Christians claim to have the ear of the omnipotent creator of the universe. For them to make their case, however, I challenge them to show just one demonstration from the list below.

Show one scientific truth about nature or technology discovered first in the pages of the Bible.

Show one disease eliminated from the earth or one missing limb restored through prayer.

Show one Bible prophecy or prediction by a Christian prophet accepted as fulfilled by non-Christians.

Show any supernatural claim within Christianity accepted by non-Christians.

The Bible has stories of people miraculously cured of disease, but so might a book of fairy tales. The Bible doesn’t even give basic sanitary practice.

Jesus could have eliminated plague and smallpox and saved the lives of billions, but instead he withered a fig tree and did less curing of disease in his career than a typical doctor does today. The Bible promises that every believer will be able to perform the works of Jesus and more, and yet no medical miracle claims from any religion have ever been verified.

Another missed opportunity was in universal communication. Some in the early days of the Pentecostal movement claimed the Holy Spirit gave missionaries fluency in any earthly language, though that claim failed when tested. Glossolalia (speaking in tongues) today usually means a gibberish utterance in no human language.

God could have guided his most cherished creation past problems like war, genocide, slavery, prejudice, pogroms, overpopulation, and environmental disasters. He doesn’t help undo the damage from natural disasters. Faith has never moved mountains, though the Bible says it will. And prayer doesn’t do anything objectively measurable.

The Christian may point to some of Christianity’s contributions to society such as majestic cathedrals. They might demand to know what grand institution was built by science. Answer: there’s the Royal Society. Or Scientific American magazine. Or Bell Labs. (And keep in mind that science and engineering put those cathedrals up, not God.)

How about the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece inspired by Christianity—what great work of art was inspired by science? There’s the Large Hadron Collider. Or the Hubble space telescope. Or the Eiffel Tower. Astronomy has given us mind-blowing photos that Christianity couldn’t begin to imagine. And it’s not like Christianity has a monopoly on religious art. Consider the art and architecture inspired by the religions of ancient India, China, Mesoamerica, Greece, Rome, and Egypt.

How about Michelangelo’s art, inspired by Christianity—where is the Michelangelo of science? There’s Richard Feynman. Or Albert Einstein. Or Stephen Hawking.

The Christian may respond to demands for evidence that God doesn’t perform like a trained monkey, but what we see is neatly explained by God not performing at all.

Continue to chapter 48.

Image credit: Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels

Notes

Glossolalia: In the book of Acts, this referred to sudden fluency in a foreign (but earthly) language. Today, it usually means speaking in an angelic language. Glossolalia is said to be a spiritual gift, and another gift is interpreting unintelligible speech.

Christianity’s Big Promises: This topic was inspired by a personal communication from Richard S. Russell.

Faith has never moved mountains, though the Bible says it will: Mark 11:23.

every believer will be able to perform the works of Jesus and more: John 14:12.

[Jesus] withered a fig tree: Matthew 21:19.

the Holy Spirit gave missionaries fluency: Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition (Eerdmans, 1997), 92.