Musings of the Soul

The Immensity of the Huge Universe and God

Light travels 186,282 miles per second (see www.space.com/15830-light-speed.htm), which means that if it could follow the curvature of the earth, a burst of light would flash 7.5 times around the earth in a second. This burst of light travels 11.2 million miles per minute and about 6 trillion miles per year.

The distance from the sun to the earth is 94.119 million miles, equivalent to only 8.3 light minutes. If a burst of light could ping-pong back and forth between the sun and the earth, it would make the trip about 63,325 times in a year.

In July 2022, NASA released some stunning photos of distant galaxies. Below are two of them (Sources: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-delivers-deepest-infrared-image-of-universe-yet and https://cdm.link/2022/07/nasas-webb-telescope-could-transform-how-we-imagine-digital-art-along-with-our-cosmos/main_image_galaxies_stephans_quintet_sq_nircam_miri_final-5mb/)

Taken with the James Webb Space Telescope, this first image is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. It shows a galaxy cluster far away: the light generated by this cluster is estimated to have traveled 4.6 billion years—one way—which is some 27.6 billion-trillion miles. I suppose that if the telescope is pointed in the opposite direction, it would find other galaxies that are a similar distance from the earth.

How unimaginably immense is the space that we call the universe.

Which brings us to the big bang theory. NASA (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/big-bang/en/) explains it in this way:

“The big bang is how astronomers explain the way the universe began. It is the idea that the universe began as just a single point, then expanded and stretched to grow as large as it is right now—and it is still stretching!”

A little more explanation is found at here (https://www.space.com/25126-big-bang-theory.html):

“The Big Bang Theory is the leading explanation for how the universe began. Simply put, it says the universe as we know it started with an infinitely hot and dense single point that inflated and stretched — first at unimaginable speeds, and then at a more measurable rate — over the next 13.8 billion years to the still-expanding cosmos that we know today.

Existing technology doesn't yet allow astronomers to literally peer back at the universe's birth, much of what we understand about the Big Bang comes from mathematical formulas and models.”

Which brings us to the question where it all came from and who or what is behind it all.

Beyond describing the start of it all as a “dense single point,” we cannot really figure how this dense object could have existed already for who knows how long and why it then suddenly “inflated.” We understand the effect, but what was the cause? Was there anything or anyone who gave it cause? Was there someone, whom we might call God, who said: “Okay, go!”?

Suppose there was not. Then there is no God now either—or if there is a God now, he/she/it arose after the natural forces unleashed themselves to generate what we now call the universe. Such a God would be smaller than those natural forces, would originate from them, would be a derivative of them, would not be in control of them, would be subject to them. If so, the natural forces would be supreme—and might as well be considered equivalent to some sort of God instead. However, they are mere natural forces, not with a mind or emotions or intelligence or purpose, not a God who rules.

By implication, any God who is worshiped now is worth worshiping only if he/she/it oversaw the big bang also. A religion that has no place for an event like the big bang is a mere narrative.

That leaves us with two options. Either God set the universe in motion from matter that appeared out of what he only knows at the big bang moment, or there is no God, not now and not ever. And if there is no God, what is the point of that big bang, of the vastness of space, of those galaxies, or of us here in 2022?

Which brings us back to the universe and all those lightyears of distance. We are so, so, so small! The God who rules over it all this deserves the capital G.

Blurred Vision

As of the time of this writing, it has been a week and a half since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. That act of murder was a shocking event, but some of the responses to it reveal much of the state of mind of some in our society.

Videos of the assassination were shared, and shared, and shared. Some people even cheered his death.

I haven’t seen any of those videos. One of the first things I heard about the shooting was that Mr. Kirk died, that it was a single shot, and that much blood spilled. Honestly, apart from finding out who the assassin is, why he did it, and whether he had accomplices, there is really nothing more to know. Why would I want to see someone die a violent death, helplessly, innocently? I cannot unsee it once I have seen it.

Why share it? Why watch it? Was this a scene out of the latest violent movie? We know the movie plots. The villain does something bad, and the hero wants the villain to pay. While chasing the villain, the hero encounters a crew of the villain’s accomplices and mows them all down. Finally, he confronts the bad guy, pumping him full of bullets. The scenes go by so quickly that it is hard to keep up with the body count. The gorier the fights, the happier the audience. Everyone dies but the hero. The audience cheers, numbed to the dying that reduces a person to a heap of flesh.

Ah, we walk out of the movie theater, pleased with the entertainment; it was only a story. When the camera turns off, the actors get up, pull off the fake plasticky injury props, wash off the fake blood, collect a paycheck, and go home for dinner. Next year in another movie, these actors will show up again—alive—possibly to die again. Same plot, different gore, more paychecks. No need to ask whether life’s problems could have been solved in a better way, whether the accomplices suffered pain, whether the hero was justified in taking so many lives. Yes, it is shallow.

Video games are even worse: the player kills the “enemy,” gets “eliminated” too, pushes the repeat button, pursues a new strategy, and kills again. Participation is without conscience; kills are rewarded with higher scores and advancing scenarios; death is without pain. Yet, in this virtual reality, participation is real and willful. Using essentially the same technology, pilots train on flight simulators to learn the mechanics of a new type of airplane. What exactly are video game players supposed to learn?

Charlie Kirk isn’t getting up anymore. No matter whether you agree with his words and his beliefs, he wasn’t a villain. His wife lost her husband; his children lost their father. And the assassin most definitely wasn’t a hero. It is sickening to look upon his dying. It is sick to cheer Mr. Kirk’s death.

What if he were your brother? What if the assassin were your brother or your son?

Get a grip on reality. It is real; it is not virtual, replayable, erasable.

Truly, there is a better way to live.

A 3000-Year Old Song of Comfort

Psalm 23 (ESV)

1The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside still water,

3He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Psalm 23 (NIV)

1The Lord is my shepherd;

I lack nothing.

2He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet water,

3He refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6Surely goodness and mercy will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Aborted

Egg alive

Sperm alive

One

Here I am

Settling in

Getting fed

Growing

Sucking, tumbling, poking

Dreaming

Aware

Voices. Voices!

What?

Not wanted?

A sting!

Mother, father, wh…

Vacuumed

Discarded

There lies my little body, as in a mass grave

But I float upward, together with countless others

Back to my Creator

Prematurely

Human Rights

At one time, the elites had rights and the lower classes did not. Eventually, this was understood to be wrong, and lower classes received the same rights as the elites, at least in principle. Today, we look back and blame the elites of old for their lack of humanity.

At one time, the men had rights and women did not. Eventually, this was understood to be wrong, and women received the same rights as men, at least in principle. Today, we look back and blame the men of old for their lack of humanity.

At one time, members of favored racial groups had rights and members of the other racial groups did not. Eventually, this was understood to be wrong, and members of the other racial groups received the same rights, at least in principle. Today, we look back and blame the favored racial groups of old for their lack of humanity.

At one time, the born had rights and the unborn did not. Eventually, this was understood to be wrong, and the unborn received rights as human beings—not the same rights as the born but rather rights commensurate with their state of human development—at least in principle. Today, we look back and blame the born of old for their lack of humanity.

How long will we have to wait for these rights “today”? Shouldn’t every person, created in the image of God, be endowed with the same rights—and not merely in principle?

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