Increasing Lunar Coincidences Lead to “Philosophical Disquiet”

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Will Myers

The list of fine-tuned “coincidences” required for our unique Moon’s formation appears to be growing. The creation implications of these discoveries, including recent findings published in Nature, seem to have astronomers feeling unsettled.

Our Moon is like no other. The ratio of its mass compared to the mass of its host planet is about fifty times greater than the next closest known ratio of moon to host planet mass. Plus, our Moon orbits Earth more closely than any other known large moon orbits its host planet.

Thanks to these unique features, Earth, unlike the other solar system planets, possesses a stable rotation axis tilt, which protects it from rapid and extreme climatic variations that would otherwise rule out advanced life. The Moon also slowed Earth’s rotation rate down to the value at which advanced life could thrive and generated tides that recycle nutrients and waste efficiently.

Only recently have astronomers had any clue how such a special Moon could form. Over the past 15 years, astronomer Robin Canup has developed and improved models that demonstrate that the Moon resulted from a collision between a newly formed Earth (which, at the time, had a pervasive and very deep ocean) and a planet about twice the mass of Mars (Mars = 0.107 Earth masses). This collision took place at an impact angle of about 45 degrees and a very low impact velocity of less than 12 kilometers per second.1 In addition to forming the Moon, this highly fine-tuned event brought about three more changes, each significant for advanced life: (1) it blasted away most of Earth’s water and atmosphere;2 (2) it ejected light element material and delivered heavy elements; and (3) it transformed both the interior and exterior structure of the planet.

In a review article published in a December 2013 issue of Nature, Canup complains, “Current theories on the formation of the Moon owe too much to cosmic coincidences.”3 Indeed, the required “coincidences” continue to pile up. New research reveals that the Moon has a chemical composition similar to that of Earth’s outer portions, a result that Canup’s models cannot explain—unless the total mass of the collider and primordial Earth were four percent larger than the present-day Earth, the ratio of the collider’s mass to the total mass was between 0.40 and 0.45, and a fine-tuned orbital resonance with the Sun removed the just-right amount of angular momentum from the resultant Earth-Moon system.4

Astronomers Matija Ćuk and Sarah Stewart found another way to explain the similar composition. In their model, an impactor about the mass of Mars collides with a fast-spinning (rotation rate = 2.3–2.7 hours) primordial Earth.5 The planet’s fast spin generates a disk of debris made up primarily of Earth’s own mantle material from which the Moon forms, thus accounting for the similar chemical composition. As with Canup’s most recent model, a fine-tuned orbital resonance between the Moon and the Sun is needed.

In an article published in the same issue as Canup’s recent review, Stewart concludes, “In the new giant-impact models, lunar material is derived either from a range of depths in the proto-Earth’s mantle or equally from the entire mantles of two colliding half-Earths.”6 Either way, she adds, that while “each stage of lunar evolution is plausible,” she wonders “with the nested levels of dependency in a multi-stage model, is the probability of the required sequence of events vanishingly small?”7

In her review, Canup suggests that perhaps a small collider (Mars-sized) model can be retained without so much of the added fine-tuning of the Ćuk-Stewart model if thecollider’s initial chemical composition were more Earth-like rather than Mars-like. However, extra fine-tuning may be needed to explain this required initial composition.

In yet another article in the same issue of Nature, earth scientist Tim Elliott observes that the complexity and fine-tuning in lunar origin models appears to be accumulating at an exponential rate. The impact on lunar origin researchers, Elliott notes, is that “the sequence of conditions that currently seems necessary in these revised versions of lunar formation have led to philosophical disquiet.”8 What is the cause of this “philosophical disquiet”? May I submit that it stems from the fact that there is now more than sufficient evidence for the supernatural, super-intelligent design of the Earth-Moon system for humanity’s specific benefit?


Voyager 1’s 1977 Image of the Earth-Moon System
Image credit: NASA

Subjects: Earth/Moon Design (HR,RTB)

*** Will Myers

 

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THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Will Myers
One of the wonderful things about astronomy is that it is so different from our everyday experience. Things are not what they might seem at first glance. Who could have guessed that those tiny little specks of light in our night sky are actually “suns” hundreds of times larger than Earth? Who would have suspected that the “evening star” is actually a rocky planet about the same size as our own? How unexpected to find that the solid earth beneath our feet is actually moving at 67,000 miles per hour around the sun, all the while spinning like a top! God has constructed the universe in a truly marvelous way. As we study it, the universe continually surprises and delights us by challenging our understanding of how things work.

Our solar system is a great example of this. We can actually see much of the solar system on a cloudless night. Most of the planets are visible to the unaided eye—appearing as tiny points of light. In reality, they are enormous spheres, some comparable in size to the earth, while others are much larger. The sun and moon are visible as small circles in our sky. Yet, in reality the moon is as large in diameter as the continental United States, and the sun is 400 times wider than the moon. The stars, sun, moon, and planets rise and set with clockwork precision. They seem to pay tribute to the earth as they respectfully circle around their master. But the truth of the matter is that Earth rotates as it moves around the sun. Every new discovery in astronomy is a surprising and delightful revelation that God is even more amazing, creative, and powerful than we previously supposed.

The solar system consists of the sun and everything that orbits the sun. Orbiting bodies include the eight planets, asteroids, comets, centaurs,1 trans-Neptunian objects, and dust. The largest and most massive object in the solar system is the sun itself. It is a sphere of hydrogen and helium gas, held together by its own gravity. With a diameter of 865,000 miles, the sun is 110 times wider than Earth. It constitutes 99.8 percent of all the mass in the solar system. Yet, from our view on Earth, we can easily cover the sun with one finger held at arm’s length.2 The sun only appears so small in our sky because it lies at an amazing distance away from us—93 million miles. A car travelling at 60 miles per hour would take 176 years to travel such a distance. It boggles the mind.

The Planets

The next largest objects in the solar system are the planets. Jupiter is the largest planet, with a diameter of 86,881 miles, or about 11 times the diameter of Earth. Saturn is the next largest, followed by Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Older textbooks list Pluto as the smallest planet, but most astronomers now classify Pluto as a “dwarf planet” or trans-Neptunian object, leaving Mercury with the title of “smallest planet.” All eight planets orbit the sun in the same direction (counterclockwise as viewed from Earth’s north pole) and are very nearly in the same plane. This plane is called theecliptic.

The four planets nearest the sun are called terrestrial (“earthlike”). They are relatively small worlds with dense, rocky compositions. In order of increasing distance from the sun they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The remaining four planets are calledgas giants or Jovians (“like Jupiter”). They are much larger than terrestrials, but are comprised primarily of hydrogen and helium gas rather than dense materials like rock. As with the sun, these balls of gas are held together by their own gravity. As we move away from the sun, the gas giants are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The outer two planets, Uranus and Neptune, are smaller than Jupiter and Saturn and are sometimes called ice giants instead of gas giants due to their high abundance of various forms of ice.3

Solar System Distances

Distances in the solar system are often listed in terms of astronomical units (AU). We define 1 AU as the average distance between the earth and the sun, which is about 93 million miles. Astronomical units are much more convenient for conveying distances within the solar system than miles or kilometers, which can become unwieldy to contemplate on such vast scales. Mercury is only 0.39 AU from the sun, whereas the distance of Venus is 0.72 AU. The orbit of Mars averages 1.52 AU from the sun. So, the terrestrial worlds are all within 3 AU of each other at all times. But the gas giants orbit considerably farther out. Jupiter orbits at 5.2 AU, and Saturn is 9.54 AU—putting it at around 1 billion miles from the sun! Uranus is 19.1 AU from the sun, and Neptune lies at a distance of 30 AU—almost 3 billion miles—30 times farther from the sun than Earth.

The distance between the planets is astonishing and difficult to visualize. Most textbook illustrations of the solar system enlarge the planets by enormous factors in order for them to be visible along with their orbits (like the illustration in this article). In reality, the planets are dwarfed by their distances from the sun. The University of Colorado has a scale model of the solar system, with the sun represented by a 5.5-inch sphere on a pedestal placed just outside Fiske Planetarium. The earth is located on a pedestal 50 feet away. The planet itself is shown at the same scale as a tiny “bump” about 1/20 of an inch. Mercury, Venus, and Mars are just a few feet away. But Jupiter is considerably farther out and is the size of a marble. To get to Neptune, a person must walk all the way to the other side of campus, a stroll of about 10 minutes. The orbits of the outer planets have considerably more space between them than the orbits of the inner planets.

Planetary Orbits

The orbits of all the planets are nearly circular. Creation scientist Johannes Kepler, in the 17th century, discovered the true shape of these orbits. He analyzed data from the orbit of Mars that had been obtained by Tycho Brahe. Kepler discovered that planets orbit in ellipses—“squashed” circles. A circle is defined as the set of all points in a plane equidistant from a given point. An ellipse is the set of all points in a plane whose distance from two fixed points gives the same sum. The two points are called “foci” (plural); each one is a “focus” (singular). Kepler also found that the sun was located exactly at one focus (the other focus is empty). The fact that planets orbit in ellipses with the sun at one focus is referred to as Kepler’s first law of planetary motion. Kepler did not know why orbits were like this, nor did anyone else until the time of Isaac Newton. For the planets, the two foci are relatively close to each other, making the resulting ellipse almost indistinguishable from a circle. But for a comet, the ellipse can be very elongated.

Johannes Kepler also discovered that any given planet “sweeps equal areas in equal times.” In other words, planets speed up when they are closer to the sun and slow down when farther away. This is Kepler’s second law of planetary motion. Kepler further found a relationship between the size of a planet’s orbit and the time it takes the planet to go around the sun once. Specifically, the square of the period of the orbit (in years) is equal to the cube of the planet’s average distance from the sun in AU. In other words, planets that orbit close to the sun have short periods, whereas those that orbit far away from the sun have very long periods. For example, Mercury has a distance of 0.39 AU and orbits the sun in only 88 days (0.24 years). Neptune has a distance of 30 AU and a period of just under 165 years. In both cases, the square of the period is equal to the cube of the distance. Kepler didn’t know why this rule worked. It was a mystery until Newton came on the scene.

Although Kepler’s laws were discovered in relation to planets, they work equally well for asteroids, centaurs, trans-Neptunian objects, and comets.4 These laws also apply to orbits of moons.5 It was another creation scientist who discovered the principles behind Kepler’s laws. Isaac Newton, a brilliant scientist and Bible scholar, discovered and rigorously proved that gravity is the cause of the orbital motions of planets. The closer a planet is to the sun, the faster it orbits because the sun’s gravity is stronger. Newton’s discoveries of the laws of motion and gravity allowed him to mathematically prove all three of Kepler’s laws from first principles. He also modified Kepler’s third law to include the effects of different masses on the constant of proportionality, allowing us to use Newton’s version of Kepler’s third law for moons or for other solar systems with stars of different masses.

The Laws of the Universe

Bible critics sometimes view laws of nature as a replacement for God’s power. But that certainly is not a biblical view. The Bible teaches that God directly controls the universe—that by the expression of His power everything is upheld (Hebrews 1:3). God is not a god of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), but upholds the universe in a consistent and often predictable way. Laws of nature are not a substitute for God’s power; rather, they are examples of it. God’s consistent and law-like sovereignty over the universe makes astronomy possible.

The solar system is a lesson in humility. When we contemplate the sizes of these worlds, the distances involved, and the God who holds every atom in its place, it is amazing to think such a God would show so much compassion and mercy toward us. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

*** Will Myers

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CONNECTING RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Will Myers

John 1:1; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This scripture gives us a beginning for our existence. This scripture also let us know that the Word of God is alive, a Spirit. We also begin to learn that the universal including all humans are molded by this Word. Afterwards, the Word came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Matthew 16:16; “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

God created humans and science among all others:

  1. Ephesians 3:9
    And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:


  2. Colossians 1:16
    For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:


  3. Revelation 4:11
    Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Our present status in the world is one with problems which has no perfect answers. We have some short term bright outlooks, but most intellectuals believe in a long term dim and hopeless outcome. The humanist are preaching “don’t talk about it; don’t even think about it; be happy now because it is all that we have.” Scientist gives us some hope that they shall bring about a Utopian state in which humans live forever, but this may not be in the far future.

The answer to this fatalistic future is already here, and has been here for over two thousand years. It’s the Living Word of God Who says that we are to live in the Spirit with our Creator, God. Our present physical state of being is temporary without resolve, but God has given us an invisible and eternal resolve to all of our problems. God came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ Who displayed supernatural powers in order to help us believe in God’s Salvation for us.

It can be said that we live in a discipline, a universal cocoon, that conditions our minds through experiences and suggestions. There is a universal process experienced by the human mind. I call it the God Equation, a symbolic representation of our thought processes in this dynamic world. I might mention that we are in this dynamic world separated from God, but doesn’t necessarily have to be. The death of Jesus on the cross paid our sin debts, and we have the right to feel the glorious presence of God Who is the Answer to All problems. We can have peace which not only mean without depression but to also receive continuous joy from Eternal God.

Man can not work himself into heaven, but God rewards efforts if the effort doesn’t oppose God. Opposing God means separation from God. We are created to need nourishment and water, and a need to exercise our muscles less they weaken; therefore, God demands efforts to find His Kingdom, than be still and know Him.

With all of the variances in this world, in that all states (S is a well-defined configuration in nature) vary, we seek for endurance; those things which last the longest. The diamond is valuable not only because it glitters, but because it takes over a million years for the diamond to go through a very slow nuclear breakdown from its original state, and become another material.

The God Equation is a metaphysical expression because it symbolically represents a process in our mind, heaven, and an identical process in the physical world for any point in existence including any point(s) in our mind and body:

QV[S(1)]qv(1) + QV[S(2)]qv(2) = QV[S(3)][qv(1) + qv(2)];

this form repeats over and over for all ideal states, intermediate states, and all degenerate states and special cases. The way God made things to work (QV) endures forever.

God Equation Final Draft Nov 23 2013 2a

Isaiah 28:16; “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” Romans 9:33; “As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed.”  I believe that the stone that God laid conceptually has infinite inertia and infinite momentum; only God can change. No power in the universe can alter God’s stone. He who opposes the stone shall be grinded to powder and his works brought to naught.

Zion mean “in the essence of things” in the old Jewish Hebrew language. Scientist are searching for the essence of matter. The term mass is a conventional definition for matter as is matter being an observation of something. Scientist have not discovered the essence of anything. The God Equation above suggests that there is a central defining essence of things. It’s my belief that in realizing or discovering the essence of a thing the person must be part of it because we have always been conjoined with all matter. With any well defined state, S, the person that defines is part of it. Einstein felt or sensed that a unifying central concept, the essence of nature, existed thereby attempted to prescribe with an equation.

Qua Variant (QV) is a principle of an event in nature which varies the same over and over such as striking 300  matches; they vary the same, light and burn consuming the match stem; they are immutable. The variance of the match striking is a constant; it varies the same each time. We can observe the event over and over without conceptualizing the invisible principle, but it has been always there governing the action. QV is the way God made things to work. So, QV’s are the laws in nature whether codified or not (qv is part of QV and is that part which is codified or known to man). The collection of qv’s of course is the collective knowledge of man at a particular time. Man studies absolutes (immutables) in the nature of body (material), soul, and mind (spirit); therefore, man studies God Who is the Absolute; the Central Entity.

Since our world is constantly changing we always and continuously have a nexus created in the world; nature never stops. Nature imposes on man (Vspace, a Potentiality, is all the nexus’s in our dynamic world), and man imposes on nature. This creates a learning process; man learns to predict many “what’s expected next” in Vspace. So, Vspace is the visible display of how God made things to work in which are a physical part.

We have sensed that there is a central principle that determines all actions (Uspace: the Governing Potentiality or the Infinite Potentiality). Einstein spent over fifteens years of his last years on Earth attempting to codify this central principle known as the Unified field Theory without success. As a Christian, I see it as God’s Potentiality Who is guiding us unto His Kingdom.  Jesus is that Potentiality (Uspace); whereas with Him, Vspace=Uspace with Vspace submerged in Uspace which has supernatural qualities of God meant for the human mind.

We experience and observe the operation of physical principles from  Uspace imposing on Vspace, [(Uspace)(Vspace)=QV]. The scripture says: Romans 1:20; “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

The God Equation reflects the convergence toward unification as man acquires knowledge and expands his exploitation range, S(3)[qv(1) + qv(2)]. This universal process, design, imputed to man in nature has caused  me to believe that this natural process led man to a monotheistic belief by man conceptually conforming to the stone laid by God in Zion to some degree.

The scripture says: Matthew 16:19; “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Psalm 19:1; “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”

So, our natural process as represented by the God Equation is also in heaven working; although, it is at the bottom (beginning) of 2nd Heaven which is dynamic where spiritual warfare takes place. God calls each of us continuously unto Himself. Jesus, the Son of God, is our Savior and Spiritual Guide because He has overcome the world, Uspace=Vspace.

Jesus is the Living Word of God among us. The Spirit of Truth in Vspace and Uspace Who God put in the world also testifies of Jesus, the Son of God.

Acts 2:4

King James Version (KJV)4; ” And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

  1. John 14:17
    Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.


  2. John 15:26
    But when the COMFORTER is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Within each believer and lover of Christ Jesus God has given a Comforter, His Spirit, for the present which is more than what we need in this life. Philippians 4:19; “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Jesus, the Son of God, is the essence of all things. The Lord Jesus continuously leads us unto precept after precept until all mysteries are revealed. God continually molds each of us.

Matthew 6:33; “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus is about giving Life now, and material things now; more than what you need so that you can share with others; thereby, exercising your love as God did because “God is Love”, and we are His children.

From all of the religions on Earth I have chosen Christianity because I believe that other religions are a special case of Christianity. All nature is about the Son of God. Science testifies of the Son of God, Jesus.

Scientist religiously seek knowledge of the essence of things, and discovers principles (QV) that God has governing (Uspace) all things. Man studies God, and call it science which can help an individual to recognize our Savior Jesus in which one must repent and accept the fullness and wholeness of the law (QV) Who is in Christ Jesus (Uspace). Science is a servant of  the Son of God, Jesus,  which continually give support to Christianity. Jesus said that He is in the world but not of the world and have overcome the world. This cause me to believe that Jesus also overcame Uspace from bottom to top; whereas, He is seated on the right hand of Eternal God. 

“Heaven is at hand” says the Lord Jesus. In the final analysis, there is no secular; God has always been next to each of us in all things (Uspace and Vspace); closer than our parents. There has never been an instant whereas God is not imposing on man and man not imposing on God. In the last analysis the secular doesn’t exist, only God forever.

Life is a continual process. When our life process is instructed by the Lord Jesus we transform into His Christ Mind (Uspace); created by God for His Son Who is God. Listen to the Lord always.

My readers can say that I only made an attempt to connect Christianity to science, but Christianity is the only religion that science can connect completely. All things are about God’s Son, Jesus. All other faiths of their own volition are going to eventually travel to the Son of God camp.

1 Corinthians 13:2

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
Luke 8:10

He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend.
1 Corinthians 13:2

I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith — enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing.
John 1:18

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
1 Corinthians 2:10

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.
Colossians 2:2

that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

*** Will Myers

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Evolutionary Math?

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Will Myers

Most people have heard of “evolutionary biology.” But the term “evolution” is often applied in a broader sense (gradual, naturalistic changes over long ages) to other fields of study. Some people study geology or astronomy from an evolutionary perspective. But has anyone ever studied “evolutionary mathematics”? What would an evolutionist mathematician study? Can the existence of numbers and mathematical laws be explained by a time-and-chance naturalistic origin?

To answer these questions, let us first consider some background material and definitions. Mathematics is the study of the relationships and properties of numbers. What, then, are numbers?

That may seem like an obvious question because numbers are so foundational to our thinking. But sometimes these foundational concepts are the most difficult to define. Perhaps this explains why various dictionaries give such a wide range of different definitions of the word “number.” One of the better definitions is “a concept of quantity that is or can be derived from a single unit, the sum of a collection of units, or zero.”1

Numbers are concepts. Thus, they are abstract in nature. They exist in the world of thought and are not material or physical. You cannot literally touch a number, or even see one, because they are not made of matter. This confuses some people because we often talk of written instances of numbers as if they were the actual number. For example, suppose I write down the number three. If I look at what I’ve written, am I seeing an actual number? Well, no. If I then erase what I’ve written, have I then destroyed the number three? If what I wrote is literally three, then when I erase it, will I have erased three? Clearly not.

The written expression of the number three, called a “numeral,” is merely a representation of the number, not the actual number. Removing the numeral does not cause the number to cease to exist. In fact, the number three existed before anyone ever wrote down the numeral that represents it.

Likewise, if the word “lion” is written on a piece of paper, it represents a particular thing. Erasing the word would not affect the actual lion at all. But whereas the word “lion” represents a physical reality, something that can be seen and touched, a numeral represents an abstract reality—something that cannot be seen or touched, but nonetheless exists. Although the concept of a number can be applied to physical things, the concept itself is not physical.

If numbers are not material, do they actually exist?

Some people might think that only physical things can exist—that matter and energy comprise every real thing.2 But, of course, in the Christian worldview we can have non-material entities that do exist. God is an obvious example. He exists, but is not made up of matter or energy. So the Christian worldview allows for numbers to have real existence, even though they are not material things. Numbers have properties that wouldn’t make sense if they didn’t exist. In fact, if numbers did not exist, then we could not use them. (Try using something that doesn’t exist—it is very difficult!) Other examples include logic, love, and laws. Clearly, numbers are real, yet abstract entities.

Children are often taught about numbers starting with something physical. There are three apples or three rocks. The apples and rocks are physical, but “three-ness” is not. Quantity is a concept. Though it can be applied to physical things, it exists apart from them. For example, as far as I know, I have never seen 1,200,436,172 instances of a particular thing. And yet, that number still has meaning. I know that it is larger than 1,200,436,171 and smaller than 1,200,436,173, even though I have never counted any such quantity of physical things. Numbers exist apart from physical things, even though they can be applied to a quantity of physical things.

Can a secular worldview make sense of abstract concepts like numbers?

What are laws of mathematics?

Laws of mathematics are rules that describe the relationships between numbers. As one example, the commutative law of addition shows us that 2+3=3+2. There are many laws of mathematics, and some can be logically or mathematically derived from other laws. Laws of mathematics are (1) universal, (2) invariant, (3) absolute, and (4) abstract. Let’s consider each of these in turn.

Mathematical laws are universal—they apply everywhere. When we add 2+3 in Europe, we get exactly the same answer as we get in the United States. For that matter, laws of mathematics work just as well on Mars, Alpha Centauri, the Andromeda Galaxy, or in the core of a distant quasar. Many laws of nature, including the laws of physics and the laws of chemistry, are mathematical in nature. So if laws of mathematics were different in various regions of the universe, then presumably laws of physics and chemistry would also differ in an unpredictable way. This would render astronomy impossible.

Mathematical laws are invariant; they do not change with time. Just as 2+3=5 today, so it did yesterday, and so it will tomorrow. All mathematical laws are such that they remain the same at all times. They are absolute. It’s not that 2+3 usually equals 5; rather, it always equals 5. There are absolutely no exceptions. And like numbers themselves, laws of mathematics are abstract and conceptual in nature. They cannot be seen, felt, moved, or eaten. Of course, we can write down expressions that represent such laws, just as we can write down numerals that represent numbers. But erasing the expression will not obliterate the mathematical law that it represents.

Is mathematics an invention of humanity?

Some people have supposed that mathematics is a creation of human beings, like the printing press or the internal combustion engine. But are numbers and laws of mathematics really inventions of man? Things that are designed and created by people could have been designed and created differently. When two people independently invent the same type of thing, there are differences in the design and construction since each person has taken a different creative approach to solving an engineering problem. Moreover, the designs of various manmade contraptions are often improved down the line as innovative new solutions are proposed and new technologies are developed.

If mathematics were manmade, then we would expect it to exhibit these characteristics as well. We would expect different mathematical laws for different mathematicians, and improvements to such laws as time progresses. As society changed, so would laws of mathematics. Is this what we find?

Undoubtedly, the written expression of mathematical laws is manmade. There are several different notations used in various fields of mathematics, and various mathematicians in the past have used different notations to express mathematical truths. Some notations are more useful than others, while less useful notations often fall into disuse. However, these different symbols are merely different ways of expressing the same mathematical reality. For example, Roman numerals express the same numbers as the more familiar Arabic system. All mathematicians have the same laws of mathematics, although they may use different systems and different notations to express those laws.

Laws of mathematics are discovered by people and written down by people. But they were not created by people. As discussed above, laws of mathematics do not change with time. Therefore, they existed before people existed. So they obviously cannot be a creation of man. The equation 2+3=5 was true long before any human being thought about it, realized it, or wrote it.

The origin of mathematics

How then do we account for the origin and properties of numbers or the laws of mathematics that describe them? Let’s consider first the naturalistic, or evolutionary, view. In this way of thinking, people attempt to explain the characteristics of a modern object by considering how it gradually evolved over millions or billions of years from something less complex. If we applied this concept to mathematics, we would ask, “From what did numbers evolve? What were numbers before they were numbers? When did the physical universe begin obeying mathematical laws?”

Just take one number as a token case. From what simpler number did the number 7 evolve? Was 7 once 3? Did 3 have to transition through 4, 5, and 6 before it became 7? When did the negative numbers evolve? Or how about the irrational numbers? When did these numbers begin obeying mathematical laws? Did laws of mathematics evolve first, and then numbers later? Or was it the reverse?

If these sorts of questions sound silly, it is because they are. The evolution of numbers makes no sense whatsoever. 7 has always been 7, just as 3 has always been 3. Likewise, the expression 2+3=5 was as true at the beginning of time as it is today. Mathematical laws and the numbers they govern are invariant—they do not change with time and, therefore, cannot have evolved from anything!

The secularist is truly stuck when it comes to mathematics. He knows that mathematical truths existed before human beings discovered them. For example, the orbits of the planets around the sun were described by the mathematical formulae expressed in Kepler’s laws before human beings existed. And yet laws of mathematics are conceptual in nature. Concepts exist in a mind; they are objects of thought. So how can a conceptual entity like math exist before any mind is around to think it?

How is it that numbers are conceptual—the result of a mind—and yet they go beyond the human mind’s capacity to fully understand (such as infinity) and predate the existence of the human mind? The answer is that numbers are not the product of ahuman mind, but rather the product of the mind of God. The terrible dilemma faced by the secularist simply does not occur in the Christian worldview. It’s not a problem for the biblical creationist to have conceptual entities existing before human minds because human minds are not the only minds that exist in the Christian worldview. Numbers are a reflection of God’s thoughts. Numbers existed before people because God’s thoughts existed before people.

Laws of mathematics are a reflection of how God thinks about numbers. The internal consistency of mathematics is a reflection of the internal consistency within the Godhead. The invariant nature of mathematics is a reflection of the unchanging nature of God. Since God is beyond time (2 Peter 3:8), His thoughts do not change with time and, thus, neither do laws of mathematics. Laws of mathematics apply everywhere because God is omnipresent (Jeremiah 23:24). Laws of mathematics are absolute because God is sovereign and does not change His mind (1 Samuel 15:29). Laws of mathematics are real and, yet, not physical—just as God is real and not physical in His essential nature.

The biblical creationist can also make sense of why the physical universe obeys mathematical laws. God upholds the universe by the expression of His power. So, naturally, the universe will be consistent with the thoughts of God. Human beings are able to think about and use math because we are made in the image of God. His thoughts are reflected in us when we think rightly about anything. We can use mathematics to understand and solve problems in the material universe because the material universe is upheld by the same mind responsible for laws of mathematics. The properties and usefulness of laws of mathematics make perfect sense to the consistent Christian. But mathematics is simply not amenable to a naturalistic, evolutionary explanation.

In 1960, the physicist Eugene Wigner published a classic article from his secular point of view on the topic of why the physical universe obeys mathematical laws. The title of the article, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences,” highlights the problem for the secular worldview. Just why does the physical universe obey laws of mathematics? Though not a believer, Wigner states, “It is difficult to avoid the impression that a miracle confronts us here…or the two miracles of the existence of laws of nature and of the human mind’s capacity to divine them.” Indeed, how can one accident of nature come to understand another? In his closing paragraph, Wigner states, “The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve.”3

Wigner is quite correct that the correspondence of abstract mathematical laws to material things cannot be understood from a secular standpoint. Of course, the biblical creationist can account for the success of mathematics in formulating scientific laws. We expect such rationality since the universe is upheld by the mind of God.

It is tempting for secularists to invoke a naturalistic, evolutionary explanation for things that are only truthfully explained by God’s design. Whether it is the intricate workings of a living organism, or the existence of the solar system, gradual change over time is considered to be the “creator”—not God. They promote the idea that if you just give it enough time, then the impossible becomes inevitable through gradual, naturalistic change.

Of course, there are many reasons to reject such conjectures when they pop up in fields of biology or astronomy. But seldom will you hear an evolutionary tale of the origin of mathematics because it just isn’t possible. Numbers cannot have evolved because numbers cannot change. For the most part, secularists don’t even attempt to explain mathematics at all. Mathematics is an inherently creationist field of science. There are creation biologists and evolution biologists. There are creation geologists and evolution geologists. But when it comes to mathematics, everyone is a creationist. (JL,ICR)

*** Will Myers

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Is Evolution Making Us Less Intelligent?

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Will Myers

A Stanford University biology professor, writing in a peer-reviewed journal, suggests neo-Darwinian evolution is causing humankind to lose mental capacity—at least for the last 3,000 years. This conclusion may suggest that the second law of thermodynamics applies to biological systems and provide important support for a creation model.

Are humans becoming smarter or more stupid? Comparing our modern lives and technology with that of any preceding generation, one might think we are becoming increasingly smarter. But, in two papers published in Trends in Genetics, Gerald R. Crabtree of Stanford University claims that we are losing mental capacity and have been doing so for 2,000–6,000 years! The reason, Crabtree concludes, is due to genetic mutations—which are the backbone of neo-Darwinian evolution.

The significance of these articles is that a senior scientist, writing in a peer-reviewed journal, claims that humankind is susceptible “as a species to random genetic events [mutations] that reduce our intellectual and emotional fitness.”1 This conclusion is consistent with the second law of thermodynamics, which states (among other things) that natural systems tend toward a state of disorder and that random processes cannot bring order out of disorder. (This is such a fundamental law of nature that British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington wrote, “But if your theory is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation.”2)

In contrast, the theory of neo-Darwinian evolution claims that natural systems progress in the opposite direction. That is, random genetic mutations serve to advance a species toward a state of order. Yet Crabtree’s findings seem to imply that the second law of thermodynamics is right, and neo-Darwinian evolution is wrong.

Based on data produced by the 1000 Genomes Project Consortium3 and two recent papers in Nature,4 Crabtree estimates in the first article that, in the past 3,000 years (approximately 120 generations), about 5,000 new mutations have occurred in the genes governing our intellectual ability. He claims most of these mutations will have no effect, while about 2–5 percent are deleterious and “a vanishingly small fraction will increase fitness.”5 Crabtree bases his conclusion that humankind is losing mental capacity on the ratio between the deleterious and the beneficial mutations. (One critic calls this a “back-of-the-envelope calculation;”6 but if Crabtree’s objective is a reasonable order-of-magnitude estimate, then he seems to have achieved that.)

In the second article, Crabtree moves away from the science of genetics and moves into anthropology, which he admits is “not [his] area of expertise.”7 He opines that humanity began losing intellectual abilities with the advent of agriculture and permanent communities 3,000 years ago because such a change would “tend to reduce the selective pressure placed on every individual, every day of their life.”8 In the 50,000–500,000 years prior, Crabtree suggests, humankind achieved an increase in intellectual abilities as they experienced an “expansion of the human frontal cortex and endocranial volume”:9

Thus, to understand how 2000–5000 genes [which govern intellectual function] were optimized for abstract thought, we almost certainly have to look to this period 50 000–500 000 years ago and to ancestors common to all humans today. Somehow the selective pressures on these ancestors led to the evolution of a brain capable of writing symphonies and performing higher mathematics [emphasis added].10

He concludes humans improved in intellectual capacity for 50,000–500,000 years, “perhaps reached a peak 2000-6000 years ago,”11 and then began to decline.

It is important to understand that Crabtree’s research is presented in two separate articles written from two very different points of view. Part 1, about humankind’s declining intellect, is based on the science of genetics; part 2, about the 50,000–500,000 years of improvement, is based on anthropology. He may have written two articles instead of one due to the fundamental shift from scientific data in part 1 to speculation in part 2. Genetics explains the decline, but it cannot explain the years of improvement; these happened “somehow.” Since hard science cannot explain it, it might be considered a miracle; but Crabtree conjectures:

Thus, extraordinary natural selection was necessary to optimize and maintain such a large set of intelligence genes. This optimization probably occurred in a world where every individual was exposed to nature’s raw selective mechanisms on a daily basis.12

Primitive humans lived in a dangerous world, and only the fittest survived. This sounds plausible—except when considered in the context of the genetic data. If humans developed 5,000 mutations in the past 3,000 years, then we can estimate that 83,333–833,333 mutations developed in the earlier 50,000–500,000 years. The 2–5 percent deleterious mutations failed to survive, and the “vanishingly small fraction” of beneficial mutations were presumably the basis for our intellectual growth. But what is a “vanishingly small fraction” numerically? It must be at least a factor of 100 lower than the harmful 2–5 percent or it would be measurable. Thus, taking 0.05 percent as a rough approximation, there were at most 42–417 new beneficial mutations in 50,000–500,000 years. If “vanishingly small” is an accurate description, then the actual number is probably even less.

Is it plausible to imagine that so few beneficial mutations could evolve “a brain capable of writing symphonies and performing higher mathematics”? It seems unlikely. Perhaps this is why Crabtree does not offer any calculations in part 2 similar to what we have done above. Instead, he relies on the “extraordinary natural selection,” implying there was a beneficial mutation rate much greater than presently observed. However, to be scientific, one must have a plausible hypothesis to explain this—yet none is proposed.

In conclusion, these two articles in Trends in Genetics seem to support the second law of thermodynamics while undercutting Darwinian evolution. They might even be said to promote a creation model! (HH,RTB)

*** Will Myers

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CONNECTING RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Will Myers

John 1:1; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This scripture gives us a beginning for our existence. This scripture also let us know that the Word of God is alive, a Spirit. We also begin to learn that the universal including all humans are molded by this Word. Afterwards, the Word came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Matthew 16:16; “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

God created humans and science among all others:

  1. Ephesians 3:9
    And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:


  2. Colossians 1:16
    For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:


  3. Revelation 4:11
    Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Our present status in the world is one with problems which has no perfect answers. We have some short term bright outlooks, but most intellectuals believe in a long term dim and hopeless outcome. The humanist are preaching “don’t talk about it; don’t even think about it; be happy now because it is all that we have.” Scientist gives us some hope that they shall bring about a Utopian state in which humans live forever, but this may not be in the far future.

The answer to this fatalistic future is already here, and has been here for over two thousand years. It’s the Living Word of God Who says that we are to live in the Spirit with our Creator, God. Our present physical state of being is temporary without resolve, but God has given us an invisible and eternal resolve to all of our problems. God came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ Who displayed supernatural powers in order to help us believe in God’s Salvation for us.

It can be said that we live in a discipline, a universal cocoon, that conditions our minds through experiences and suggestions. There is a universal process experienced by the human mind. I call it the God Equation, a symbolic representation of our thought processes in this dynamic world. I might mention that we are in this dynamic world separated from God, but doesn’t necessarily have to be. The death of Jesus on the cross paid our sin debts, and we have the right to feel the glorious presence of God Who is the Answer to All problems. We can have peace which not only mean without depression but to also receive continuous joy from Eternal God.

Man can not work himself into heaven, but God rewards efforts if the effort doesn’t oppose God. Opposing God means separation from God. We are created to need nourishment and water, and a need to exercise our muscles less they weaken; therefore, God demands efforts to find His Kingdom, than be still and know Him.

With all of the variances in this world, in that all states (S is a well-defined configuration in nature) vary, we seek for endurance; those things which last the longest. The diamond is valuable not only because it glitters, but because it takes over a million years for the diamond to go through a very slow nuclear breakdown from its original state, and become another material.

The God Equation is a metaphysical expression because it symbolically represents a process in our mind, heaven, and an identical process in the physical world for any point in existence including any point(s) in our mind and body:

QV[S(1)]qv(1) + QV[S(2)]qv(2) = QV[S(3)][qv(1) + qv(2)];

this form repeats over and over for all ideal states, intermediate states, special cases, and all degenerate states.

God Equation Final Draft Nov 23 2013 2a

Isaiah 28:16; “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” Romans 9:33; “As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed.”  I believe that the stone that God laid conceptually has infinite inertia and infinite momentum; only God can change. No power in the universe can alter God’s stone. He who opposes the stone shall be grinded to powder and his works brought to naught.

Zion mean “in the essence of things” in the old Jewish Hebrew language. Scientist are searching for the essence of matter. The term mass is a conventional definition for matter as is matter being an observation of something. Scientist have not discovered the essence of anything. The God Equation above suggests that there is a central defining essence of things. It’s my belief that in realizing or discovering the essence of a thing the person must be part of it because we have always been conjoined with all matter. With any well defined state, S, the person that defines is part of it. Einstein felt or sensed that a unifying central concept, the essence of nature, existed thereby attempted to prescribe with an equation.

Qua Variant (QV) is a principle of an event in nature which varies the same over and over such as striking 300  matches; they vary the same, light and burn consuming the match stem; they are immutable. The variance of the match striking is a constant; it varies the same each time. We can observe the event over and over without conceptualizing the invisible principle, but it has been always there governing the action. QV is the way God made things to work. So, QV’s are the laws in nature whether codified or not (qv is part of QV and is that part which is codified or known to man). The collection of qv’s of course is the collective knowledge of man at a particular time. Man studies absolutes (immutables) in the nature of body (material), soul, and mind (spirit); therefore, man studies God Who is the Absolute; the Central Entity.

Since our world is constantly changing we always and continuously have a nexus created in the world; nature never stops. Nature imposes on man (Vspace, a Potentiality, is all the nexus’s in our dynamic world), and man imposes on nature. This creates a learning process; man learns to predict many “what’s expected next” in Vspace. So, Vspace is the visible display of how God made things to work in which are a physical part.

We have sensed that there is a central principle that determines all actions (Uspace: the Governing Potentiality or the Infinite Potentiality). Einstein spent over fifteens years of his last years on Earth attempting to codify this central principle known as the Unified field Theory without success. As a Christian, I see it as God’s Potentiality Who is guiding us unto His Kingdom.  Jesus is that Potentiality (Uspace); whereas with Him, Vspace=Uspace with Vspace submerged in Uspace which has supernatural qualities of God meant for the human mind.

We experience and observe the operation of physical principles from  Uspace imposing on Vspace, [(Uspace)(Vspace)=QV]. The scripture says: Romans 1:20; “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

The God Equation reflects the convergence toward unification as man acquires knowledge and expands his exploitation range, S(3)[qv(1) + qv(2)]. This universal process, design, imputed to man in nature has caused  me to believe that this natural process led man to a monotheistic belief by man conceptually conforming to the stone laid by God in Zion to some degree.

The scripture says: Matthew 16:19; “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Psalm 19:1; “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”

So, our natural process as represented by the God Equation is also in heaven working; although, it is at the bottom (beginning) of 2nd Heaven which is dynamic where spiritual warfare takes place. God calls each of us continuously unto Himself. Jesus, the Son of God, is our Savior and Spiritual Guide because He has overcome the world, Uspace=Vspace.

Jesus is the Living Word of God among us. The Spirit of Truth Who God put in the world also testifies of Jesus, the Son of God.

Acts 2:4

King James Version (KJV)4; ” And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

  1. John 14:17
    Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.


  2. John 15:26
    But when the COMFORTER is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Within each believer and lover of Christ Jesus God has given a Comforter, His Spirit, for the present which is more than what we need in this life. Philippians 4:19; “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Jesus, the Son of God, is the essence of all things. The Lord Jesus continuously leads us unto precept after precept until all mysteries are revealed. God continually molds each of us.

Matthew 6:33; “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus is about giving Life now, and material things now; more than what you need so that you can share with others; thereby, exercising your love as God did because “God is Love”, and we are His children.

From all of the religions on Earth I have chosen Christianity because I believe that other religions are a special case of Christianity. All nature is about the Son of God.

Scientist religiously seek knowledge of the essence of things, and discovers principles (QV) that God has governing (Uspace) all things. Man studies God, and call it science which can help an individual to recognize our Savior Jesus in which one must repent and accept the fullness and wholeness of the law (QV) Who is in Christ Jesus (Uspace). Science is a servant of Christianity which continually give support to Christianity. Jesus said that He is in the world but not of the world and have overcome the world. This causes me to believe that Jesus also overcame Uspace from bottom to top; whereas, He is seated on the right hand of Eternal God. 

“Heaven is at hand” says the Lord Jesus. In the final analysis, there is no secular; God has always been next to each of us in all things (Uspace and Vspace has God’s Spirit of Truth) Who is closer than our parents.

*** Will Myers

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Where Is Jesus Now?

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Will Myers

“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” (Matthew 24:26)

The above warning was given by Christ in His famous Olivet discourse about His future second coming, right after He had predicted that many “false Christs” would first come, deceiving many (v. 24). That prediction has been fulfilled many times during the following centuries, but He Himself has not yet returned, in spite of the claims of these latter days.

It appears that The Son Jesus shall be seen by all on Earth at the same time. This would be a supernatural return of Christ Jesus with the full power of God given to Him by His Father God. Jesus has made it plain that All shall know His return without question. There shall be no is it him or not him.

However, His present location is no secret. After His resurrection and final instructions to His disciples, “he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19). We must remember that He arose bodily from the grave, then ascended bodily to God’s throne, and that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven” (Acts 1:11), will return. Until He returns, therefore, He is seated bodily at the right hand of the presence of the triune God in heaven. In fact, there are no less than 21 references in the Bible to the Lord Jesus now being at the right hand of God.

It is not strictly correct to say or sing that Jesus can come into our hearts, unless it is clearly understood that He is there symbolically in the presence of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. In this way, “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts” (Galatians 4:6) so that “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17).

In the physical sense, however, the Lord Jesus Christ, still in His physical, but now immortal, body, is at “the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3) and will remain there until He returns physically back to fulfill all the remaining promises in the Scriptures and to establish the kingdom for which He created us. HMM

*** Will Myers

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New Type of Star System to Test General Relativity

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Will Myers

General relativity (GR) forms the backbone of big bang cosmology and provides a remarkably accurate description of the dynamics of the universe. Yet scientists expect future measurements to reveal discrepancies at some point because of GR’s incompatibility with quantum mechanics. A recently-discovered triple star system containing a binary white dwarf/pulsar orbited by another white dwarf (all confined to a region smaller than Earth’s orbit around the Sun) will allow astronomers to administer tests more sensitive than previously possible.

“Can you hear me now?” Now associated with a popular cellular provider commercial, this query represents the efforts of that company to test and improve their coverage. While holding a cell phone, the test man actively seeks out remote and challenging locations to demonstrate the superior reception compared to competitors. Scientists apply a similar method to test models—even highly successful ones like general relativity. A newly discovered triple star system will provide one of the most challenging and difficult tests yet.

When describing the central features of the theory of general relativity, scientists will often say that the laws of gravitation are independent of the motion or location of the experimental setup. Known as the equivalence principle (specifically the strong equivalence principle), this statement also implies that the gravitational effects on a body don’t depend on the nature or internal structure of that object. For example, a white dwarf typically contains a mass similar to the Sun inside a volume similar to Earth’s. In contrast, a neutron star also contains a mass similar to the Sun but with a diameter of about 12 miles! To appreciate the difference in these objects’ internal structure, consider their gravitational binding energy (the energy required to pull all the mass apart, out to an infinite distance): 0.1 for the neutron star and 10-6 for the white dwarf.

The triple star in question, J0337+1715, houses a white dwarf and neutron star in close orbit with a period of 1.6 days. A second white dwarf orbits these two objects with a period of 327 days. Thus, the outer white dwarf’s strong gravitational field provides a natural laboratory that allows astronomers to see if the inner white dwarf and neutron star behave as predicted by the equivalence principle.1

In theory, any three-body system can test the equivalence principle. Previously, scientists have used solar system bodies. However, the gravitational binding energy of the planets and moons ranges from 10-9 down to 10-11. The much larger difference in binding energies for J0337+1715 (five orders of magnitude compared to two for solar system bodies) and the larger absolute value for the neutron star (0.1 compared to 10-9) give significantly greater sensitivity to violations of the equivalence principle than any other tests done to date.

The neutron star in J0337+1715 is also a millisecond pulsar that emits strong, periodic radio pulses more than 300 times a second. Violations of the equivalence principle will result in specific signatures in the timing of these pulses. Astronomers have not acquired enough data yet to search for these signatures, but they continue making observations to remedy that deficit.

GR provides the basis for big bang cosmology, which also corresponds well to the Bible’s description of the universe. Yet scientists know that a more complete theory must exist because of GR’s incompatibility with quantum mechanics. Hopefully, these future tests will point in the direction of the more-complete theory and ultimately provide a better understanding of whether our universe arose by itself or if it owes its existence to a Divine Creator. (JZ,RTB)

*** Will Myers

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Did Einstein Believe in an Expanding Universe?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Will Myers

I recently wrote an article addressing the testability of multiverse models where I made the following statement: “First, multiverse models are not new to the cosmology scene. For example, shortly after Einstein developed the equations for the theory of general relativity, he realized that the solutions to those equations indicated we lived in an expanding universe.” One astute reader challenged my statement with this response:

As far as I remember hearing of Einstein’s views, Einstein thought that, because of gravity, everything in the universe should be rushing together, not apart. This would not be an expanding universe, but rather a contracting universe. Thus, I disagree with the sentence…

In attempting to communicate things more concisely, my original statement caused legitimate confusion. The main point I wanted to emphasize was the fact that Einstein realized the equations of general relativity generically pointed to a dynamic, as opposed to the expected static, universe. In fact, some have criticized Einstein for yielding to his preconceived ideas about the universe instead of trusting his equations and predicting the expansion of the universe. Neil deGrasse Tyson states, “With a non-static universe staring him in the face, Einstein botched the opportunity to predict it and, out of aesthetic preference, instead favored the static model.”

A decade or so after Einstein published his theory of general relativity, Edwin Hubble’s observations demonstrated that we live in an expanding universe rather than a collapsing one, thus helping to confirm that universe had a beginning. This new data prompted some cosmologists, including Einstein, to adopt steady-state and oscillating universe models in order to avoid a genuine beginning. The oscillating universe model proposes an endless (or incredibly large) number of cycles where the universe starts in a small, extremely dense state, expands for billions of years, then contracts back to the incredibly small state and starts the whole process over. As long as the number of cycles exceeds one, this oscillating model describes a multiverse.

For clarity, Einstein believed in a static universe and that the only way to overcome the known gravitational effects (that cause the universe to collapse) was by introducing the infamous “cosmological constant.” Eventually, Hubble’s observations falsified this belief, at which point Einstein adopted the oscillating universe model.(RTB,Z)

***Will Myers

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God Is Love And We Can Receive Glory

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Will Myers

YOU ARE ‘WIRED FOR LOVE!’

Have you ever thought about what it means, really means, to be made in God’s image as it says in Genesis 1:26?

This is something I have spent much time meditating on over the years, especially when I was still in clinical practice. I would have patients coming to me with lots of baggage, which included all kinds of evaluations and assessments of all their learning problems and emotional issues. Although I have a healthy respect for the diagnostic tools they had gone through and that I had been trained to administer, I felt we had to dig below the surface of the issues to separate out the real person from the person they had become. Only then would I really know how to help my patient. And so I pursued a line of research that would show me that God made us PERFECT in His image and that the negatives in our life come from voluntary choices we make, reactions to events and circumstances and things that can happen to us that we have no control over (Ecclesiastes 7:29; James 1-3: Philippians 4:4). But despite all this, we still were originally created in the perfect image of a perfect God – and this is the core of who we are. It also becomes the departure point from which we deal with who we have become.

I found this to be the case as well in my scientific research – that we are designed brain and body to only think good thoughts and be in health (3 John 2) and that toxic thinking ravages the brain body in the same way sickness ravages the brain and body. In Science this is called the optimism bias. God made everything and science is a name for describing how the universe and humans and animals and plants and the forces of nature work. So using science to understand God more is also a way of increasing our admiration for this mighty God we serve.

Instead of thinking of yourself as a poor old sinner saved by grace; rather think of yourself as a magnificent creation of God who has made some bad choices or experienced some knocks in life and who, through the grace of Jesus Christ, can choose to appropriate his grace and receive forgiveness and cleansing. This wonderful choice actually rewires the brain back to its original state each time we acknowledge Him. This is where science and grace meet. You see – we are wired for love! And as we practice His presence daily we step into this, which is our original design and we follow the command in Matthew 5:48, which says to “seek after perfection as He is Perfect.”

Dr. C. Leaf

*** Will Myers

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