Posted by
grad_1986 on Thursday, May 14, 2009 9:03:36 PM
A few days ago I was viewing on YouTube a video of a show I had seen several months ago on PBS dealing with the a new physics idea called "String Theory". In the show, theoretical physicists (which for brevity I will refer to as TP's) had started studying an idea of these extremely tiny energy-strings that would possibly merge the main laws of physics (also called Unification Theory or the theory of everything). For decades, the area of physics was broken into seperate areas of study.
First you had gravity in which all matter is attracted to each other according to the equation of FG = G m1 m2 / r2 This says that the force between any 2 objects is equal to the mass of the 2 objects (mulitplied) and then divided by the distance between them. So the greater the masses or the smaller the distance, the larger the force pulling them together.
Next, you also had electical forces in which tthe force between them is FE = e0 q1 q2 / r2 . This equation looks eerily similar to the previous one. But unlike the gravitational force, electrical forces can be attractive ( opposite charges ) or repulsive (like charges).
Third, you had magnetic forces that were similar to electrical forces and are inverse to the square of the radius r ( 1/r2 ) and like electrical forces could be attractive ( North to South ) or repulsive (North to North or South to South).
Finally you had "strong nuclear forces" that hold protons together in the nucleus. These forces are incredibly strong to overcome the repulsive electrical force between the protons, but only occur under a very short distance.
Without going into much detail, the show discussed how these scientists believed they had solved the riddle of these similar and yet distinct realms with a complex equation that involved or 11 variables or "dimensions". But the concept of something that has 11 dimensions is very difficult to grasp for the human mind. We can imagine 3 dimensions because we live in 3 dimensional world of heitht, width and depth. For something to have 11 dimensions is unfathomable to the human mind and near impossible to grasp.
These TP's went on and on about the concept that multiple universes could be filling the same "space" at the same time without our knowing and pass right thru us without our detection. The also talked about how these strings will never be able to be detected or proved by any amount of scientific testing. But, because they had an equation staring at them on the black board, they were certain they had it right.
But doesn't that sound much like our assertion as Christians that there is a God who loves and cares for us, whom we cannot see, hear or feel but we know he is because has has told us: "I am that I am". But who has greater proof? The TP with a mathmetical formula on a sheet of paper, or the person who has personal testimony of followers who have given their lives in the defense of that a man died on a cross and rose again from the dead 3 days later.
And why does the Christian get percecuted as a "nut job" for believing in a God who he "can't see or prove exists" but a scientist gets the Nobel Prize for writing an equation he cannot prove is real? Why is scientific "faith" heralded with applause and accolades but religious faith is met with ridicule and bewilderment? In my view, my faith has more "substance" than the scientists, as mine has stood the test of time and trials whereas theirs has hardly any of either behind it. (Actually I believe most of these Theoretical Physicists are playing a game on us similar to the Emperor's New Clothes" where they, like the tailors for the king ,hood-wink the public into thinking they have solved it when they don't understand it either .... but don't want to admit it).
So the next time someone says your crazy for believing in a God, just tell them that you are in good company with many of the best scientific minds of today.