Tag: cosmic

Secrets!

Gary Pollard

The greatest secret in the universe has been revealed to humanity: Jesus himself (Col 2.2-3). This is perhaps a hint that the groups harassing the believers at Colossae were Gnostic as well as Jewish. Gnostics were all about secret knowledge and asceticism (at least in this group, cf. 2.18). Paul addressed the Jewish elements in this section too. I’m certainly not dogmatic about this, but it does seem possible that at least elements of Gnostic thought were influencing Colossae, on top of the pervasive traditionalism of the Jewish Christians. 

Either way we should pay attention to an important point — all of humanity from the dawn of civilization has been trying to figure out what a specific something is. We’ve always been impressed with a sense that something bigger than us is out there. Since we’ve recently been able to take a crude glimpse into the cosmos itself, we’ve only been more impressed with how powerless we are on this little blue marble. Cosmic scales are something we can’t even wrap our minds around. There’s so much raw power that can only be viewed from distances so vast that we could never hope to travel them physically (eg. supernovas). But a simple cometary fragment could wipe out our little rock, if God willed it! 

Most early civilizations deified some element or other natural force on this planet, or they deified what they could observe with the naked eye in the heavens. Many ancient cultures worshipped powerful or beautiful animals, stars, or even political/military celebrities (sometimes all of the above). They were searching everywhere, desperate to find the source of infinite cosmic power, wisdom, and guidance that they instinctively knew existed, but could not identify. Since God is invisible (cf. 1.15), he had to be revealed to us. This great mystery was solved once and for all with the arrival of Jesus on the planet he created (2.16-17). He is that power, and he cares about us! That means he wants to take us with him when this earth is destroyed (2.18-20). The mystery is far more profound (and practical and humbling) than we thought. What is that thing every ancient culture has tried to identify and worship? The Great Mystery of the Eons — Jesus: Creator, Teacher, Civilizer, Rescuer, God.

This message is the secret truth that was hidden since the beginning of time. It was hidden from everyone for ages, but now it has been made known to God’s holy people. God decided to let his people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That secret truth — which is for all people — is that Christ lives in you, his people. He is our hope for glory (2.27). 

Rational Faith

Gary Pollard
  1. Universal constants (ie. truth) exist. They must, or civilization would not be able to sustain itself. 
  2. Only one religious system has a flawless narrative from beginning to end: Christianity. The collection of sacred writings we call the bible is uncanny in its preservation and authenticity. No other ancient document has ever held up to academic scrutiny like the bible has. 
  3. While no organization is perfect, none have positively impacted the planet like Christianity has. Not even close. No civilization has been as functional as those which have been built on Judeo-Christian principles. Literacy is as wide-spread as it is because of the bible. 
  4. Evidence for the existence of a higher power is everywhere. If the bible — which contains a supernaturally infallible narrative — claims that the God we serve is that higher power, it is only rational to serve that God. 

“Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this. Faith helps us understand that God created the whole world by his command. This means the things we see were created by something that cannot be seen” (Hb 11.1-3). 

We were not there 2,000 years ago when Jesus walked the earth. We were not there when he created the earth. We were not there when he came back to life. We were not there to witness any miracles. 

But what has been left to us is a series of compelling proofs, such as the complexity and order of the universe from the cosmic scale to the microscopic scale. We have a collection of ancient documents which have been preserved to a degree that no other ancient documents have, and which contain no narrative contradictions. We have a system of belief that, when followed properly, is the most functional way to live. We will not see with our own eyes until Jesus returns. Until then we are satisfied with the evidence we have, and we are confident in who God is and that he exists. This is the very definition of faith. 

Paradox

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

Gary Pollard

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist. This is not intended to be an apologetics article, more like comments on phenomena we don’t fully understand presented as food-for-thought.

We shouldn’t be able to observe the fascinating, terrifying cosmic events known as black holes. They have an event horizon – the area around the black hole itself – and a singularity (the “center”). We have no way to determine what came before it because no information can escape its gravity. This “black hole information paradox” has been a headache-inducing puzzle for this era’s brightest minds. Some have attempted explanations (Engelhardt, Page, etc), but the issue is far from resolved.

As observers, we could not see something go into the singularity because time would slow to a stop. This is caused by gravitational time dilation – something we experience on earth everyday. Time – from an observer’s perspective – is effected by gravity. The satellites orbiting our earth experience time at a slightly faster rate, something we have to account for with things like GPS. Time even moves slightly faster at high altitudes on earth than it does at sea level. Gravity affects the way we observe time. Higher gravity makes time appear to move slower, lower gravity makes it appear to move faster.

Gravitational time dilation also means that we can’t watch the birth of these terrifying cosmic events because it would take an infinite amount of time. Yet they do exist, and we can “see” them. We have photographic proof of their existence with M87, and we’ve seen enough to infer the existence of Sgr A at the center of our own galaxy.

So, if a black hole takes an infinite amount of time to form, how can we observe it? Einstein himself was doubtful of their existence because he couldn’t justify it with general relativity (Annals of Mathematics, Vol 40, No. 4, 922). Almost everything in the universe is explainable through two major theories: quantum mechanics and general relativity. General Relativity describes big, heavy stuff (planets, stars, galaxies); Quantum Mechanics is for tiny stuff that isn’t gravity-related (subatomic particles, atoms).

When it comes to black holes, though, these two theories collide. We don’t have a Theory of Everything that satisfactorily explains why these two can’t work together. Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity should not be able to coexist in one cosmic phenomenon.
So how do they? How can we observe something that should take an infinite amount of time to form? What could unify General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics – both of which have been verified repeatedly – and account for their coexistence in a black hole? What is the missing puzzle piece in the Theory of Everything?

Is it so irrational to assume that something not affected by either is the answer? Is it bad science to posit an infinite power source as the unifying agent of the two theories? As a believer, the answer that makes perfect sense is God. An infinitely powerful being is the Theory of Everything. He created the black hole at the same time as other stars (Gen 1.14-19). He bridges the gap between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanic’s explanations of reality (Heb 1.3).

To me, the black hole is one of the most compelling evidences of God’s existence. The only way we could ever observe something infinite is if something infinite put it there. Who else could be powerful enough to let general relativity and quantum mechanics play in the same phenomenon? Would he not be the perfect unifier of the two? I believe we can observe cosmic events – like black holes – because God put them there in our timeline.