Is Christianity True? Can it be tested and falsified or Proven?
The primary reason many fail to identify the Designer of the universe is a lack of sound research. This may be due to ignorance and a lack of understanding. Some are so busy with life and work (pressure) that they never even think about the design of the universe (Creator), the afterlife, or the claims of Christ, for which there is evidence. Also in the scientific community, there is a perceived conflict between science and the Bible (Intellectual Scepticism). This may be due to the error of thinking the Bible teaches a Young Earth (YEC 6,000 years, see the age of Earth page). Or sometimes this is just self-imposed ignorance; some, one knows there is evidence for Christ and the Bible, but for some reason, they do not want to even know or look at the evidence. "Either/Or" Mentality, thinking that one must choose between scientific accuracy and the Bible's spiritual truth (they do not, as they almost match 100%). Misunderstanding of God's Creation and Gen 1 (due to an error in the frame of reference or a Hebrew-to-English translation problem). See Gen 1 page and Creation Model page
How does one test religious claims?
Carl Sagan's Cosmos specials on PBS. Sagan had a way to make cosmology interesting; it was a popular show. In his Gifford lectures, Carl Sagan talked about how to test religious truth claims:
"Now, what happened before that [Big-Bang]? There are two views. One is 'Don't ask that question,' which is very close to saying that God did it. And the other is that we live in an oscillating universe in which there is an infinite number of expansions and contractions. The former of these views happens, by chance, to be close to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic view, the latter, close to the standard Hindu views. And so, if you like, you can think of the varying contentions of these two major religious views being fought out in the field of contemporary satellite astronomy. Because that's where the answer to this question will very likely be decided. This is an experimental question. And it is very likely that in our lifetime we will have the answer to it. And I stress that this is very different from the usual theological approach, where there is never an experiment that can be performed to test out any contentious issue. Here, there is one. So we don't have to make judgments now. All we have to do is maintain some tolerance for ambiguity until the data are in, which may happen in a decade or less." (Carl Sagan, 1985 Gifford Lectures).
1) God created the universe (God of the Bible and the recorded formation and future of the universe are correct, see Space-Time page and Creation Model)
or
2) Oscillating universe (Carl Sagan liked the Hindu oscillating universe as it needed no creator. See the Hindu page and the Buddha page)
Now we have the answer, the universe is expanding and will not stop, collapse and bounce. The Laws of Thermodynamics also tell us that oscillation will not occur. The universe is heading to a "Heat Death". Carl was wrong.
John Horgan, agnostic
Guess what? Sagan was right (although it took a little more than a decade). Sagan's second alternative, the oscillating universe model has been discredited by a lack of sufficient matter to cause a contraction. (Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan 2006) It was further discredited by the discovery of dark energy, which shows that the universe is actually expanding at an ever-increasing rate. (Extreme Fine Tuning - Dark Energy). So, Sagan's first alternative is the one that turned out to be true. My guess is that he was betting on the second. Of course, the atheists haven't lined up to become Christians, but instead have invented their own form of metaphysics (i.e., religion). Atheists have invented the multiverse, a kind of super-universe that randomly spews out other universes (with differing physical laws) at will. The multiverse sounds scientific, but it is really philosophical wishful thinking, since there is no evidence supporting the idea. If one really thinks about it, the multiverse is impossible over the entire period of eternity (which is what atheists would propose for the age of the "invisible" part of our universe - if such a thing exists at all). The problem is that our part of the multiverse has managed to make itself completely inaccessible to contraction and future expansion. If it were possible for one part of the multiverse to become thermodynamically dead, it would be expected to be possible for others. Even if entry into such a state is extremely unlikely, eternity is a very, very long time. Certainly by now (over all eternity), the entire multiverse would have entered into one of these thermodynamically dead zones. So, one would expect the entire multiverse to have suffered thermodynamic death by now. Therefore, it makes absolutely no sense that the universe is eternal with the characteristics that we observe. We are left with Sagan's first alternative - God did it. Atheists like to say that there is no evidence for God's existence and pretend such evidence doesn't exist. However, Sagan realized that science could judge between religious claims.
Multiverse is science? Multiverse theories aren't theories-they're science fiction, metaphysics, works of the imagination unconstrained by evidence. Multiverse is not testable or falsifiable. So, it is not science; there are no predictions to be made and no tests to be done. See Multiverse page
Each religion has a creation account.
The example of distinguishing between Hinduism versus the Judeo-Christian creation account is just one of many ways to examine the truth claims of the world's religions. Since most of the world's religions developed hundreds to thousands of years ago, it is a fairly trivial matter to examine their material for scientific and other errors. It would not be expected that ancient peoples would be able to accurately describe all modern scientific principles. Only those individuals who were given divine revelation would be expected to give an accurate account of our world. Each religion has a creation account; it is very easy to compare them. (See World Religions page)
Science and the Quran
The Quran (Translator: Abdullah Yusuf Ali) says that the heavens and the earth were once joined together as one unit before it was split into two parts. (Surah 21:30) Obviously, this creation model could never be applied to any kind of Big Bang theory. However, the Bible clearly presents the creation of the universe as an expanding universe model in which God spreads out the stars. The Quran says that Allah created seven heavens and that the stars are found in the lowest heaven. In addition, the Quran says that earth is like a carpet that is held in place by the heavy mountains, described as being like tent pegs, so that it won't move or shake. The Quran presents a flat earth model for the earth and universe, which is clearly at odds with the facts of science. See Islam Page
Science and LDS scriptures
The religious writings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Although calling themselves "Christians," LDS theology is radically different from historic Christianity and contains its own set of religious writings (in addition to the Bible). Even though written in the 19th century, LDS religious writings make numerous scientific errors, including astronomical errors (Kolob star/planet ), archeological (Nephite civilization) and historical errors (early America with horses, swine, silk, steel, and wheeled chariots) and genetic/hereditary errors for people groups (Native Americans are cursed Jews). Because of these problems, the LDS religion can be safely discarded from accurately representing the true nature of God, having been shown to not be divinely inspired. See LDS page
Christian truth claims
For the age (3,500 to 2000 years ago) in which it was written, the Bible makes some rather surprising claims regarding the nature of the universe and how it was created. For example, the Bible says that time was created by God when He created the universe. See Time page. Stephen Hawking, George Ellis, and Roger Penrose extended the equations for general relativity (see relativity page) to include space and time, demonstrating that time began at the formation of the universe. (See Space Time page). Of course, the biggest claim of the Bible was to declare that the universe had a beginning through an expanding universe model. (See Creation Model page and Age of Earth page. ) The New Testament even declares that the visible creation was made from what was not visible and that dimensions of length, width and height were created by God. (Hebrews 11:3) In addition, the Bible refuted steady-state theory (saying that the creation of matter and energy has ended)24 long before science made that determination. The Bible also states that the universe is subject to decay and will wear out.(Genesis 2:3-4, called the 7th day) The existence of the second law of thermodynamics, coupled with recent discoveries indicating that the universe is expanding at an increasing rate, with an insufficient amount of matter to stop that contraction, guarantees that the Bible is correct on this claim, also. See Laws of Physics page.
Besides these stunning revelations about the nature of the universe, the Bible describes several properties of the earth that were not confirmed by science until hundreds of years after the Bible first made the claim. Examples include the claim that air has weight, (Job 28:25) the existence of valleys (2 Samuel 22:16) and vents (Job 38:16) on the bottom of the sea, ocean currents, (Psalm 8:8) and the fact that winds blow in circular paths (Ecclesiastes 1:6). These are remarkable claims that could not have been directly observed by a bunch on nomadic sheep herders. Where did this information come from? Also see Bible vs Sceince page
Christian worldview
A worldview is a set of constructs by which we interpret how the world operates. The Christian worldview operates on the basis of the theology presented in the Bible. Below is an example comparison between a purely naturalistic worldview and the Christian worldview. Also see the Worldview page.
Christian vs. Naturalistic Worldview Premise
Purpose of the universe:
Christian: The purpose of the universe is to provide a temporary habitation for human beings to choose to love or reject God.
Naturalistic Materialism: The universe has no purpose. It began as some random quantum variation and will likely end in thermodynamic heat death.
Value of the human species:
Christian: Human beings are more valuable than any other species of life, since they were created in the image of God.
Naturalistic Materialism: Human beings evolved from other species, so they have no more intrinsic value than any other species of life on earth.
Purpose of human life:
Christian: The purpose of human life is to bring glory to God through loving Him and our fellow human beings.
Naturalistic Materialism: There is no ultimate purpose to human life. We live and we die and it doesn't matter what we do with our life.
Value of individuals:
Christian: All human beings are valuable to God and none has any more value than any other.
Naturalistic Materialism: Those who contribute more to society are more valuable than those who contribute less.
The work of individuals:
Christian: The most valuable work a person can do are spiritual service to God (worship) and to humans (good works).
Naturalistic Materialism: He who dies with the most things wins." Wealth and fame will bring you happiness. Rich celebrities win!
Morality:
Christian: Moral laws are given by God, and like the laws of physics, do not change. Immoral behavior is not justified by circumstances.
Naturalistic Materialism: Morality is determined by society and can be changed at any time to reflect current practices. Immoral behavior can be justified to bring about a "greater good."
Worldviews can be tested using the following criteria:
Logical consistency
Balanced (not too simple or complex)
Explanatory power and scope
Correspondence to well-established facts
Verifiable (truth claims can be verified or falsified)
Applicable to real life
Fills existential needs
Although both Christianity (old-earth day-age) and naturalism are logically consistent within their own spheres, they reach radically different conclusions.
Both can it be tested and falsified or Proven. Creation Models for both can make predictions about the future findings and see which way the evidence goes.
See the Creation Model page. and Gen 1 page
One of naturalism's big failures is in its ability to provide application to real life issues for human beings. Explanations of human romantic love and need for interpersonal relationships, our need to create beautiful works of art and music, and our desire to help others (altruism) seem to defy naturalistic explanation. Attempts to fit these realities into the Darwinian evolutionary box have failed miserably. Even the evil side of our natures seems extreme from an evolutionary standpoint. Christianity provides a far superior explanation for why we behave the way we do.
Scientific naturalism has always claimed to provide explanations that are verifiable and can be falsified experimentally. However, there has been a recent change in the explanations of those espousing the naturalism-only worldview. As atheists attempt to answer the "big questions," explanations have become more metaphysical and complicated in nature. Explanations such as the multiverse are which is not falsifiable.
Naturalism fails to provide for the existential needs of human beings. People have a need for meaning, a purpose for living, and a hope for the future. Naturalism provides for none of this. In fact, naturalism destroys the idea that humans have a purpose, and leaves individuals only with the prospect of aging, suffering and eventual death and non-existence. In addition, naturalism says that there is no hope for the human species, since we will eventually be destroyed by an asteroid collision, a nearby supernova event, global warming, or solar expansion. The universe is going into a "Heat Death" - the end of all life. There is no "hope" from naturalism. Humans have a need for a spiritual connection; we are spiritual beings, and there has never been a secular civilization (the ones that have tried to make one have failed). Also see Human Uniqueness.
The Christian worldview is a far superior explanation for human life. One does not need to reject the science. The irony is that naturalism science is where the greatest evidence for the God of the Bible comes from. Why? Since God created the universe, anyone studying the universe is studying what God the Creator made, they will find His handly work! However, unlike those who follow a naturalism-only worldview, an Old-Earth Christian worldview does not reject the possibility of supernatural phenomena, if the evidence takes one there. Thus a Old-Earth Christian worldview is not a God of the gaps. Note: The Multiverse is the science of the gaps, since it has no evidence and is not testable.
Worldviews and moral choices
Three recently published studies show that worldview beliefs influence moral behavior. The first study showed that atheists were less likely to consider certain moral choices as being "very important", especially patience, forgiveness, and generosity. A second study showed that teens who were not exposed to religious teaching were significantly more likely to be involved in negative behaviors than those who attend church. A third study showed that belief in the atheistic concept of determinism is correlated with an increased tendency to cheat. Even a short reading of a passage denying free will produced more cheating behavior among randomly-selected subject groups. These studies show that the promotion and prevalence of atheism in society can be expected to result in negative consequences to societies.
Conclusion
Yes, many religious truth claims are testable. Those who are truly interested in whether a religion represents truth should test the claims to see how they stand against the evidence. Modern cosmology destroys the Hindu model (and Buddha) for the universe, but affirms the Judeo-Christian model. Cosmology and earth sciences destroy the strange assertions of the Quran. Archeology, cosmology and molecular biology destroy the claims of the LDS Book of Mormon., but confirm many claims from the Bible. For an ancient document written thousands of years ago, the Bible makes some remarkable scientific claims - many of which were not verified until this century. However, the Bible was never written to serve as a science textbook, but was given as guide to having a relationship with God and our fellow human beings. The Bible answers the "why" and "what" questions that naturalism says are unanswerable:
Why does the universe exist?
Why do human beings exist?
What is my purpose?
Why do I do things I know I shouldn't do?
Is this all there is?
Also See Does God Exist? Is there Evidence for the God of the Bible?
Ref:
https://reasons.org/explore/publications/connections/what-in-the-world-is-a-worldview
A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test by Kenneth Richard Samples
God created and was acting before time began:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)
No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. (1 Corinthians 2:7)
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1:9)
The hope of eternal life, which God... promised before the beginning of time (Titus 1:2)
To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:25)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16-17)
The universe was formed at God's command, so that what was seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3)
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
The following verses show that God created the universe through an expanding universe - what science has called the Big Bang (Creation evevt). In many cases the Hebrew text indicates present tense - a process still continuing.
Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea; (Job 9:8)
Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. (Psalm 104:2)
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22)
Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk in it, (Isaiah 42:5)
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, And spreading out the earth all alone" (Isaiah 44:24)
"It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their host." (Isaiah 45:12)
"Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together." (Isaiah 48:13)
That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens, And laid the foundations of the earth; That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor? (Isaiah 51:13)
It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 10:12)
It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 51:15)
The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, (Zechariah 12:1)