Why Everyone is Converting to Christianity (video link, video summary, and full transcript)

The video features various celebrities and public figures, including Richard Dawkins, Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, Douglas Murray, Niall Ferguson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Tom Holland, discussing their perspectives on Christianity. Many of them identify as "cultural Christians," appreciating Christian ethics and traditions without necessarily believing in the faith's core tenets. They express a desire for the moral and cultural benefits of Christianity but often stop short of committing to its religious beliefs.

The video explores how these individuals, though not traditionally religious, recognize the value of Christian principles in society, particularly in contrast to other worldviews like atheism or Islam. Despite their admiration for Christianity, the video questions whether their appreciation of its ethical framework equates to genuine Christian faith.

The video also highlights the importance of true Christian belief, emphasizing that Christianity is more than just moral principles—it's about faith in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. The speaker encourages viewers to embrace the full gospel and not just the cultural aspects of Christianity. The video concludes with a call to spread biblical truth and live out Christian faith authentically.

Speaker 1: Watch very carefully what these famous celebrities say about Christianity.

Celebrity 1: We are culturally a Christian country. I call myself a cultural Christian. I'm not a believer, but I'm actually a big believer in the principles of Christianity. I think they're very good.

Celebrity 1: I choose to accept the teachings of Jesus Christ, the story of Jesus Christ. I choose to accept that.

[Names Flash on Screen: Richard Dawkins, Neil Ferguson, Russell Brand, Joe Rogan, Douglas Murray]

Speaker 3: Yeah, well, Joe’s already got it. He began to realize that actually, in almost every way, I am a Christian. I don't really understand people who don't wish it to be true.

Speaker 1: Both these atheists have arrived at a consensus that we should go to church on Sunday. The culture is shifting from a sort of new atheism—where Christianity is seen as evil, terrible, and wrong—to, "Yeah, I might be wrong, but we'll sort of brush that bit under the carpet and try to display the virtuous ethics of Christianity."

Speaker 1: Christianity is becoming surprisingly popular in our culture. But just what kind of Christianity is becoming popular, and is it real Christianity? Let's look at some of the most popular proponents of Christianity and see what they really believe, progressing to the most shocking one at the end.

Richard Dawkins: The phrase "cultural Christianity" started to be used a lot more after one of the most influential atheists in history shocked the world by calling himself a cultural Christian.

Richard Dawkins: I say I was slightly horrified to hear that Ramadan is being promoted instead. I do think that we are culturally a Christian country. I call myself a cultural Christian. I'm not a believer, but there's a distinction between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian.

Speaker 1: Is it possible to be described as a Christian when you don't believe in Christianity? What does Richard mean by calling himself a cultural Christian?

Richard Dawkins: You know, I love hymns and Christmas carols, and I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos. I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense. It's true that statistically, the number of people who believe in Christianity is going down, and I'm happy with that. But I would not be happy if, for example, we lost all our cathedrals and our beautiful parish churches. So, I count myself a cultural Christian. I think it would matter if we substituted any alternative religion—that would be truly dreadful.

Speaker 1: So, for Richard Dawkins, being culturally Christian means that you like the fruits of a Christian culture and want people to hold to basic Christian ethical principles, while the actual belief in Christianity is completely irrelevant.

Alex O'Connor: Another well-known atheist, Alex O'Connor, has picked up on this and described this trend as liking the fruit of a tree without believing the tree actually exists.

Alex O'Connor: We've been seeing this strange reverse phenomenon emerging, where you've got people who like the fruits but don't even believe in the existence of the tree. Usually, the criticism is like, "Look, you love the tree, but you're not producing the right fruits." But in this case, you've got an emerging class of thinkers who are unwilling to say that they believe in the actual truth of Christianity and yet are at least Christian-adjacent or sympathetic to Christianity, or kind of a bit depressed about the fact that everyone isn't Christian anymore.

Speaker 1: Part of the reason that this is happening is the realization that when you remove Christianity as the foundation for your society, it has to be replaced by something. In many places in Europe, it is being replaced by Islam, and this is problematic for Richard.

Richard Dawkins: Church attendance is plummeting, but the building and erection of mosques across Europe... I think 6,000 are under construction, and there are many more being planned. So, do you regard that as a problem? Do you think that matters?

Interviewer: Yes, I do, really. I mean, I choose my words carefully. If I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I’d choose Christianity every single time.

Speaker 1: Richard is seeing the fruit of his own work. It's ironic to have spent so much of your life publicly convincing people that Christianity is false, and then be upset when the result of that is that people stop believing in Christianity.

Elon Musk: Another public figure who says that they believe in the principles of Christianity without believing in the faith itself is Elon Musk.

Elon Musk: I'm a big believer in the principles of Christianity. I think they're very good.

Elon Musk: Well, Dawkins just came out three weeks ago, or thereabouts, and announced that he was a cultural Christian, right? So the question is... I would say I'm probably a cultural Christian. I was brought up as an Anglican, and I was baptized.

Speaker 1: Like Richard Dawkins, Elon hesitates to commit to any sort of statement of faith while praising the fruit of the faith itself. Is this really Christian at all?

Jordan Peterson: Dawkins' proclamation, or admission, that if you compare different societies and their axiomatic suppositions, he would prefer the ones predicated on Christian axiomatic assumptions.

Interviewer: Okay, so that's why I asked you the question about why you would consider yourself not a religious person, because it seems to me that the essence of it isn't the statement that you abide by a particular Protestant creed, let’s say. It seems to me much more akin to the notion that you believe that this set of axiomatic presuppositions is like the pronatalist presumption. It's correct, like it's not correct, but it’s going to lead to a better society.

Speaker 1: This is close to a utilitarian view. He says that whatever is going to result in a happier society, that is what we should pursue.

Speaker 1: Really quickly, if you want to support this channel and help spread biblical truth to more people, I would be so grateful if you would click that subscribe button.

Speaker 1: So the commitment is to the results, not the thing that produces the results. One could call it a religion. I wouldn’t be upset about that, but that is my religion. For lack of a better way to describe it, it’s the religion of curiosity, the religion of greater enlightenment. If you follow that, say, that’s the goal. Then what falls out of that goal is to have consciousness expand in scale and scope.

Speaker 1: It’s good that these people see the value in Christian principles, but the truth is that you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t deny Christianity as a foundational truth and yet try to have a culture that is truly Christian.

Speaker 2: Douglas Murray is a popular political commentator and atheist who is often on the conservative side of social issues. He says in this next clip that he wishes Christianity itself is true, even if he isn’t one himself.

Douglas Murray: Do you wish for it to be true? Do you wish that, as Lewis said, this is the true myth? Is that something that you could see making sense of the world, if there was really a true story that everything sort of came from?

Interviewer: Of course. I don't really understand people who don't wish it to be true. I don't really understand those people. I have known some—we mentioned one earlier—who don't wish it to be true. It’s strange to think so highly of the beliefs of Christianity while denying its fundamental premises.

Douglas Murray: I happened to stop one day, and there was a church being built. It's quite unusual to need a new church in that part of the woods, but one was being built for various reasons. I asked the person who was in charge that day, "By the way, what’s the name of the church?" And he said, "It’s the Church of the Transfiguration." And I said, "Beautiful, how did you decide to do that?" He said, "Well, here we name churches after the nearest site, and the Transfiguration happened there." And he pointed to the mountain beside us.

Speaker 1: When Douglas saw the actual place where the Transfiguration happened, it had a deep impact on him in regards to the truth of Christianity. But there’s still something that keeps him from calling himself a Christian.

Douglas Murray: Wherever in the world you’re brought up as a Christian, it makes an enormous impact on you when you see the physical sites. I’ve traveled around there a lot, and I don't think anything for me quite equals that in terms of making an impact on me. But I think, you know, we aren’t transparent to ourselves, and I’m not transparent to myself. I have no idea how to answer that question.

Speaker 1: This honesty is refreshing. He doesn’t know the answers to a lot of these questions, but he wishes Christianity were true and seems to have a lot of respect for what it teaches and its history.

Speaker 2: Niall Ferguson is a political commentator and historian who is probably the most blunt about admiring Christianity without calling himself a Christian. In fact, he would even call himself an atheist.

Niall Ferguson: When I left Scotland and studied history, I became less and less convinced of atheism as a way of life or indeed as a way to organize a society. So these days, you’ll find me a regular attender at church, and someone who believes in observance, if not true belief.

Speaker 1: So he doesn’t believe in atheism as a way of life, but he believes in it as a fundamental truth. It’s good that he sees how an atheistic way of life is not tenable, but he teaches his children that Christianity is not true while saying they should follow it anyway. Isn’t that a conflicting message?

Niall Ferguson: Well, I think, and I’ve felt this for all of my five children, that one should at least educate children about religion. As we are a society that came out of Christianity, it’s extremely important that they understand what that is. So there’s that part, but there’s also a sense in which a life without spirituality is, at some level, a life with a missing piece.

Speaker 1: So for Niall, as with many others, he has become completely convinced that life must include spirituality in some aspect, but he is unwilling to say what that truth actually is.

Niall Ferguson: I’ve kind of come to the view that even if I don't have a strong spiritual impulse and struggle a bit to have belief in God, I do think it’s important to have a part of your life that is devoted to spiritual reflection. I think going to church is good for you. It is good to think about Christ’s teaching. It’s good to be part of that tradition. Apart from anything else, Christ does some very radical things to teach us about how to be good, how to treat our fellow human beings, and I think that’s something I want my children to know.

Speaker 1: It really is worth thanking God that so many people are seeing the value in Christian principles and the way of life. It’s an amazing testament to the biblical doctrine of common grace. But it’s also true that we should desire that these people come to an understanding of the true gospel so that they can have salvation.

Speaker 2: Tom Holland, a popular historian and author, has defined himself as a Christian—not based on what he believes, but based on how he lives.

Tom Holland: I began to realize that actually, in almost every way, I am Christian. And I began to realize that actually, Paul, although in many ways he seems a much less familiar figure than Cicero, the kind of, you know, "obeying man with his property problems"—you know, never had any property, just made tents.

Speaker 1: Tom finds Christianity to be the most familiar and relatable to his lifestyle, and when he looks at the history of Christianity, he sees that the culture around him is primarily influenced by the values and truths of the New Testament.

Tom Holland: In almost every... the Seven Letters—that is, the seven letters that are conventionally accepted—you know, as Tom Wright was saying, this is not a very lengthy amount of writing, but compacted into this very, very small amount of writing is almost everything that explains the modern world.

Speaker 1: It’s certainly true that the New Testament is the most influential writing in the history of the world, not even just in the West. But true Christianity is about more than recognizing the importance of the Christian faith—it’s about repenting of sin and putting faith in Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2: One of the most shocking moments in the last few months was Ayaan Hirsi Ali coming out as a Christian—not only that she believes in the principles, but that she herself believes in Jesus and wants to follow his teachings.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: I choose to accept Jesus Christ—the teachings of Jesus Christ, the story of Jesus Christ. I choose to accept that.

Speaker 1: Many people have rejoiced in this and really believe that Ayaan is saved. However, she has said some things since then that are somewhat concerning.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: I’m not saying it’s Christianity or any other faith or organized faith—it’s just, for some people, it’s Buddhism, for some people, it’s mindfulness.

Speaker 1: Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." He also said, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." Salvation is by grace and through faith alone—you can't get there through any other way.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: And I really do want to separate these two things where I’m still, at heart, a classical liberal in the sense that I really do want to respect people's conscience and perceptions, and the way people live. And so I’m in no way imposing anything, saying, "Oh, you know, I've gone through this terrible experience and I’ve come out of it, and now, heavens, everybody has to come to Christianity." That is not—that’s not what I’m saying.

Speaker 1: It’s a wonderful thing that Ayaan was able to come out of her difficult experiences healthier and happier, but is a powerful religious experience enough to make someone a Christian?

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: I’m saying, in my work in the realm of ideas, and in this quest to understand subversion—who is subverting us and all of this—Christianity is probably the most important idea for us to grasp. Even if I were an atheist, I would say that the most important idea is to grasp Christianity because it takes us to the roots of our civilization. And if you want to reject parts of it, that’s okay, but I think the wholesale rejection of Christianity and its legacy is precisely what brought us to where we are—that’s why we’re in the kind of trouble we are in.

Speaker 1: So ultimately, her belief is rooted in the reality that atheism is not livable for individuals or for cultures, and so she made the decision that was best for her mental health—not necessarily because she really believed that Jesus died for her sins.

Speaker 2: One of the people who has put the most thought into this topic is Jordan Peterson. Many people have questioned his definition of Christianity. Let’s watch as he tries to explain why he says Joe Rogan is a Christian.

Jordan Peterson: Yeah, well, Joe’s already... he’s got it. He’s a lot less disparaging of Christianity than he once was, which we all really appreciate you, Joe. Joe figured it out. Joe figured it out.

Jordan Peterson: Here’s why—sacrifice is the basis of the community. Yeah, well, that’s what it is.

Speaker 1: Jordan is saying that Joe Rogan is a Christian because he participates in self-sacrifice in order to achieve a higher goal and lift up his community. Jordan is correct that sacrifice is the basis for a community, but if you don’t have a true belief in Jesus Christ as the one who sacrificed everything for you, will that principle of self-sacrifice be genuine?

Jordan Peterson: Yeah, right. It’s all about you. You don’t have a community. So, what do you do to join a community? You sacrifice—obviously. How about everything? Well, that’s the Christian offer.

Jordan Peterson: Well, why do we put the crucifix at the center of our communities? Because we know that voluntary self-sacrifice is the basis of the stable psyche and state. We know that, even though we don’t know we know it. That’s why we worship it. What did Christ do? He took the sins of the world upon himself and offered everything. Well, is that the basis of community? Yeah. It’s your responsibility, buddy.

Speaker 1: Jordan’s point is that not only does the principle of self-sacrifice result in a better society, but that it is a fundamental tenet of reality itself. It really is true in the deepest sense, regardless of the outcomes.

Speaker 2: So is the idea that as people understand this and begin to live this way, they become a lot more open to the Christian message and find it more persuasive? Is that what’s happening?

Jordan Peterson: Well, I also see... I think they are increasingly apprehensive about the weakness of the alternative. This is true. Dawkins called himself a cultural Christian like two weeks ago. Well, why? Well, how about because he's terrified of the Islamic fundamentalists? How about that?

Speaker 1: People see that there is no viable alternative to Christian principles of ethics, and so they adopt Christianity as a worldview and try to conform themselves to its principles. They may even say that the principles are true, but the reality of the events that brought these principles about are seemingly not as important.

Jordan Peterson: Judeo-Christian doctrine is not a scientific hypothesis. The people who came up with the stories weren’t scientists 3,000 years ago. It’s not a scientific theory. What is it? It’s a story. We see the world through a story. We inhabit a story. What’s the story? The principle of voluntary self-sacrifice reflects the fundamental spirit of being itself.

Speaker 2: Some people who aren’t even Christians have become concerned with this language. Watch again as Alex O’Connor outlines the problems with this view.

Alex O'Connor: Most believing Christians will say that if you do not believe historically that a man called Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead, then your faith is futile and you’re still in your sins, as St. Paul put it to the Corinthians, famously. So these people can’t be counted among a Christian revival. But I think Christians have a lot to celebrate that at least now the culture is shifting from a sort of new atheism—Christianity as evil, terrible, and wrong—to, "Yeah, I might be wrong, but we’ll sort of brush that bit under the carpet and try to display the virtuous ethics of Christianity." Although, in my case, they’re not actually advocating for a Christian ethic—they’re advocating for a sort of right-wing traditional conservatism, which is not the same thing.

Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians 15:14 says, “If Christ is not raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” There is no Christianity without a true gospel, and the popular approval of Christian principles doesn’t necessarily equate to true Christianity.

Alex O'Connor: I think what’s happening is a bunch of right-wing thinkers are seeing what is filling the vacuum that new atheism created—wokeism, Islamism, and a few other things. And they’re saying, "I don’t like this." And they’re realizing that the kind of secular humanism that was promised by the new atheists just kind of isn’t cutting the mustard seed, as I like to say. It’s not doing it.

Speaker 1: Alex is a very well-studied atheist, as he studied religion in college. Because of his in-depth study of the core doctrines of historic Christianity, he sees how this phenomenon may be problematic for many Christians. Alex had the chance to ask Jordan about these exact problems, and the conversation was very interesting.

Alex O'Connor: The Gnostic tradition says that the thing that’s being gotten wrong is the idea that there was this literal resurrection, right? No, no—the kingdom of God is here and now. The resurrection is inside of you, and you attain it through gnosis. I mean, the Gospel of Thomas, which is probably the most famous non-canonical gospel and could have been written at the same time as the Gospel of John—this is an early text—doesn’t even mention the resurrection, doesn’t mention the crucifixion.

Speaker 1: It’s worth mentioning that the Book of John was either written in the 70s or in the 90s, while the Gospel of Thomas was written in the mid-2nd or mid-3rd centuries. But what he’s saying is still worth noting.

Alex O'Connor: It’s a list of sayings, yeah. And the very form of that book, as one scholar whose name I’ve forgotten unfortunately has pointed out, shows that these people believed that the thing that’s important is not what Jesus did, but what he said. The thing that’s important is the knowledge. The thing that’s important... and so this resurrection stuff sort of doesn’t matter. Now, the thing is, in that early church community, somebody who said, "Well, this question of the resurrection as a physical, you know, historical event—you’re kind of missing the point. The thing that matters is the resurrection that takes place inside of every person." It sort of sounds a little bit like the kind of approach that you would take now.

Alex O'Connor: If that’s true, that would mean that in the early church, you would have been condemned as a heretic.

Speaker 1: This is truly shocking because Alex raises the objection to Jordan’s views that many Christians today want to raise. But Alex is an atheist. Jordan seems to understand this objection and validates Alex’s point.

Jordan Peterson: Yeah, so when a modern Catholic says to you, "You know, Jordan Peterson, are you Christian? What do you think about Catholicism?" I think the reason that they’re interested is because if it’s true, what I’m saying, then they would have to say, "Oh, I suppose at least according to my understanding of Catholicism, that’s a form of... I can’t count you among my number, you know?" So I think that’s probably why people are interested. And I wonder if...

Speaker 1: Unfortunately, they don’t address the topic any further, but the point has been made. We should thank God that people are starting to realize that without Christianity, our society is falling into chaos. But we should also pray that those same people come to a true understanding of the gospel, repent of their sins, and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

Speaker 3: Totally harmless, undefiled, hanging on the cross. He was a spotless lamb. He was never, for a split second, a sinner. He is holy God on the cross, but God is treating him—I’ll put it more practically—as if he lived my life. God punished Jesus for my sin, and then turns right around and treats me as if I lived his life. That’s the great doctrine of substitution, and on that doctrine turned the whole Reformation of the church. That is the heart of the gospel. And what you get is complete forgiveness, covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When he looks at the cross, he sees you. When he looks at you, he sees Christ. If I died right now, I would go to heaven—not because I’m a preacher or because I work with missions. No, if I died right now, I would go to heaven because 2,000 years ago, the Son of God died in my place, and in him, I trust.

Speaker 3: Lastly, one thing that’s very important is if a person makes a profession of faith in Christ, we ought to show them the promises. We ought to encourage them, but we also ought to give them warnings that if someone is truly converted, they will begin to walk in newness of life and bear the fruit of a Christian. When the reformers spoke of the meritorious cause of our salvation, they spoke of the merit of Jesus Christ alone—solus Christus. Justification, the means, is the instrument by which we’re linked to Jesus, and his righteousness is given to us by faith. That’s what Paul was saying in Romans 1. That’s what Luther was repeating in the Reformation—the just shall live by faith, the alone instrument by which we are justified. Amen.

Speaker 4: Hi, my name is Mike. I’m a deacon, a husband, a father, a software engineer, and an amateur maker of videos. Thank you so much for watching this video. If you want to help me in my mission to spread biblical truth, just subscribe and watch these videos until the end, which will help the YouTube algorithm recommend these videos to more people. I’m committed to using the skills and gifts God has given me to glorify him and communicate biblical truth, and I would be so grateful if you would come be a part of what I’m building. You can visit my website at joyfulexile.com to learn more about me and what I’m working on. I hope you’re having a blessed day. I will see you in the next video, and remember: this world is not our home.

I just posted an answer to this question on Quora, by the grace of God:

Is faith the only evidence for the existence of God? How do you refute this statement?

Daniel Hamilton

A evangelical for repentance + faith in the risen Lord Jesus · 40m ·

No, faith is not evidence - nor does is mean (as atheists define it), belief in the absence of evidence. Rather, Biblical faith is belief based upon a degree of evidential warrant.

Abraham, called “the father of faith,” did not believe in the God of the Bible, who would later promise to make him the progenitor of innumerable descendants (Genesis 15:5) based upon simply words, (Exodus 3:2) nor did the Hebrews follow Moses and enter into a covenant based upon just words, (Psalms 106:1ff).

Neither does God hold souls responsible for unbelief in God without evidence. (Romans 1:19, 20)

Indeed, it is atheism that is a position of faith. For to believe that an exceedingly vast, systematically ordered universe, exquisitely finely tuned for corporeal life with its profound intricate complexity and extensive diversity, can be all a result of purely natural processes requires much faith.

More so than that the universe logically testifies to design, requiring a First Cause (at the least), that of a being of supreme power and intelligence being behind the existence of energy and organization of matter.

How would you respond to this argument: "Since science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God, then it's possible he exists"?

Daniel Hamilton

A evangelical for repentance + faith in the risen Lord Jesus · Updated Apr 28

Partly, by responding that scientific discovery and knowledge does not warrant the premise that the universe and everything therein can (at least someday) all be attributed to purely natural processes.

Meaning that the atheist/antitheist position that there is no Creator/God, is one lacking in evidential warrant and requires great faith. For atheists can only presume that an exceedingly vast, systematically ordered, intricate universe,* exquisitely finely tuned for earthly life with its extensive diversity and astounding complexity, came to be by known (or potentially known), purely natural demonstrable powers, as if it was Divine, without any supreme supernatural intelligence behind it.

It's almost impossible to understand how unfathomably massive our universe truly is

2. https://www.discovery.org/m/2020/06/Fine-Tuning-Parameters-Jay-Richards.pdf

2.5

Fine-Tuning (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

1. Fine-Tuning for Life: the Evidence 1.1 Examples from Physics Our best current theories of fundamental physics are the Standard Model of elementary particle physics and the theory of general relativity. The Standard Model accounts for three of the known four fundamental forces of nature—the strong, the weak, and the electromagnetic force—while general relativity accounts for the fourth—gravity. Arguments according to which our universe is fine-tuned for life are aimed at showing that life could not have existed for the vast majority of other forms of the laws of nature, other values of the constants of nature, and other conditions in the very early universe. The following is an—incomplete—list of suggested instances of fine-tuning for life. (For popular overviews see Leslie 1989: ch. 2, Rees 2000, Davies 2006, and Lewis & Barnes 2016; for more technical ones see Hogan 2000, Uzan 2011, Barnes 2012, Adams 2019 and the contributions to Sloan et al. 2020.) 1.1.1 Fine-tuned constants The strength of gravity, when measured against the strength of electromagnetism, seems fine-tuned for life (Rees 2000: ch. 3; Uzan 2011: sect. 4; Lewis & Barnes 2016: ch. 4). If gravity had been absent or substantially weaker, galaxies, stars and planets would not have formed in the first place. Had it been only slightly weaker (and/or electromagnetism slightly stronger), main sequence stars such as the sun would have been significantly colder and would not explode in supernovae, which are the main source of many heavier elements (Carr & Rees 1979). If, in contrast, gravity had been slightly stronger, stars would have formed from smaller amounts of material, which would have meant that, inasmuch as still stable, they would have been much smaller and more short-lived (Adams 2008; Barnes 2012: sect. 4.7.1). The strength of the strong nuclear force, when measured against that of electromagnetism, seems fine-tuned for life (Rees 2000: ch. 4; Lewis & Barnes 2016: ch. 4). Had it been stronger by more than about \(50\,\%\), almost all hydrogen would have been burned in the very early universe (MacDonald & Mullan 2009). Had it been weaker by a similar amount, stellar nucleosynthesis would have been much less efficient and few, if any, elements beyond hydrogen would have formed. For the production of appreciable amounts of both carbon and oxygen in stars, even much smaller deviations of the strength of the strong force from its actual value would be fatal (Hoyle et al. 1953; Barrow & Tipler 1986: 252–253; Oberhummer et al. 2000; Barnes 2012: sect. 4.7.2). The difference between the masses of the two lightest quarks—the up- and down-quark—seems fine-tuned for life (Carr & Rees 1979; Hogan 2000: sect. 4; Hogan 2007; Adams 2019: sect. 2.25). Partly, the fine-tuning of these two masses obtains relative to the strength of the weak force (Barr & Khan 2007). Changes in the difference between them have the potential to affect the stability properties of the proton and neutron, which are

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fine-tuning/

A fine-tuned universe

Precise facts and figures at work in the cosmos permit the existence of life

https://wng.org/roundups/a-fine-tuned-universe-1617224984

5. Science quotes on God

A list of 60 aspects as regards the above is https://wng.org/roundups/a-fine-tuned-universe-1617224984

6. 'God: new evidence' - the fine tuning of the universe - part 1

7. When science and philosophy collide in a 'fine-tuned' universe

The Universe Really Is Fine-Tuned, And Our Existence Is The Proof

Somehow, the Universe began with just the right mix of cosmic ingredients to make life possible. It sure doesn't seem likely.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/12/19/the-universe-really-is-fine-tuned-and-our-existence-is-the-proof/?sh=6ef154444b87

Design from Fine-Tuning | Reasonable Faith

Hi, Dr. Craig you’re my favorite Christian philosopher. From listening to your lectures and audio lessons you’re a firm believer that design is the simplest explanation for the fine tuning of the universe. I ran into an article by Richard Carrier “debunking” the fine tuning argument, in a response to James Hannam (bede.org.uk), Richard responded with this, Hannam has failed to show that it is even possible for one constant to change while the others remain the same. For altering one constant may irrevocably alter another, greatly modifying any conclusion we can

https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/design-from-fine-tuning/

10. We Live in a Very Fortunate Universe

11. List of Fine-Tuning Parameters

12. List of Factors of Fine-Tuning of Intelligent Life in the Universe

13. Can DNA Prove the Existence of an Intelligent Designer?

14. [God DNA] Proves Presence of God” says Scientists

15. 82 Mind-Blowing Facts about DNA | FactRetriever.com

16. 'God: new evidence' - the fine tuning of the universe - part 1

17. Evidence for the Fine Tuning of the Universe

18. It Takes 26 Fundamental Constants To Give Us Our Universe, But They Still Don't Give Everything

19. The Universe as We Understand It May Be Impossible

19.5

UK Centre for Intelligent Design : Find Resources

https://www.c4id.org.uk/Groups/277306/Find_Resources.aspx

Is There Any Evidence for Jesus Outside the Bible?

20. Ancient Evidence for Jesus from Non-Christian Sources

21. Is Jesus Alive?

21.5

Tektonics.org Bible apologetics and education

This section is about charges that the Biblical stories were "borrowed" from other sources and are therefore fictional. General Essays Analysis of general principles used by the "borrowing" thesis. Some notes on alleged parallels between Christianity and pagan religions -- an introductory commentary by a classical scholar writing for us as "Justin Martyr" On Napoleon as Myth translated by "Justin Martyr" Glenn Miller's general essay refuting the pagan-copycat thesis Creation Ministries International on Indian creation myths Old Testament "Borrowing" Figures claimed to be sources for the Old Testament. Named entities in alphabetical order. Akhenaten -- Did the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten influence Jewish monotheism? Sargon -- Did the story of this Assyrian king influence the story of Moses? Sinuhe -- Did the story of this Egyptian hero influence the Exodus account? Was the creation account "stolen" from the Babylonian creation account? Is the Biblical Flood story borrowed from pagan accounts? -- from Glenn Miller's Christian Thinktank. Did NT Biblical writers "rip off" stories from the Old Testament? -- from Glenn Miller's Christian Thinktank. Also see our article on Randel Helms (right column). Related Issues Is the Christian fish symbol derived from pagan symbols? Is Easter a pagan holiday? Is Christmas pagan? Abraham Lincoln Didn't Exist! Abraham Lincoln was a copy of John F. Kennedy! Copycat Savior Figures Figures claimed to be sources for the life of Jesus. Named entities in alphabetical order. Adonis -- The Greek deity: A source for the life of Jesus? Alcides (Or Hercules) --The Greek strongman/demigod. Alexander of Abonuteichos -- A charismatic figure who started a quasi-religious movement; this is more of a claim of a social parallel. Apollonius of Tyana -- Pagan performer of miracles and traveller. Attis -- Phrygian and later Greco-Roman demigod. Also discusses the ritual of the "tauribolium". Baal -- Ancient Near Eastern deity. Balder -- Norse deity. Also discusses Frey. Beddru of Japan -- As it happens -- a non-existent entity. Buddha -- Two entries on this figure; one here and another here . Chu Chulainn -- Celtic hero. Crite -- As far as I can find, another non-existent figure. Dazhdbog -- Russian heroic figure. Deva Tat -- Heroic figure from Siam. Dionysus -- Greek god of wine. Hesus -- Deity associated with druids. Horus -- Egyptian deity. Also covers Osiris . Krishna -- Hindu deity. Two essays, one here on moral teachings and one here on life story. Mithra -- Persian deity. Osiris -- Egyptian deity. Prometheus -- Greek demigod. Quetzalcoatl -- Mesoamerican deity. Salivahana -- Indian teacher. Serapis -- Mediterranean deity. Tammuz -- Sumerian shepherd-god. Zamloxis -- Thracian hero. Zoar -- Unknown figure. Zoroaster -- Religious founder. Critical Reviews Essays and book reviews on persons who promote "copycat" theories. Acharya S -- Preserves the work of 19th century freethinkers. Atwill, Joseph -- author of Caesar's Messiah . ben-J

http://www.tektonics.org/copycathub.php

22.

Amazing Stories, Christian Testimonies, Healing Miracles and Inspirational Stories

Jim had a massive heart attack, flat lined and literally met his Maker. He's alive today and vividly remembers his out of body experience. Born with a deadly heart defect, Ben Breedlove was able to inspire millions at the end of his short life. Colton's 4 year old spirit left his body during an emergency surgery and he experienced heaven with Jesus. Tony was shot multiple times on an L.A. street and actually died. He says he went to heaven, only to be sent back to earth. A former drug dealer, addict and felon overdosed and was pronounced dead. Today, he's an evangelist changing lives with his story. A drug binge put Carl Knighton at death's doorstep. The result was an experience of hell that changed his life forever. An 18-wheeler truck ran into her, and Deerinda went from being trapped in her car to being on the stair steps of Heaven. They called a time of death on Jeff Markin's lifeless body. Then, his doctor heard the Lord say, 'Pray for him.' He had a vision of the afterlife after being stung by a dangerous jellyfish. Rick fell on his head as he was working to restore power after a hurricane. Doctors didn’t expect him to survive. Scott's rebellious nature nearly cost him his marriage and his life. She had lost all bodily functions and almost lost all hope after her auto accident. Then, Julie died just long enough to get a glimpse of the afterlife. Little did Don Piper know he would be late for the service that night--not just by minutes or hours, but by months--and before he got home, he would take a detour he would never forget. Mickey died in a fiery plane crash while doing what he loved, skydiving. He survived, and now shares the visions he had of the afterlife. Living a rebellious life backfired when Jordan experienced a drug overdose. After experiences of heaven and hell, Jordan returned to this life with a passion for God. To Fatuma of Ethiopia, only one day stands out more than the day she died. It is the day she came back to life. Double pneumonia puts Yvonne on life support and in a medically induced coma for six weeks. After an encounter with Jesus, she miraculously wakes up three days before life support is to be stopped. Darnisha was declared dead after a diving accident. What happened next was amazing. What looked like a textbook operation left Jeff Thompson suspended between life and death. Paula longed for the love and affectrion of her father, but she never received it. Instead Paula drifted through life looking to fill the void in a variety of destructive ways. A 16 year old who came from a strict Muslim family in Ghana meets a friend at his school who is a Christian. After growing up under the harsh brand of Islam practiced by her father, Hephzibah was hesitant to share her conversion to Christianity with him. The son of a Hell's Angel, Geronimo Aguilar took to the streets after his father abandoned him and his mother is murdered. Akilah was molested as a child, triggering an attraction to other women. As an adult, s

http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/

23. Genesis Impact

24. Dawkins [essentially] Admits Nothing Can Persuade Him God Exists

25 Does Dawkins exist?

25.5

THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM

Responding to Critics, Seekers, and Doubters

https://chab123.wordpress.com/

26.

27 Science quotes on God:

Science quotes on God

"according to many physicists, the fact that the universe is able to support life depends delicately on various of its fundamental characteristics, notably on the form of the laws of nature, on the values of some constants of nature, and on aspects of the universe’s conditions in its very early stages." https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fine-tuning/ A listing of such follows.
“I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.” - Alan Sandage (winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy) Willford, J.N. March 12, 1991. Sizing up the Cosmos: An Astronomers Quest. New York Times, p. B9.
“Amazing fine tuning occurs in the laws that make this [complexity] possible. Realization of the complexity of what is accomplished makes it very difficult not to use the word ‘miraculous’ without taking a stand as to the ontological status of the word.” - George Ellis (British astrophysicist) Ellis, G.F.R. 1993. The Anthropic Principle: Laws and Environments. The Anthropic Principle, F. Bertola and U.Curi, ed. New York, Cambridge University Press, p. 30
“We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures.. .. If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in.” - John O’Keefe (astronomer at NASA) Heeren, F. 1995. Show Me God. Wheeling, IL, Searchlight Publications, p. 200.
“As we look out into the universe and identify the many accidents of physics and astronomy that have worked together to our benefit, it almost seems as if the universe must in some sense have known that we were coming.” - Professor Freeman J. of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton
“The statistical probability that organic structures and the most precisely harmonized reactions that typify living organisms would be generated by accident, is zero.” - Ilya Prigogine (Chemist-Physicist) Recipient of two Nobel Prizes in chemistry in, "Physics Today" 25, pp. 23-28
“The really amazing thing is not that life on Earth is balanced on a knife-edge, but that the entire universe is balanced on a knife-edge, and would be total chaos if any of the natural ‘constants’ were off even slightly. - - Dr. Paul Davies, esteemed author and Professor of Theoretical Physics at Adelaide University.
“...how surprising it is that the laws of nature and the initial conditions of the universe should allow for the existence of beings who could observe it. Life as we know it would be impossible if any one of several physical quantities had slightly different values.” - Professor Steven Weinberg (Nobel Laureate in High Energy Physics [a field of science that deals with the very early universe], writing in the journal “Scientific American”.)
16O has exactly the right nuclear energy level either to prevent all the carbon from turning into oxygen or to facilitate sufficient production of 16O for life. Fred Hoyle, who discovered these coincidences in 1953, concluded that “a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology.” - Hoyle, Fred. “The Universe: Past and Present Reflections,” in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 20. (1982), p.16 (for more of these coincidences click here)
“If you equate the probability of the birth of a bacteria cell to chance assembly of its atoms, eternity will not suffice to produce one… Faced with the enormous sum of lucky draws behind the success of the evolutionary game, one may legitimately wonder to what extent this success is actually written into the fabric of the universe.” - Christian de Duve. “A Guided Tour of the Living Cell” (Nobel laureate and organic chemist)
“...The capacity of DNA to store information vastly exceeds that of any other known system: it is so efficient that all the information needed to specify an organism as complex as man weighs less than a few thousand millionths of a gram. The information necessary to specify the design of all the species of organisms which have ever existed on the planet…could be held in a teaspoon and there would still be room left for all the information in every book ever written…” - Dr. Michael Denton (Australian microbiologist)

As regards “order,” from another non-Christian:

“The order of the universe is not an assumption; it’s an observed fact. We detect the light from distant quasars only because the laws of electromagnetism are the same 10 billion light years away as here. The spectra of those quasars are recognizable only because the same chemical elements are present there as here, and because the same laws of quantum mechanics apply. The motion of galaxies around one another follows familiar Newtonian gravity. Gravitational lenses and binary pulsar spin-downs reveal general relativity in the depths of space. We could have lived in a universe with different laws in every province, but we do not. This fact cannot but elicit feelings of reverence and awe.” ― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

*As Albert Einstein observed, " We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations."

“I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.” - Alan Sandage (winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy) Willford, J.N. March 12, 1991. Sizing up the Cosmos: An Astronomers Quest. New York Times, p. B9.

“Amazing fine tuning occurs in the laws that make this [complexity] possible. Realization of the complexity of what is accomplished makes it very difficult not to use the word ‘miraculous’ without taking a stand as to the ontological status of the word.” - George Ellis (British astrophysicist) Ellis, G.F.R. 1993. The Anthropic Principle: Laws and Environments. The Anthropic Principle, F. Bertola and U.Curi, ed. New York, Cambridge University Press, p. 30

“We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures.. .. If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in.” - John O’Keefe (astronomer at NASA) Heeren, F. 1995. Show Me God. Wheeling, IL, Searchlight Publications, p. 200.

“As we look out into the universe and identify the many accidents of physics and astronomy that have worked together to our benefit, it almost seems as if the universe must in some sense have known that we were coming.” - Professor Freeman J. of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton

“The statistical probability that organic structures and the most precisely harmonized reactions that typify living organisms would be generated by accident, is zero.” - Ilya Prigogine (Chemist-Physicist) Recipient of two Nobel Prizes in chemistry in, "Physics Today" 25, pp. 23-28

“The really amazing thing is not that life on Earth is balanced on a knife-edge, but that the entire universe is balanced on a knife-edge, and would be total chaos if any of the natural ‘constants’ were off even slightly. - - Dr. Paul Davies, esteemed author and Professor of Theoretical Physics at Adelaide University.

“...how surprising it is that the laws of nature and the initial conditions of the universe should allow for the existence of beings who could observe it. Life as we know it would be impossible if any one of several physical quantities had slightly different values.” - Professor Steven Weinberg (Nobel Laureate in High Energy Physics [a field of science that deals with the very early universe], writing in the journal “Scientific American”.)

16O has exactly the right nuclear energy level either to prevent all the carbon from turning into oxygen or to facilitate sufficient production of 16O for life. Fred Hoyle, who discovered these coincidences in 1953, concluded that “a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology.” - Hoyle, Fred. “The Universe: Past and Present Reflections,” in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 20. (1982), p.16 (for more of these coincidences click here)

“If you equate the probability of the birth of a bacteria cell to chance assembly of its atoms, eternity will not suffice to produce one… Faced with the enormous sum of lucky draws behind the success of the evolutionary game, one may legitimately wonder to what extent this success is actually written into the fabric of the universe.” - Christian de Duve. “A Guided Tour of the Living Cell” (Nobel laureate and organic chemist)

“...The capacity of DNA to store information vastly exceeds that of any other known system: it is so efficient that all the information needed to specify an organism as complex as man weighs less than a few thousand millionths of a gram. The information necessary to specify the design of all the species of organisms which have ever existed on the planet…could be held in a teaspoon and there would still be room left for all the information in every book ever written…” - Dr. Michael Denton (Australian microbiologist)

For non-seeking atheists, like their rebel master, their denial of God and rejection of a supreme judge even as a hypothesis, their adament position due to their unconscious desire to be as God, as the supreme judge (atheism being a progression of idolatry) rather than being subject to Him.

Thus, they effectively presume omniscience in sitting in moral judgment upon an omniscient and omnipotent creator (at least of the Bible). Who cannot be judged since the choices of an omniscient and omnipotent creator are made in the light of His unique knowledge of what all the effects will be of every choice, not only in this brief time, but for eternity.

And who can - as He promises to do - make all to work out for what is Good, with justice towards the idolaters, and mercy and grace toward those who want what God represents, and thus seek and find The Light, The Way The Truth and The Life, by the grace of God. (Romans 2:7, 8; Romans 8:28)

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:18-21)

Footnotes

[1]

The Universe as We Understand It May Be Impossible

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