The Bible is not a science textbook; however, it gives us a view of our world that is filled with hope when life becomes difficult. It begins with the simple proclamation “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth” (Gen. 1:1).
Atheists tell us that the universe and everything in it exists by blind chance, without cause, purpose, or meaning. This view taken to its logical conclusion leaves us with no basis for future hope. For atheists, there is no basis for hope when our lives are broken now, and nothing to believe in beyond death.
Modern science is continuing to reveal new evidences for the existence of God and his creative power. When our lives are broken by poverty, drugs, divorce, serious illness and family problems, we have an eternal God who still loves us.
Genesis tells us that God “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). If we seek to know him, and live by eternal principles, our brokenness can be healed.
An honest and thoughtful review of three universal scientific principles points us to God and His love for us.
First, the principle of causality tells us that every effect we see in the universe had a prior cause. Nothing suddenly pops into existence from nothingness. Robert Jastrow, an astronomer and founding director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, described this principle when he wrote:
“Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth” (A Scientist Caught Between Two Faiths, 1982).
Everything in your life had a cause. Finding the true causes for problems, and seeking divine wisdom to deal with them, can be the first step toward healing. Even if the cause is someone else, forgiveness and trusting God can heal us.
Second, the principle of energy filling the universe takes us to the source of creation. Scientists have recently discovered that “Dark Energy” and “Dark Matter,” which cannot be seen or explained apart from the existence of God, make up 95 percent of everything that exists.
Scientists cannot measure Dark Energy and Dark Matter with any current instruments but are confident they exist and affect gravity, the movements of planets, and expansion of the universe. A Smithsonian Institute scientist described these sources of energy by writing:
“Astronomers have compiled evidence that what we’ve always thought of as the actual universe — me, you, planets, stars, galaxies, all the matter in space — represents a mere 4 percent of what’s actually out there. The rest they call, for want of a better word, dark: 23 percent is something they call dark matter, and 73 percent is something even more mysterious, which they call dark energy” (Smithsonian.org).
The greatest power you can experience for solving personal problems is not human energy or effort, but divine energy flowing from a loving creator. Tapping into
that energy requires only that you honestly seek God, and ask Him to help you.
Third, life itself is providing increasing evidence for the existence of God.
Abiogenesis (life springing from non-living things) has been widely supported for more than a century as proof for atheistic evolution. However, DNA and RNA molecules are so complex that no scientist has yet produced living and reproducing cells, which are the basic requirement for any human existence. Dr. Jerry Bergman (Ph.D. in human biology from Columbia University) summarized the principle that life comes only from life when he wrote:
“A major aspect of the abiogenesis question is ‘What is the minimum number of parts necessary for a free living organism to live, and could these parts assemble by naturalistic means?’ Research shows that at the lowest level this number is in the multimillions, producing an irreducible level of complexity that cannot be bridged by any known natural means” (2000).
Life coming only from life points directly to a life giver. If you are troubled or broken in your life, there is an eternal life giver who has demonstrated in the coming of his son, Jesus, that there is healing for life now, eternal life after death, and abundant hope. That is the message of creation. Jesus himself affirmed this divine truth when he said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Dr. Mike Hopper is pastor of Faith United Methodist Church in Greenfield. This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
