Monday, September 17, 2012

Finding God in the Questions

Chapter 2: Is the Universe an Accident?

1.  Have you ever had an experience that made you marvel in wonder and awe at the beauty and vastness of the universe?

2.  The first section of the book deals with the question of whether the universe was more likely made by a "creator God" or the result of alone.  Why do you think Johnson chose to tackle this question first?  Have questions concerning the beginning of the world ever been an obstacle to belief in your own life?  How so?

3.  In this chapter, Johnson discusses why he thinks the universe was made by an "intelligent" creator.  What are your own thoughts in response to this claim?

4.  Which, if any, of the scientific discoveries Johnson discusses do you consider to be a persuasive pointer to the existence of a creator God?

5.  What do you think about Johnson's arguments against the position that the world came to exist entirely by chance?

6.  Do you agree that the issue of how life came from dead chemicals and materials is "the most unfathomable phenomenon of all?"  Can Darwinian science (and science in general) adequately account for this reality?

7.  The concept of natural selection might seem to many people like a roadblock to belief in an intelligent designer behind the universe; however, Johnson does not view natural selection as an obstacle.  How might natural selection be a part of a universe designed by God rather than one run entirely by chance?

8.  How can science support and enrich a person's belief in a creator God?  What role has scientific knowledge played in your own spiritual journey?

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