George Washington University Hosts Christian Apologist

Are Christians deceived by hope? Michael Ramsden, European Director at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), tackled the question during an October address at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Speaking on October 18, Ramsden deconstructed how distorted views of science, faith, and salvation to entice believers away from the truth.

Founded in 1984, the Atlanta-based ministry provides training globally for apologists to serve unreached communities, whether at Harvard University or in Hyderabad, India. The C.S. Lewis Institute coordinated Ramsden’s appearance along with that of Ravi Zacharias, Stewart McAllister, and Ann Orr-Ewing, who spoke at D.C. venues throughout the week.

Discovering Science and Christianity

Individuals, secular and Christian, have at various times claimed the scientific community is an affront to Christianity and that the two cannot co-exist peacefully. Ramsden, in his lecture entitled “Christianity: Deceived by Hope?”, offered a more optimistic approach in which science affirms God’s hand in creation. Centrally, the Englishman astutely pointed out scientific findings are descriptive, not prescriptive. To understand formulae, theorems, and proofs merely explains the undeniably intricate mechanisms that are intrinsic to organisms. This cleavage repositions the discipline from a chronic antagonist to an intellectual ally. Ultimately God alone can explain why the universe came into existence – a point which science is not equipped to answer.

According to Ramsden, who attends a Church of England congregation, the question of belief typically attracts people who embrace contrary perspectives. One group asserts everything is a product of chance. Such thinking has at points sparked debate over the likelihood that monkeys could reproduce the works of William Shakespeare. The challenge, comically known as the infinite monkey theorem, eventually arrived at an answer. It was greater than in a googol, or one followed by one hundred zeros. In other words, it is virtually impossible.

The second camp sees faith as an interloper whose presence is a sufficient surrogate until science, which is positioned as an unerring knowledge base, provides a better answer. Purveyors of this perspective have “excluded God from reality” in order to embrace the presumed infallibility of research. Yet, the heliocentric nature of our solar system, refutation of flat earth models, and recent probes into the validity of E=MC² demonstrates the amount of faith needed to embrace science as gospel. 

What Is Faith?

In its common use, faith refers to belief in a thing that is neither true nor real. To unbelievers, for Christians to have faith means believers are duped by “a persuasion of the mind that falls short of the truth.” Furthermore “strong faith” is “being able to believe in something despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” Thus the Christian needs faith to assuage the dissonance between worshiping an imaginary being and adjudging that blind obeisance can properly inform one’s life.

Underscoring this point Ramsden asked, “Now, what do you call people who believe in things that are not there?” You call them “mad.” Contrary to its misapplication, Ramsden asserted, biblical faith possesses two distinct and necessary characteristics: truth and reality. These innate qualities are essential to understanding, applying and distinguishing its place in vernacular.

Finally, the apologist admonished Christians against imposing their will through prayer because God may give one exactly what one seeks even if it is contrary to his will. When Ramsden was a teenager, he began to think deeply about faith. He grew up in church and was exposed to Hinduism and Islam but felt no strong commitment to any one religion. Recounting his journey as a young man, Ramsden eventually realized God “could do a better job of running my life than me.” The epiphany was enough to convince the young man born into privilege that he could not save himself.

Albert Einstein famously once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.” That Christ died for the sins of man and seeks a relationship with us all is about as unpretentious as it gets.