“The [Very] Most Astonishing Fact!”

“Lift up your eyes on high and see; who created these?” (Isaiah 40:26)

Dr. Tyson, you did not go far enough in your video.  More specifically you did not go far enough back in time to the very beginning of all things.  Everything you did say in your justifiably famous video, “The Most Astonishing Fact,” is factually true.  It is universally recognized by the scientific community that virtually the entire history of the cosmos can be measured and viewed with scientific instruments.  These observations reveal that 1) the billions of galaxy clusters are flying away from one another, 2) that this expansion immediately began to slow down, 3) that galaxies are farther apart now than they were in the past, 4) and that the universe is cooling down.  5) We are even able to observe the afterglow, called “cosmic background radiation,” from the initial blast of the Big Bang.   

Dr. Tyson, you are also correct in stating that there were fewer elements (those pure substances found in the periodic table) back in the past than there are today.  This fact can be documented by comparing the light spectrums from galaxies at varying distances which give tell-tale signs of the elements they each contain.  Galaxies of different ages contain different elements (the most distant and therefore the oldest having the fewest).  It is also true that every naturally occurring element was manufactured by means of thermo-nuclear reactions inside of galaxies, supernovas, etc.  And it is also true that we human beings are made of “star dust,” to use Carl Sagan’s term.  We are of course much more than that.  “The LORD God [who] formed Adam from the dust of the ground” also “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7).  Sadly, however, the uncovering of the bare truth that we are formed from star dust is where your sense of wonder, Dr. Tyson, has apparently ended.  I reply that this is where the sense of wonder ought actually to begin!  There are at least two miracles behind the origin of this so-called “stardust” that we all live with today.

The lesser of the two additional miracles is that we have the array of elements that we actually do.  Every material thing we experience is composed of atoms.  Put as simply as possible for our purposes, atoms are composed of positively charged protons within the nucleus (center) of the atom.  The nucleus also has neutrons which (obviously) have no charge at all.  And thirdly, the atom has an equal number of negatively charged electrons “orbiting” the nucleus.  Now positive-charged particles do NOT stick together.  Quite the opposite, they strongly repel each other.  This means that it is impossible for more than one proton to exist inside the nucleus EXCEPT for the existence of the strong nuclear force.  This force overcomes the naturally repulsive force of positive-on-positive so as to allow the entire range of atoms all the way to Uranium, and even beyond.  This “strong nuclear force” must be very precise.  It must be strong enough to hold, for example 56 protons together within the nucleus of a Lead atom, while also allowing Hydrogen (which has but 1 proton) to exist too.  If this force were any weaker only Hydrogen would exist; any stronger, only the very heavy elements would exist.  Surely there is an intelligent Designer who so fashioned the atom that life as we know it is possible.  As Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.”

The very most amazing fact, however, is existence at all.  Not merely existence as we know it.  But existence period!  Material existence (all of space, time, matter, and energy) has not always existed.  The discovery of the host of scientific facts supporting the Big Bang, in the first half of the 20^th Century, overthrew the previously-held belief of the scientific community that the cosmos had always existed.  We now understand, as the entire array of relevant scientific evidence affirms, that the entire cosmos came into existence out of nothing.  Science cannot address this question, even in principle.  The beginning of the universe can only be explained as an intentional act of the God of the Bible, which itself begins with the declaration, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).   

“Scientific?” part III: The Bible’s Scientific Double Grand Slam

“I declared them to you from of old. Before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them. My graven image and my molten image commanded them’” (Isaiah 48:5)

Recent blogs under the title “Why Didn’t God Talk ‘Scientific?’” established that the books of the Holy Bible, and the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis in particular, do not convey their message in scientific lingo.  They also offer up a plausible explanation as to why God may have chosen to communicate with the entire range of human beings in the manner that we encounter in Holy Scripture.

At the same time, there are indicators across its pages which hint at a Supernatural Author who breathed His insight through ordinary human beings in the manner described by the Apostle Paul, “All Scripture is God-breathed [“theo-pneustos” in Greek] and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

In the postings that lie ahead, I will unpack each of the following themes.  For now let it simply be noted that each of them precedes scientific discovery by over 1500 years, six of them within the last 100 years.  

The universe had an absolute beginning in the Big Bang (Genesis 1:1).

No new matter is being created (Gen. 2:1) — 1^st law of thermodynamics.

The cosmos operates under fixed laws (Jeremiah 33:25).

The universe is expanding  (Job 9:8, Psalm 104:2; Isaiah 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; 48:13; 51:13; Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15, and Zechariah 12:1).

The number of stars in the heavens is indirectly described as innumerable (Gen. 22:17, Jeremiah 33:22).  Prior to the use of optical instruments people saw at most a few thousand stars. 

Stars differ from each other by the elements they contain (1 Cor.15:41).  Optical instruments today are able to discern that different stars contain different elements (depending on their stage in the history of the universe, and their own “age”).

Time began at creation (Heb. 11:3 says God created time itself (“Áionas”). This word can be translated “eons” or “ages.” — It was Albert Einstein’s discovery of  “Relativity” which led him to conclude that out of the absolute beginning all matter, energy, space, and even time itself came into existence.

The universe is running down (Isaiah 40:6) — 2^nd law of thermodynamics.

Gideon For Our Time part II

It was as Israel approached the promised-land near the conclusion of their journey (called “the Exodus”), that Gideon is first introduced to readers in the Book of Judges chapter 6.  Consumed by doubt and fear because of hard times, Gideon is found hiding from Israel’s opponents, the powerful Midianites, down in an underground wine press so as not to be detected.  Ironically, at his summons to lead Israel into battle (where it is promised that the LORD will prevail), the angel of the LORD calls him a “mighty man of valor.”  All the same, Gideon resists that call by means of a protest of his own weakness.  Finally, after witnessing the power of God, Gideon relents and submits to the LORD’s call upon his life.  When the battle becomes immanent, the LORD commanded Gideon to pare down his already inferior army by releasing every soldier who was fearful or indifferent to the outcome, in order that that they could return to their own homes.  With that dismissal his army was reduced by two thirds.  As the LORD boasted, “The people are still too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me’” (Judges 7:2).  To bring to a close this lengthy account, against all human odds, Gideon’s army witnessed the routing of the Midianite army.

The account of Gideon is a paradigm of how God typically works across history.  God often allows His people to be placed into circumstances where our personal inadequacies become evident.  Then He calls us to trust in His providential working for the purpose that His power alone is celebrated.  The Apostle Paul writes, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God, and not us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).  This past Saturday (May 18) our congregation had the privilege of hosting “Mission U,” an evangelism workshop sponsored by the Lutheran Hour.  It was a wonderful, helpful experience.  One consistent theme highlighted in the material is that it is the Holy Spirit who is doing His powerful work.  We get the privilege of being His vessels.  The keynote speaker, Pastor Dave Haberer from New York City, reminded us of the powerful story of Gideon in the Old Testament.  This story is a powerful reminded for our own time that we belong to the powerful Triune God who calls each and every Christian to yield to His gracious working in and through us for the advancement of His kingdom in our time.  It is His power, not ours; for the purpose of His glory, nor ours: in the participation in His mission in our world at this very time.  Let us yield to His gracious and exciting invitation.

Gideon For Our Time part I

This is the my article for the June Newsletter for my congregation.

Israel has never been big by any measure.  Even though the existence of Israel has played a major impact on the history of the world, Israel never was a major “world” power in Bible times.  Even today, as in its entire past, Israel’s geographical size is very small in relation to all but one of its neighbors (look on a world map and notice that it is actually very difficult to spot without first knowing its exact location).  Its population as well, is tiny compared to its neighbors.  So also it was in Bible times that Israel’s neighbors were almost always more powerful militarily, and sophisticated technologically (yes, “technologically” – archaeologists marvel at the ingenuity and skill of builders and crafters in ancient times) than was tiny Israel.

The Bible never made the mistake of confusing Israel’s small size with its estimate of the “size” of the God of Israel.  And that is the fundamental point of everything that is important in the Bible.  It is an inescapable fact that the placement of tiny Israel at the crossroads of the three continents of Africa (Egypt), Asia, and Europe, as we now call it, has powerfully changed the world as a whole.  The reason for the weight of that influence on its neighbors rested not on Israel’s own ingenuity and power, but on the power and wisdom of the God who called them (and the entire world), into existence.  I repeat, world influence was not sourced in Israel, but in Israel’s God.

Neither Israel’s exit (“exodus”) from Egypt, their successful passage through Edom and endurance intact in the wilderness for 40 years, nor their entrance into the “Promised land” occupied by the powerful Philistines, Canaanites, and Phoenicians, is explainable on worldly terms.  Those three people groups were each long-established in their respective homelands and therefore far more secure than the Israelites who were sojourners in tents on their journey through the wilderness.

To be continued... 

Why Didn't God Talk "Scientific?" part II

The Bible doesn’t directly explain why God has chosen to convey the truths about creation in the manner we find in the first chapters of Genesis.  But why should we not use our imaginations in this matter?  Let us imagine for example that in order to impress us God chose instead to open the Book of Genesis with a treatise drawing together themes from General Relativity, Big Bang Cosmology, Quantum Mechanics, and the DNA and inner workings of the Cell.  How would such a methodology have played itself out before an audience of actual human beings?  Virtually everything we know about each of the above “Big Four” areas alone, we have learned in the past 50 years.  The extent of the knowledge that we possess today (by “we” I mean what is known as a civilization, not an individual) has been achieved by accumulation (to use short-hand) over thousands of years of experimentation, research, and the public sharing of insight.  This notion that knowledge is accumulated logically implies that human beings possessed less factual knowledge in the past than we do today (I am not suggesting people are more intelligent today than they were in the past.  To the contrary!).  How tiny the percentage of people, even today, who are comfortable dealing with scientific matters!  I for one am not.  I write about scientific matters because they interest me personally, but I do so at an elementary level since I am not a scientific expert.

The point of all this is, God’s purpose is to communicate to all people of every time, place, culture, and language group.  Quantum mechanics would not have played well in the wilderness 3400 years ago.  The purpose of His communication was/and is in order that every person may come to know His will, His love, and His redemption in Jesus Christ.  He communicates not in order to impress, but to receive sinners.  It is clear to me that God has used the best means possible to communicate with all people wherever we are, in a manner that people in general can comprehend.  The first chapters of Genesis reflect this purpose.  In light of the challenge of communicating across both time and cultures the Omnipotent God used a communication method that reaches people and reflects His own glory.  In light of scientific insights that I addressed in the third paragraph of the previous blog, I now reference one Biblical commentator on Genesis who made the following observation about God’s communication methods in the creation accounts:  “It is one of the more than human qualities of Holy Scripture that while written by [and for] men whose knowledge was in accordance with their times, it does not contradict the increased knowledge of later times” (Genesis. (Cassell, 1882), p.66). Boldface and brackets mine.

 My atheist friend and debate counterpart has charged that Christianity is fatal to the scientific enterprise because believers claim that the Bible has given us all the scientific insight in advance by means of revelation.  I have demonstrated that such a charge is simply not true on any count.  While we have seen in the previous blog that God’s insight into creation “leaks” into His word, His purposes are otherwise.  His goal, again, is to invite all people into His kingdom in the manner suggested just above. 

To be continued...     

Why Didn't God Talk "Scientific?" part I

“And the earth was without form and void.”  (Genesis 1:2)

In his wonderful book, Your God is Too Small, J.B. Phillips imagines an occasion (which I cannot perfectly reconstruct) where a teacher asks his classroom of teens whether or not God understands nuclear physics.  After the students retorted with a quick “no!” they suddenly laughed at their answer in the recognition that if God exists at all He must understand literally everything.  How, after all, would it be possible for an ignorant buffoon to create out of nothing such a beautiful and complex cosmos as ours?

There are a host of indicators that the God of the Bible also encourages our understanding of the things that He has made.  I have repeatedly referred to Romans 1:18-20 as a pointer to the importance God places on our honest and careful exploration of the natural order.  Contrary to popular opinion, nowhere in all of Scripture are people ever commanded to diminish nature in favor of belief in God.  We are instead called to affirm God’s transcendent (meaning to stand outside and above) superintendence over and above nature.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (“Test all things”) the Apostle Paul lays foundation for the legitimacy and importance of the scientific method in the exploration of our world.  It is widely acknowledged that it was a specifically Christian world view that provided impetus for the disciplined (as opposed to hit-and-miss) exploration of the natural order that we now call the scientific enterprise.  For further study on these matters consider University of Washington Sociology Professor, Rodney Stark’s book, For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery. (Princeton, 2003), ch.2.  

Clearly God fully understands every single aspect of His creation (Psalm 19:1f).  In my previous blog I highlighted the truth that His Word found in the Holy Bible anticipated two profound realities of Big Bang cosmology by over twenty-five centuries, including firstly the absolute beginning of the universe out of nothing, and secondly, the fact that the universe is continuously expanding ever since that beginning. 

It is also immediately clear, however, that when we turn to the first chapters of the “Book of Genesis,” we are not reading a scientific textbook.  Mathematical formulas are nowhere to be found.  Nothing anywhere reads like “Scientific American” magazine.  The modes of expression in the first chapters of Genesis in particular are of a phenomenal nature (e.g. “the sun rises in the east”), as opposed to being analytical (e.g. “the earth rotates around the sun”) in nature.  For these reasons critics habitually dismiss as worthless the text of Genesis for being primitive, pre-scientific mythology.  In an upcoming blog I will make the case that, to the contrary, it was the Book of Genesis and not science that first repudiated mythology by replacing the so-called gods of nature with, I repeat, the Transcendent, Almighty, and Omniscient God.

To be continued...

 

Modern Cosmology Repeatedly Anticipated by the Old Testament

“He…who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.”  (Isaiah 22)

At least two things are beyond dispute in the mainstream scientific community with respect to the cosmos.  It is first of all recognized that in the Big Bang the entire cosmos (all space, time, matter, and energy) had an absolute beginning out of nothing approximately 13.7 billion years ago.  It is also recognized that the cosmos has been expanding ever since that beginning, much like a balloon that is being blown into by a child.  Prior to the 20^th Century neither of these were either acknowledged or even anticipated by the scientific community.  Yet they were anticipated repeatedly in the Holy Bible.

Ever since the scientific community distanced itself from the influence of the church, scientists had held that the cosmos is stationary and eternal.  But as a result of recent scientific discoveries their old dogmatic position is now overthrown.  It was the authority of the Holy Bible alone which had declared several thousand years earlier that our universe had a beginning (Genesis 1:1) out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3).  And as I will further describe in the next paragraph, it was also the Bible alone that anticipated the ongoing expansion of our universe.  Let me here clarify two things about the Big Bang:  First of all the Big Bang is not an explanation of beginnings.  It is instead a description of what happened from that beginning.   So it is merely a description which demands reflection on the only plausible explanation for that beginning.  Second, it follows that the Big Bang does not support atheism.  Atheism is utterly incapable of accounting for the absolute beginning of the cosmos.  To the contrary the Big Bang points inescapably to the personal, intelligent, and omnipotent Creator of the universe.

In addition to the absolute beginning of the universe out of nothing, the Bible also repeatedly, yes repeatedly, states that the cosmos is in continual, constant expansion in like manner to the description in my opening paragraph.  No other biblical expression, with respect to creation, is used nearly so often.  The following eleven Biblical references include five separated authors over a span of centuries who all speak of the Lord “stretching out the heavens.”       

Job 9:8; Psalm 104:2; Isaiah 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; 48:13; 51:13; Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15, and Zechariah 12:1

Connecting these passages to present cosmological discovery does not involve wrenching them out of their original context.  To the contrary, the consideration of cosmology in relation to the Creator is the single context of every passage.  Each verse reflects the clear intentional revelation (2 Timothy 3:16) of the God who made the heavens and the earth.  The Bible is vindicated as God's revealed word in this matter.             

Putting Science in Its Place Part II

Today’s blog title is NOT a dismissal of the importance of science.  Science does have its place…and that is not every place.  The legitimacy of science as the disciplined exploration of events within the natural (physical) order is indeed vulnerable to illegitimate attacks regarding the extent of its actual authority.  I hope it is clear that I give science I high level of weight.  As I have stated very recently, the Bible itself does the same.  The Apostle Paul wrote that people will be judged for their failure to receive the natural order as true testimony to the history of the world (Romans 1:18f). 
 

Yet science is not the only means of conveying truth.  The Bible points to at least two other means.  The first is through revelation (God expressing His will through the words of Holy Scripture—2 Timothy 3:16).  And the second is what has been called “natural law,” that is, the testimony of right and wrong.  “Natural law” conveys an understanding of morality that has been embraced not only by Christians, but also by highly-renowned non-Christian philosophers across history.  Romans chapter two discusses this reality at the very practical level.  Science does not speak specifically to the value of a human being.  Neither does it speak to matters of right and wrong.  These are not its areas of authority.  But speak on these two matters, we must.  In order to do this clearly we must listen to our consciences, but even more so, to the higher Word of the One who made us, God who is revealed in the Holy Bible. 

Putting Science in Its Place Part I

“Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.”  (1 Timothy 6:20)

Categorical confusion over matters of conscience continues to this very day.  On this morning’s Fox News Show, Jehmu Green, former president of the “Woman’s Media Center,” expressed approval for the proposal that the RU-486 (“Morning After”) pill would be dispensed over-the-counter to girls as young as 15.  Beginning her interchange with the other guest Dr. Manny Alvarez, she praised the FDA for “removing obstacles and barriers to all [by]…choosing science over politics.”  By means of the latter part of that statement she committed the highly-consequential logical fallacy called a “categorical error” (the confusion of two distinctly different categories such as parent-child relationships on the one hand and pharmaceutical outcomes on a bodily system on the other).  The weighty social challenges of our time demand a much higher level of thinking than expressions of such fundamental confusion. While appeals to science for support of one’s position is popularly perceived as tying the knot in the argument at hand, “scientific” knowledge is in fact directly relevant only to specifically scientific challenges.  Questions of value judgments and determining lines of authority in social arrangements are not scientific matters.  This means that science has no direct relevance to the questions of who (the parents or the state) has the authority to determine when a child is mature enough to weigh consequences of downing a pill that will impact her reproductive system. 

In a different way, I am at least as disappointed in both Dr. Manny and the interviewer for failing to clarify the distinction between science, politics, and inter-personal relationships within the family.  I repeat that it is urgent for science and its parameters of authority to be properly understood.  Most specifically, Jehmu is throwing around the word “science” in ignorance of the meaning of that word.

To be continued...