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Does God exist within the universe or the universe within God?

Is God subject to “Natural Law” or is Natural Law” just a manifestation of His nature?”

The Case For Miracles

Two of the great cornerstones of modern civilization are science and the Christian religion. The relationship between the two has often been rocky and recently they have engaged in virtual thermonuclear war over many disparate topics. One such incendiary subject is that of the miracle. From “ In the beginning God created” to Paul’s healing of the sick on the island of Melita, miracles are myriad in Scripture and fundamental to the Christian faith. If miracles cannot occur then there was no resurrection from the dead, no propitiation for our sin and no hope of reconciliation with God.

The Christian believes that miracles are not only possible but also necessary. The most fundamental tenant of Christianity is the miracle of the resurrection. Any declaration as to the impossibility of the occurrence of miracles and especially the resurrection is an ipso facto attack on the veracity of the faith itself. The secular-scientist believes that not only have there been no miracles but also that their occurrence would be impossible. Their existence would violate the principles, which govern the universe. Understanding how these two investigators can come to opposite conclusions lies not in the objective examination of the relevant facts but rather in the fundamental subjective evaluative processes with which each side begins.

The particular world-view to which an investigator subscribes will color the interpretation of any data accumulated. During the cold war, Radio Free Europe, Radio Moscow and Radio Beijing had available to them the same factual material, but due to their antecedent world-views the facts were interpreted differently by each. The Christian and secular-scientist do similarly have the same facts at hand but reach opposite conclusions. Why? Because although the Christian believes that science is a valid search for truth he also believes that all truth is from God and that all truth must ultimately integrate within the design and purpose of God. His world-view is theism. The secular-scientist, on the other hand, believes that the idea of god is mythological having no empirical basis. All truth stands by itself, apart from any god-concept and can only be discerned through scientific investigation. His world-view is naturalism.

The investigative methodology utilized by the investigator also influences the ultimate conclusion at which he arrives. The Christian is deductive, arguing from the general to the specific. He holds to an a priori belief in the supremacy of an Omnipotent-Creator-God to Whom the individual physical “laws of nature” are subject. The secular-scientist is inductive, arguing from the specific to the general. He holds to an a priori belief in the supremacy of the many “immutable” laws of nature to which all life and events are subject. In the one world-view, God is the guarantor of order within the universe, in the other, “natural law.” Although the secular-scientist would never admit it, each requires the identical starting point, faith.

Naturalism is rooted in empiricism, which postulates that all knowledge is based upon experience, that nothing can be known apart from experience. It denies the existence of the spiritual and de-emphasizes the metaphysical. The secular-scientist therefore subscribes to the argument against miracles articulated by the Scottish born empiricist David Hume, 1711-1776. Hume’s “proof” goes something like this:

1) There is immutable regularity in the time-space universe, which can be called natural law.
2) The historian must use historical evidence to judge the probability or possibility of any event including a purported miracle.
3) Miracles by definition fall outside the parameters of the regularity of the time-space universe and are therefore contrary to natural law in a way that historical evidence cannot mitigate.

The Christian challenges each proposition and denies the conclusion.

Full article at... http://ficotw.org/caseformiracles.html