Supernatural Design
If we wonder about how a magnificent mountain came to be, we are contemplating the reality of creation. When we view the ocean’s endless expanse to ponder the millions of species below its surface, we are opening our minds to the transcendent. Seeing a beautiful meadow or the golden hues of a prairie sunset can inspire us to ponder the awesomeness of supernatural design. An infinite blue sky with soaring hawks amidst the majestic, white clouds is a living canvass that reveals the glorious splendors of our natural world.
Hearing the voices of loved ones returning from afar and drinking in their embraces fills us with gratitude, which draws us even closer to the truth that our lives have genuine meaning and purpose. Holding a baby or being with a loved one makes us grateful for life’s experiences, for they can inspire us to want to direct our gratefulness to someone. Being beside a loved one who is dying can make us think about the reality of death and the hopefulness of life beyond our earthly existence. Allowing a Mozart masterpiece to pierce our soul can move us towards the reality that we are truly spiritual beings.
Even beyond the love and beauty that can embrace us on this earth, the greater universe is slowly revealing its glorious design through modern technology that is unveiling the hidden secrets of the night sky.
The Grand Scheme
In the vault of the prairie sky, away from city lights, the Milky Way Galaxy reveals millions of stars to the stargazer. The stars and constellations have been admired for thousands of years, and the heavens are referenced many times in the ancient manuscripts. Human beings have always been fascinated by the night sky because it stirs a deep yearning within us, to figure out how we fit into the grand design of the universe. Why are we here?
According to the Old and New Testaments, even the birth of Jesus Christ was heralded by a special celestial star that appeared in the night sky. This Star of Bethlehem preceded the birth of Jesus and revealed to the Jewish world where the Messiah would be born. Not only did the birth of Christ change history, forever, it created the Christian religion which is now followed by more than 2.3 billion people on earth.[1] There has always been a connection between the heavens above and the people who admire them from the earth below.
In the last few decades, mankind’s ingenuity has enabled science to probe the depths of our universe with fine instruments that have led to a wealth of discoveries in deep space. Physicists and mathematicians have discovered the mass of the sun to be one million times the mass of the earth; in other words, we could fit one million earths inside the sun. Yet, our sun is small compared to the largest stars in the universe. Astronomers have discovered a star known as R136a1 which is 30 times the mass of our sun, which means 30 million earths would fit inside this massive star. It is astounding to realize, if this star was positioned where our sun is, the planets, Mercury and Venus would be engulfed by its mass and there would be no life on earth, because the earth would be like the planet Mercury, practically a cinder. The unbelievable size of each star in the universe is incredible!
Sophisticated technologies have helped astronomers to begin to fully grasp the infiniteness of the cosmos. The Hubble Telescope, which orbits the earth 15 times a day at a distance of 535 Km above the earth’s surface, is engineered to peer deep into outer space to reveal what is actually present in the depths of the universe.[2] The new James-Webb Space Telescope is also designed to peer into the universe’s infinite vastness. This telescope is one million miles above the earth and its orbit will be such that the earth will always be between the sun and the telescope. Scientists figured out this orbit to protect this ten billion dollar telescope from the sun’s harmful radiation. The James-Webb Space Telescope is more high tech and will be able to probe even deeper into the universe and its photos will have even greater clarity than the Hubble Telescope. Science is truly amazing!
What these high tech telescopes have revealed has been staggering to the scientific world. Their lenses have revealed a universe that is so ordered and vast that science and faith should work together in trying to understand and appreciate its magnificence. Because the universe is structured and governed by immutable universal laws, it makes sense that it has been precisely created and is intimately linked to the Supernatural; it is still birthing stars, forming galaxies, and expanding. It could not have possibly come into being out of nothing, as the new atheists maintain, without divine intervention.
The universe to renowned physicist, Albert Einstein, was one of absolute law and order, not one of chaos as would be dictated by chance. Einstein stated, “The divine reveals itself in the physical world.”[3] He also stated, “My God created laws… His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking but by immutable laws.”[4] These laws are unchangeable and were set in motion at the beginning of time. Einstein also stated, “My religiosity consists of a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit… That superior reasoning power forms my idea of God.”[5]
Not only did Einstein marvel at the universe and the superior reasoning power of its designer, but so did Sir Isaac Newton who discovered the Laws of Universal Gravitation. He wrote, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”[6] Nicolaus Copernicus who lived from 1473-1543 also stated, “To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power, to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful working of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more gratifying than knowledge.”[7] Copernicus proposed that the sun is the center of the solar system and the earth revolves around it. These men, who were gifted with three of the keenest minds in their day, were certain that the entire universe came into existence through Supernatural design. Today, believers in God are in good company from a scientific perspective over the centuries.
The study of anthropology has revealed that every primitive human culture yearned to know how we fit into the grand design of the universe. These primitive cultures revered the heavens because they innately believed in a sky God; a Supreme Being, who made the heavens, the earth and all living things, including mankind. It has only been since atheism and evolution have steered the narrative in a secular world that anthropology has been high-jacked. The in-vogue anthropologists now maintain that the Logos or monotheistic God is only a recent invention of Christianity and Judaism. World renowned speakers like Jordan Peterson and other brilliant researchers will tell you the published anthropological record prior to this secular age, in which we live, states, the exact opposite![8]
“God’s love for us is not greater in heaven than it is now.” St. Thomas Aquinas
I’ll be in touch soon. Have a great day!
[1] Religion: population statistics.
[2] Hubble telescope
[3] Albert Z.Rosenkranz: Through the Looking Glass: Jewish National Library: Jerusalem, 1998: pp.xi 80.
[4] William Hermanns: Einstein and the Poet: In search of the Cosmic Man: Branden Press, 1983: page 132.
[5] Helen Dukas: Albert Einstein, The Human Side: Princeton University Press: 1989: 4th Edition: Page 66 & Max Jammer: Einstein and Religion: Princeton University Press NJ: 1999.
[6] Quotes, The famous people.com/Isaac-newton.
[7] www.greatthought treasury.com/author/Copernicus.
[8] Culture Wars: October 2017; E. Michael Jones: The Rise and Fall of the New Atheists.