Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Getting back on track, allowing for the possibility of God was the first step in discovery for me. Some of this will be a repeat of earlier posts, but the mere fact of existence forced some of my thinking. As I have pointed out before, the evidence for the universe not being eternal is overwhelming. First of all, it is not rational simply because we are here in the present. The theory of relativity (actually there are two, general and special relativity to consider) makes the tie between time and 3 dimensional space. If the universe is eternal, then time extends into the past to infinity. So, the question is: how much time would have to elapse to get to the present? Answer - an infinite amount thus you never can get to the present. Our awareness of the present is evidence of a beginning.
The physical evidence of an expanding universe also supports this. Expansion presents an even stronger case for the universe having had a beginning. A beginning consistent with having been initiated from a single point. What makes this significant to me is that all our theories on how the universe works only apply to a material universe. Quantum theory, general and special relativity all deal with properties of energy and matter in dimensional space. These physical laws did not exist until after the initial expansion of the universe. So, we are left with nothing in science to explain two major concerns. First, what initiated the expansion and secondly how was it controlled to maintain the precision needed to establish the foundation for what we now call the universe?
Going back to relativity, the other factor that interested me was the tie between time and space. Before the big bang there was no space and therefore no time. Yet there must have been something that triggered the beginning of both. There is work going on to try and develop a theory that gets around this problem, but here is where faith comes into play for everyone . You either have faith there is an uncaused, self existence cause or, nothing gave birth to something. We have no way of ever measuring or detecting what was there before the beginning so everything is a matter of faith.
The Bible, I learned, has always presented God as being timeless and immaterial. That He is spirit is how Jesus Christ put the matter. Not a spirit, but spirit. If this means He does not occupy space then time is not a factor for God. He could in fact exist outside of and before what we know as the universe.
The possibility for God started looking more realistic at this point. This is not yet what I would call evidence. It is however, reason to look for the same. I also find, based on the above, the idea that the evidence leans more towards the absence of God is wishful thinking.
The physical evidence of an expanding universe also supports this. Expansion presents an even stronger case for the universe having had a beginning. A beginning consistent with having been initiated from a single point. What makes this significant to me is that all our theories on how the universe works only apply to a material universe. Quantum theory, general and special relativity all deal with properties of energy and matter in dimensional space. These physical laws did not exist until after the initial expansion of the universe. So, we are left with nothing in science to explain two major concerns. First, what initiated the expansion and secondly how was it controlled to maintain the precision needed to establish the foundation for what we now call the universe?
Going back to relativity, the other factor that interested me was the tie between time and space. Before the big bang there was no space and therefore no time. Yet there must have been something that triggered the beginning of both. There is work going on to try and develop a theory that gets around this problem, but here is where faith comes into play for everyone . You either have faith there is an uncaused, self existence cause or, nothing gave birth to something. We have no way of ever measuring or detecting what was there before the beginning so everything is a matter of faith.
The Bible, I learned, has always presented God as being timeless and immaterial. That He is spirit is how Jesus Christ put the matter. Not a spirit, but spirit. If this means He does not occupy space then time is not a factor for God. He could in fact exist outside of and before what we know as the universe.
The possibility for God started looking more realistic at this point. This is not yet what I would call evidence. It is however, reason to look for the same. I also find, based on the above, the idea that the evidence leans more towards the absence of God is wishful thinking.
