11/3/15

From Mark Copeland... "THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD" The Gift Of The Holy Spirit


                        "THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD"

                      The Gift Of The Holy Spirit

INTRODUCTION

1. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus poured out the Spirit of God on 
   all flesh...
   a. As prophesied by Joel - Ac 2:16-17
   b. As proclaimed by Peter - Ac 2:33

2. In his sermon, Peter offered hope to his guilt-stricken audience...
   a. He offered remission of sins
   b. He promised the gift of the Holy Spirit
   -- Provided they repent, and were baptized in the name of Jesus
      Christ - Ac 2:37-39

3. What is the gift of the Holy Spirit?
   a. Is the gift the Holy Spirit Himself?
      1) As in "the gift of $100"?
      2) In which the $100 is the gift?
   b. Is the gift something from the Holy Spirit?
      1) As in "the gift of John Brown"?
      2) In which John Brown is the giver of the gift?

4. The grammatical construction in English allows for either meaning...
   a. The Holy Spirit is the gift
   b. Or the Holy Spirit is the giver of the gift

[As we endeavor to discern what is "the gift of the Holy Spirit", let's
review some of the different arguments given for both positions. 
Beginning with...

I. THE GRAMMATICAL ARGUMENTS

   A. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIFT...
      1. "gen., receive the Spirit as a gift, Ac 2:38." - Arndt &
         Gingrich, Dorea, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
         Other Early Christian Literature, p.210
      2. "With the epexegetical gen. of the thing given, the Holy Ghost,
         Ac 2:38." - Thayer, Dorea, Greek-English Lexicon of the New
         Testament, p.161
      3. "In Ac 2:38, 'the gift of the Holy Ghost', the clause is
         epexegetical, the gift being the Holy Ghost Himself." - Vine,
         Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p.147
      4. "The genitive is appositional, as in v.33 the promise is the
         Holy Spirit, so here the gift is the Holy Spirit." - Lenski,
         The Acts Of The Apostles
      5. "of the Holy Spirit - this clause is an appositional genitive
         with 'the gift' and means 'the gift, namely, the Holy Spirit.'"
         - Kistemaker, Acts, New Testament Commentary, p.110
      -- That the Spirit is the gift in Ac 2:38 is the general consensus
         of Greek scholars

   B. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIVER OF THE GIFT...
      1. The phrase can easily be Objective Genitive instead of an
         Appositional Genitive
         a. E.g., the gift of John Brown; John Brown is the giver of the
            gift
         b. E.g., the gift of God; God is the giver of the gift 
            - Jn 4:10
      2. The meaning must be determined on the basis of doctrinal truth
         rather on grammatical form - Franklin Puckett, The Holy Spirit,
         p.14
      -- This view questions the doctrinal bias of Greek scholars quoted
         above

[Then there are...]

II. THE CONTEXTUAL ARGUMENTS

   A. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIFT...
      1. The immediate context
         a. Jesus spoke of the Spirit to His apostles as "the Promise of
            the Father" - Ac 1:4-5
         b. Peter spoke of the outpouring of the Spirit as "the promise
            of the Holy Spirit" - Ac 2:33
         c. Having just mentioned the "the gift of the Holy Spirit",
            Peter then says "For the promise is to you..." - Ac 2:38,39
         d. What promise is Peter referring to in Ac 2:39?
            1) The immediate context suggests the promise already
               mentioned and just offered as a gift
            2) I.e., the promised Holy Spirit who has been poured out is
               now available as a gift to those who obey
      2. The remote context
         a. The Spirit is given (i.e., a gift) to those who obey God 
            - Ac 5:32
         b. The same phrase ("the gift of the Holy Spirit") is used
            elsewhere when it clearly means the Holy Spirit Himself as
            the gift - cf. Ac 10:44-47
      -- That the Spirit is the gift in Ac 2:38 is supported by both the
         immediate and remote context

   B. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIVER OF THE GIFT...
      1. The promise in verse 39 pertains to the blessing of salvation,
         the consequent result of the remission of sins - Franklin
         Puckett, The Holy Spirit, p.22
      2. The promise relates to the Abrahamic covenant, fulfilled in and
         through Christ (Gen 12:1-3; 22:18; Ga 3:14-16) - ibid., p.22-26
      3. This view interprets Paul's phrase "the promise of the Spirit"
         (Ga 3:14) as that which the Spirit promised
         a. But Paul may have meant receiving the Spirit was part of the
            blessing promised to Abraham's spiritual descendants
         b. Note the immediate context, in which Paul had been talking 
            about receiving the Spirit - cf. Ga 3:2,5-9,14      

[Certainly not as strong, but worthy of consideration are what others
have understood in the past.  What might be called...]

III. THE HISTORICAL ARGUMENTS

   A. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIFT...
      1. "The Holy Ghost is one of the promises of the New Testament, 
         Ac 2:38-39." - Barton W. Stone, Works of Elder B. W. Stone
      2. "The phrase 'the gift of the Holy Ghost' occurs Ac 2:38, and
         10:45, and in both places must be understood as equivalent to
         the 'the Holy Spirit as a gift'' - T. W. Brents, The Gospel
         Plan Of Salvation
      3. "The gift of the Spirit promised in Ac 2:38 was the Spirit
         itself" - David Lipscomb, Queries and Answers
      4. "The expression means the Holy Spirit as a gift" - J.W. 
         McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of Apostles
      5. "Certainly the gift of the Spirit is the Spirit itself given."
         - Moses Lard, Lard's Quarterly
      6. "The gift of the Holy Spirit is not some definite thing the
         Holy Spirit gives, but the Holy Spirit as a gift." - R.L. 
         Whiteside, Reflections
      7. "I believe the Holy Spirit is the gift to those who repent and
         are baptized." - Ferrell Jenkins, The Finger Of God
      -- That the Spirit is the gift in Ac 2:38 is a view that has been
         held by many; these are but a sampling of those in the 
         Restoration Movement

   B. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIVER OF THE GIFT...
      1. "The 'gift of the Holy Spirit' is justification by faith or
         spiritual salvation." - Franklin Puckett, The Holy Spirit, p.26
      2. "The gift of the Holy Spirit promised...is the gift given by
         the Spirit, not the Holy Spirit Himself." - Richard E. Black,
         "What Do You Know About The Holy Spirit?", edited by Wendell
         Winkler, p.201
      -- This view has increased in popularity in certain circles,
         though it is comparatively still a minority view

[Finally, here are some thoughts as to the doctrinal import of this
passage. What we might call...]

IV. THE DOCTRINAL ARGUMENTS

   A. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIFT...
      1. Different from the "gifts" of the Spirit
         a. "We must distinguish the gift of the Spirit from the gifts
            of the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is the Spirit himself,
            bestowed by the Father through the Messiah; the gifts of the
            Spirit are those spiritual faculties which the Spirit
            imparts, 'dividing to each one severally even as he will'
            (1Co 12:11)." - F.F. Bruce, Commentary on the Book of Acts,
            p.77
         b. "We need, however, to distinguish between "the gift" of the
            Holy Spirit and what Paul called "the gifts" (ta pneumatika,
            1Co 12:1; 14:1) of that self-same Spirit.  "The gift" is
            the Spirit himself given to minister the saving benefits of
            Christ's redemption to the believer, while "the gifts" are
            those spiritual abilities the Spirit gives variously to
            believers 'for the common good' and sovereignly, 'just as
            He determines' (1Co 12:7,11).  Peter's promise of the 'gift
            of the Holy Spirit' is a logical outcome of repentance and
            baptism." - Richard N. Longenecker, Expositors' Bible
            Commentary, Vol. 9, p.283
      2. Related to the indwelling of the Spirit
         a. "Since the gift of the Spirit in Acts 2:38 is promised to
            all believing penitents who are baptized into Christ, and
            since the Spirit dwells in all Christians, this is the
            gift of the Spirit which was promised in Ac 2:38. - James D.
            Bales, The Holy Spirit And The Christian, p.13
         b. "This indwelling is not accompanied by miraculous
            manifestations, but by moral and spiritual fruit (Ga 5:
            22-23)." - ibid.
         c. If the "gift" is the Holy Spirit Himself, then it likely
            refers to the "indwelling" of the Spirit
            1) A blessing enjoyed by all Christians 
               (cf. 1Co 6:19; Ro 8:9-11)
            2) Which we shall examine more fully in another study

   B. FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIVER OF THE GIFT...
      1. As indicated before, this view is that Peter refers to the gift
         of salvation given by the Spirit (cf. Puckett)
      2. This view is generally held by those who...
         a. Oppose any concept of a literal, personal indwelling of 
            the Spirit
         b. Believe the Spirit's indwelling is entirely mediated, i.e.,
            through the Word only
      3. This view is generally held by those who...
         a. Warn against the potential dangers of the opposing view
         b. Believe it provides a stronger case against certain
            doctrinal errors
      4. Yet these words by R.L. Whiteside regarding this view are very
         sobering:  "...much perversion of Scripture is indulged in to
         support sectarian error, and some perverting is done
         occasionally to refute the arguments of errorists." 
         - Reflections, p. 218

CONCLUSION

1. What is the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38? I am mostly
   persuaded by ...
   a. The overwhelming consensus of Greek scholars
   b. The immediate and remote contexts in which the phrase is found

2. Like many others, I believe "the gift of the Holy Spirit" is the
   Spirit Himself...
   a. Given to those who become children of God - cf. Ga 4:6
   b. A promise related to the indwelling of the Spirit - cf. 1Co 6:19

3. The Spirit as the gift is an important element of the promise made to
   Abraham:  "in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be
   blessed..." - Gen 22:18
   a. A promise fulfilled by Jesus blessing us, in turning us away from
      our sins - Ac 3:25-26
   b. A promise fulfilled by the work of the Spirit, whom Jesus poured
      out richly upon us that we might be justified and sanctified 
      - Tit 3:5-7; 1Co 6:11

4. Even if "the gift of the Holy Spirit" in Ac 2:38 refers to something
   the Spirit gives...
   a. Other passages speak of the Spirit as being given to the Christian
      - Jn 7:37-39; Ac 5:32
   b. What a wonderful gift, one that refreshes the Christian like
      "rivers of living water"!

We shall learn more of the refreshing benefit of the Spirit in the life
of the Christian, when we take a look at the indwelling of the Spirit...

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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The Historicity of Job by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1107

The Historicity of Job

Over the last several centuries, many have attempted to fictionalize the Bible. Atheists vigorously attack the Genesis account of Creation, calling it nothing more than a fictitious story that should be placed alongside myths such as the Babylonian creation account. Skeptics scoff at the biblical account of the worldwide Flood, calling it an altered copy of the uninspired Epic of Gilgamesh. Liberal theologians labor to make Scripture conform to secular sources, claiming that the Israelite religion is a mere “Yahwization” of pagan religions (i.e., attributing to Yahweh what pagan religions attributed to their gods). Certain professors at Christian colleges have even cast doubt on the historicity of Jonah. They have referred to it as “just a short story” that “might even be regarded as historical fiction.” “[A] lot of books today” may “have a ring of historical accuracy,” they say, “just like the book of Jonah,” but “[d]oes that make it history? Well, no. No, it doesn’t” (Pemberton, 2002, 22:26-22:44). Such attempts to fictionalize Scripture or cast doubt on the true nature of its historical accounts represent a blatant attack upon God’s Word and should be refuted with all diligence in “meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).
Some believe the book of Job is little more than a fine piece of non-inspired literature. Others contend it is inspired of God, but, like happenings in Genesis and Jonah, the book of Job is said to be a fictional story about imaginary people, places, and events, told for spiritual purposes. What do the facts reveal? Are there good reasons to believe that this story is a real, unembellished account of events that occurred long ago?

JOB, THE MAN

In a single day, the patriarch Job was informed of the loss of all 10 of his children, all of his livestock, and many of his servants. In chapter 1 of the book of Job, we learn that as one of Job’s servants was telling him about a group of raiders (the Sabeans) that had stolen all of his oxen and donkeys, and killed all the servants tending to the animals (except himself), another servant arrived even as the first “was still speaking.” This second servant told Job that fire came down from heaven and consumed his sheep and servants. Again, while this servant was talking, a third servant came and related to Job that another group of invaders (the Chaldeans) had stolen all of his camels and had killed all of the servants except him. Finally, while this third servant was talking, a fourth servant came and bore even worse news—Job’s 10 children had all perished when a great wind struck the house and caused it to crush them. His 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, several servants, and 10 children were all gone in the blink of an eye. And, as if being stripped of his worldly possessions and children were not enough, Job’s body then became diseased from head to toe, his wife urged him to “curse God and die,” and the comforting counsel of his “friends” quickly gave way to judgmental accusations.
Based upon the extent of his physical destruction and mental suffering, as well as the limited time frame in which it all occurred, some critics doubt that Job was a real person. They believe that he simply was fabricated to teach a lesson about human suffering. Perhaps, they say, he is to be valued like such parabolic figures as the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), or the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21), but not like those who actually lived and died upon the Earth.
I will never forget having a discussion about Job with a Christian gentleman several years ago, who, with a skeptical expression on his face, informed me that he did not believe the story of Job was real history. The idea was: “No one has ever gone through that much pain that quickly.” Up to that point in time, however, I do not think this brother had ever considered the overwhelming evidence for Job’s reality.

Job’s Humanity

Unlike the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the rich fool, and other parabolic figures, the suffering patriarch of the Old Testament, whose story is recorded in forty-two chapters of the most beautiful language this world has ever known, was given a name—Job. The book begins: “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job” (1:1, emp. added). He wasn’t just an obscure man in a far-away land who was the main character of a “once-upon-a-time” kind of fairytale. He was a real, “mortal” man (cf. 4:17), of whom his Creator said: “[T]here is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (1:8). He “was the greatest of all the people of the East” (1:3). That Job was a real person is stated explicitly by God in his second speech to Job, when He declared that the mighty animal called behemoth was “made along with you” (40:15, emp. added).
In the book of Job, the patriarch’s wealth is catalogued, his homeland is identified (cf. Jeremiah 25:20; Lamentations 4:21), his father is referenced (Job 15:10), his children are numbered, his wife is quoted, his friends are named, his speeches are recorded, and his suffering is described in detail. Job spoke of his birth, and even his conception (3:3), and longed for death in order to escape his severe distress (6:8-10). His suffering was not here one day and gone the next, nor did it go on endlessly. It lasted for “months” (7:3; 29:2) and was specifically characterized by boils (2:7-8), bad breath (19:17), loss of weight (19:20), disfiguration (2:12), blackened, cracked skin that was infested with worms (30:30; 7:5), and bones that burned with piercing pain (30:17,30). Job’s suffering was as real as Job himself.

Job’s Descent

Still, some may contend, “We know that Eliphaz was a Temanite, Bildad a Shuhite, Zophar a Naamathite (Job 2:11), and that Elihu was called, ‘the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram’ (Job 32:2), yet Job has no revealed heritage.” “Who was his father? Where is his genealogy? Why don’t we know more about Job’s heritage, if he was a real person?”
The Bible is replete with real, historical men and women who have little, if any, background information given about them. Are we to assume that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Daniel 1:7), Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1), Diotrephes (3 John 9), and Lydia (Acts 16:14) were all fictional characters because we have no information about their families? And what about Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18), who was “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Hebrews 7:3)? Was he an imaginary character? In truth, Melchizedek is as historical as Abraham, who paid him tithes (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:2), and as real as Jesus, Who was a priest, “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:17,21).
Similar to how Melchizedek’s ancestry was intentionally omitted in Scripture in order to illustrate the perfect type of priest that Jesus, the great High Priest, would be, the little information that we have about Job was no doubt intentional. Admittedly, patriarchs are often introduced in the biblical text with at least some genealogical information (e.g., Genesis 11:26-29), while Job is not. We know neither his family nor his race. We do not know for sure when he lived or exactly where he lived (i.e., precisely where Uz was cannot be said with certainty). However, as Perry Cotham concluded: “[T]his in God’s wisdom is all the better for the purpose of the great book because it makes Job a universal man, a representative, as it were, of all mankind in his relationship to God” (Cotham, 1991, p. 40). People of all colors, classes, clans, countries, and kingdoms can find great strength and encouragement from the real, true-life story of Job.

Job’s Name

Let us also establish the fact that the name “Job” (Hebrew Iyob or Iob in the Septuagint) was no literary invention; it was an actual name worn by various ones throughout history. Jacob had a grandson named Job (Genesis 46:13; or Yob/Iob, ESV, NASB). Furthermore, as Francis Anderson noted in his commentary on Job, “The name [Job—EL] is attested several times throughout the second millennium BC as an old Canaanite name sometimes borne by royal personages. It occurs in an Egyptian execration text of the nineteenth century BC…. Later the Ugaritic ayab agrees with the South Canaanite name A-ya-ab in Amarna letters” (Anderson, 1974, p. 78). Although some believe that Job means either “object of enmity” or “he who turns to God” (Genung, 2006), the eminent and respected archaeologist W.F. Albright believed these ancient references support the explanation that the name originally meant, “Where is (my) Father?” (Hartley, 1988, p. 66; Anderson, p. 78). Such a meaning fits perfectly with the book of Job, considering (1) no father or genealogy is given for the patriarch, and (2) throughout his speeches, Job longs to speak with God, his Father by creation (10:2-3,9; 13:3,20-22; 31:35-37).

Job’s Anonymous Wife

Some have suggested that since the patriarch’s wife is referred to but never named (Job 2:9; 19:17; 31:10), the book of Job falls in line more with a parable and not a literal story (cf. Cunningham, 2011). Such a claim, however, disregards two important points. First, several of the leading characters in the story arespecifically named, including Jehovah, Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu, as well as three of Job’s daughters: Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-Happuch. Simply because someone in a story is not called by name, in no way relegates that story to a parable, especially when so many other individuals in the storyare named. Second, there are many real, historical women in the Bible whose names are also unknown to us, including, and especially, the women of patriarchal times. Adam and Eve’s daughters are never named (Genesis 5:4), nor are Lot’s (Genesis 19). The wives of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth are omitted in Scripture even though they were crucial in God’s plan for mankind to repopulate the Earth. Other men living in patriarchal times whose wives’ names are not mentioned by name in Holy Writ include Cain, Lot, Laban, and Potiphar. Furthermore, the names of many women in New Testament times remain unknown to us, includingJames and John’s mother (Matthew 20:20), Peter’s mother in law (Matthew 8:14), Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18), the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), and many others (Luke 8:3). Obviously, then, the fact that Job’s wife, who is only mentioned three times in the book of Job, is not referred to by name has no bearing whatsoever on the historicity of Job.

Other Citations of Job in Scripture

Not only are there several indicators within the book of Job that the suffering patriarch was a real, flesh-and-blood human being (and not just a parabolic figure), Job also is mentioned in Scripture outside of the book that bears his name. In fact, Job is mentioned in three different verses in Scripture (outside the book of Job), none of which lead one to believe that Job is a fictional character. Rather, he is considered an actual, historical figure.
The first two places his name is found (aside from the book of Job) is in Ezekiel 14, verses 14 and 20. In verse 14, the prophet stated: “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God.” Verse 20 is worded nearly the same way: “[E]ven though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” Ezekiel’s point in both verses was that the ungodly conditions in Babylon were such that even if Noah, Daniel, and Job lived in that city, no one else would be saved. Ezekiel spoke of all three of these men as being real, historical people, not legendary characters. If one recognizes Noah and Daniel as being real people of history, then there is no reason to think otherwise about Job. Yes, Job’s story is written in beautiful, poetic language and grouped with other poetic books in the wisdom section of the Old Testament. Still, God’s inspired prophet Ezekiel believed Job’s life was as real and genuine as Noah’s and Daniel’s. [NOTE: Numerous real people and places are noted and described in the poetic books of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. It would be unwise and inconsistent to disregard Job’s historicity merely because it is written largely in poetic language.]
The last place the suffering patriarch is mentioned in Scripture (and the only time he is mentioned in the New Testament) is found in the latter part of the book of James. The brother of the Lord wrote: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:10-11, emp. added). James was not writing through inspiration about an imaginary person. Rather, he considered Job as real as Abraham, Elijah, and Rahab—historical individuals whom James also mentioned in his epistle (2:21,25; 5:17).

JOB’S “UNBELIEVABLE” SUFFERING

More than anything else, what causes the most skepticism about Job are the intense losses that he endured in such a short period of time. How can a man learn of the loss of 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, numerous servants, and, most tragically, 10 children in one day? It simply is too much for some to believe.

Job and Evolution

Yet, some of the same individuals who doubt the historicity of the suffering of Job maintain that the theory of evolution is a fact. Both atheistic and theistic evolutionists believe that over billions of years of time, a multi-cellular creature evolved into a worm, which evolved into a fish, which evolved into an amphibian, which evolved into a reptile, which evolved into an ape-like creature, which evolved into a human. Allegedly, an amazing human being with functional eyes, ears, arms, legs, fingers, toes, lungs, etc., could evolve given enough time, mutations, and random chance processes. Supposedly, the unnatural, unproven, law-breaking theory of evolution is believable—but not the story of Job. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (Shakespeare, 2011, III.2).

Others Throughout History Have Suffered Greatly

It maybe that no one in world history has ever suffered as much as did Job in one day. However, there have been many tragic stories throughout history. Since likely everyone would agree that there have been innumerable true accounts of individuals and families throughout history losing virtually all of their wealth in the blink of an eye due to fires, floods, thefts, bankruptcies, depressions, stock-market plunges, etc. (e.g., Charles Prestwood, see Hundley, 2002), there seems little reason to document such financial losses. What’s more, even if we did document many such unfortunate happenings, it would be greatly overshadowed by the loss of all of Job’s children. When the life and death of those whom we love dearly comes into focus, often even the most materialistic among us see that financial ruin does not compare with the loss of loved ones.
But Job was also not the only one ever to have to deal with a great family tragedy in a short period of time. I know a woman who lost her mother and one of her two sons within one week of each other. She then buried her husband a year later. Portland, Oregon mother, Marva Davis, lost two sons on the same day—January 29, 2010. Her 23-year-old son died of heart and kidney failure in the morning, followed by her 25-year-old son being shot by a police officer later that night (“Oregon Woman…,” 2010). Alicia Appleman-Jurman was one of countless Jews who experienced heart-breaking losses and difficulties during the Holocaust. In addition to her suffering and surviving ghettoization, imprisonment, starvation, a trip to an extermination center, and a firing squad, all within a four-year period, she lost every immediate family member. The Nazis shot her mother, father, and two of her brothers. One brother was hanged, while another died needlessly in a Russian prison. Alicia was the only member of her immediate family to survive the Holocaust (Appleman-Jurman, 1989).

Many Faithful Believers Have Experienced Great Pain

The Bible is full of faithful men and women who suffered greatly. Imagine the sorrow that Noah and his family felt as they watched and/or heard innumerable souls (perhaps millions of people) perish in the Flood—many of whom, no doubt, were relatives. Consider the heartache that Lot, his wife, and daughters must have felt as their family members, friends, and home were destroyed with fire and brimstone—and then as Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:24-26).
The apostle Paul was “in prisons...frequently” and “in deaths often.” Five times he received 39 lashings. Three times he was beaten with rods. Once he was stoned. Three times he was ship wrecked (2 Corinthians 11:23-25). In addition to being in all kinds of “perils” (2 Corinthians 11:26), he was “in weariness and toil…in hunger and thirst,” as well as “in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:27). Paul was a persecuted apostle, who suffered greatly, in addition to being in continual pain with some sort of “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). The apostles as a whole were “made a spectacle to the world,” were “dishonored…poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless” (1 Corinthians 4:10-11). They were “reviled,” “persecuted,” and “defamed” (1 Corinthians 4:12-13). They were “made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things” (1 Corinthians 4:13). In addition to inspiration informing us that the apostle James was killed with the sword (Acts 12:2), Fox’s Book of Martyrs indicates that Matthew was slain with a halberd, Mathias was stoned and beheaded, Andrew was crucified, Thomas was killed with a spear, Paul was beheaded, and Peter was crucified (most likely upside down) (Forbush, 1954, pp. 2-5).
Faithful men and women of God have been “tortured” (Hebrews 11:35). “They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:38b). “Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:36-38a). Job is certainly one of the greatest examples of steadfastness in the face of suffering, but he is far from the only one to suffer severely.

A Modern-Day Tragedy

One of the most heart-rending, instant, unexpected tragedies to happen to a family in recent years occurred near Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday, November 8, 1994. Scott and Janet Willis were traveling with six of their nine children on Interstate 94 to Watertown, Wisconsin to visit their older son, Dan, and his new wife, and to celebrate two upcoming birthdays. Before ever reaching Watertown, however, the Willis van struck a piece of metal that had fallen off of a truck. The metal pierced the gas tank, which quickly caused gas to leak. “Seconds later, sparks caused as the metal bracket dragged against the pavement ignited the van” (Backover and Lev, 1994). The van “exploded in flames” (“Parents Bury...,” 1994). Five of the children in the van died almost instantly in the fire. Another escaped with burns covering 90% of his body, but died later that night at the hospital. Scott and Janet were hospitalized for several days with first and second degree burns. Such physical wounds, however, did not compare with the “indescribable” pain they felt at losing six children in one freak accident (Gillmore, n.d.).
What are the odds of something like this happening? Sheriff’s Sergeant David Lushowitz commented on the accident, saying, “I’ve never seen an accident like this before…. The odds are astronomical” (as quoted in Backover and Lev, emp. added). According to Chicago Tribune staff writers Backover and Lev, “Highway statistics support the characterization by Milwaukee investigators that the van accident was afreak occurrence” (emp. added).

Remembering the Circumstances of Job’s Suffering

Although man has documented many cases of severe, instantaneous suffering throughout history, some still refuse to believe the events in Job (especially chapters 1, 2, and 42) actually could occur. In an article titled, “Could the Story of Job be a Parable?” Chuck Cunningham wrote: “Four calamities result from Yahweh talking to the accuser. There is one survivor in each calamity to tell the story of Job. What are the odds of this happening?... Job begins with seven sons and three daughters, which all die. Job ends up with another seven sons and three daughters. What are the odds of that happening?” The idea is: “It’s too much, too soon—all of which is too ironic” (2011).
Admittedly, even in light of the cases of acute suffering that secular history has recorded for us, Job’s affliction does seem somewhat inconceivable. However, there is one important point to remember: Job’s story does not begin in Job 1:13 (when the Sabeans first came and stole all of Job’s oxen and donkeys and killed all of the servants in the area). The story of Job’s suffering begins in Job 1:6, on the day Satan came before the Lord. When God mentioned His faithful servant to Satan, the wicked one arrogantly implied that Job did not serve God for nothing (i.e., the Lord allegedly is not innately worthy of faithful service). God had blessed the patriarch and apparently had not allowed Satan to harm him as the devil went “to and fro on the earth” (Job 1:7), “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). For reasons that God does not reveal, He allowed Satan temporary access to “all that he [Job] has” (Job 1:12), which later would even include his health (2:4-7). In ways unknown to us, Satan orchestrated the murderous raids of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, the fire from heaven, the great wind, and the physical suffering that Job endured (1:13-19; 2:1-7). The same Satan who tempted Adam and Eve to sin; the same devil who sought to ruin the perfect life of Jesus at His weakest point (Matthew 4:1-11); the same wicked one who “bound” a woman with “a spirit of infirmity eighteen years” (Luke 13:11,16) and “oppressed” many others in the first century (Acts 10:38), also afflicted Job immensely. Taking into account Satan’s personal role in Job’s acute, virtually instantaneous suffering, the “unlikely,” “improbable” events become plausible.

HOW COULD GOD DO THIS?

Some discount the historic reality of the book of Job, because they cannot reconcile an all-loving God with what He allowed to happen to Job and those around him. According to Cunningham, “This is not our Elohim,…but more like a Greek Yahweh who plays with the lives of men. These accounts contradict the rest of Yahweh’s Word and Yahweh cannot contradict Himself…. We have taken the Book of Job literally instead of taking it as a parable” (2011). Similarly, Kelvin Stubbs asked, “God allows this man to have all that matters to him taken away, his family killed…and we’re supposed to be inspired?... How can you love a God who treats one of his most devout followers in this manner?” (2009).

Did God Cause Job to Suffer?

In truth, it was Satan who “did this.” Yes, God did say to Satan: “[Y]ou incitedMe against him [Job], to destroy him without a cause” (2:3), and later, the book does speak of “all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him” (42:11). The fact is, however, these statements are examples of the idiomatic language found throughout Scripture, which actually express “not the doing of the thing, but the permission of the thing which the agent is said to do” (Bullinger, 1898, p. 823). The Bible writers often alluded to God’s allowance of something to take place as having been done by the Lord. For example, 2 Samuel 24:1 indicates that God “moved David…to number Israel,” while 1 Chronicles 21:1 says that it was Satan who “stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” The meaning is: Israel suffered as a direct result of Satan’s workings in the life of King David, which God allowed.
Consider also that Moses recorded how “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 7:3,13; 9:12; 10:1; etc.). But God did not directly force Pharaoh to reject His will. Rather, God hardened his heart in the sense that God provided the circumstances and the occasion for Pharaoh to accept or reject His will. God sent Moses to place His demands before Pharaoh, even accompanying His Word with miracles, but Pharaoh made up his own mind to resist God’s demands. God provided the occasion for Pharaoh to demonstrate his unyielding attitude, but He was not the author (or direct cause) of Pharaoh’s defiance (see Butt and Miller, 2003 for more information). Similarly, God permitted Satan to afflict Job, but He did not directly cause Job’s suffering. It was “Satan” who “went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job” (2:7).

Would a Loving God Really Allow Job and Others to Suffer?

Regardless of whether God “allowed” Job’s suffering or “caused” it, some do not believe that a loving God would remove His providential protection from a faithful servant, bring his name up to Satan for consideration, and allow Job and so many others (i.e., his wife, children, and servants) to suffer and even die. Such God-allowed suffering has led atheists to reject Job and God altogether, while causing certain professed Bible-believers to interpret Job as a parabolic drama. Since the “the evil, pain, and suffering argument” against God’s existence has been thoroughly and logically answered many times in the past (cf.Miller and Butt, 2009; Warren, 1972), we will only respond to the professed Christian’s accusation about Job—that the book must be parabolic because God would never treat someone like He treated Job, his children, and his servants.
How is a parabolic story about God allowing Satan to destroy Job’s children and servants, as well as cause great physical pain for Job, somehow acceptable, but not a real-life story? A parable may be a fictitious story, but it has a moral or spiritual meaning. The Greek word parabole (from which we get the English word “parable”) means “to throw alongside.” It is “a story by which something real in life is used as a means of presenting a moral thought” (Dungan, n.d., p. 227, emp. added). Even if Job was a parable (which the evidence is decisively against), how would that immediately solve the “problem” of God allowing Job and others to suffer? Whether a true-life story about God or a parabolic story, any God-inspired story about Himself is going to properly reflect His perfect attributes. Turning the book of Job into a parable in no way means that “nothing in the book as it relates to God is really what it seems to be.”
The fact is, God’s actions in the book of Job are real, and consistent both with His nature and with the rest of Scripture. God is all-loving (1 John 4:8), but such love is not contrary to God allowing His faithful followers to suffer. Even though He will not tempt His children to do evil (James 1:13), God will test us (Genesis 22:1; Exodus 20:20) and discipline us (Hebrews 12:3-11). He will even allow us to die, knowing that a much greater life awaits us on the other side of physical death (Hebrews 11:10,16; John 14:1-3). He allowed John the Baptist, Stephen, James the apostle, and many others, including the Messiah, to suffer and die. We must keep in mind, as Thomas  Warren observed: God created the world, not as man’s final and ultimate destination, but as “the ideal environment for soul-making” (1972, p. 16). The difficulties that God allows or even brings about in this life “encourage people to cultivate their spirits and to grow in moral character—acquiring virtuous attributes such as courage, patience, humility, and fortitude (James 1:2-3; Romans 5:3-4). Suffering can serve as discipline and motivation to spur spiritual growth and strength. It literally stimulates people to develop compassion, sympathy, love, and empathy for their fellowman” (Miller and Butt; cf. Warren, p. 81).
But why did God allow Job’s children and servants to die? Why did He not spare their lives as He spared Job’s? God does not give us the answer to these questions. He does not tell us everything He knows, or that we might like to know (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9; Deuteronomy 29:29). What we can know is this: God always has a good reason for what He does. Perhaps He was rewarding Job’s 10 children and all of the servants with an early entrance into Paradise (cf. 2 Kings 2:11; Philippians 1:21,23). Or, if the children and servants were wicked, perhaps God used the occasion to punish them with physical death, just as He has done many times throughout history (Genesis 6-8; 19; Leviticus 10:1-2; Numbers 16; Acts 5:1-11). The fact is, one cannot assume that God’s allowance of Satan to kill Job’s children and servants is inconsistent with His loving nature.

CONCLUSION

Although much about the book of Job remains a mystery (exactly when Job lived, who wrote the book that bears his name, where the Land of Uz was located, etc.), we can know that he was a real person who suffered greatly—perhaps like no person has ever suffered—and yet remained faithful to God. And therein lies one of the main purposes of Job’s preserved story: the patriarch is an inspiration to every child of God who is determined to follow the Lord “in the paths of righteousness,” even while walking “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:3-4). Knowing that Job persevered through all his trials and tribulations gives us hope that we can do the same when similar trials of less magnitude come our way (James 1:2-4; 5:10-11).

REFERENCES

Anderson, Francis I. (1974), Job (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press).
Appleman-Jurman (1989), “Alicia Appleman-Jurman: Survival and Heroism of a Young Girl During the Holocaust,” http://www.datasync.com/~davidg59/alicia.html.
Backover, Andrew and Michael Lev (1994), “6th Child Dies After Van Wreck,”http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-11-10/news/9411100233_1_van-wreck-duane-scott-willis-gas-tank.
Bullinger, E.W. (1898), Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1968 reprint).
Butt, Kyle and Dave Miller (2003), “Who Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart?” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/scrspeak/2003/ss-03-22.htm.
Cotham, Perry (1991), “A Dialogue of Heaven and Earth,” in There Was a Man Named Job (Memphis, TN: Getwell church of Christ).
Cunningham, Chuck (2011), “Could the Story of Job be a Parable?” Teleios Ministries,http://www.teleiosministries.com/pdfs/Understanding_Yahwehs_Word/the_book_of_job.pdf.
Dungan, D.R. (no date), Hermeneutics (Delight, AR: Gospel Light).
Forbush, William Byron (1954), Fox’s Book of Martyrs (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Genung, John Franklin (2006), “Job,” International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Electronic Database Biblesoft).
Gillmore, Mark (no date), “The Fiery Crash,” http://logosresourcepages.org/SavingGrace/firecrash.htm.
Hartley, John E. (1988), The Book of Job (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Hundley, Kris (2002), “Enron’s Crushing Blow,” St. Petersburg Times Online,http://www.sptimes.com/2002/02/10/Business/Enron_s_crushing_blow.shtml.
Miller, Dave and Kyle Butt (2009), “The Problem of Evil,” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=12&article=890, May2.
“Oregon Woman Loses 2 Sons in Single Day” (2010), Boston Herald,http://bostonherald.com/news/national/west/view.bg?articleid=1230028&format=text.
“Parents Bury Six Children in Eerie Freeway Fire” (1994), Los Angeles Times,http://articles.latimes.com/1994-11-20/news/mn-65246_1_older-children.
Pemberton, Glenn (2002), Advanced Intro. to O.T., Oklahoma Christian Univeristy, CD 22:26-22:44.
Shakespeare, William (2011), Hamlet, The Literature Network, http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/10/.
Stubbs, Kelvin (2009), “My Path to Agnosticism,” Meditations,http://uctaa.net/articles/meds2/med39/med752.html.
Warren, Thomas B. (1972), Have Atheists Proved There is No God? (Ramer, TN: National Christian Press).

Can Quantum Mechanics Produce a Universe from Nothing? by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.


http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1108

Can Quantum Mechanics Produce a Universe from Nothing?

According to the First Law of Thermodynamics, nothing in the Universe (i.e., matter or energy) can pop into existence from nothing (see Miller, 2013). All of the scientific evidence points to that conclusion. So, the Universe could not have popped into existence before the alleged “big bang” (an event which we do not endorse). Therefore, God must have created the Universe.
One of the popular rebuttals by the atheistic community is that quantum mechanics could have created the Universe. In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed the idea of mass-energy equivalence, resulting in the famous equation, E = mc2 (1905). We now know that matter can be converted to energy, and vice versa. However, energy and mass are conserved, in keeping with the First Law. In the words of the famous evolutionary astronomer, Robert Jastrow, “[T]he principle of the conservation of matter and energy…states that matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed. Matter can be converted into energy, and vice versa, but the total amount of all matter and energy in the Universe must remain unchanged forever” (1977, p. 32). The idea of matter-energy conversion led one physicist to postulate, in essence, that the cosmic egg that exploded billions of years ago in the alleged “big bang”—commencing the “creation” of the Universe—could have come into existence as an energy-to-matter conversion.
In 1973, physicist Edward Tryon of the Hunter College of the City University of New York published a paper in the British science journal Nature titled, “Is the Universe a Vacuum Fluctuation?” He proposed the idea that the Universe could be a large scale vacuum energy fluctuation. He said, “In answer to the question ofwhy it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time” (246:397, emp. added). Does it really? Cosmologist and theoretical physicist Alexander Vilenkin, Director of the Institute of Cosmology at Tufts University, said:
Now, what Tryon was suggesting was that our entire universe, with its vast amount of matter, was a huge quantum fluctuation, which somehow failed to disappear for more than 10 billion years. Everybody thought that was a very funny joke. But Tryon was not joking. He was devastated by the reaction of his colleagues… (2006, p. 184).
Though he was originally scoffed at, Tryon’s theory has gained traction among many prominent evolutionary scientists. After all, if true, according to Vilenkin, “such a creation event would not require a cause” for the Universe (pp. 184-185).

SPECULATION VS. OBSERVATION

The fact is, the idea that such an event could happen is pure speculation and conjecture. No such phenomenon—the conversion from energy to matter of an entire Universe—has ever been remotely observed. It is a desperate attempt to hold to naturalistic presuppositions, in spite of the evidence, when a supernatural option that is in keeping with the evidence is staring us in the face. Evolutionary physicist Victor Stenger said,
[T]he universe is probably the result of a random quantum fluctuation in a spaceless, timeless void.... So what had to happen to start the universe was the formation of an empty bubble of highly curved space-time. How did this bubble form? What caused it? Not everything requires a cause. It could have just happened spontaneously as one of the many linear combinations of universes that has the quantum numbers of the void.... Much is still in the speculative stage,and I must admit that there are yetno empirical or observational tests that can be used to test the idea of an accidental origin (1987, 7[3]:26-30, italics in orig., emp. added.).
No evidence. No scientific observation. Just speculation.
Writing in the Skeptical Inquirer in 1994, Ralph Estling voiced strong disapproval of the idea that the Universe could create itself out of nothing. He wrote:
I do not think that what these cosmologists, these quantum theorists, these universe-makers, are doing is science. I can’t help feeling that universes are notoriously disinclined to spring into being, ready-made, out of nothing, even if Edward Tryon (ah, a name at last!) has written that “our universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time....” Perhaps, although we have the word of many famous scientists for it, our universe is not simply one of those things that happen from time to time (18[4]:430, parenthetical item in orig., emp. added).
Estling’s comments initiated a wave of controversy and letters to the Skeptical Inquirer, eliciting a response by Estling to his critics. Among other observations, he said, “All things begin with speculation, science not excluded. But if no empirical evidence is eventually forthcoming, or can be forthcoming, all speculation is barren.... There is no evidence, so far, that the entire universe, observable and unobservable, emerged from a state of absolute Nothingness” (1995, 19[1]:69-70, emp. added). Therefore, by naturalists’ own definition of science, such an idea is unscientific. There is no evidence that could prove such a thing. The creationist platform is in keeping with observational science and has positive evidence of a divine Being (e.g., the presence of intelligent design in nature, the existence of objective morality, the existence of a Universe which demands a cause, and the existence of a Book that contains supernatural characteristics). However, unlike the creationist platform, those who believe in Tryon’s theory are holding to a blind faith.

WHENCE CAME ENERGY?

Second, even if such a thing were possible—that energy could be converted to matter in the way that Tryon has suggested—one must ask, “Where did the energy come from?” Alan Guth, professor of physics at M.I.T., wrote in response to Tryon: “In this context, a proposal that the universe was created from empty space is no more fundamental than a proposal that the universe was spawned by a piece of rubber. It might be true, but one would still want to ask where the piece of rubber came from” (1997, p. 273, emp. added).
Energy could not have popped into existence without violating the First Law of Thermodynamics. So in reality, when scientists argue that quantum mechanics creates something from nothing, they do not really mean “nothing.” The problem of how everything got here is still present. The matter generated in quantum theory is from a vacuum that is not void. Philip Yam of Scientific American wrote, “Energy in the vacuum, though, is very much real. According to modern physics, a vacuum isn’t a pocket of nothingness. It churns with unseen activity even at absolute zero, the temperature defined as the point at which all molecular motion ceases” (1997, p. 82, emp. added). Prominent humanist mathematician and science writer, Martin Gardner, wrote: “It is fashionable now to conjecture that the big bang was caused by a random quantum fluctuation in a vacuum devoid of space and time. But of course such a vacuum is a far cry from nothing” (2000, p. 303, emp. added). Amanda Gefter, writing in New Scientist, said, “Quantum mechanics tells us that the vacuum of space is not empty; instead, it crackles with energy” (2010, p. 29, emp. added). Physicist Richard Morris wrote:
In modern physics, there is no such thing as “nothing.” Even in a perfect vacuum, pairs of virtual particles are constantly being created [i.e., by briefly “borrowing” energy already in existence—JM] and destroyed. The existence of these particles is no mathematical fiction. Though they cannot be directly observed, the effects they create are quite real. The assumption that they exist leads to predictions that have been confirmed by experiment to a high degree of accuracy (Morris, 1990, p. 25, emp. added).
Astrophysicist Rocky Kolb, chairman of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, wrote: “[A] region of seemingly empty space is not really empty, but is a seething froth in which every sort of fundamental particle pops in and out of empty space before annihilating with its antiparticle and disappearing” (1998, 26[2]:43, emp. added). Estling continued his extensive observations in response to his critics (mentioned above), saying:
Quantum cosmologists insist both on this absolute Nothingness and on endowing it with various qualities and characteristics: this particular Nothingness possesses virtual quanta seething in a false vacuum. Quanta, virtual or actual, false or true, are not Nothing, they are definitely Something, although we may argue over what exactly. For one thing, quanta are entitieshaving energy, a vacuum has energy and moreover, extension, i.e., it is something into which other things, such as universes, can be put, i.e., we cannot have our absolute Nothingness and eat it too. If we have quanta and a vacuum as given, we in fact have a pre-existent state of existence that either pre-existed timelessly or brought itself into existence from absolute Nothingness (no quanta, no vacuum, no pre-existing initial conditions) at some precise moment in time; it creates this time, along with the space, matter, and energy, which we call the universe.... I’ve had correspondence with Paul Davies [eminent atheistic theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist of Arizona State University, who advocates the supposition that the Universe created itself from nothing—JM] on cosmological theory, in the course of which, I asked him what he meant by “Nothing.” He wrote back that he had asked Alexander Vilenkin what he meant by it and that Vilenkin had replied, “By Nothing I mean Nothing,” which seemed pretty straightforward at the time, but these quantum cosmologists go on from there to tell us what their particular breed of Nothing consists of. I pointed this out to Davies, who replied that these things are very complicated. I’m willing to admit the truth of that statement,but I think it does not solve the problem (1995, 19[1]:69-70, emp. added).
No wonder Jonathan Sarfati said:
Some physicists assert that quantum mechanics…can produce something from nothing…. But this is a gross misapplication of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics never produces something out of nothing…. Theories that the Universe is a quantum fluctuation must presuppose that there was something to fluctuate—their “quantum vacuum” is a lot of matter-antimatter potential—not “nothing” (1998, 12[1]:21, emp. added).
Vilenkin, while explaining the problems inherent in Tryon’s work, said:
A more fundamental problem is that Tryon’s scenario does not really explain the origin of the universe. A quantum fluctuation of the vacuum assumes that there was a vacuum of some pre-existing space. And we now know that “vacuum” is very different from “nothing.” Vacuum, or empty space, has energy and tension, it can bend and warp, so it is unquestionablysomething (2006, p. 185, ital. in orig., emp. added).
He went on to propose that quantum tunneling could be the answer to the creation of the Universe out of nothing. However, quantum tunneling starts with something and ends with something as well. Particles that can jump or tunnel through barriers still must initially exist to do so. Bottom line: according to renowned atheist, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist of Cambridge University, Stephen Hawking, in order to create a Universe, “you need just three ingredients”: matter, energy, and space (“Curiosity…,” 2011). These three ingredients must exist in order to create a Universe, according to Hawking. So, the problem remains. Where did the ingredients for the Universe soup come from? There must be an ultimate Cause of the Universe.

NON-EXISTENT QUANTUM LAW-MAKER?

Third, even if one were to irrationally accept the premise that quantum theory allows for the possibility that Universes could pop into existence, in the words of astrophysicist Marcus Chown:
If the universe owes its origins to quantum theory, then quantum theory must have existed before the universe. So the next question is surely: where did the laws of quantum theory come from? “We do not know,” admits Vilenkin. “I consider that an entirely different question.” When it comes to the beginning of the universe, in many ways we’re still at the beginning (2012, p. 35, emp. added).
Martin Gardner said,
Imagine that physicists finally discover all the basic waves and their particles, and all the basic laws, and unite everything in one equation. We can then ask, “Why that equation?” It is fashionable now to conjecture that the big bang was caused by a random quantum fluctuation in a vacuum devoid of space and time. But of course such a vacuum is a far cry from nothing.There had to be quantum laws to fluctuate. And why are there quantum laws?... There is no escape from the superultimate questions: Why is there something rather than nothing, and why is the something structured the way it is? (2000, p. 303, emp. added).
In “Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe?” Stephen Hawking boldly claimed that everything in the Universe can be accounted for through atheistic evolution without the need of God. This is untrue, as we have discussed elsewhere (e.g., Miller, 2011), but it seems that Hawking does not even believe that assertion himself. He asked the question, “Did God create the quantum laws that allowed the Big Bang to occur? In a nutshell, did we need a god to set it all up so that the Big Bang could bang?” (“Curiosity…,” emp. added). He then proceeded to offer no answer to the question. In his critique of Hawking, Paul Davies highlighted this very fact, saying, “You need to know where those laws come from. That’s where the mystery lies—the laws” (“The Creation Question…,” 2011). Quantum mechanics, with its governing laws, simply do not leave room for the spontaneous generation of Universes.

RESPONSES

But what if quantum theory could allow for spontaneous generation at the quantum level? What if the First Law of Thermodynamics does not apply at the unobservable molecular world of quantum mechanics but only to the macroscopic world that we can actually see? Even if that were the case (and there is no conclusive evidence to support the contention that there are any exceptions whatsoever to the First Law of Thermodynamics—see Miller, 2010a), according to the Big Bang model, the quantum level cosmic egg eventually became macroscopic through expansion or inflation. Such an event would have been the equivalent of a breach of the First Law, even under such a speculative definition.
But isn’t it true that “one usually assumes that the current laws of physics did not apply” at the beginning (Linde, 1994)? Assumptions must be reasonable. What evidence could be used to back such a grandiose assumption? And again, who would have written the laws at the moment they became viable? And further, if the laws of physics broke down at the beginning, one cannot use quantum law to bring about matter, which is precisely what the quantum fluctuation theory attempts to do. [NOTE: See Miller, 2010b for more on this contention.]

CONCLUSION

Can quantum mechanics create Universes from nothing? No. Quantum particle generation requires pre-existing energy—a far cry from nothing. Could quantum mechanics spontaneously create Universes from pre-existing (i.e., created by God) energy? There is no scientific evidence to support such a proposition. So it is speculation and conjecture—wishful thinking on par with postulating that aliens brought life to Earth (which some irrationally believe). Tiny quantum particles fluctuating—bouncing around—is one thing. The creation of the entire Universe through a quantum fluctuation? That’s another.
One who wishes to avoid acknowledging the existence of God should be expected to do almost anything to deny it. Reason will be thrown aside, and acceptance of far-fetched theories—theories that are so speculative that they belong in the fiction section of the library along with the The Wizard of Oz—will be latched onto as fact. The Bible gives the rationale for this irrational behavior by explaining that such a person has “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). Such a person will “heap up…teachers” who will tell him what he wants to hear, who sound smart, and therefore, will make him feel good about the blatantly irrational position that he holds (vs. 3). He will turn his “ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (vs. 4). Thus, “professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). The quantum fluctuation idea is simply another example of this same mentality, and the admonition to Christians is the same as it was in the first century: “But you be watchful in all things” (vs. 5). “Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20).

REFERENCES

Chown, Marcus (2012), “In the Beginning,” New Scientist, 216[2893]:33-35, December 1.
“The Creation Question: A Curiosity Conversation” (2011), Discovery Channel, August 7.
“Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe?” (2011), Discovery Channel, August 7.
Einstein, Albert (1905), “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?” Annals of Physics, 18:639-643, September.
Estling, Ralph (1994), “The Scalp-Tinglin’, Mind-Blowin’, Eye-Poppin’, Heart-Wrenchin’, Stomach-Churnin’, Foot-Stumpin’, Great Big Doodley Science Show!!!,” Skeptical Inquirer, 18[4]:428-430, Summer.
Estling, Ralph (1995), “Letter to the Editor,” Skeptical Inquirer, 19[1]:69-70, January/February.
Gardner, Martin (2000), Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? (New York: W.W. Norton).
Gefter, Amanda (2010), “Touching the Multiverse,” New Scientist, 205[2750]:28-31, March 6.
Guth, Alan (1997), The Inflationary Universe (New York: Perseus Books).
Jastrow, Robert (1977), Until the Sun Dies (New York: W.W. Norton).
Kolb, Rocky (1998), “Planting Primordial Seeds,” Astronomy, 26[2]:42-43.
Linde, Andrei (1994), “The Self-Reproducing Inflationary Universe,” Scientific American, 271[5]:48, November.
Miller, Jeff (2010a), “Couldn’t There Have Been Exceptions to the Laws of Science?” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3713.
Miller, Jeff (2010b), “Did the Laws of Science Apply in the Beginning?” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3710.
Miller, Jeff  (2011), “A Review of Discovery Channel’s ‘Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe?’” Reason & Revelation, 31[10]:98-107, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1004&article=1687.
Miller, Jeff (2013), “Evolution and the Laws of Science: The Laws of Thermodynamics,”  Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article= 2786.
Morris, Richard (1990), The Edges of Science (New York: Prentice Hall).
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