Occam's Razor and My Faith

So, there was a guy named William of Ockham that was a philosopher about 800 years ago. He posited that the easiest explanation was the correct one. This became known as Occam's Razor. That is the term that now describes Occam's philosphy.  So, what does Occam's Razor have to do with my faith? Everything!

First, let us look at creation of human life. I believe that there is an eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful God who created the entire universe and saw it fit to take the time to create humans. That only requires one leap of faith, one supposition and humans are explained.

1. GOD

If I believe in evolution, I probably also believe in the Big Bang. So, I first have to believe that an uncaused cause was behind the big bang (I think that some of us know who banged it, we know the cause). Then I have to believe that all I see, the billions upon billions of planets and stars all came from an immensely dense and hot singularity that just happened to exist for the Big Bang (or expansion) to occur from. Next I have to believe that the sun was just perfect: the right temperature and distance from Earth. Then the moon was put perfectly in orbit around the Earth and the Earth had just the right atmosphere to support the transformation of non-living matter into living matter, which has never been observed. Then another never observed process called macro-evolution occurred. Not just once, but millions of times in order to create humans.

1. Densely hot singularity
2. Uncaused Cause
3. Big Bang
4. Order and Structure from chaos
5. Sun perfect temperature and distance from Earth to support life
6. Moon perfect distance from Earth to support life
7. Atmosphere on Earth perfect to support life
8. Non-living matter somehow evolved in to living matter
9. Millions of instances of macro-evolution

That list above is a really short list, too. There are actually so many more things we could talk about, such as the complexity of the human genome with it's 3-6 billion pairs of DNA and how they all have to be perfectly placed in sequence. Then there are 35 parameters that make life possible as well as the 66 parameters that influence the sun-planet-moon system that cannot fluctuate an nth of a degree without causing the entire system to collapse. We have barely dipped into those above. But, we will not go any more indepth. Instead I will tell you that Occam's Razor has been able to help strengthen my faith, because in the end God is the easiest explanation there is and therefore the correct one. Now here's some Dilbert:

I Have an Enquiring Mind, I Want to Know

I recently had a conversation that was very short with an atheist. He asked why I was a theist, and I told him that after several decades of being agnostic I had realized that it would take me too much faith to be an atheist. I only had enough faith to be a Christian.

He said, "Nobody knows enough to be a theist. Atheism is default. It makes no claim to knowledge, only disbelief."

I could concede that point. If it makes no claim, that is one thing. But that was simply not enough for me. I had a thirst that had to be quenched. I had a lifestyle that I wanted to find a way out of and could not. What was the answer?

I told him that as an agnostic (and here is why the National Enquirer slogan kicked into my head) I wanted to know. I actually felt compelled to know, and that was where we were different. He said that he did not need to know how we got here to be happy. Fair enough, but I did. I needed to know how we got here. Due to that, I had to have an answer to that question, "How are we here!"

When I looked at science, there were multiple leaps of faith. For one, we had to have a Big Bang. We had to have an explosion that created structure and order? That has never been done. I have never seen an explosion build a perfectly functioning house. Therefore I could not believe in an explosion that created a much more complex universe.

Now we have to believe that something caused the Big Bang. What created the mechanism that created the Big Bang?  I think they call it the uncaused cause? Even that name was just confusing, uncaused cause. Here we have another unknown. It too calls for a lot of faith in something never observed.

The Big Bang also goes against the first law of thermodynamics, which states that you cannot create or destroy matter. Yet to have occurred, the Big Bang created something (the universe) from nothing.
Then I had to believe that non-living matter created living matter. That has never been recreated in controlled environments, let alone on it's own. So now we also have to add the spontaneous generation of living matter from nonliving matter. To believe this takes faith.

Next we have macroevolution. That is the changing of one species to another. Think two cats mate and produce a dog. That has also never been done. We have microevolution which happens all of the time. That is adaptation, and it is seen. Micro I could believe, macro took faith.

I will end this with irreducible complexity. We have discovered "micromachines" in the human body that are irreducibly complex. This means that they need all of their parts to function, and if even one part is taken from them then they no longer work. We have to believe either that they spontaneously generated or that they where kept by a species when it had no function. Once again, I need faith in order to believe this.

I could go on and on about the things I need to have faith in, but I will not. There is the complexity of a cell, the coding of DNA much more complex than the best man made computer, the law of entrophy, etc. I will suffice in saying that I did not have enough faith to believe in evolution and the Big Bang.

For me to have faith in Christianity all that I had to believe in was an eternal God. That is all! I only need have faith in one thing and all other things are possible based on my belief in Him. If He is eternal, all powerful and all knowing than that answers every question. How are we here, why are we are, what happens after we die? Those are all answered through belief in Him.

Combine that with what I do know. I know that I spent 23 years in addiction, trying everything: rehabs, psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, 12 step programs, medication, probation, house arrest, prison, overdosing and being brought back to life and even suicide to try to quit. Nothing worked. I tried prayer one night and I have not used since. It has been almost 3 years now, and I have not had a relapse. That is all of the proof that I need!!

So What if I Believe God Exists

I have been following several blogs as well as the comments that they elicit recently. I must admit that the comments and even the blogs are at times a little beyond my comprehension, but I guess that is okay. I have tried to follow them to the best of my ability. I have ordered several things to read to increase my knowledge of the various arguments. There are philosophy professors, quantum physicists and a lot of other highly educated people who are having these day long dialogues on these blogs, and I want to understand a little better. I for one wonder how they can have so much time, because I see them on multiple blogs and they post all day and night. Some of the comments are questions or dialogue, and that is informative and interesting to read. Other comments are malicious, and that I have never understood.

For example, I am a Chicago Cubs fan. I am occasionally on Cubs blogs and Cubs sites. I want to stay informed about the team that I follow. I am often astounded at the number of Cardinal fans who comment about how much the Cubs suck and how stupid their fans are. I see the exact thing on the blogs I have been reading recently on evolution, creationism, and the cosmological argument. Someone who believes differently comes onto one of these blogs just to slam the people who believe differently. Do not get me wrong, there are some good discussions in the comments section. But........there are also those who just want to hop on the blog and tell everyone how much smarter than them they are because they hold different views and how stupid they must be because of what they believe in. How is that helpful?

I do not need petty people to confuse me more. I get confused enough by all the talk about the four different types of causes and how they are metaphysically proven. I am lost how we get from "since things appear to come out of nothing based on the "fact" that the model used in quantum physics field cannot explain it, then they come from nothing" and how that is even a valid argument. I don't know, so it must be from nothing???

I see that there is a lot of good in using science, logic and philosophy to explain things, because there are those who need that explanation. My issue is with using the same arguments over and over again on one side, and on using the lack of knowledge argument on the other side. Just because your model cannot explain it, then it must not exist or can't have a cause? That is like saying that since I cannot explain the illusion, the magician must have made the girl appear out of thin air intact after he apparently sawed her in half. I do not know how he did it, so it must be magic or in this case ex nihilo........right? And everyone accuses everyone of using straw man arguments, or tautology, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

Secondly, why is it that all I hear are people who are explaining other's research or other's experiences for why they believe how they do? If I am to truly believe a certain way and claim to be educated, than I must have first-hand knowledge or experience in order to have that belief. Is it a proven fact if I have never first hand seen the proof? If I believed everything in writing, then the National Enquirer has totally proven that God does not exist and in another issue that the Garden of Eden have been found. I did not read about it, but I saw it on the cover as I was in the line at Wal-Mart. Call me Thomas, but I need proof.

If I am a scientist, than I must have first-hand experience myself. It is called the scientific method, and it consists of knowing through your own experimentation using an open mind. Instead many people rest on the laurels of others, not even their own, to make their point. Furthermore, the open mind has been closed for so long that there are cobwebs growing. My question to all of you is simple, How do YOU know? How have you been impacted, or what experiments have you done, that give validity to your argument? Here are three Dilbert comics that comically address my point:





Here is my question to all of you - So because your model does not contain God then you discount him no matter the experiences of others? What are you doing to make the world a better place? What are you doing to truly help others? What time are you donating, what money, what emotion do you give to help those in need? How has being agnostic or atheist made your life any better, and why are you so sure that you are right? I will not talk about why I believe there is a God now after being agnostic for two plus decades because I have already done that at: http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/07/jonah-and-big-fish.html. What I will do is ask several more questions.

For starters, so what if I believe in God? How does that hurt you or anyone else? How does anyone who truly believes in Christ and tries to be Christ-like hurt anyone? Not the fundamentalists that bastardize the Word, but those who truly follow the teachings of Christ. You can come on here and attack this blog if you want, but I really only want these questions answered:

1. Instead of being self-righteous and trying to belittle those that you feel smarter and better off than, what are you doing to truly help those in need?

2. When was the last time that you heard about a group of atheists opening up houses for children to get them out of the sex slave trade, educate them, then allow them to become advocates against the trade and go back to their villages to combat it happening to others?

3. When was the last time that you heard of a bunch of agnostics gathering together to go and dig wells and teach irrigation and conservation to African tribes?

4. When have you heard of multiple groups of non-believers going into prisons and working to reform inmates and teach them better ways to live their lives upon their release?

5. How many atheist and agnostic organizations have homeless shelters and transitional homes for battered and abused women that they support by volunteering their time and money?

6. How many atheist and agnostic organizations have support teams on call 24-7 to help those in crisis/disaster situations (think tornadoes, monsoons and floods) all over the world?

7. When was the last time that you thought of someone other than yourself, your friends or your family?

8. When was the last time that you did something that made you uncomfortable financially for the good of people who you do not even know, but that needed the help?

9. How many hours each week do you spend helping those who are in need by donating your time to give them the basic needs of life: food, water, shelter, etc.? Pretty easy to write a check, so I am asking about donating your free time!

So I guess in ending this blog, all I want to say is that I am trying to read more about why people who hold other beliefs than mine believe as they do. I may even go on sites and blogs and ask questions as I read and the need arises. The truth is, no matter what, based on my own personal experiences I will never not believe in Christ. That said, I promise I will never go bash others for what they believe. If you want to be agnostic or atheist, that is your choice. Why do you have to belittle those that do not believe as you do? Yeah, pick on the evil Christians who are ignorant enough to be compassionate, genuine and empathetic. How dare they be ignorant enough to care about people other than themselves. Finally, I ask you to think of others out there who are in need.

I think that is one of the safeties of being a non-believer! You do not have to think outside of your personal circle and give to those in need on a regular basis. You might write a check out of your abundance to make yourself feel better, or to brag about later, or register for some drawing/free food, or so that others see you. The real question is when do you go without because of the tragedies that are occurring elsewhere? When do you think about the welfare of others? I guess that you do not have to worry about how you act in this life, because this life is all that there is for you.

Wow, that has to be depressing. Come to think of it, maybe I do see why you spend all that time ridiculing others. They have hope in something more, and this mundane existence is all that you will ever know. I would be hypercritical too, I guess. After all, misery loves company. If you want to have some hope, just shoot me an email or leave a comment on this blog and we can talk about why this life cannot be all that there is and how I have seen miracles occur. I was once living a miserable existence, and since Christ found me my life has been immeasurably better. Yours can be too!

Another Discussion with an Evolutionist pt. 2

ME: The humane genome consists of a code that is 3 billion letters long. If it were to be read one later per second it would take 93 years to read. That seems a little too complex to have evolved. You take DNA, with a phosphate-sugar backbone and complexly arranged organic bases, stacked orderly on top of each other and paired together at each rung of the twisted double helix....it makes my head explode when I hear of people believing this could happen without the guidance of a master's hand. 

Hawking says, "The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the Big Bang are enormous. I think there are clearly religious implications. It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us."

My bottom line is this. When I was Agnostic (which I was for 25 years of my life) I said that I had trouble with God because I could not empirically prove that He did or did not exist. I used that thought to look down on others and I lived a life of debauchery and alcoholism. It was great for me, I had no hope and lived a very self-centered life. There are those who would say that I was a good friend and a good person, but I knew better then just like I know better now.

 I eventually realized that although I personally could not prove there was a God, as a supposed empiricist I could also not personally prove that evolution happened, that life sprang from nonliving matter. I could not personally do that. I prayed and I gave God a chance to prove himself to me personally.

There are many out there who would tell me that my experience with the Holy Spirit was only imagined. There are atheists and agnostics that would tell me I have lost my mind. There would be psychiatrists and psychologists who in the past would have told them that they were right, I was clinically crazy.....in the past. To them I have a reply. If you have ever been in the depths of addiction, you would not say that. I have been in the depths of my addiction. Everyone has a different rock bottom, here is mine:

1. I have shot up ice water, because the batch of meth was not ready or I was waiting on the person to get back from filling their morphine prescription.
2. I have woken up at 4 AM in a urine soaked mattress to get up and drink a couple of shots to put me back to sleep and stop the shakes.
3. I started smoking cigarettes in 6th grade and had never been able to quit.
4. I had been to county jail often enough that I would stay in for several weeks to catch up on sleep when I had the cash in my wallet to bond out.
5. I had slept with enough women that I was in the mid-triple digits. I would go to parties and sleep with 2 or 3 girls when I was a drug dealer.
6. I was drunk 30 minutes after I got out of prison, and spun out on methamphetamine that night.
7. I dealt drugs and was involved with the manufacturing of methamphetamine for over a decade.
8. I had been to rehab, but the longest stretch of sobriety I had since I was in the 7th grade was 3 months.
9. I had been diagnosed with Bi-Polar, borderline personality, antisocial personality, masochistic, generalized anxiety and major depressive disorders.
10. I used the "F" word and cussed every other word even when I was happy and in normal conversation.
11. I have been found passed out in my own blood after slashing my wrists and rushed to the ER.
12. I have totalled 5 cars drinking and driving yet continued to drink and drive every night.
13. I have overdosed on several occasions and yet used within 24 hours every time.

I had tried counselors, psychiatrists, drug rehabs, interventions and Narcotics/Alcoholics Anonymous, with no success. I had worked the 12 steps, but it was never quite enough. I had used my intellect in attempting to overcome my addiction and failed repeatedly. I have killed a lot of brain cells through my addiction, but I have had 2 psychiatrists and a psychologist score my IQ between 129-135 at different times in my life. I am by no means ignorant. I came to Him in prayer, and He gave me a second chance. That was all that I needed to do, truly turn my will and my life over to God. I had tried using a random higher power, such as the community in 12 step groups, and it was not effective. God was!

Since the night I prayed to God and asked Him to take all of this from me, I have had a complete life change. I have not used drugs or drank, I have not smoked a cigarette, I have not had premarital sex, I have not been to jail and I am on no medication for any mental illnesses. I have not cussed since I do not know when. If all of that is not proof of God, than I ask you what is?

Now I tithe 10% to my church (which supports the digging of wells for water in Africa, Convoy of Hope, and giving school supplies to children who do not have them locally) and give more money on top of that to other charities. I volunteer between 5-10 hours a week to work with helping others through various charities and resources. I now give back to others, and I am teaching my son to think of more than just himself. When I volunteered to do psychological first aid and trauma counseling in Joplin, I was Convoy of Hope and multiple churches there helping those in need. It reaffirmed my belief in Christians and the good that we do.

I have no idea what you do to improve the world around you, and I hope that it is a lot because you seem to be very bright and should therefore be able to think globally and altruistically. I hope that you give 10 % of your income to others because it is the right thing to do. In fact, I hope that you give 15%. I hope that you volunteer several hundred hours a year to help those less fortunate than you. I know that what I do for a living changes lives, gives children back their parents and parents back their children. What I do in my spare time (while raising a family of my own and caring for their needs while working a full time job) feeds the hungry and helps people heal from their addictions and past hurts. I know that my son benefits as much as my wife. I love my wife and treat her with respect and I teach my son to help those less fortunate, to give of himself and not be judgmental of others.

If that is done out of ignorance, than I would rather be ignorant, filled with hope and able to give others hope while making the world a better place than trying to educate people with other people's research while having done none of my own. I know that God exists, I see Him in the beauty around me, in my changed life and in the lives of those around me. I see evil too, as well as those who would try to usurp other's work and claim wisdom from it. You can use intelligence to read other's research, I use wisdom to live my life. My life screams that God exists based on my experiences.

The scientific method is done by asking a question, gathering information, forming a hypothesis, then performing an experiment that tests your hypothesis. From that test you then interpret the data and draw conclusions that help you to form a new hypothesis. You then publish that research. I could not tell you how many people I have seen that have been to 10, 15 rehabs for addiction using psychiatrists and the most advanced techniques available return to addiction over and over again. I should know, I was one of them. I tried the established methods as an agnostic and my results were the same. I and so many others that I have worked with quit for good after they found Christ! That is the evidence that I base my theory on, and it has been tested with several hundred participants and each one only makes my faith stronger.

I am in the middle of writing the book that will allow me to share with others the final hypothesis I have come to after 10 years of research. It is based on the observations I have had while testing my theory with hundreds of test subjects. I started out biased against God and came to believe in Him through my studies and experimentation. I would love to read your article when it gets published. I am certain that it will give validation to your theory, based on your data interpretation after you tested your theory with an unbiased mind. You definitely write well enough to hold my interest. Let me know when it comes out and I will read it.

Youtube Atheist.........Why So Serious?

I watched a video on youtube that stated it had questions for Christians. I figured that I would watch the video. The video ended by saying that God is 100% imaginary and stated that people who believe in imaginary people are delusional. It stated that we live with fantasies and that relying on faith was a childish thing to do. People of faith needed to grow up and think rationally. After it was over I left a comment.

The comment was as follows, "I would say that due to the breaking of laws of physics and thermodynamics as well as the statistical "miracles" that had to occur in order for the Big Bang to be successful that this route is also delusional. So how are we here? That is the question that you have to answer? I would argue that both Christians and scientific answers rely on faith. The only difference is that the Christian will truthfully tell you that faith is part of their answer. There are proofs, but faith is needed."

I immediately got a reply, "You would say that, you expletive expletive." I asked why the profanity, and the reply was, "It's how I talk to retards, morons, cretins, idiots, imbeciles, deluded losers and mental spastics."

By this time, I was of course impressed by the intellect of my speaker, so I replied in kind, "Oh, so it was self-directed. At first I thought that it was directed at me, but I am the one talking intelligently. Or is vulgarity what passes for intelligence with you?"

To which he retorted, " It's obviously directed at you, you lying expletive expletive expletive."

I replied, "Wow, I have to stop replying. I refuse to stoop to your intellectual level. Food for thought: Why is it when someone disagrees with the view point of the unschooled/unintelligent, they automatically resort to profanities and insults? Is it the lack of vocabulary that stops you from being able to elucidate your view without them?"

His reply was, " I have a 2:1 honours degree in English Literature, but I found that theists are too stupid to understand complex arguments so I have to gear down to your level just to be understood, and even then you won't get it, as you have sold out to a superstition/delusion that is inherently irrational. I could tell you are an idiot by your assumption that science requires 'faith' which is trying to pretend that everyone is really just as deluded as you are, which is wrong and offensive."

My reply was, "So there is proof of evolution.........let me have it. Show where we have ever seen a species evolve into another species. We can adapt to enviroment, but never change into another species. Nonliving matter has never created living matter. The universe creating itself refutes the first two laws of thermodynamics. And if believing in God makes me stupid, than I will proudly sit in the company of Einstein, Hawking and Schrodinger who believe that there is a God and are "stupid."

He says,  Christians love "authority" figures within Christianity so you should really check out the work of FRANCIS COLLINS, Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research. He is openly Christian and his work in the field of Human Genomes has led him to conclusively accept that evolution is real."

My turn, "And Francis believes in God. If you want to use him as an example, he is a Christian. I have read his book. So are you arguing that he is right because he is a Christian, or because he believes in evolution? He says that statistically it is impossible for evolution to occur without the hand of God to stir the pot. I disagree with what he says. My point was that if I am stupid for my beliefs, then I share that title with some people that changed the face of science."

His reply, " "So are you arguing that he is right because he's a Christian or because he believes in evolution?"

"No, I am just suggesting him because Christians pander to other Christians as authority figures.
Personally, I couldn't care less what he "BELIEVES IN". Evolution is a fact. It doesn't require belief."

I replied, "If evolution is a fact, then you are right. It does not require belief. A fact is verified through observation or experience. When has nonliving matter been observed turning into living matter? Where is the link between bird and reptile? What did the platypus evolve from? When have we observed something, especially infinite something (galaxies and planets), created from nothing?"

His reply, "You know what, I can't even expletive talk to you. Evolution is a fact and I am done here."

Why so serious? I only figured that since evolution was a fact that he would have a lot of evidence to back it up. I have factual basis for my beliefs. They are backed up by extreme faith, but I have facts to back it up. I know that I am right, but I can also have an intelligent discussion with someone who believes otherwise. I just find it sad that there are those out there that cannot have a discussion that goes against their beliefs without anger and expletives.

What is an atheist? I had one tell me that an atheist was the default position for rational thinkers not to believe the unbelievable.Yet he believed evolution and did not feel that evolution was unbelievable. How is that rational? I do not know what to think about other people sometimes. I just wish that they would rely on reasoning and honesty instead of their emotions.

I do know that I have faith that God is real. I have this faith based on rational thoughts, factual evidence and being intellectually honest with myself. If my beliefs were based on blind, emotional faith than I would get angry, cuss and shout names at the people who disagreed with me. But I do not.

Why so serious? I am not serious, I am simply right!