If the universe is expanding as science tells us it is, then what must it look like at the outer boundary of the universe as the material presses into nothing? What concept of that process do we have? As I think about this and correct me where I am mistaken, "expansion of the universe" is a naturalistic phrase? it seems to imply that the universe is only getting larger in boundary but doesn't it rather imply that at the outer edge there is an ongoing act of creation? Is it otherwise possible for something to expand into nothing? Has anyone thought of this before or seen it dealt with elsewhere?
One potential problem is that on the seventh day God rested from His work. I think there is a way to deal with that problem because God continues to create human souls and so resting on the seventh day does not imply a total cessation of creation on the part of God. I also think of the doctrine of God's upholding all things by the word of his power. This is, I believe, where Edwards gets his doctrine of continuous creation. If I remember correctly, Edwards thought that God preserving creation is like Him creating it anew every instant of time. If God were in the next instant to not will creation to exist, it would cease to exist that quickly.
All of this is just one more thought that adds to our consciousness of the greatness of God. God sends His Son to die on a speck of the universe, proving his love to each and every individual sinner whom He has called on that speck, knowing them intimately. In His spare time, as it were, He is continually creating around the entire expanse of the universe. Amen.
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I've thought about this recently, and my learned friends agree that it's just a natural phenomenon in accord with the law of physics: the universe is expanding, and some day it will collapse and start over. It also seems to suggest that space is not infinite, which is what got me started on my inquiry. The bottom line is that no one really knows
God and religion are touchy topics, but crediting this to God is only one possibility, and,in my mind, the least likely of all.
A very interesting toic.
PS-please give your visitors a choice to turn off the music.
Hi Hugh. I just checked your profile and wanted to first say that I appreciate your service to our country. I am 33 now and knew neither one of my grandfathers. My grandfather on my dad's side received a purple heart in WWII. I have an uncle who was in Vietnam. I am young enough that I really don't know that much about Vietnam. I think it is hard for people of my generation to understand the turmoil of that time.
There is a book that I intend to read on Bach and Frederick the Great ("Evening in the Palace of Reason"). I wonder if that is one you would be interested in.
Having just especially celebrated the resurrection of Christ last week, the atheistic position again seems so absurd. It's hard for me to understand how all of the order and diversity we see in the universe could come out of an explosion and by chance.
Another question I have is, Were the laws of physics also created in the Big Bang or are they eternal, omnipresent, sovereign (in that they always apply themselves), etc?
It seems very unlikely that the laws could have been created in the big bang. If eternal, etc., they seem to have divine properties, which is what I want to say. I don't think it helps the atheistic position to refer to the laws of physics because there is no way to account for them in that system. For a Christian, the laws of physics are simply a way to describe the workings of God.
I am sure that I have not made myself clear and I am an amateur in this line of thought but thought it might give you something to think about.
I am pretty certain that God intended us to consider this type of thing and then to move in our consideration to our own needs before Him. Everywhere in Scripture we are told that Jehovah God is Creator of the heavens and earth, comparing Himself to others in this way who are no Gods. In Acts 17:24, Paul begins his defense before the Greek philosophers with this point. He then moves to say,
Acts 17:30 "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
The video playing by default has bugged me too. Hopefully one more post and the video will pass into history.
A very thoughtful reply.
I lived through the turmoil of the sixties, and it's hard for me to understand also. Today's government seems to be just as callous and clueless, so maybe it's just in the nature of bureaucracies to be self-serving fools.
I don't know much about Frederick the great, but if there were a God, he would admire Bach greatly.
As I said, religion is a touchy topic, and I have seldom seen any benefit to discussing it, but I'll try to reply to your comments.
There's at least a couple problems with religion.
One is the tendency, as you say, to credit God with creating the things we don't understand. While there is certainly a spiritual side to existence, and great benefit to be derived from understanding our insignificance, most zealots seem to be convinced their system of beliefs has all the answers.
There's no reason to believe the "laws" of physics are eternal and unchanging. The next cycle of Big Bangs could bring us something completely different. That's to say some things are unknowable at the moment, and a little mystery is good for the soul.
Another problem is the geographic distribution of religions.It's quite clear to me that the things religious people believe are a result of the things their parents believe and that they seldom critically examine the core of these beliefs. To believe, for example, that a father would allow his son to cruelly be tortured to death and then resurrect him as an example of faith is so weird as to automatically exclude anything else this perverted old man might have to say.
You're as aware as anyone of the grief religion is currently causing in the world. The Muslims are just as convinced of the rightness of their cause as you are, and on equally flimsy evidence, i.e. some tattered fragments of parchment based on hearsay evidence translated by people with an agenda hundreds of years ago.
Most people acknowledge the positive aspects of religion, but history is also full of the butchery, betrayal and deceit connected to religious movements.
If people can grow to appreciate that it's helpful to respect the right of others and to try to live in harmony with our environment and do away with the go-between represented by the Mullahs and priests we will have gone a long way toward achieving the heaven on earth that is our true salvation.
Have a good weekend.
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