In a culture that increasingly views faith and science as opposing forces, Pastor Aaron’s recent message challenged the notion that scientific understanding eliminates the need for belief in God. Drawing from Stephen Hawking’s documentary “The Grand Design,” he addressed common arguments against faith and equipped believers to respond with confidence. The central question he posed was direct: Is it reasonable to believe in an all-powerful, eternal God who created everything we know to exist?

Pastor Aaron’s first major point dismantled the false dichotomy between faith and reason. Using Hawking’s example of ancient Vikings misunderstanding eclipses, he showed how naturalistic scientists often suggest that once we understand how something works, we no longer need to explain why it exists or who designed it. But as he illustrated with a smartphone, explaining natural processes doesn’t eliminate the need for a designer—it simply pushes the question back one step. Science excels at observing what exists, revealing astounding facts about the scale of our universe, from trillions of atoms in a cell to hundreds of billions of galaxies. Yet science is “wholly unequipped” to answer the deeper questions of meaning, purpose, and value. Faith isn’t opposed to scientific thought; it simply goes where science cannot go.

The second proposition addressed how science without faith inevitably devalues human worth. In another clip from Hawking’s documentary, the physicist argued that positive and negative energy cancel each other out, meaning the universe—and we ourselves—mathematically “add up to zero, to nothing.” Pastor Aaron highlighted the devastating implication: when we remove God from the equation, we’re left with the conclusion that human beings have no inherent value or meaning. In contrast, Romans 1 declares that God’s “invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen” through creation itself, leaving humanity without excuse. Science, rather than disproving God, actually confirms His eternal nature—a God who exists outside of time and space, exactly as Scripture has always proclaimed.

Finally, Pastor Aaron offered three practical responses for believers facing condescending arguments against faith. First, don’t be intimidated—recognize that many sophisticated-sounding arguments contain significant logical flaws. Second, grant God the right to define Himself. In an age where self-definition is considered a moral duty, we paradoxically deny God alone the right to reveal who He is, though He has done so through Scripture, creation, the Church, and His Spirit. Third, and most importantly, don’t settle for merely knowing about God—pursue knowing Him personally. He concluded with the powerful story from John 9 of the man born blind whom Jesus healed. When religious leaders demanded explanations and arguments, the man simply testified: “I was blind, and now I see.” His undeniable personal encounter with Christ rendered all arguments powerless.

The message ultimately calls believers beyond intellectual debates to authentic relationship with God. While engaging rational arguments has value, Pastor Aaron emphasized that the most compelling apologetic is a transformed life. As the formerly blind man demonstrated, personal encounter trumps philosophical speculation. The Christian faith isn’t ultimately about winning arguments—it’s about knowing the God who has revealed Himself and being changed by that relationship. This is eternal life: to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

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Small Group Discussion Questions

1. When have you felt stupid or looked down on for believing in God? Maybe it was in a college classroom, at work, or even at a family gathering. How did that make you feel, and how did you respond in that moment?
2. Think about the last time you felt truly amazed by something in nature or the universe. Was your first instinct to think “Wow, science is incredible” or “Wow, God is incredible”—or both? How do you hold those two thoughts together?
3. Have you ever gone through a season where you felt like you “added up to nothing”—like your life didn’t really matter? What pulled you out of that, or what’s pulling you through it now? How does knowing you’re made in God’s image change how you see yourself on hard days?
4. If someone asked you right now, “How do you know God is real?” would you start with an argument or with a story from your own life? What’s one specific way God has shown up for you that nobody can argue away?
5. Be honest: Do you spend more time learning about God or actually talking to Him and listening for His voice? What’s one thing that keeps you from going deeper in your relationship with Him, and what would it look like to remove that obstacle this week?