
seasons…
elementary, my dear!
body systemsthe lives of plantsastronomy (duh!)they may not make the God connection now but your excitement and insight will have a great positive effect
free extras!
Thanksgiving Foodfor ThoughtMormon implications no Kolob lack of life on planets end to universe!
raised hand, open door
best times come when students ask,
So what do you think?
presenting themwith opposing
interpretations of the facts (!) often kicks this door wide
open
suggested lingo
clearly distinguish interpretationsand factsuse “designed” or “created” or “changed through time” insteadof ______try to avoid calling evolutionists “hell-bound scumsuckers”
suggested growth
subscribe to a science journal!read sci-bi books!listen to radio programslisten to your MOM!
share ideas and insight w/ colleagues - at school site, or on internetsome links: reasons.org godandscience.org swordandspirit.co
m
from these you can be led to a load of other sites
suggested growth
suggested attitude
learn to: lose the fear passionately love the creation
(there’s so much to love) look for His hand in nature allow alternate ideas
(e.g. evolution!), w/o fear,then discuss them
remember: the truth, in the truth, in lovelovetrust God
summarysummary
celebratecelebrate all parts of the all parts of the creation in your class through a creation in your class through a variety of methodsvariety of methods
you then passively present Him you then passively present Him and His glory and His glory
the Holy Spirit takes care of the Holy Spirit takes care of the restthe rest