Abstracts for Computer Presentation Talks

by
   
Dr. Robert C. Newman
RNewman@biblical.edu

Updated March 8, 2007

   Six new powerpoint presentations have been added:
The Anthropic Phenomena:  Design or Chance?
The Biblical View of Nature
Conflict between Christianity and Science
Ecological Disaster: What Does the Future Hold?
Interpreting Biblical Descriptions of Nature
Recent Developments in Physics:  Implications for Theology

        Audio tracks in mp3 format accompany most of the powerpoint talks. 



Dr. Robert C. Newman is Professor of New Testament at the Biblical Theological Seminary of Hatfield, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) and Director of the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute there.  He is a frequent speaker at churches and colleges on evidences for the truth of Christianity and on the interaction between science and the Bible. Dr. Newman earned a doctorate from Cornell University in theoretical astrophysics, and the Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from Biblical Theological Seminary. He is past President of the Evangelical Theological Society, author or co-author of five books, and has also published over a hundred articles in Christian magazines, scientific and theological journals.  See below for further bibliographical information on Dr. Newman.

Download size is indicated: Kb = thousands of bytes; Mb = millions of bytes. These reports are available as Microsoft Powerpoint presentations, together with a web version that can be viewed in a browser. If you do not have Powerpoint, download the free Powerpoint reader to your desktop or another location, and then read it with Powerpoint.


Science and Christianity

The Anthropic Phenomena:  Design or Chance?  (Powerpoint download 312 Kb)
   Audio Sound Track.
Some examples are given of phenomena that have come to be explained under the anthropic principle, and why these seem most strongly to point to a Designer.

Astrology: Is Your Destiny in the Stars?   (Powerpoint download 6.3 Mb).
    Audio sound track.
Astrology, the attempt to predict one’s future from the stars, is popular today.  In spite of attempts to make it look scientific, it is really a technique from ancient paganism.  Here we sketch the history of astrology from Babylon to modern times, some scientific problems facing astrology, and what the Bible has to say about it.

Astronomy and the Bible (Powerpoint download 1.5 Mb).
    Audio sound track.
Though the Bible is often dismissed as a book of ancient superstitions, it provides us with evidence that its author is the Creator of the universe.  One area of such evidence is its pre-knowledge of astronomy, particularly its avoidance of ancient errors in this area.  We look here at the size of the universe, the number of stars, the support of the earth, and the shape of the earth.

Beliefs and Physics: Some Lessons from Ancient Greek Science. ( Powerpoint download 616 Kb.)
    Audio sound track.
A sketch of ancient Greek physics from Thales to Aristotle reveals a strong interaction between metaphysical beliefs and the practice of physics, an interaction working in both directions. Metaphysical views suggested and inhibited questions and approaches to the physical realm, and physical observations and experiments favored or disfavored various metaphysical views. Some lessons are suggested regarding how we should view current theories in modern physics.

The Biblical View of Nature.  (Powerpoint download 176 Kb)
   Audio Sound Track.
Various features of the biblical view of nature are compared and contrasted with those of other worldviews.

Chariots of the Gods: Fact or Fiction? ( Powerpoint download 10.2 Mb.)
    Audio sound track.
Erich von Däniken’s book (and its sequels) have created quite a stir.  Almost 40 years later, there are still numerous websites devoted to the idea that extraterrestrials have not only visited earth, but are responsible for the most impressive structures of antiquity as well as the miracles of the Bible.  Here we examine a sample of the evidence that von Däniken puts forth.

Christianity and Science  (Powerpoint download 1.3 Mb)
    Audio sound track.
What is Christianity?  What is science?  Are Christianity and science compatible?  Some areas in which Christianity speaks on matters relating to science are sketched.  Several areas are noted in which science or nature impacts on the claims of Christianity.  A tour of Genesis 1 is provided, noting correlations between planetary astronomy and the Bible.

Conflict between Christianity and Science.  (Powerpoint download 1.9 Mb)
   Audio Sound Track.
We discuss this commonly-envisioned conflict, with a sketch of alternative scenarios.  Some reasons for such conflict are considered, together with a response to the claim that Christianity has always opposed science.

Computer Simulations of Evolution  (Powerpoint download 356 Kb)
   Audio sound track.
    A discussion of three computer programs which simulate certain features of evolution.  Two of these are similar to programs devised by Richard Dawkins and discussed in his book The Blind Watchmaker: one of these (BIOMORPH) exploring relationships between the genetics and morphology of an organism, the other (SHAKES) demonstrating how selection can speed a process that would be very slow if left to pure chance.  The third program (MUNSEL) explores the capabilities of mutation and natural selection in constructing organisms that consist of letters organized into English words and phrases.

Computer Viruses, Artificial Life and the Origin of Life  (Powerpoint download 816 kb).
    Audio sound track.
Recent work in computers has allowed us to understand much about life that was mysterious before.  Here we examine computer viruses and attempts to produce artificial life.  These all point strongly to a designer behind living things rather than their being a product of blind forces.

Cosmos and Contact: Discerning Signs of Intelligence in the Universe    (Powerpoint download 1.8 Mb).   Shortened version  (Powerpoint download 352 Kb).
    Audio sound track.
Playing off of Carl Sagan’s dictum “the cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be,” and his interest in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence as depicted in the science fiction film Contact, we note that the universe actually contains at least three messages indicating a super-intellect has put it all together: (1) the design of the universe itself; (2) the striking nature of our place in it; and (3) the existence and nature of living things.

The Cosmos and the Bible: A Critical Examination of Modern Cosmological Theories  (Powerpoint download 1.9 Mb).
    Audio sound track.
A walking tour of the data of cosmology and how it constrains our theory-making regarding the origin and nature of the universe.  Both Christian and secular models are surveyed and a suggestion is made for a best model.

Creation-Evolution Debate: Recent Developments  (Powerpoint download 4.3 Mb).
    Audio sound track.
After sketching some favorable evidence for evolution, we ask, “Could so many scientists be wrong?”  We note that science finally depends on evidence, not opinion.  We provide a look at some serious scientific problems for evolution.  Several of these relate to problems generating the order known to exist in living things with no other mechanism than random phenomena selected for survival: the origin of life, of specific biochemicals, of chemical processes and organs.  We then turn to problems with the fossil record: the relative lack of transitional fossils, the shape of the fossil record, the capabilities of small populations to produce large changes, the phenomena of punctuation and stasis, and the problem of islands of function.

Creation, Science & the Bible  (Powerpoint download 728 Kb)
    Audio sound track.
Don’t the teachings of science contradict those of the Bible?  It is true that many scientists have interpreted nature in ways that contradict the Bible, and that many Bible believers have interpreted the Bible in ways that contradict nature.  But we suggest that there is no real contradiction when we look at what the Bible and nature really say.  We consider the origin of the universe, fine-tuning in its basic forces, the origin of the earth, of life and its diversity, and the origin of humans.  Following this we provide a tour of Genesis chapter one and show how its details and those of the current model for the origin and early history of the earth fit together.  It appears that the Author of nature and the Author of Scripture are one and the same.

Discovering God’s Fingerprints: Why the Christian Faith Makes Sense  (Powerpoint download 1.9 Mb).
    Audio sound track.
God exists, and he has actually provided quite adequate evidence of this for those who really want to know.  We look at the existence of the universe, problems with atheistic evolution, evidence of design in inanimate nature, fulfilled prophecy in the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth, changed lives and changed societies.

Doing Science in a Theistic Universe  (Powerpoint download 1.0 Mb).
    Audio sound track.
What is science?  What should we expect nature to be like?  Some atheistic and theistic expectations are discussed.  If our universe is theistic, what difference will this make on how we do science?  Some candidates for supernatural causation are proposed in cosmology, planetary astronomy, biology, and anthropology.

Ecological Disaster: What Does the Future Hold?  (Powerpoint download 164 Kb)
   Audio Sound Track.
A sketch of some potential disasters that may occur in the near future: nuclear war, ozone depletion, global warming, AIDS, earthquakes, pollution/toxins.

Evidence of God in Cosmos and Conscience  (Powerpoint download 184 Kb)
    Audio sound track.
The Bible claims God’s invisible qualities – his power and divine nature – are clearly seen in what he has made.  This is supported by a tour of nature.  In the cosmos, this includes evidence of a beginning and of a designed universe.  In human nature, we see a number of items which are not well-explained by a mindless evolution: a high level of order, initiative, a level of intellect far beyond what is necessary, an unusual match between human rationality and the structure of the universe, the presence of moral, logical and esthetic standards, the existence of unnecessarily large amounts and varieties of pleasure, and the existence of futility.

The Biblical Firmament: Vault or Vapor?   (Powerpoint download 876 Kb).
    Audio sound track.
Modern liberal claims are examined that the Bible teaches the sky is a hard, solid dome.  The biblical data are sketched, including the word translated “firmament” and its related verb, the “pillars” of heaven, the “heavy metal mirror,” and other passages.  It is suggested that these are mistranslations, and that the biblical data actually points to the “firmament” as being our atmosphere.

Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth  (Powerpoint download 1.2 Mb)
    Audio sound track.
A proposed model for harmonizing the biblical and scientific data regarding the origin and early history of the earth, as sketched in my book Genesis One & the Origin of the Earth.

If God Exists, Why So Many Atheists?  (Powerpoint download 2.5 Mb)
    Audio sound track.
  Responding to a common objection.  From a biblical perspective, there are good reasons why we should expect many atheists.  What does the evidence for the God of the Bible really look like?

Intelligent Design  (Powerpoint download 2.9 Mb)
   Audio sound track.
  A Sketch of the Intelligent Design controversy, giving a bit of its historical background. A number of arguments from Intelligent Design are given,  citing various authors and books for further reading.

Interpreting Biblical Descriptions of Nature. (Powerpoint download 200 Kb)
   Audio Sound Track.
Starting with Bernard Ramm’s characterization of Biblical language, we consider whether the Bible gives us scientific information, and how we are to distinguish literal and figurative usage therein.

Genetic Engineering and Cloning  (Powerpoint download 652 Kb)
What is genetic engineering?  Where did it come from and what is it doing?  We discuss transgenic plants and animals, what has been accomplished so far, some advantages and concerns.  What is cloning?  We discuss the history of cloning before and after Dolly the sheep, and its advantages and concerns.  How should Christians react to all of this?  What are God’s commandments in this area?   What should we expect to happen in the future and what should we do?

Recent Developments in Physics:  Implications for Theology.  (Powerpoint download 288 Kb)
   Audio Sound Track.
Some features of physics as discovered since 1900 are described: the quantum world, relativity, the question of an open vs closed universe, and chaos theory.  How might these affect Christian theology?

Scientific Problems for “Creation Science:" How Old is the Earth?  (Powerpoint download 7.6 Mb).
    Audio Sound Track.
“Creation Science” is often used as a synonym for young-earth creationism, though the latter is really the better term.  Young-Earth Creationism depends very strongly on the idea that most of the geologic record is that of the one-year flood at Noah’s time rather than being spread over geologic history.  Problems with flood geology are sketched, including the number and types of fossils, the distribution of sediments, the presence of structures which must have formed slowly.  Other problems which face a recent creation but do not involve flood geology concern the rates of various processes and various astronomical evidences.

Scientific Problems for Scientism   (Powerpoint download 164 Kb)
    Audio sound track.
The idea that this world is all there is, that there is no supernatural, has had a profound effect on modern, especially Western, society.  Here we examine a number of scientific problems facing this worldview: its inability to predict the future, its adversion to real evidence of discontinuities in nature, its inability to explain the evidence of a mind behind the universe, evidence that the universe is not eternal, and the peculiar phenomena of quantum reality, which point to some sort of omnipresence.

Some Problems for Theistic Evolution  (Powerpoint download 764b).\
Theistic evolution is defined, noting that there are various forms of the view.  Scientific problems with some of these versions are sketched: in regard to transitional fossils, irreducible complexity, the shape of the fossil record, and natural law.  Theological problems related to Genesis chapters 2 and 3 are discussed, including exegesis, theology, and hermeneutics.  A possible analog to a theistic evolutionary reading of Genesis 2 and 3 is examined in Ezekiel 16.  Howard Van Till’s model, “Fully Gifted Creation,” is critiqued, and the connection of the mind-body problem to theistic evolution is discussed.

The Star of Bethlehem:  What Was It?  (Powerpoint download 624 Kb).
    Audio sound track.
Here we propose a hybrid view, featuring both natural and supernatural elements.  This involves a very striking and rare conjunction of planets together with something like the pillar of fire in the wilderness.

Why Atheism Cannot Be True   (Powerpoint download 128 Kb)
    Audio sound track.
Though espoused by many educated people, atheism cannot be correct because it cannot explain a universe with a beginning, it cannot explain the origin and complexity of life, and it cannot explain Jesus.



Biographical Sketch
Dr. Robert C. Newman

Robert C. Newman is Professor of New Testament at the Biblical Theological Seminary of Hatfield, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) and Director of the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute there.  He is a frequent speaker at churches and colleges on evidences for the truth of Christianity and on the interaction between science and the Bible.

Dr. Newman is especially qualified to speak in these areas.  As a theologian he has earned the degrees of Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology.  He has done further graduate work in religious thought at the University of Pennsylvania, in biblical geography at the Institute of Holy Land Studies (now Jerusa-lem University College), and in biblical interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary.  He is a past President of the Evangelical Theological Society, a professional society of nearly 3000 theologians.

In the field of science, Dr. Newman received his under-graduate degree in physics from Duke University and his doctorate in theoretical astrophysics from Cornell University.  He has done scientific research for the U.S. Weather Bureau and the Franklin Institute.  He is a fellow of the American Scientific Affilia-tion, a society of some 2500 Christians in the sciences, and Chairman of its Commission on Creation.

Dr. Newman is author or co-author of five books:  Science Speaks, a popular work on the divine origin and reliability of the Bible; Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth, a more technical work relating the Bible to recent scientific discoveries on the early history of the earth; The Evidence of Prophecy, presenting the testimony of fulfilled biblical predictions to the existence of the God of the Bible, What’s Darwin Got to Do With It?  A Friendly Conversation on Evolution, and The Biblical Firmament: Vault or Vapor?  He has also published over a hundred articles in Christian magazines, scientific and theological journals, dictionaries, and multi-author books, including six chapters in John Warwick Montgom-ery's Evidence for Faith: Deciding the God Ques-tion, the section on old-earth creation in Zondervan’s Three Views on Creation and Evolution, the articles on stars in the New International Dictionary of OT Theology and Exegesis, and the articles “Creation” and “Creationism” in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism.  He has been on TV on several occasions, including guest appear-ances on the 700 Club, 100 Huntley Street and A&E’s Mysteries of the Bible.

Dr. Newman is a native of Arlington, Virginia (a suburb of Washington, DC), and a resi-dent of Hatfield, Pennsylvania.  He is unmarried and lives with several seminary students at Trinity House.