The following is a small portion of ideas gathered from a recent investigation of faith and the cosmos. This was initially written a bit ago, but has been slightly revamped. I posted this now, as I am beginning to dig deeper and felt any future post on my progression in this area would need a baseline.
I am still in my infancy in determining my full stance on most of what is presented here. However, I want to share with you my thoughts in hopes to inspire you to search for yourself where you stand in your own personal faith.
The Beginning :: Look to the Stars.
It is known that the larger stars burn its fuel quicker than smaller stars. If the arche of our universe were 25% larger, it would have long stopped shining a long time ago and earth would be a frozen, lifeless sphere. Larger stars (supergiants) heat up carbon that produces silicon that produces iron because of the high gravitational force the star exerts. The iron is too heavy for any energy to be produced by these fusion reactions, therefore there is no outflow of energy from the core to balance the gravitational forces at play. This creates a core that gains heat until the iron can disintegrate. At this point, the star becomes immensely brighter than our star and shoots out materials at high speeds; this is known as a supernova. The materials expelled into space are the carbon and silicon from the core, as well as gold, lead, and uranium (and more). As the elements mix with the present hydrogen gases, they form a new 'second-generation' star, in time. The star will be predominantly hydrogen but will also contain the elements from the exploded predecessor. It is known that our sun contains mainly iron and gold; therefore it must be a second-generation star. This leads to another question, what about the planets? The same general principles apply. Take Earth, since we know it...kind of. It is a small planet, with a weaker gravitational pull, therefore lighter elements escape, leaving only the heavier ones from a star's death. This is evident through our history of soil studies that traces of only the lighter elements are found. Continuing this inspection, our bodies are known to contain small amounts of some of these elements.
In essence, it can be said that there are pieces of star within all of us. We are all connected.
Compared to the rest of the planets, Earth’s moon is massive with respect to the relative size of its orbited planet. Because of this, scientists believe that Earth’s moon was not created by any of the theorized processes for the moons of the other planets. The moon stabilizes the Earth as it spins on its axis, causing a shift in tides. The gravitational pull of the moon on the Earth keeps us guarded from drastic weather pattern changes. Thanks to progress in science and math, we know that the sun is about 400 times the size of the moon. Our planet was placed roughly that same amount (now viewed as a length) from the sun, giving us the opportunity to experience the glory of a total solar eclipse.
What can be drawn from all this? What do you see when you look at the night sky? Stars, only by courtesy of a star. A star that had to die in order for us to live. Could it be the cosmos echo the story of its Creator?
The Intermediate :: From the Stars to the Heavens.
What about the progression of knowledge about our universe? Has it awakened a sense of excitement, or given us an opportunity for hubris to rear its ugly head in our supposed understanding of the inner workings of a cosmos not created by man? In older times, man used to look upon the moon and the stars with wonder, excitement, and majesty; to the point of giving them the status and deity of gods. Where are we now in our scientific smugness? We catalogue, characterize, and can no longer relate to them as our ancestors did. This great betrayal leaves us with a loss of intimacy that cannot be regained. What was once giving man solace from struggles of life has been transformed into a magnetic field of celestial symbolism that guides our souls to think of flux, instability, and the violence of the cosmos. Is this too far off from our theological journey? To loosely quote
Blindside: 'we are not synchronized, we are intellectualized.' Has the pursuit of a purely intellectual, solely logical faith left man with a view of God lacking in majesty and wonder?
When we theorize that the big bang theory is feasible, where does it leave us? Survivalism. We all complain about time, specifically the lack of it. If we were put here to merely survive, we must adapt to survive in a continually crowding world. No more time to think about God, therefore it must be He who has neglected us. Right? Seems to be a popular trend, especially in our fast-paced Western society.
What about the cosmos and the Bible? The star over Bethlehem, the darkened sky at Calvary, the earthquake as Christ became the sacrifice? Why should the personal collide with the cosmic? I believe it is because Christ was fulfilling an order begun at the beginning, pointing out that he was and is the completeness and fullness of life. The superior intelligence we are so desperately seeking somewhere in the vastness of space was here on Earth among us. The God of the cosmos became Christ on Earth to show that He is a person, and that we matter more to him than all the galaxies – most of which we have yet to discover.
Why should Christ come to this particular small seemingly insignificant part of the cosmos?To answer with a question: "
Can Christ come from Galilee?"
Christ revealed that though we are all equal in Him, we are more than material from a star. Not all has been shown in the pursuit to understand man by studying our surroundings: we know not the why of suffering, or the why of evils.
The Future :: Faith.
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
Was our sun, our planet, our very being created from a star exploding long ago? I don't know. All I know is God said "
Let there be light."
Keep seeking.
Josh.
