“We know that nature is described by the best of all possible mathematics because God created it.”
Alexander Polyakov (Soviet mathematician)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Take that pudding away!
Miracle: An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God:
I was explaining to an atheist that the Singularity is perhaps the greatest and most obvious working definition of a miracle that the human race will ever find. Literally out of nothing, before space, before time, before matter, before energy and most importantly before the laws of science came into being, matter and energy and space and time were formed. Before the laws of physics were in place nature itself was organised into a life supporting universe. This all took place prior to 10 ^ -43 seconds.
Even according to science itself, the singularity is a miracle.
Her response? “No it isn’t.”
And with that she moved on. Deep thought, that one.
What’s this got to do with pudding? I thought you’d never ask. Today at the fair there is a pudding competition. In the final round there are three puddings, one vanilla pudding, one banana cream pudding and one chocolate pud . . .
Atheist Judge: “No that’s not correct. There are only two puddings in the competition.”
Me: “But there are three dishes of pudding right there on the table - one vanilla, one” -
Atheist Judge: Takes the dish of chocolate pudding and throws it in the garbage. “There are only two puddings in the competition.”
Me: “That’s not fair. You just arbitrarily removed one of the puddings from the competition.”
Atheist Judge: “I see no evidence of three puddings.”
Me: “You just threw the evidence away.”
Atheist Judge: “No I didn’t.”
Me: “YES! You did!”
Atheist Judge: “I see no evidence of anything other than two puddings. Let’s get on with the show.”
I was explaining to an atheist that the Singularity is perhaps the greatest and most obvious working definition of a miracle that the human race will ever find. Literally out of nothing, before space, before time, before matter, before energy and most importantly before the laws of science came into being, matter and energy and space and time were formed. Before the laws of physics were in place nature itself was organised into a life supporting universe. This all took place prior to 10 ^ -43 seconds.
Even according to science itself, the singularity is a miracle.
Her response? “No it isn’t.”
And with that she moved on. Deep thought, that one.
What’s this got to do with pudding? I thought you’d never ask. Today at the fair there is a pudding competition. In the final round there are three puddings, one vanilla pudding, one banana cream pudding and one chocolate pud . . .
Atheist Judge: “No that’s not correct. There are only two puddings in the competition.”
Me: “But there are three dishes of pudding right there on the table - one vanilla, one” -
Atheist Judge: Takes the dish of chocolate pudding and throws it in the garbage. “There are only two puddings in the competition.”
Me: “That’s not fair. You just arbitrarily removed one of the puddings from the competition.”
Atheist Judge: “I see no evidence of three puddings.”
Me: “You just threw the evidence away.”
Atheist Judge: “No I didn’t.”
Me: “YES! You did!”
Atheist Judge: “I see no evidence of anything other than two puddings. Let’s get on with the show.”
Jacob the Liar
In John 1:47, Jesus of Nazareth is recorded as meeting Nathanael. Nazareth was an obscure and dirty Roman outpost full of corruption and prostitution. Upon hearing that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael commented, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Poor Nathanael, unbeknownst to him, it was like saying something about your boss while she’s standing right behind you.
In a few moments Jesus “saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false.” Do you get it? Israel? Nothing false?
No? Another name for Israel was Jacob and Jacob was full of falsehood. Jacob’s life was a fraud. Deceptive, deceitful, treacherous, Jacob seemed to thrive on intrigue and double-dealing. Jacob even tried to run deals with God. That means that like us, he wanted to do things his way with the sheen of God’s approval. Yet God went along with it all.
That’s what always gets me about my Creator. His endless patience. His willingness to let us bumble along and screw up what He is accomplishing through us. God takes liars and freaks and misfits of various stripes and uses us to bring good into the world. God steps into the messy places of our lives, places that we’d rather no one know about and He cleans us, and heals us and loves us like no one else in the universe.
In a few moments Jesus “saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false.” Do you get it? Israel? Nothing false?
No? Another name for Israel was Jacob and Jacob was full of falsehood. Jacob’s life was a fraud. Deceptive, deceitful, treacherous, Jacob seemed to thrive on intrigue and double-dealing. Jacob even tried to run deals with God. That means that like us, he wanted to do things his way with the sheen of God’s approval. Yet God went along with it all.
That’s what always gets me about my Creator. His endless patience. His willingness to let us bumble along and screw up what He is accomplishing through us. God takes liars and freaks and misfits of various stripes and uses us to bring good into the world. God steps into the messy places of our lives, places that we’d rather no one know about and He cleans us, and heals us and loves us like no one else in the universe.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Last Question
Since I screwed up so badly on that question about what did God bring into existence first > Wisdom, I'll just do one more - if you're interested.
When Jesus told Peter to catch a fish, find a Roman coin in it's mouth and pay their taxes with it, what kind of fish was it that Peter caught?
When Jesus told Peter to catch a fish, find a Roman coin in it's mouth and pay their taxes with it, what kind of fish was it that Peter caught?
“Then we shall… be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God.”
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Who knows their Bible Better?
For those tuning in today, here’s a question to see who knows their Bible better, the atheists or the Christians. I maybe should have waited for Hugo to return from his holiday, but I’d forget by then. The question is:
What was the first of God’s works; the first thing to be brought forth?
Answer with chapter and verse(s) please.
Proverbs 8:22,23
What was the first of God’s works; the first thing to be brought forth?
Answer with chapter and verse(s) please.
Proverbs 8:22,23
Humility and the Disappearance of Self
Some mistake humility as an effort to be less than others or a race for last place. Paul’s admonition to think of others as better than yourself can be misinterpreted in this manner. In reality, humility comes solely from knowing ourselves though the eyes of God. Treating others in a deferential manner is an outflow of that.
We are obsessed with who we are in our eyes. We most often base our worth on the ebb and flow of world opinion. We strive for beauty and power and position. We measure ourselves by worldly accomplishments. Depending on how others see us causes us to place our very security on things that cannot save. It causes us to place our source of pride on things that may be worthless tomorrow.
However, Biblical humility literally means to empty ourselves of ourselves. It means to become so strong, so free from worldly concerns that anything other than who we are in Christ is of no consequence at all.
We are obsessed with who we are in our eyes. We most often base our worth on the ebb and flow of world opinion. We strive for beauty and power and position. We measure ourselves by worldly accomplishments. Depending on how others see us causes us to place our very security on things that cannot save. It causes us to place our source of pride on things that may be worthless tomorrow.
However, Biblical humility literally means to empty ourselves of ourselves. It means to become so strong, so free from worldly concerns that anything other than who we are in Christ is of no consequence at all.
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