Truth and Consequences

By Ralph E. Carlson

Have you ever asked the question, does God exist? Have you ever wondered about the source of life on earthand 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491773192

Ralph E. Carlson

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.

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TRUTH &

CONSEQUENCES

RALPH E. CARLSON

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TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES

Copyright © 2015 Ralph Carlson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-7318-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-7319-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911963

iUniverse rev. date: 08/07/2015

Contents

1   Introduction

2   Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolution

3   Propositions, Truth Values, and Consequences

4   Consequences if there is Life After Death

5   God Exists and is Active in the World Today

6   Threats to Christianity

7   Is God Speaking to America?

8   Conclusions

TO

Kay, Jeff, Brad, Julie, Jen, Debra, Ryne, Brant, Jordan, and Abby.

Special Thanks

Dr. Jim Platt. Pastor Jay Passavant, Pastor Scott Stevens, Pastor Kent Chevalier, Dr. David Jones, Dr. Gary Smith, Dr. Jan Dudt, Stephanie, Thomas, and Peter.

1

Introduction

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?

However, if all three propositions are true, then what does life after death entail? One possible form for life after death is reincarnation which is the belief that after physical death the soul or the spirit takes on new life in a different body. Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation.

Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe there are two possibilities for life after death: heaven and hell. In heaven one spends eternity in the magnificent presence of the Creator in an existence far beyond our wildest dreams. In hell one spends eternity apart from the Creator in an existence far beyond our worst nightmare.

Where a person spends eternity is determined by what that person believes and how that person lives. For Christians the answer is articulated in John 3:16 and John 14:6. (All biblical references are from the NIV Study Bible.)

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6).

How one’s fate is determined as found in the Bible leads to a fourth proposition.

Proposition 4: Jesus, the Son of God as described in the New Testament, was a living being who came to earth approximately 2,000 years ago.

If Proposition 4 is false, then Christianity is not a valid religion. If Proposition 4 is true, then Christianity is true and the IIE is referred to as God.

Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolution are described in more detail in chapter 2. The four propositions and some of the consequences of their respective truth values are discussed in chapters 3 and 4.

If all four propositions are true, then there should be strong evidence that God exists and is active in the world today. Direct and indirect evidence supporting this conclusion is presented in chapter 5. Although the evidence does not rise to the level of scientific proof that God exists, this evidence cannot be denied.

The United States has a very strong Judeo-Christian heritage. The vast majority of our founding fathers believed that all four of these propositions were true. European authors such as Alexis de Tocqueville, Achille Murat, and Harriet Martineau were amazed at how deep Christianity was embedded in American culture and governance.

However, a careful