Posted on 12/01/2004 6:06:21 PM PST by yonif
Before birth, a baby lives in its mothers womb surrounded by water. It doesnt breathe. Its lungs are collapsed, folded between the two upper chambers of the heart. Theres a hole in its heart so the blood circulates. And theres a tube connecting the aorta to the pulmonary artery.
Within ten minutes of birth, its lungs have to expand, the hole in its heart has to heal, the tube has to seal off.
In fact, 67 different steps have to happen in sequence so that the baby can go from a creature that lives in water to an oxygen-breathing baby. Miraculously, these things take place routinely every minute of every day.
That is science, when we understand what happens. And we know that no human being or scientist could have developed or engineered this sequence. If a company tried to build it, it wouldnt work.
Indeed, if we knew what goes on in our very own lives, if we knew what goes on in the birth of a baby, we would get on our knees and thank G-d forever. All of the vast scientific studies that have been made over the past hundred years keep pointing to the concept of order and sequence, and therefore, in my opinion, a creator.
A professor of mathematics came into my study one day. He was a real atheist. He said to me, Ive just calculated that its impossible to have the human eye evolving in the five billion years that they give us. He said, The person who believes in evolution, that is the person making the leap of faith.
Science doesnt contradict the Torah. Science teaches us that when the Torah says, I have created the world, I will care for you, I will heal you, and I will provide, you know what? G-d was right. In 1998 it was reported for the first time in human history that enough food has been grown to feed every living person on the planet. Theoretically, no one on this earth should have to starve. And theres a statement in Psalms that says, You open your hands and you give to all living things its need. G-d has provided. And thats what science says: You know what? He was right. When a doctor heals a patient, thats what science says: You know what? He was right. G-d has provided.
There has never been a rabbi who has ever said to a scientist, stop searching. Theres never been a rabbi who has said, quit looking. Because the ultimate believer of truth, and the Torah is all truth, will ultimately believe that anything you find in nature that is true will reflect and react to the glory of G-d.
When I was younger, I worked for the NASA program. And I looked for life on Mars. We spent hundreds of millions of dollars looking for life on Mars -- for which, if you havent been thanked as taxpayers before, let me thank you. During that time I asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Is this right? Can I really do this? Other religions say you shouldnt search. And the Torah doesnt say theres life on Mars. The Rebbe replied in Yiddish, Professor Green, you should look for life on Mars. And if you dont find it there, you should look elsewhere. And if you dont find it there, you should look elsewhere. Because for you to sit here and say that G-d didn't create life elsewhere is to put limits on G-d, and no one can do that.
A pretty sane perspective. My only concern is that when there is competition between some people's conception of God and science, they'd rather contradict science than change their conception of God. As though understanding God is easier than understanding simple physical patterns in nature. I personally am much more inclined to decide that I do not understand God and that science is mostly okay.
This ought to be a contender for "Headline of the Generation."
That is an artifact of chirality conservation, which shows up all over the place in biology and chemistry. There is no reason to think this is not an extension of that very pervasive effect, since it will be expressed in macro structures.
2. In complex analysis: the equation e(pi*i)+1=0
With all due respect, yours is essentially an argument from incredulity. It is not as profound to people familiar with the art (e.g. mathematicians like myself) as you make it seem.
3. In arithmetic and geometry: the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci sequence.
See the above. These are natural consequences of the properties of the system that is our universe that these particular functions are so commonly expressed -- there are many potentials that are not. Again, more an argument from incredulity than one of significance.
I have no comment on Maxwell's Equations, though they are pretty elegant.
There is a tendency for countable systems like our universe to have very simple and elegant properties, though for theoretical reasons that are anything but "simple to describe" by most standards. Elegance and simplicity do not really indicate design of our universe, as they are emergent properties of the fundamental characteristics of an entire class of ordinary mathematical systems. There are some intriguing mysteries out there, but I do not class any of the above as meriting evidence of God's design.
Spirit is not explained in science. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You have hit the nail on the head.
Personally, I picked the God that said don't put any other god before me.
Who is G-d?
You know, we Jews don't like to write out His name completely because if His name is on something, that something is not to be destroyed. So if it's online or on a piece of paper that we might throw away, that's what we do. Hope it didn't offend you.
Blessings.
Um, what?
OK, I have been confused about that for a little while, thanks for clearing it up.
No offense taken anymore.
Well, since that's pretty much all of them...
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Like the rabbi, I too do not fear discovery. Why should I? Look at the discoveries of the last two hundred years, yet not one word of the Bible, regarding the cosmos, needs re-writing. Yet the same cannot be said of Darwins works.
Maybe the source of the Bible is a little "higher."
But to Christians, his name is not God. That is merely a word we use to identify him. He is the one true God, which is why we capitalize that word as we do words such as Him, His, etc. And in the flesh His name is Jesus.
In a polite way, that sort of nails the whole thing.
Great tag line.
Thanks, the funny thing is, I believe it is a quote from an evolutionist, Stephen Gould. But I could be wrong.
That sort of "observation" merely reclassifies mathematics in the role of God. Who is the author of the systems? To you they are self-existing, one of the attributes of God.
So what indeed? Some people beat you over the head with how dumb they can be. Call it "You Can't Make Me See"-ism. Talk about something being a big "So what?" I'd rather argue with someone trying to beat me over the head with how smart he is. That would be refreshing.
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