When you use a coincidence to pitch the gospel

Coincidence.

Contrivance.

Pareidolia (when you see familiar shapes in random objects).

I’m not convinced that any of the above are good methods to use for sharing the gospel.

Coincidence is a stretch.

Contrivance is deceptive.

Pareidolia comes off as foolish.

When presenting the gospel, or anny apologetic response, the answer must be both reasonable and rational.

All of the above fail in at least one regard.

Two of the most famous examples involve Louie Giglio.

Now, I’ve used the resources of Louie in the past.

In fact, before it may seem that I slam two of his most popular talks, I’ve used the “Indescribable” DVD in my scripture classes previously. On multiple occasions.

And, for the vast majority of the sermon, it’s really good at presenting an aesthetically pleasing presentation of General Revelation.

The universe is pretty incredible.

And really big.

But the final five minutes always make me cringe.

For, to conclude, Louie turns his attention from the cosmos to the human cell.

His perspective switches from really large to really small.

And… he mentions… the protein molecule laminin.

Gulp.

Some of you will know where this is going.

It looks like the cross (gasp!).

Well, a cross.

Kinda.

If you want it to.

And you use a generic diagram to display the molecule.

But, really, how many ways can a molecule made up of three short and one long protein chains look? 

It must look suspiciously like a Roman crucifix!

Or a trident. 

Or a wonky t.

At best… it’s a coincidence.

Jesus may hold everything together according to Colossians 1, but I don’t think laminin is the irrefutable proof.

But, Louie does a similar thing in the follow-up DVD “How Great is Our God.”

This time with stars and whales.

In this case, the climax of the talk is a mashup of the sounds of a pulsar star and humpback whale song.

Here, live onstage, you see Louie manipulate the two sounds to vaguely align with the affixed worship song which the talk is named after. 

How… contrived.

How… manipulated.

How… not verifiable evidence of creation worshipping like Psalm 19:1!

But, the dangers of these flimsy apologetic methods are the outcomes.

They produce gullible, naive, uninformed believers.

For, this kind of evidence - which would match faces of Jesus in pieces of toast or on the surface of Mars - makes us sound foolish, desperate or unenlightened.

This is especially dangerous, once you learn the truth about something like laminin. It’s wonky theology, based off a simplistic science-textbook diagram.

A musical mashup as evidence sounds juvenile.

In the end, all it does is provide a shaky apologetic foundation and the false security of a “smoking gun” which, in fact, is more a smoke-and-mirrors theological presentation.