The Wonder of Creation

We are in the series the God of Wonder and so far we have considered:

The wonder of boundaries

The wonder of light

The wonder of love

last week the wonder knowledge

Today we are going to do what God calls us to do

Let’s read together Romans 1:18-23 pew bible 753

Romans 1:18–23 NASB 2020

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

Here are three of pictures I took in my Astronomy Class, we were able to remotely control a telescope in New Mexico, my class was in Santa Clara, CA. Isn’t technology great!

This was the start of my looking at the things that are made

Today I want to show some things we know about the universe and our world that really have no tangible explanation in science and instead lead to a creator, God.

Then other things where the Bible drove curiosity and exploration.

So, are you ready for the message God has for us?

Let’s dig in!

“Just the Facts ma'am!” - Joe Friday, Dragnet

Joe Friday was not interested in opinion or what they thought. He didn’t want their interpretation of what happened, He wanted only the facts.

We need science, science in its truest form has always been concerned with the pursuit of knowledge and truth, the facts.

“A branch of knowledge or study, especially one concerned with establishing and systematizing facts, principles, and methods, as by experimenting and hypothesis.” Websters New Twentieth Century Dictionary 1967

As scientific pursuit has continued science has given us a better understanding of the universe we live in.

There have been tremendous discoveries in science that really blow the mind.

The big scientific questions concern notions about the origins of the universe, the nature of force and matter and perhaps the biggest question of all: is there a Grand Unified Theory that can explain everything? We can give to these questions good answers that we believe can be justified from the best evidence at our disposal. But we can’t give a final answer because we know that what scientists believe today may not be what scientists believe in the future.

Alister McGrath, Why God Won’t Go Away: Engaging with the New Atheism

The more we explore the more we understand. Also we are learning the vastness of the universe and our place in it.

We are a small blue dot in a vast universe with a vast number of galaxies, billions of stars, billions of planets, see how small we really are!

Through all that God looks at the lives of each of us.

So let’s take some time and consider some facts science has discovered about the universe. It is truly exciting

Evidence from Scientific Discovery

For life to exist there are fundamental constants that need to be in place - the speed of light, gravitational force, weak force,

There are 26 known fundamental constants

All of these must fall with in an extremely narrow range

In fact the probability of these falling within this range is almost statistically immeasurable

The theory in science is called the Anthropic Principle - Our universe is fine tuned for the existence of life

The accuracy seen in our universe would be like what the most expert marksman would need to hit a coin at the far side of the observable universe, twenty two billion light years away.

Astronomer George Greenstein (Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Amherst) has stated: “As we survey all the evidence the thought instantly arises that some supernatural agency must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of a supreme being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?”

Let’s consider our local planetary neighborhood

James T. Kirk “Space the final frontier…”

Astronomy has discovered that planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit around the sun with fairly small axis tilts.

For example the earth has a 23 degree tilt, Saturn has a 27 degree tilt

Mercury has a 0.1 degree tilt

Except Uranus which has a 98 degree tilt

Venus 177 degree tilt

Neptune 30 degree tilt

In regards to rotation on its axis the earth rotates in what’s called direct rotation as do most planets in our solar system

Except Venus which rotates retrograde opposite every other planet in our solar system

Large moons exhibit similar properties in their orbits around their planets.

However some moons orbit in the opposite direction of their planet orbits around the sun, Triton the moon of Neptune is one of those exceptions

Mecury’s orbit around the sun cannot be explained by Newton’s Laws of motion

The precession of the orbits is accounted for by Newton's laws of motion. As astronomers charted the progress of the planets, they conformed agreeably to predictions based on those laws of motion. All except one. Mercury's orbit made its round faster than predicted.

Mercury has an orbital period of 88 earth days and has rotated on its axis 1 1/2 times

By comparison the Earth rotes on its axis every 24 hours and travels around the sun every 365 days

So Mercury has a slow axis rotation and fast orbit around the sun. Newtonian physics can’t explain it.

I think of what God said to Job Job 38:33

Job 38:33 NASB 2020

33 “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or do you establish their rule over the earth?

There are some things science can’t explain

In science the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation

Einstein said the explanation of the the universe would be simple and beautiful

So is it possible to look at these things and see `God’s control and order over the foundations of the universe?

Leaving clues of things which seem to contradict the facts?

The Bible has always been the guide

Job 38:24 NASB 2020

24 “Where is the way that the light is divided, And the east wind scattered on the earth?

In 1666 Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated that light can be parted

Genesis 1:20 NASB 2020

20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

1676 Antony van Leeuwenhoek making daily observations of water from various sources to learn when and under what conditions the little animals appeared. Where did they come from? How many were there? How long did they live? The result was the letter of October 9, which presented a convincing amount of evidence for the microbial world in water.

Job 38:16 NASB 2020

16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked in the depth of the ocean?

The first direct observations of deep sea springs, or their mineralized vents, appear to have been made on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by Project FAMOUS in 1973. Spectacular hot springs were then discovered on the Galapagos Rift in the Pacific Ocean by the 23-foot long submersible Alvin in 1977.

Psalm 8:8 NASB 2020

8 The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

Matthew Fontaine Maury, called attention to the fact that the ocean was a circulating system. With confidence in the accuracy of the Bible, Maury determined to discover the paths in the seas and the wind circuits, utilizing the charts and log books he had at his disposal. He did discover and plot many of the wind circuits and currents, such as the great Gulf Current, the Japanese Current, the California Current, and others. Utilizing this information, the sailing ships of his day used these currents and wind circuits, reducing by as much as three weeks the time required to cross the oceans.

The Bible has been used for many years as a guide for archeological research.

For years it was thought that the Hitites were a mythological people in the Bible until their capitol city was discovered in 1834 by Charles Texier

Belshazzar was a myth for years many thought the bible had history wrong as he was not found on any Babylonian kings list until 1864 when 4 cuneiform clay cylinders were found. Then in 1882 one of them was translated listing Belshazzar as the crown prince of the mostly absent king Nabondius who left Belshazzar in charge of the kingdom in his absence. Also, the cylinder explained that Nabonidus was away from Babylon when it fell. Two days earlier he had fled from the Persians when they defeated him at Sippar, so Belshazzar was the highest authority in Babylon at the time of its capture. Just as the Bible records in Daniel 5.

Time and time again the Bible is found to be accurate. In history and in science.

Conclusion

I heard a story about how Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson decided to go camping. When they reached a clear spot in the campsite, they pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Holmes woke Watson up: "Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce." Watson said, "I see millions of stars and even if a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life." Holmes replied, "Watson, you idiot, someone stole our tent."

Sometimes people get so hung up in trying to prove their point they can miss what is right in front of them.

Remember the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation

The better we understand God the better we understand reality and our selves

Sir Author Conan Doyle in his book The Sign of Four has Sherlock Holmes saying this: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Eliminate all other factors , and the one which remains must me the truth.”

Without God we have no rational way to look at the world, no way to understand reality.

Eliminate all the opinions and see where the evidence leads!

Pew bible 369

Psalm 19:1–6 NASB 2020

1 The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices like a strong person to run his course. 6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

When we look into creation we don’t see randomness, we see order!

Belief in God gives understanding to everything we see in creation.

It is the simplest explanation of the facts

The God of Wonder seen in the wonder of creation!

Side by side a man created the rose window of York Minster, God created the DNA double helix.