By Stan Gudmundson
Peterson, MN
Darwin claimed in his book “Origin of Species” that evolution explained life on earth. And that the universe was just happenstance. I suppose many assumed that a better understanding of science would confirm that he was correct. But that isn’t how it has worked out. As we learned more about the universe, we have found that facts are pointing in another direction. The universe didn’t just happen. Four reasons.
First, thermodynamics. Its second law shows that closed systems change towards disarray. That means disarray will become greater in the future. And that the past was not in the disarray that it is now. But it will be. In something like five billion years, the sun will run out of fuel, along with many other stars in the universe. Ultimately, they will all die. The universe has a life span. With an end.
Second, the universe is expanding. Finding residual background radiation everywhere revealed a starting point. The Big Bang. Ultimately, expanding and out of fuel, what we know as today’s universe, will be pieces of dust becoming increasingly distant from other dust.
Third, physicists found that the universe is currently ruled by something like 30 constants. Tiny, tiny changes in any of those would result in a universe that is far different. Our universe of today is very finely tuned. Built by a very fussy builder. As the universe gets older, those constants will likely have less influence.
Fourth, DNA. Watson and Crick didn’t just find the genetic reasons for life. What they found was an incredibly complex code. ‘At the heart of every cell lies a system for storing, transmitting, and executing instructions … the informational density of DNA is billions of times greater than that of a modern mobile phone.’
A Creator exists. Even the most hardcore atheist scientists, such as Nobel Prize winner biologist George Weld, understand that, as he said, “that spontaneous generation (is) an untenable theory.” Given that a random universe is a scientific fantasy, we all have a choice to make about what to believe.
In a creator that is not interested in us? If that were true, we would have to try answer the question, why? And who or what is it? Or, is there a Creator who created us? And who is concerned about us? I’ll go with the latter. As great as that mystery might be. I suppose the other option is to wander the earth without ever making up one’s mind.
But there are other reasons that confirm God’s existence. As I’ve written about before.
First, are near death experiences, both good and bad. Given the capabilities of modern medicine, I’m betting that just about everyone knows someone, or knows of someone who has had one. I ran into a fellow who said that he died. He told me that he met a brother on the ‘other side.’ That he didn’t know he had. After recovering and then investigating, he found a record of his older brother’s death. That he didn’t know about.
I know others who have also had “near-death” experiences. Plus, there is a seldom discussed reference in the Bible that talks about a “third-heaven.” Biblical confirmation of a near-death event?
My most amazing experience confirming God’s existence? We live in a dimension that many assume is the only one that exists. That is not the case. A former girlfriend and I both, at the same time, were confronted by something very evil. From another dimension that most of us do not normally encounter.
I told a very smart pilot friend about that incident. He said that he had an experience with the Holy Spirit but that he hadn’t told anyone about before because he thought people might think he might be a little tetched. When we first became friends, he was a confirmed atheist. Not now.
When we were younger, most of my Air Force buddies and I were running around with our hair on fire. As we often used to say. Not paying attention to our Creator and careless about the spiritual path we were on. That has changed for many of us. Maybe, I hope, for most of us.
And you? Which path are you on?
Leave a Reply