Science and Faith—Is There a Problem?

You hear a lot about facts these days. In most university science classes you’ll hear an argument that goes something like this. “Science is the pursuit of facts, not truth. A scientist leaves the ownership of truth to philosophers and theologians. The currency of science is the provable, not the believable.” Do you believe that? Truth is, by definition, the extent of all truisms. Everything that is true is part of truth. In every trial, the accused is either guilty or innocent, never both, never neither. Despite what the fallible court may rule, the truth does exist. The thing that is true is also a fact. Fact, in scientific terms however is something that is “observably” true, but not different in substance from truth.

This rhetorical slight of hand disarms the still under-developed critical thinking abilities of young university students resulting in their eventual belief that truth is relative, that there are many truths and finally, that whatever can’t be proven by observable facts, cannot be true and therefore must be false.

Conclusion: whatever is believed by faith is false!

At this point well meaning Christians come along and attempt to prove that there really is no battle between science and faith, that the two can be both intellectually and theologically aligned. The truth is, that is false and there is one good reason, one fact that proves the point—the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ.

In the book of Acts, which is the historical record of the start of the Christian church 2,000 years ago, Jesus told his disciples that they were to be his “witnesses” to the world. And that they were to be witnesses to the fact that he was standing right in front of them, 40 days after being dead and buried for 3 days.

Science does not “believe” that a dead man can come back to life. Science does not believe that there is life after death. Neither of these two facts can be observed today by the scientific method. Both however have been observed by eyewitnesses, many of whom were put to death for their faith in those facts.

Glenn Davies Lead Pastor

Was It Worth It?

Another U.S. election is in the books and a ‘winner’ has been found. President Barack Obama was reelected by just 2.5 million votes over his rival Mitt Romney. Blue prevailed over Red. The party of the middle class and the poor over the party of the marketplace and the rich. These symbols have been intentionally crafted and so we have come to believe that no Blue party will ever be good for business nor your personal pocketbook, and no Red party will ever really care for the poor and the disenfranchised. These symbols played over and over again every four years seem however to be creating deeper suspicion and division rather than respect and unity.

Today, at least half of the people in America are anywhere from relatively unhappy to extremely disappointed and outraged. The question then is, ‘was it worth it’?

For Christians this is an important question. Because depending on who you voted for, who you prayed would win, your response to the result will be very telling.

As usual, the folks over at the Gospel Coalition have posted an article that I encourage every believer in Christ, every Christian who truly believes that God’s Plan ‘A’ for this world is the church and not politics, even our beloved democracy, should read. Whether your guy lost last night and equally so, if your guy won last night, you should read this article. Here’s a quote to give you a taste…

If we suffer political defeat like those who have no hope but politics, we do not even commend ourselves, let alone the God who hung the moon and stars. But if we grieve as those who hope in the return of the King, those who trust in flawed politicians may one day see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. Jesus did not give his life so we could watch cable news as if our lives depended on it. Jesus submitted to death ordered by rulers so we might never fear them. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24.)

To read the whole article—click here

Finally, as Canadians we must be very careful not to be too puffed up today as we shake our heads while watching the political frenzy that is U.S. politics—the Red & Blue teams exist in Canada as well. As the wise sage once said, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

Blessings,

Glenn

We Make Stuff • Volume 1

One of the inspirations behind The Ledge Cafe and The Rock's Ministry Centre in downtown Squamish has been the promotion of live music, the arts and culture. One of the reasons for that has been the passion and the heart of a woman who became a part of The Rock Church very early on—Jill Marie Bronson. Now, Jill Marie is part of an amazing project in collaboration with a number of incredibly talented Vancouver artists. Here's her take on this project.

Hey Rocksters!

It's Jill Marie. I wanted to share with you an exciting project I've been working on with friends this past year. Thousands of hours have been invested into a magazine project called We Make Stuff. It will be featuring Christian artists from the Vancouver area. This is going to be a stunning 256 page, full-color edition showcasing over 100 artists including myself as a painter and our vision at The Ledge Cafe. Darrell Koopmans has been a huge help getting my submission ready. At this point we need to get 1,000 books pre-ordered to make this a reality and go to print.  I really encourage everyone to order a copy for your home, it is a beautiful and inspiring piece of artwork in itself and the perfect conversation starter as artists begin exploring the collision of faith and creativity.

We have created a short video to express the heart of the project:

Is church your hotel room or home?

This is the start of a series of conversations we have with Rocksters about making church home. Be encouraged as we talk with folks who simply love this church family. Think of the last time you stayed in a hotel. Four star, motel, or family inn. Did you make the bed, leave dirty towels on the floor and call for room service? Of course – it’s a hotel. At home, life looks a little different. You make the bed, wash the dishes, and scrub the floors. You get invested, you do your part. You can’t call for room service at home.

In Jesus, we model his life. He lived for the glory of God and the good of others. Check it out for yourself in Luke 4:42 – 5:11.  Church can be one of two things, a nice hotel or a home. You can invest in the community or show up on Sundays to enjoy the music and listen to a nice sermon. Nearly everything communicated by our culture today is done to encourage you to love, worship, and serve yourself.

Jesus lived differently. His end game was sacrifice. You can dig in and love the church. When you invest, God has a way of changing your life.

For Rock Church goer Yi-Khy Saw, getting invested in the church has literally transformed his life. Whether it’s teaching Sunday School, leading Vacation Bible School, hanging out in the sound booth, or organizing the Elevation Youth Group, Yi-Khy is busy. He’s not doing it for recognition. In many ways, the Rock Church is simply home.

“When I first came to The Rock, it was a new church plant and there were needs to be filled. Blindly, whenever something appeared, I would volunteer my services,” Saw said. “Unfortunately, my short and stumpy fingers and raspy vocal chords have prevented me from trying out for the worship team. Aside from that and preaching on Sundays, I think I’ve stuck my nose in mostly everything else.”

For Yi-Khy, the most encouraging thing about serving is just being in the front row watching God’s plan unfold. It is easy to be left in the dark when you are not involved. He also says that God needs to be the centre of everything we do and when that happens, the combination is electric.

“When serving the Lord, I get to experience Him working in me, through me and as a result changing me. I get to see the Gospel being proclaimed,” Yi-Khy said. “I’ve seen unbelievers turn and say “I believe in Jesus Christ! Through serving Him, the heart of ‘what I can do’ was quickly replaced by a heart that finds joy in serving Him.”

Through the process of digging in Yi-Khy admits that he has been changed. In fact, his entire perspective on serving in the church has changed.

“During the "low seasons" when I'm not serving, I find myself filling my time and thoughts with unimportant "junk" instead of allowing God to pour into my heart. At those times I feel lost and often feel stagnant as if God was just sitting idle and not being present in my life. However, that is far from the truth. God is ALWAYS at work. He wants to work in you and through you. When serving Him, I get to experience Him working in me and through me. I saw the Gospel being proclaimed, I saw hurt people being encouraged. I get to be changed,” Yi-Khy said.

Whether church is your home or hotel, there’s no better time to get involved in what the Lord is already doing. Join a small group, get involved and in the process fall in love.

“Through my time serving, I know that God is at work at The Rock Church and in Squamish. Be obedient and keep your eyes on Him because it’s not about what we can do for God but what God does through us and how he changes us,” Yi-Khy said. “God is doing great things here, just don’t miss out.”

Elevation Surf Trip 2012 - just plain awesome!

In late August, Elevation Youth Group hit the road for one epic trip to Ucluelet, B.C. The waves were amazing, God's creation jaw-dropping, and the fun was non-stop. Thanks to everyone for praying for this trip. 

Click here to see a sneak peek of the Elevation Surf Trip video

Click here to see some amazing photos from the trip

Alexa Isaac

What was your favourite part of the Elevation Surf Trip? "It's hard to decide what part of the trip I liked the best cause it all was equally fun! I would have to say the best part was playing in the water and watching Yi-Kay and Mathius dancing to just dance!"

What impacted you the most during the trip? What did you learn? "I enjoyed learning about the airplane and the watch. All the different examples Lorraine used, she put them into such a bigger perspective but it was all so true. And just how Lorraine made the big bang sound more and more unrealistic as she went along.

All my life I've been hearing about those same stories, but I felt that the people who spoke just brought so much more meaning and depth to everything I've learned over my years."

Dania Codling

What was your favourite part of the Elevation Surf Trip? "I don't know. All the moments were amazing. My favorite would have to be the evenings though. Bobbing on the waves was fun, but something about the evenings was great. Probably because it was a time of relaxation, fun and pouring out your heart. I felt really loved, at peace and open during these times."

What impacted you the most during the trip? What did you learn? "What impacted me the most was to see our big group loving each other in a way I haven't seen many times before. People from different churches came on this trip and to see us all accept and love everyone for who they are was an amazing feeling. We really made Jesus known!"

Noah Perry

What was your favourite part of the Elevation Surf Trip? Surfing and cabin time

What impacted you the most during the trip? What did you learn? That big wave Dave doesn't really surf big waves and the trip made think about purpose

Yi-Khy Saw

What was your favourite part of the Elevation Surf Trip? How God orchestrated the whole thing. From the start of the planning to the completion of the surf trip, it was amazing to watch God put everything together in place. From the leaders to the youth, the lessons, the games, and the surfing, there is no doubt that He planned it all. Night glow in the dark ultimate frisbee was very cool. Also, I really enjoyed beating almost everyone at Just Dance :)

What impacted you the most during the trip? What did you learn? It was very humbling being reminded constantly that only Jesus redeems us and restores us and by His grace, mercy and love, any good that comes out of us is the overflow of Christ's work in us. As mentioned before I was just in awe of how God had His hand over the whole surf trip. I was also very encouraged by the willingness to serve and the passion for God showed by the leaders that were in attendance at the surf trip.

Best surf tip? Everyone get on the party wave! Paddle! Paddle!