|
||||||||||
|
|
The Fall of Atheism and Rise of Faith Cosmology: The Collapse of the Concept of An Eternal Universe and the Discovery of Creation Physics and Astronomy: The Collapse of the Idea of A Random Universe and the Discovery of the Anthropic Principle Quantum Physics and the Discovery of Divine Wisdom The Natural Sciences: The Collapse of Darwinism and the Victory of "Intelligent Design" Psychology: The Collapse of Freudianism and the Acceptance of Faith Medicine: The Discovery of How "Hearts Find Peace" Society: The Fall of Communism, Fascism, and the Hippie Dream The Movement Toward Religious Morality Conclusion Physics and Astronomy: The Collapse of the Idea of A Random Universe and the Discovery of the Anthropic Principle Before looking at Islam's world-wide growth, we must examine another critical development: the collapse of atheism and the rise of faith. Almost everyone who has studied human history, particularly its philosophical and social aspects, will agree that the nineteenth century was an important period, for it was during those years that the first steps were taken toward the future spiritual collapse. Its most important characteristic was the growth of atheism (i.e., rejecting God's Existence) as opposed to theistic beliefs and religion, which had been generally dominant in the world until then. Although atheism has existed from ancient times, the rise of this
idea actually began in eighteenth-century The greatest support for atheism came from Charles Darwin (1809-82), who rejected the idea of creation and proposed the theory of evolution, which gave a supposedly scientific answer to the question that had baffled atheists for centuries: How did human beings and living things come to be? This theory convinced a great many people that there was a mechanism in nature that animated lifeless matter and produced millions of different living species from it. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, atheists formulated a
worldview that "explained" everything: The universe had not been
created, for it had no beginning and had existed forever. They claimed that it
had no purpose, that its order and balance were the result of chance, and that In his book God: The
Evidence, The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World,
American scholar Patrick Glynn of the The past two decades of research have overturned nearly all the important assumptions and predictions of an earlier generation of modern secular and atheist thinkers relating to the issue of God. Modern thinkers assumed that science would reveal the universe to be ever more random and mechanical; instead it has discovered unexpected new layers of intricate order that bespeak an almost unimaginably vast master design. Modern psychologists predicted that religion would be exposed as a neurosis and outgrown; instead, religious commitment has been shown empirically to be a vital component of basic mental health… Few people seem to realize this, but by now it should be clear: Over the course of a century in the great debate between science and faith, the tables have completely turned. In the wake of Darwin, atheists and agnostics like [Thomas Henry] Huxley [1825-95] and [Bertrand] Russell [1872-1970] could point to what appeared to be a solid body of testable theory purportedly showing life to be accidental and the universe radically contingent. Many scientists and intellectuals continue to cleave to this worldview. But they are increasingly pressed to almost absurd lengths to defend it. Today the concrete data point strongly in the direction of the God hypothesis.2 Science, which has been presented as the pillar of atheist/materialist philosophy, turns out to be just the opposite. As another writer puts it: "The strict materialism that excludes all purpose, choice, and spirituality from the world simply cannot account for the data pouring in from labs and observatories."3 In short, atheism suffered a sudden collapse in the last quarter of the twentieth century at the hands of the very scientific and sociological concepts from which its adherents had hoped to receive the most support. In this chapter, we will look at its collapse in the areas of cosmology, biology, psychology, medicine, and sociology; later sections will discuss how this has prepared the foundation for Islam's rise. 2. Patrick Glynn, God: The Evidence,
the Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (California:
Prima Publishing, 1997), 19-20, 53. A second atheist dogma rendered invalid by twentieth-century discoveries in astronomy is the idea of a random universe. The view that all matter in the universe, the heavenly bodies, and the laws that determine the relationships among them is no more than the purposeless result of chance has been undermined dramatically. For the first time since the 1970s, scientists have begun to recognize that the universe's physical balance is adjusted delicately in favor of human life. Advances in research have enabled scientists to discover that the universe's physical, chemical, and biological laws, as well as such basic forces as gravity and electro-magnetism and even the very structures of atoms and elements, are all ordered exactly as they have to be for human life. Western scientists have called this extraordinary design the "anthropic principle": Every aspect of the universe is designed with a view to human life. We may summarize its basic characteristics as follows: The speed of the universe's first expansion (the force of the Big Bang explosion) was exactly the velocity that it had to be. According to scientists' calculations, if the expansion rate had differed from its actual value by more than one part in a billion billion, the universe either would have recollapsed before reaching its present size or splattered in every direction in a manner that it could never be reunited. In other words, even at the first moment of its existence there was a fine calculation of the accuracy of a billion billionth. The universe's four physical forces (i.e., gravitational force, weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force, and electromagnetic force) are all at the necessary levels for an ordered universe to emerge and for life to exist. Even the tiniest variations in these forces (e.g., one in 1039 or one in 1028; that is-crudely calculated-one in a billion billion billion billion), the universe either would be composed only of radiation or of hydrogen. Many other delicate adjustments make Earth ideal for human life: the size of the Sun, its distance from Earth, water's unique physical and chemical properties, the wavelength of the sun's rays, the way that Earth's atmosphere contains the gases necessary for respiration, and Earth's magnetic field being ideally suited to human life. (For more information on this topic, see Harun Yahya's The Creation of the Universe, Al-Attique Publishers: 2001) In his book, The Symbiotic Universe, George Greenstein gives examples of the flawless design in the universe. This delicate balance is among the most striking discoveries of modern astrophysics. Paul Davies, the well-known astronomer, writes in the last paragraph of his The Cosmic Blueprint: "The impression of Design is overwhelming."9 In an article in the journal Nature, the astrophysicist W. Press writes that "there is a grand design in the Universe that favors the development of intelligent life."10 Interestingly, the majority of the scientists who have made these discoveries were materialists who came to this conclusion unwillingly. They did not undertake their scientific investigations hoping to find a proof for God's Existence. But most, if not all, of them, despite their unwillingness, arrived at this conclusion as the only explanation for the universe's extraordinary design. In his The Symbiotic Universe, the American astronomer George Greenstein acknowledges this fact: How could this possibly have come to pass [that the laws of physics conform themselves to life]? … As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency-or, rather Agency-must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?11 By beginning his question with "Is it possible," Greenstein, an atheist, tries to ignore the plain fact confronting him. But many scientists who have approached the question without prejudice acknowledge that the universe has been created especially for human life. God is He who raised up the heavens without any support - you can see that - and then established Himself firmly on the Throne. He made the sun and moon subservient, each running for a specified term. He directs the whole affair. He makes the Signs clear so that hopefully you will be certain about the meeting with your Lord.(Qur'an, 13:2) The renowned molecular biologist Michael Denton and his book Nature's Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe. Materialism is now being viewed as an erroneous belief outside the realm of science. The American geneticist Robert Griffiths acknowledges this when he says: "If we need an atheist for a debate, I go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn't much use."12 In Nature's Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe, which examines how physical, chemical, and biological laws are amazingly calculated in an ''ideal'' way with a view to human life's requirements, well-known molecular biologist Michael Denton writes: The new picture that has emerged in twentieth-century astronomy presents a dramatic challenge to the presumption which has been prevalent within scientific circles during most of the past four centuries: that life is a peripheral and purely contingent phenomenon in the cosmic scheme.13 In short, the idea of a random universe, perhaps atheism's
most basic pillar, has been proved invalid. Scientists now openly speak of materialism's
collapse.14 God reveals the falsity of this idea in the Qur'an: "We did
not create heaven and Earth and everything between them to no purpose. That is
the opinion of those who disbelieve…" (Qur'an, 38: 27), and science
confirmed that truth in the 1970s. 2.
Patrick Glynn, God: The Evidence, the Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a
Postsecular World (California: Prima Publishing, 1997), 19-20, 53. 9. Paul Davies, The Cosmic Blueprint (London: Penguin Books, 1987), 203. 10. W. Press, " 11. George Greenstein, The Symbiotic Universe (New York: William Morrow, 1988), 27. 12. Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God (Colorado Springs: Navipress, 1995), 123. 13. Michael Denton, Nature's Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe (New York: The Free Press, 1998), 14. 14. Paul Davies and John Gribbin, The Matter Myth (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), 10. http://www.riseofislam.com/rise_of_faith_01.html |
|||||||||
