The pinnacle of existence

Bart Erman is a New Testament scholar and an atheist critic of the Bible. During meditation he got this thought: “A rock has no way of recognizing that a dandelion exists. A dandelion has no way of recognizing that a panther exists. … A panther has no way of recognizing that a superior intelligence exists …  who can engineer skyscrapers, or split atoms, or reconstruct the history of Rome…

“The fact is that the lower levels of existence can never know about the higher ones, what they really are, what they are capable of, how they exist, what they do, and so on. They can’t even conceptualize their existence.

“The problem is that we humans always imagine we are the pinnacle of existence … If we are the top of all existence, then there must be nothing above us … But who says we’re the pinnacle? … It’s just human arrogance. If superior forms of intelligence and will do exist, I would literally have no way of knowing.”

Erman recognizes the possibility of a higher being, but he knows nothing about them. So, meditation only gets you so far. This caused him to become an agnostic, but he still lives as though God doesn’t exist. He claims to be “a strong agnostic and a reasonably strong atheist”.

To me the complex information in living things is the greatest evidence of God. After all, scientists can’t create a DNA molecule or a protein from the raw materials.

Fortunately, God has revealed Himself in the Bible through Jesus. This showed that people are not the pinnacle of existence. And those who trust in Jesus are commanded: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7NLT).

We can worry about what’s happening somewhere in the world or what might happen. There are many uncertainties in life. Worry implies a lack of trust in God’s promises. Anxiety is a sin because it demonstrates a lack of confidence in the sovereignty of God to deal with our concerns.

But this passage says that we can pray about anything. Prayer alleviates worry. It brings us peace and leads to peace with others.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you that you revealed yourself through Jesus Christ who performed miracles and was raised back to life after He died. This showed that we are not the pinnacle of existence. And thank you for the peace that comes from knowing that Jesus died so we can be rescued from the consequences of our sinful ways. Please help me to pray when I am inclined to worry. Amen.

Posted, November 2024