Ummm...Sorry, Mr. Darwin

Many of those who know me will vouch for the fact that I am an admitted science nerd. I am especially fascinated by astrophysics, astronomy and physics in general. Basically, the stuff that makes up the Universe and that makes the Universe tick intrigues me. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.". I have always felt that studying the makeup of the Universe increases my faith in my Creator. The raw science behind why the way everything is the way that is overwhelmingly supports the fact that all of 'this' didn't just happen by chance...in fact couldn't have happened by chance.

I've been noticing something sort of funny lately. Well, it would be funny if it weren't so sad. There is a tremendous amount of hostility and anger being spewed forth by an increasingly smaller fringe of 'intellectuals' who still insist on clinging to the archaic and flawed theory of evolution. The bumper-sticker slogans are getting nastier and the 'expert panelists' are getting weirder. I saw a sticker on someones car yesterday as I was heading out to surf. You know, one of those chrome ones like the 'Jesus Fish' is made out of? It actually had a 'Darwin Fish' (complete with little legs) mounting the rear of a 'Jesus Fish', making it look like like they were in the act of procreation! I'm no icthyologist (yeah, I had to look it up, too - it means someone who studies fish), but I'm pretty sure that fish actually lay eggs and the male fertilizes them in a manner that in no way resembles two dogs in heat. Not only was that offensive and mean-spirited, but it was 'evolutionarily inaccurate'. (I think I may have just invented a word there.)

OK, just to be clear - I do understand the joke they were trying to make. But it really got me thinking about what kind of a person would be so angry at everything that they would put such a weird statement on the back of their car. The more I thought the more sorry I felt for them and for everyone who has to make the gigantic leap of faith that it takes to believe in evolution contrary to all of the evidence. You see scientists everywhere...not just scientists, but leaders, giants in their respective fields...are publicly coming to the overwhelming conclusion that not only Life in the Universe, but the Universe itself simply could not exist without someone way bigger and smarter than us 'fine tuning' the physics according to a precise plan to make things turn out the way that they have. Evolution is being exposed as a fraud, and the poor souls who staked their careers on it and based their morals and belief systems around it don't quite know what to do.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. There are many constants in the laws of physics. One is the ratio of electrons to protons. (Trust me, I won't get too geeky.) This ratio is just one of many absolute constants in physics. Scientists agree that if this ratio were off even one part in ten the the 37th power, the Universe would either not exist at all, not have any matter, or not be suitable for life in any form. Let me give you an idea of just how finely tuned that number is. I am quoting Dr. Hugh Ross directly here:

"One part in ten to the 37th power is such an incredibly sensitive balance that it is hard to visualize. The following analogy might help: Cover the entire North American continent in dimes all the way up to the moon, a height of about 239,000 miles (In comparison, the money to pay for the U.S. federal government debt would cover one square mile less than two feet deep with dimes.). Next, pile dimes from here to the moon on a billion other continents the same size as North America. Paint one dime red and mix it into the billions of piles of dimes. Blindfold a friend and ask him to pick out one dime. The odds that he will pick the red dime are one in ten to the 37th power."

Whoah. And we're only talking about one single constant: the ratio of electrons to protons in the Universe. There are many more constants that are way more finely tuned than this, each of which are just as important to ensuring that the Universe is the way that it is. Mess up any one of them even by one part in ten to the 37th (or more) power, and Wham! We don't exist. Nothing does. Scientists, we're talking the kind that put 'Darwin Fish' on the back of their cars, are analyzing all of this new data that our nifty modern technology is providing us with and are overwhelmingly coming to a single conclusion. The Universe was created. By Someone. Someone really smart. And big. And powerful. Someone with a purpose. Someone who really knows His physics. Someone who is, for lack of a better word, creative.

But don't just take my word for it. Here's what just a few major players are saying:

Alan Sandage (winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy): "I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing."

Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT physicist): "The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine."

Arno Penzias (Nobel prize in physics): "Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with the very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life, and one which has an underlying (one might say 'supernatural') plan."

George Greenstein (astronomer): "As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency - or, rather, Agency - must be involved."

Barry Parker (cosmologist): "Who created these laws? There is no question but that a God will always be needed."

Folks, the list goes on. I could bore you for hours with famous quotes from famous scientists. It seems that the intellectual elite is beginning to grasp what I see every time I catch a wave or look into the eyes of my beautiful wife (especially that!): All of this...this big, beautiful, chaotic, colorful, mysterious, awe-inspiring Universe that we inhabit...all of it was created. By God. For a reason.

And do you know what is the most mind-blowing reality of all? It's that this all-powerful, all-creative, uber-smart God loves (insert your name here) so much, that He sent His only Son - think about that for a second - he sat and watched His only child be tortured and crucified...on a cross...so that you could have peace with Him and get to spend Eternity in His presence exploring the wonders of this incredible Universe He's created! He made all of this, and He loves you that much. He even loves the guy with the bumper-sticker of the 'Darwin Fish' violating the 'Jesus Fish' that much. Pretty mind blowing. So I guess we can cut the angry evolutionists a little slack. Their belief system is crumbling before their eyes. If the God in whom they don't believe loves them anyway, I better love them as well.

Note: Credit for the quotes and facts in this blog goes to Rich Deem and godandscience.org. Check out the site if you haven't already. Great stuff!