Epigraph

He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, and He knows all things full well. (Al Quran 57:3)

Collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

About the Debate

Most theists find the three attributes, the First, the Last and the Manifest, mentioned in the above Quranic verse, easy to grasp and conceptualize.

The attribute mentioned as the Hidden in the above verse is not so obvious to many believers. It highlights two things. Firstly, God never reveals Himself in so obvious ways that He becomes self-evident and His recognition and resultant spirituality and morality stops being a test for the humanity. Secondly, that God is hidden behind the laws of nature and we can never directly observe his supranatural Providence through the study of science.

Having explained an important verse of the Quran, about four different attributes of God, let me say that I, Zia H Shah, believe in Methodological naturalism but not in Metaphysical naturalism. Now please read rest of the section to make the distinction.

In philosophy, naturalism is the idea that only natural laws and forces (as opposed to supernatural ones) operate in the universe.^[1] In its primary sense^[2] it is also known as ontological naturalism, metaphysical naturalism, pure naturalism, philosophical naturalism and antisupernaturalism. “Ontological” refers to ontology, the philosophical study of what exists. Philosophers often treat naturalism as equivalent to materialism.

Methodological naturalism, the second sense of the term “naturalism”,(see above) is “the adoption or assumption of philosophical naturalism … with or without fully accepting or believing it.”^[25] Robert T. Pennock used the term to clarify that the scientific method confines itself to natural explanations without assuming the existence or non-existence of the supernatural.^[49] “We may therefore be agnostic about the ultimate truth of [philosophical] naturalism, but nevertheless adopt it and investigate nature as if nature is all that there is.”^[25]

Philosopher Paul Kurtz argues that nature is best accounted for by reference to material principles. These principles include mass, energy, and other physical and chemical properties accepted by the scientific community. Further, this sense of naturalism holds that spirits, deities, and ghosts are not real and that there is no “purpose” in nature. This stronger formulation of naturalism is commonly referred to as metaphysical naturalism.^[3] On the other hand, the more moderate view that naturalism should be assumed in one’s working methods as the current paradigm, without any further consideration of whether naturalism is true in the robust metaphysical sense, is called methodological naturalism.^[4]

With the exception of pantheists – who believe that Nature is identical with divinity while not recognizing a distinct personal anthropomorphic god – theists challenge the idea that nature contains all of reality. According to some theists, natural laws may be viewed as secondary causes of God(s).

To learn from any debate one should follow the principles highlighted in the following articles. Firstly, one should turn off one’s brain when any debater resolves to dogmatism:

Kripkean Dogmatism: The Best Metaphor to Understand Religious and Political Debates

Video: Harvard debate coach’s masterclass on arguing

When Prof. John Lennox Presents God of the Gaps

I often find myself in agreement with Prof. John Lennox, especially when he presents the God of the Abrahamic faiths, rather than exclusively Triune God of his understanding. It is of interest here to note that Isaac Newton believed in Unitarian God and not in Trinity.

I have presented this debate here in the Muslim Times to learn from Lennox. But, at times I would disagree with him, in so doing, I believe we open ourselves to greater learning and are following a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, where he advised that a word of wisdom is lost treasure of a believer and he or she accepts it, wherever, he or she finds it.

To prevent oneself from never to present God of the gaps, one should be mindful of Methodological naturalism. Below is an hour long dialogue and other materials to show when Prof. John Lennox loses sight of that while talking about evolution and Darwin:

How Ideology Misleads Very Smart Biologists and Mathematicians

Do We Already See the Fingerprints of God through Science

Many of the comments in the above video highlighted that God wants to manifest Himself enough but not so forcefully that after that no test remains and His divinity and mastery becomes self evident.

We noted above and it is worth repeating: The attribute mentioned as the Hidden in the above verse is not so obvious to many believers. It highlights two things. Firstly, God never reveals Himself in so obvious ways that He becomes self-evident and His recognition and resultant spirituality and morality stops being a test for the humanity. Secondly, that God is hidden behind the laws of nature and we can never directly observe his supranatural Providence through the study of science.

He reveals Himself to stay in the balance and equilibrium of the attributes, the Manifest and the Hidden.

The Quran: Have the humans been created from nothing, or are they the creators?

Videos: Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life and Mind?

Why does the Science of Consciousness Need a Muslim Theologian and a Sleep Specialist?

If the Atheists and the Christians Debate, Islam Wins!

My Journey from Atheism to Christianity | Francis Collins at Cal Tech

Video: With Robert Kuhn and John Polkinghorn: If Christians, Jews and Atheists Debate, Islam Wins?