Discovering God through Science - For Non-Scientists

It Will Keep a Good Man Down

2010-05-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is a giant in the world of science. The story about his discovery of gravity after watching an apple fall is probably that – a story. People already knew something made things fall toward the earth when nothing was holding them up. They already knew they had to hold on when they climbed a tree or a mountain.

What Isaac Newton did was to realize that gravity was the force that every material body exerts on every other body. Gravity is universal.

We need to start with the world view in Newton’s day. They saw the earth as the center of the universe. Copernicus (1473-1543) had proposed a Sun-centered model of the universe. Galileo (1564-1642) had studied the phases of Venus and the four bright moons of Jupiter and provided strong evidence against the Earth-centered model of the Solar System. Galileo also studied the motions of falling bodies and laid the experimental groundwork for Newton’s laws of motion.

Though many were beginning to believe the Sun was the center of the Solar System they still thought the celestial sphere was an enormous sphere to which the stars appeared to be fixed. There were other spheres that held the planets or “wondering stars.”

Newton did not discover gravity but he did realize that the same force that caused the apple to fall was the same force that acted on the moon and planets. Newton learned from Galileo and studied the careful observations of Tycho (1546-1601) and Kepler (1571-1630). Kepler had used Tycho’s careful measurements and developed three laws of planetary motion. Kepler made a significant revision of the Copernican model.

With the information from those who preceded him, added to his own studies of moving objects, Newton postulate that the same force that acted on the apple acted on the moon and the other planets. He came to believe that gravity really is universal. The same physical law that worked on Earth worked on the Sun, the Moon and the planets. Newton put these down as his three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation published in his book PRINCIPIA.

Newton did not try to speculate about the nature of gravity but he did rightly understand the effect it had on all material bodies.

Why should gravity be universal? Why would a ball thrown in the air on some far away world behave the same way it would behave on earth? Why should any physical law be universal?

The only answer is found in creation. There is one God who is also the Creator. The laws of nature are universal because the universe and all that is here was created by one God. The Bible says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)

© 2010 Ed Handkins

The Copernican Revolution

2010-02-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Copernican Revolution
By Ed Handkins

The advance of science has been a process of discovery. Little by little we have realized that the universe is a lot bigger and more complex than we ever imagined. We have learned that what seems to “common sense” may not even be correct.

When we look at the world, it really does look like the sun “comes up” in the east and “sets” in the west. We know it appears to be that way, not because the sun moves but because the earth rotates. Yes, from a local perspective the earth may even appear to be flat, stationary and it can look like the universe revolves around us. It took a series of discoveries to some of the things that are really happening.

Nicholas Copernicus, (1473-1543) a Polish astronomer, concluded the earth really did move around the sun – just like the other “wandering stars” or planets. He made his case that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe. He shook the world view of his time. “Common sense” was indeed common but it was not correct.

I suppose if Copernicus has lived in our time he would conclude that the universe really revolved around him.

Because we are “self aware” we focus on the world from our own perspective. It takes mental discipline to see the world and the universe from a new perspective. Copernicus helped change our point of view. The march toward a greater understanding of our universe and where we fit in continues today. The truth is we have not yet reached a full understanding of our universe and how it works – and may never reach that complete understanding.

Even as we realize how small and insignificant earth is in the grand scheme of the universe we are also realizing how unique earth is as a place where life, as we understand it, can exist. We are not too close to the sun and we are not too far away. Our sun is not too large nor too small. Just like Goldilocks everything appears “just right.” We have enough water, the right amount of air to breath and a biosphere that sustains itself.

What could account for our good fortune? I believe there is a design – and thus a designer. He has left clues for us to follow. In these blog I will explore some of these clues and show some of the ways God reveals Himself through His creation. We are not the center of the universe – God is!

None of the clues are considered “proofs” of the existence of God but when you put them all together I believe there is overwhelming evidence of God and his nature.

©Ed Handkins 2010

Are We Lucky or What?

2009-09-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Are We Lucky or What?
By Ed Handkins

What about life on other planets?

When I see the news I am sometimes convinced that there is intelligent life on other planets – and they are using earth as their mental institution!

On a more serious note, we don’t know if there is any kind of life anywhere in the universe except here. At this point there is no way to be 100% certain either way. What we do know – earth is in a very privileged place in the universe. It is in a special place where life as we know it can exist. Living things are delicate and complex with many special requirements. Most of the universe we have been able to observe does not have conditions that would permit life as we know it.

Here are a few of the things that MUST be just right in order for life as we know it to exist at all. Radiation must be low enough to allow for life. Liquid water is necessary. There needs to be an abundance of the right elements – Carbon being the major one. Hundreds of other conditions need to be met for our kind of life to survive – and we don’t know that any other kind of life is even possible.

A different set of conditions is necessary for matter to exist. The ratio of the mass of the proton to that of the electron must be just right for life to exist at all. This mundane number (the ratio) is vital to the formation of stable atoms. An understatement is that matter is a very necessary part of life.

In order to have life it is necessary that the relationship between gravitation and electromagnetism be “just right.” Without the right ratio stars and planets could not exist.

In all there are at least thirty 30 different natural relationships that MUST be just right (within 1%) for life to exist at all. The possibility of that being an accident is so small it makes that idea laughable.

Paul Davies says, “The Standard Model of particle physics has about twenty undetermined parameters, while cosmology has about ten.” (Cosmic Jackpot; Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007, P. 146)

It looks like life is a “put-up job.” It didn’t just happen. It was designed. In another blog I will talk about the other things that are necessary for life. Right now I want to think about these “30” things that must be just right.

The classic image is a designer at a control board with 30 different knobs. Each knob (each knob represents one of the parameters necessary for life) can be adjusted through a wide range of settings. In order for life to exist each one of these knobs must be adjusted to within 1% of the value we know are necessary for life to exist.

One of my granddaughters was watching a video in the car as they traveled. The DVD would play the introduction when the disk was put in the player but Carissa would have to tell her mother (the driver) when it was time to push the play button to play the movie (Her mom, the driver, couldn’t see the TV.) Mom asked, “Do I need to push the play button?” To which Carissa said, “Well, it’s not going to play itself.”

That is true of the universe. It’s not going to “play” itself. The universe has no way of adjusting the knobs so they will be just the right setting – nor can it know what the settings would need to be in the first place.

Are we lucky or what? I have to conclude it is the “or what.” The universe is designed for life. If there is a design then there is a designer.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

© 2009 Ed Handkins

2009-08-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Einstein and Eternal Life
By Ed Handkins

Have you ever wondered what Einstein’s famous formula (E=MxCxC or Energy equals Mass times the speed of light squared) has to do with your eternal life? You don’t need to be a mathematician or a scientist to get the connection.

Einstein shook the world with his now iconic formula. Before this insight it was believed that matter could not be created or destroyed. His famous formula shows that energy can be created from the transformation of matter to energy. This implied that energy could also be used to create matter – that has now been done!

This astounding truth shook our “world view” – our understanding of how things work. Nature does not know destruction. Nature only knows transformation.

I taught chemistry and physics across the hall from the biology teacher. We had several interesting discussions. The biology teacher believed that death was the end of life.

When we apply the truth that “nature does not know destruction – only transformation” to our understanding of “life” we can see another great truth. Life does not end at death – death is only the point of transformed.

To understand what is beyond the point of transformation we need to look to someone who has been there and came back to tell us about it. Science can only take us so far in our understanding. Jesus died and was buried. On the third day He rose from the grave. To those who follow Him He says “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25.)

To those who do not know Jesus as Savior He will say, “Depart from me…” (Matthew 25:41.) We need to listen to the One who has been there and back again. Death is the point of transformation to a new life with our Creator or eternal life separated from Him forever.

Scientific Note:
The energy of an atomic bomb or from an atomic reactor does not come out of thin air. The energy comes from matter being changed into energy. An incredible amount of energy is created when only a tiny amount of matter is transformed to pure energy.

The “E” in Einstein’s formula represents energy. The “M” is the amount of matter changed to energy. The “C” is a constant – the speed of light which is about 186,000 miles per second (300,000 kilometers per second.) That means the 186,000 is multiplied by 186,000 (converted to the appropriate unites) and then multiplied again by the amount of matter changed to energy.

© Ed Handkins 2009

Letters too Big to Read

2009-08-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

Letters too Big to Read!
By Ed Handkins

I taught chemistry and physics across the hall from the biology class. We had some good discussions (debates.) I was asked “What about the food chain? How does that fit into God’s plans?” I didn’t know the answer, but like so many other things, it sent me on a long study of the Bible and God’s plan.

One of the great truths from biology is that “life comes from life.” There was a time when science taught that life can spontaneously generate from none life. Science has proved that wrong. (And yet evolution tries to say that life did spontaneously generate from non life – go figure!) Life is necessary to sustain life. The food chain is in place because all living things need living things in order to survive.

I realized that “life came from life.” That truth then merged with another question I had been thinking and praying through for several years. I received Jesus as my Savior when I was young. I believed Jesus died on the cross for my sins and for the sins of all who would receive Him. I wondered why God had not revealed this great truth through His creation. I wondered why He had not left hints of this truth somewhere else – Then I realized “He did!” God has written the truth of the atonement in letters that were too big for me to read. I needed a new perspective in order to understand.

Every time we set down to a meal we are reminded that we are able to live physically because something died for us. It may have been a grain of corn or a head of lettuce, but something died that we might live.

In the same way, we can live spiritually because Jesus died for us. It is through His death that we can live spiritually.

Every time we eat anything we should be reminded of His sacrifice. The Old Testament understood the connection between the sacrifice and the meal. For most of the Old Testament sacrifice offerings, only a portion of the sacrifice was burned. The rest was used as a meal for the priest and the worshipers. (There were a lot of different kinds of offerings offered mentioned – each one was to be handled in a specific way.) They understood the connection between sacrifice and the meal - and they gave thanks.

Jesus died on the cross. Through His sacrifice we can live. But Jesus didn’t stay dead. The grave is still empty. Life comes from life. Because He lives we shell live also.

2009-08-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

Is God a Mathematician?

Math is the basis for all "hard" science but why would a system developed for counting assets have anything to do with the structure of the atom or the movement of the stars? In other words, was math invented or discovered?

When Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity he made two assumptions. One, that the laws of physics would be the same for any observer moving at a constant speed and direction. Second, the speed of light would be the same for all observers. These two assumptions can only be true if there is a unity in the universe. We are not at the mercy of the snap decisions of a capricious god.

The very heart of science has the belief that the universe and how it works can be understood. Without that basic belief there would be no reason to do science.

The introduction to the idea of God into science is not a "conversation stopper." I believe math is at the heart of science because God is the unifying factor. He is the God of "i" and "Pi" as well as "you" and "I." The fact that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever is the factor that makes the universe understandable.

That is why even those who believe that math was "invented" often have a sense of "awe" when they marvel that a simple math equations can sum up so so much about what goes on in the universe. (Example: E=MC2)

It seems to me that God is not only "a" mathematician. He is "the" mathematician. We have the privilege of discovering what wonders God has made.

Discovering God Through Science

2009-08-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Discovering God Through Science

I love science and I love God. I believe that all "truth" is God's truth. When we find truth through science it will agree with God's revealed truth. In my undergraduate work I focused on math, physics and chemistry (SIU-Carbondale, IL). Later I received a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.

Believers in Jesus Christ do not need to "check their brains at the door" in order to believe. Faith and science are not at war - even though some people of science have declared war on faith and some people of faith have declared war on science.

In this blog I will share some of the things I have learned about God through science. This is not an argument for the existence of God. I assume the God of the Bible is the God of creation. I will share some of the clues I believe God planted in His creation as to His character, purpose and plan.

If you do not share my understanding of God I do hope you will examine each clue with an open mind to see if it might have the "ring of truth." If you do share my understanding of God it is my hopes that you will be encouraged.