Did your intelligence emerge from unintelligence?
Who Are We?
We are human beings, not part of Harvard University's administration, who ask questions and seek to apply critical thinking to the intellects at Harvard University. Greg Epstein, a Harvard humanist chaplain, began his recent book with an astonishing pronouncement, "...whether one can be good without God...does not need to be answered..." If a religious fundamentalist were to make such a declaration would it not be viewed as narrow-minded, non-reasoning prejudice? Wouldn't a pronouncement like this be an all or nothing condemnation of someone who may simply have a question? Here's another one of those evil questions that possibly "does not need to be answered."..."What if the God Epstein keeps talking about is the one who actually gave atheists the ability to be good?" Epstein may be in for a surprise.
In contrast, we encourage any question and we are not afraid to seek an answer to any question. We question religions, humanists, ourselves, and anything else. The goal is to unite Harvard students who are similarly inclined, and the rest of the world, under reason and truth. We use a principled approach applying universally accepted principles such as the golden rule and the scientific method, etc. Logical fallacies are avoided and there is zero tolerance for bias, prejudice, blind opinions, and preconceived notions.
Let's ask some questions...
Does the Abiogenesis Hypothesis Support God?
God/Designer hypothesis: If an intelligent designer/scientist combines chemicals in a particular process, then the basic building blocks of life will form.
Test: Urey-Miller, etc.
Conclusion: The abiogenesis hypothesis apparently supports a Designer/God.
Analysis: A "God hypothesis" should obviously include a designer, and an atheist hypothesis obviously can not include a designer when considering the origin of life. Thus, the abiogenesis hypothesis supports a Designer/God and does not and cannot support atheism. The second to last paragraph of Darwin's Origin of Species says, "...we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator,". Therefore, the theory of evolution also supports a Creator/God and apparently does not support atheism. What does the Bible say about truth, the scientific method, reason, and bias, etc.? Blind faith: Romans 1:20 says, ...God's invisible qualities...being understood from what has been made, [i.e. scientific observation, etc.] - NIV. Thus, Christians are apparently supposed to understand the existence and nature of God by observing and understanding the universe, not by blind faith. Truth & the scientific method: Test everything. Hold on to the good. - 1 Thessalonians 5:21, NIV; Taste and see that the Lord is good. - Psalm 34:8, NIV; "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:35, NIV; This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me?" - Jeremiah 2:5, NIV. Apparently God and his disciples are open to criticism, and "test everything" includes the Bible also. Biblical canons were also created by testing scripture for inclusion. Reason: Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, - 1 Peter 3:15, NIV; "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. - Isaiah 1:18, NIV Bias: Do not show partiality in judging; - Deuteronomy 1:17, NIV Apparently, before modern science, for thousands of years, the Bible seems to have encouraged and required critical thinking and scientific analysis. The Bible is full of predictions (hypotheses/prophesies) and testing of predictions. In fact, inhibiting the making of predictions/hypotheses is forbidden (1 Thessalonians 5:20) and testing of predictions/hypotheses is required. The person making the predictions must be accurate and only the tested results that are "good" are held on to (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).
The Bible appears to be a self-critical book, inviting testing of itself according to 1 Thessalonians 5:21, etc. Why shouldn't every "holy book" invite self-criticism if it has any hope of being true? Romans 1:20 says, For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Psalm 19:1 says, The heavens declare the glory of God. Therefore, according to the Bible, the entire universe and anything in it including humans should verify via testable evidence any claims of a Creator or truth in the Bible, etc. Humans are a product of the origin along with anything else in existence. The ability to make choices, good or bad, etc., is also a product of the origin. There are many conflicting ideas and opinions. Thus, in order to find truth, we need to test things, such as humans, the Bible, the Quran, Buddhism, Hinduism, atheism, or anything else. Atheists and agnostics apparently believe that their intelligence emerged from unintelligence, according to evolution, natural selection, and abiogenesis. Thus, there should be falsifiable tests to prove this. Let's see if we can make predictions using atheist/agnostic based hypotheses such as... Atheist/agnostic hypothesis 1: Unintelligence increases intelligence. Atheist/agnostic hypothesis 2: Unintelligence produces intelligence. Definition: We will assume for our purposes here that intelligence is a complex and diverse combination of processes characterized by perception, reasoning, and creativity, etc. Un-intelligence will be defined as simpler processes such as DNA or evolutionary processes or by a void of process. Note: Evolution can't be used as a test because it would cause a circular argument to use the same data to test the hypothesis as was used to derive the hypotheses. Test 1: None, apparently. One might ask, "Why would atheist/agnostic students study at Harvard University if unintelligence increases intelligence?". Test 2: None. In fact, in reproduction, unintelligent DNA processes evolve from a single cell into intelligent life but they are caused by another intelligent life (parent). Thus it is testable that there is an intelligent cause of intelligent life. We don't know of any falsifiable tests that support the atheist based hypothesis. Do you? Now, let's falsify a Creator hypothesis based on observing intelligent life (human, etc.), which might be written as... God/Designer hypothesis: Intelligence produces intelligence or intelligence increases intelligence. Tests: (1) Intelligent scientists produced some building blocks of life by simulating the conditions of early earth. (2) Intelligent engineers made artificial intelligence. (3) Intelligent parents beget intelligent offspring. (4) Intelligent teachers produce higher intelligence (and knowledge) in their students, etc. Therefore, there are several falsifiable tests that support the God hypothesis and none that support atheism/agnosticism. At least four categories of tests with an apparent plethora of repeatable additional possibilities all support the Creator hypothesis based on observation and falsifiable testing. Thus, a Creator does seem to make sense. Conversely, there are apparently no falsifiable tests to support atheism and it seems to be contradicted. The atheist/agnostic hypothesis regarding the origin of the universe is apparently not useful for making any predictions. Apparently when we as ordinary humans are open-minded and use reason and the scientific method to test ourselves and other products of the origin, such as the Bible, and what the universe is saying about us (e.g. Psalm 19:1, etc.) we seem to come up with a different answer than atheist "humanists". What do you think? Do you have questions? Are you passionate about truth and reason? Are you gifted with critical thinking skills? Would you like to help develop this website?Does Evoultion Support Atheism/Agnosticism?
What About the Bible?
Test Everything
Let's Test Humans
The Atheist/Agnostic Hypothesis
Test the Atheist/Agnostic Hypotheses
Can Atheist/Agnostic Hypotheses Make Predictions?
The God Hypothesis
Test the God Hypothesis
Can the God Hypothesis Make Predictions?
What is a True Humanist?
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Scripture quotations marked "NIV" are taken from HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION(R). Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.