Is Someone Out There?

(2 of 11 in a series)

Let’s start our journey of discovery with some observations about the world as we know it.  Our first observation is that we inhabit an extremely complex yet orderly universe.  Many explanations for why this is so have been offered ranging from intelligent design to supernatural creation to the unguided march of evolution.  The detailed analysis of competing theories of origins has been written about in many places.  For our purposes, I ask you to trust me with this simple observation.

Just as a wedding cake implies a baker and a watch implies a watchmaker, there is nothing in my geophysical training or practice that dissuades me from the straightforward conclusion that the incredibly complex and orderly world in which we dwell implies a creator.  Call this creator “intelligent design”, or a “first cause”, or the God of the Bible.  Allow this creator the flexibility of creating over long periods of geologic time or instantaneously.  Time is not the issue here.  The issue is who made us and the world we inhabit.  The existence of a creator based on observing his creation does not require any intellectual gymnastics or a leap of faith.  To this scientist, it appears the most reasonable explanation for why we are here.

Many scientists have reached the same conclusion.  Intelligent Design advocate, John Calvert writes, “…the values assigned to the four fundamental forces of the universe, its initial conditions and many other constants that dictate its structure appear to be finely tuned for life.  Thus, life itself appears to be a purpose of the universe.  Secondly, these values all appear to be arbitrary and not dictated by any known material or natural cause.  Thirdly, the combination of all the values being set by chance to precisely the settings necessary to achieve life is considered by many to be completely implausible.”

Dr. Francis Collins says basically the same thing from an evolutionary perspective in his best-seller The Language of God.  “Altogether there are fifteen physical constants whose values current theory is unable to predict.  They are givens:  they simply have the value they have.  This list includes the speed of light, the strength of the weak and strong nuclear forces, various parameters associated with electromagnetism, and the force of gravity.  The chance that all of these constants would take on the values necessary to result in a stable universe capable of complex life forms is almost infinitesimal.  And yet those are exactly the parameters that we observe.  In sum, our universe is wildly improbable.”  Dr. Collins goes on to conclude that, “It is not a long leap to suggest that the Creator might have established the parameters (physical constants, physical laws, and so on) in order to accomplish a particular goal.”  In Dr. Collins view, the Big Bang and subsequent evolution of life on earth require a creator.

Professor Simon Conway Morris of Cambridge University is the world’s leading authority on Convergent Evolution.  He writes in The Map of Life, “Inherency refers to the extent to which features of the evolving world were effectively pre-ordained at an earlier time.  This question obviously implies an indefinite regress: if not in terms of crystallin proteins, then perhaps back to amino acids and the genetic code, or even pre-biotic processes in interstellar clouds.  But if so, why stop there?  Maybe we need to go back to the exploding stars from which carbon and the other elements necessary for life were derived.  Or back to the actual process of nucleosynthesis.  And if that is not far enough back, then what about the Big Bang?  So precise are the initial conditions necessary to produce a habitable universe that it seems perfectly sensible to argue that the emergence of intelligence (which is convergent) was inevitable from the instant of the Big Bang.  That at least is one view, and convergence certainly argues for a far greater degree of determinism in the evolutionary process than has previously been acknowledged.”

I believe the question of the existence of a creator based on examining his creation can be safely answered in the positive.  We are focusing on the big picture here, not the details.  But the more penetrating question for us is, “Does this creator have a particular interest in us, the man he has created?”

The Truth That Sets Us Free – A Geophysics Lesson

(1 of 11 in a series)

The author of this blog is a geophysicist.  Geophysicists study the physical properties of the geo, the earth, and make predictions about the composition, structure, and geologic attributes of the earth based on our observations.  With the entire earth (and beyond) as our “data set” to study, geophysicists are taught to think big picture.  Geophysicists are trained to develop both global and local theories based on sparse and sometimes conflicting data.

We measure.  We study.  We evaluate.  We postulate.  We theorize.  We do algebra in our heads.  And we test our theories against the facts.  The theories that hold up become principles and laws of nature.  In essence, it is the job of the geophysicist to discover the truth about the earth and its form that we cannot see through careful measurement and observation of what we can see.

Let me give you an example.  Have you ever thought that the continents of South America and Africa look like they fit together like pieces of a puzzle?  Well, maybe they do.  In the 1960’s, geophysicists discovered the “Mid-Atlantic Ridge”; a north-south trending ridge that bisects the Atlantic Ocean and based on magnetic measurements of the sea floor is thought to be a “spreading center” where new earth’s crust is being formed and “pushed out” such that South American and Africa were indeed being “pushed” apart.  At the same time, a new world-wide array of seismic monitors revealed that the Pacific Ocean is surrounded by a narrow band of active earthquake epicenters.

Putting these two ideas together, new crust being formed in the Atlantic and a narrow band of earthquakes around the Pacific, the theory of Plate Tectonics was born.  That is the idea that the earth is is like a giant, moving jigsaw puzzle with new crust being formed at “spreading centers” and being devoured in “subduction zones” along the margins of the continents where these earthquakes are occurring.  The east coast of Japan, home of last spring’s devastating earthquake is one example of these “subduction zones.”  Since its initial suggestion in the 1960’s, more spreading centers and subduction zones have been identified and many more geophysical observations have been taken that fit and confirm the Plate Tectonics model.

The story of the Plate Tectonics model fits the pattern of discovering truth about the world we can’t see from measurements of what we can observe.  Most geophysicists work on a much smaller scale such as identifying a single fault plane in the earth’s crust that serves as a focal point for a local set of earthquakes or finding subterranean geologic structures where oil and natural gas have accumulated.  Whatever the specifics of an individual practicing geophysicist’s job, the overarching task is always the same:  discovering truth about what we cannot see through observation of what we can.

Discovering truth through observation is what this next series of posts is about.  Can we take our scientific training and experience and our knack for observation and apply them to the broader questions of life?  Can we discover the truth that sets us free?

Keeping the Faith – A Wrap Up

For the past several months, we have been addressing the issues raised in Dr. Ruth Tucker’s book, Walking Away from Faith.  We started out by emphasizing the importance of love and humility in how we respond to our young people’s doubts and questions as they stand on the brink of leaving the faith.  And we explored these five broad reasons folks identify for walking away from faith:

  • Scientific and philosophical issues, particularly evolution and naturalism.
  • Biblical perplexities and higher criticism.
  • Disappointment with God regarding personal and wide-scale suffering.
  • Hypocrisy and lack of caring among leaders in the church.
  • Lifestyle and perspective, including homosexuality, feminism, secularism, and pluralism.

We worked our way through this list looking at biblical answers to these faith challenges, and at the risk of overly simplifying the answers, let me recap our discussion.  On point one [Oct 21, 2011 to Oct 28, 2011] we emphasized the unnecessary box we place our students in regarding the creation/evolution debate.  God is the author of all science and is not surprised or taken out of the picture by new discoveries, even in the field of old earth geology.  Does that mean God has nothing to say to us in Genesis chapter 1?  Heavens no!  Genesis 1 emphatically teaches that God created the world from nothing.  This point was very important to Moses’ audience at the time since they were surrounded by cultures that worshiped the creation – sun, moon, stars, animals, etc. – not the Creator God.

We continued through the list [Nov 1, 2011 to Nov 7, 2011] by showing that we often compound the challenge of biblical perplexities by insisting on rigid theological boundaries that are not that clear in Scripture.  In doing so, we remove the appropriate mystery of the Sovereign God and in its place set up confusion around apparently contradicting scriptures.  We also add to the perplexity challenge our young people face when we fail to teach them all that changed between the old and new covenants.  We teach a distorted message when we inadvertently or on purpose present Christianity as an add-on to the consequence, rule-keeping based model of the Old Testament rather than emphasizing all that is “new” in the New Covenant, particularly its provisions for joyfully living the Christian life.

On point three [Nov 9, 2011 to Nov 21, 2011], we stressed that God is not the author of evil.  We emphasized the work of Satan, God’s arch-enemy, in perpetuating the flow of evil and suffering in this world.  The New Testament makes clear that while not God’s equal, Satan has been given rule, for a time, over our present world.  But Satan has a flesh and blood enemy opposing his rule, and that is us; Christ’s body on earth.  Jesus enlists us to join Him in “destroying the works of the devil” (I Jn 3:8).

On issue four [Nov 28, 2011 to Jan 13, 2012], we spent a long time diving deep into the topic of love and how the new commandment to “love one another” plays out in our interactions within the body of Christ.  The lack of love problem is not confined to church leaders as I believe hypocrisy and lack of caring is a church-wide problem.  We have elevated knowledge over love.  We have elevated a preferred personality over the diversity of the body as God formed it.  We have elevated numbers over depth.  We have elevated programs over relationships.  We have elevated leadership by the professional class unconnected to the body.  We have elevated things we can measure:  attendance, budgets, small group participation, number of staff, etc. over things we can’t measure:  faith, hope, and love.  And the greatest of these is love.

Finally, we have just concluded our discussion of lifestyle issues [Jan 30, 2012 to Feb 24, 2012].  We framed the lifestyle discussion in terms of the sacred and the profane.  As holy temples – sacred dwelling places for God’s Spirit – our lifestyle is a reflection of who we are more than the rules we keep.  We also talked about separating the true biblical position on lifestyle issues from the caricatures our young people think they are being asked to embrace.

We bundle it all together by highlighting the things God highlights in the New Covenant.  The power of love, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our confidence in God’s Word, and the strength found in the whole body working together all lift us above our doubts and help us realize the beauty of Christ and His bride.  And we invite all people, young and old, to join us on the path to discovery.  The gospel is indeed “good news” to all who seek and find it.  Remember, Christianity is not a narrow view to be defended; it is a wide open invitation to be extended.

Love Lifts the Burden

Another challenge we all face in the area of lifestyle is the high standard of Jesus’ call to discipleship.  When we reduce that standard to a list of rules to keep and the burden to keep the rules becomes too great, there is a temptation to give up on the Christian life.  But under the New Covenant, rule-keeping by will power has been replaced by an unfolding of our new nature as we more and more yield to the new influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  A way to think about getting out from under the burden of rule-keeping is this.

Have you ever heard someone say about their job, “It doesn’t really feel like work, because I am doing what I love?”  It does happen.  And it happens in the Christian life as well.  “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (I Jn 5:2-3).  Depending upon how you were introduced to the Christian life, “His commandments are not burdensome” may be news to you.  It was sure good news to me.

Tying the flow of God’s love to our keeping of the commandments – as John does twice in this passage – always seemed like a “catch” to me.  Aha! This love of God is not entirely unmerited.  There is a performance required on my part to earn God’s love.  There is a requirement to obey and, by the way, the standard – all that Jesus asks – is incredibly high.  Not just high, but maybe out of reach.

Then I began investigating why I was not experiencing “His commandments are not burdensome”, because honestly I found them quite difficult.  You cannot read the gospels with an open mind and not recognize that this discipleship business is serious stuff.  It really goes against our natural grain.

The promise of I John 5:3, “His commandments are not burdensome” came into view for me as I began to understand the provisions of the New Covenant.  I came to see that the joy in following Christ’s commands was not found in working harder, it was found in resting in and appropriating the new nature that He has given us.  It lies in abiding in His love.  “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love” (Jn 15:9-10).

When we abide in Christ’s love, we are inviting the facts of the New Covenant to become our experience of the New Covenant.  And when we do, His commands are not burdensome, because they were exactly what our new nature was made to do.  Just as someone may say about their vocation, “I enjoy this because this is what I was made to do,” so we too can say about the commands of Christ, “I enjoy them, because this is what I was made to do!”

Celebrate the Heartbeat

My father and grandfather both passed away due to heart attacks.  I recognize the likelihood of a genetic predisposition to heart disease.  I trust that my diet choices and heart healthy understanding have improved from previous generations but I do not trust in these things; I trust in the Lord, aware of the fact that none of us have any longevity guarantees.  What I do know is that I celebrate every heartbeat.  I celebrate every moment.  I celebrate every small victory and movement forward in my marriage, my children, my friendships, and my walk with the Lord.

Our daughter, Bethany, is an RN at a local hospital.  She also volunteers at a pregnancy center performing ultrasound evaluations for the newly pregnant clients who come to the center.  She told me that the heartbeat of the baby is the first sign of life she sees by way of the ultrasound.  In the earliest weeks of this child’s life, even before the rest of the body takes form, she can see the steady pulse of a heartbeat.

The significance of this picture to me is here.  The heart, as described in Scripture, is the center of our intellectual, emotional, volitional, and spiritual life.  Our heart is what ties us closest to God, our creator.  Our creation in God’s image starts with our heart and that is why it is no surprise that it is first to appear in the womb.  That is also why a baby in the womb is sacred; created in God’s image with a heart beating in rhythm with a life infused by God Himself.

In the heated political debate of abortion, I fall short of providing any quick answers to stopping it.  I am not sure how to criminalize the act in our current confusion as a country over this issue.  I do know I am uncomfortable with the “legal” label attached to the practice as it suggests that we as a society condone this atrocity.  In the long run, maybe it comes down to providing tangible help to those in a crisis pregnancy while continuing to educate a public that has become blind to the fact that abortion stops a beating heart.

And blind is not too strong of a word to use.  How else can we describe those who willfully ignore these commonly known facts from tenth grade biology class?

1)  Human beings procreate human beings.

2)  Abortion kills a human being.

3)  Abortion must stop.

No matter your political or religious bent, it really is that simple.  Celebrate the heartbeat.