Note: Catholics do not hold to a
literal 6 earth day Creation Scenario
The Bible teaches that God's day is
beyond what humans can comprehend.
Proving the Existence of God Via Real Science
The Bible reveals in both
the Old and New Testament that:
God's day is as a
thousand years (Psalm 90:4 & 2 Peter 3:8)
"...but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the
Day that you eat from it you
will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). So was God lying and the devil
telling the truth, or is God's day different?
Some bold unsupported articulations by renowned atheists:
"Man is the result of a
purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind. He
was not planned" (atheist George Gaylord Simpson),
"The universe we observe has precisely
the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom,
no design,
no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless
indifference" (Richard Dawkins) and "Not just science but our own other
reflections have told us that there is nothing remaining to be
explained that could only be explained by the existence of a
supreme being, creator or first cause" (Christopher Hitchens).
Conversely, Romans 1:20 affirms that God's existence is "clearly perceived in
the things that have been made", similarly to how a painting
is proof that there must have been an artist who painted it. As the Bible explains,
when we scientifically analyze "the things that have been made", we
find God's fingerprints all over them. Atheists espouse exclusive believe in
science. Notwithstanding science is an investigation of the
natural world, they seem to refrain from applying such principals
for investigating the existence of God. It's certainly not for lack
of evidence, in as much as an unwillingness to proceed in the direction
that science leads them. Unbelievers abandon the pursuit of
genuine truth, in place of a manic
quest of finding unattainable naturalist explanations. Atheists make audacious claims that there
is no evidence to support a Supreme Being, as though these were
universally accepted prognoses, but stop short of supporting their
conclusions with any form of rational evidence. It is not
difficult to scientifically establish
planning,
design and
the existence of
a Supreme Being, however some of these proofs can be
complex. This is why Intelligent Design is typically met with
immediate dismissal by nonbelievers, as it requires intellectual contemplation.
Pope Benedict XVI articulated: "In the beginning the creative Word, this Word that
created all things, that created this Intelligent Design which is
the cosmos; is also love" (1).
This
Intelligent Design that our previous Pontiff described utilizes science as preeminent confirmation of a Supreme
Creator via logical deduction.
In the words of Sherlock Holmes, "When you
eliminate the impossible, that which remains, however merely
improbable, must be true."
The pre-denominational Catholic Church has an unconstrained
perspective on Intelligent Design, particularly compared to the
copious novel Christian denominations. The
Holy Roman Catholic Church has embraced contemporary science, learning from
It's lengthy past experience; such as adopting
the Flat Earth model during the Hellenistic period and approving the
Celestial Sphere Orbs Theory (developed by Aristotle; in these
celestial models, the stars and planets are carried around by being
embedded in rotating crystal spheres moving around the Earth).
Furthermore, the
Catholic Church has not constrained itself to the 6,000 year old
earth presumptions held by most Protestant denominations; a
translation error of the word "yom" to denote "day", whereas "yom"
in Hebrew more accurately represents an undefined time period. The
Holy Roman Catholic Church considers science a tool that helps us
learn more about our Creator.
5 minute PBS & Nova Compilation
One method
for
establishing the existence of a Supreme Being can be
effectively accomplished by comparing the infinitesimal timeframe
for the existence of intelligent life on our planet, with the
current distance of the Moon's orbit, as it receded from the Earth
1.5 inches per year for the past 4.5 billion years. Scientists typically define
intelligent life as species capable of producing art, calendars,
written language and technology.
Demonstrating the existence of God is a two step process. To help
explain the first step of this process, we combined a few segments
of two documentaries; "Life Beyond Earth" by PBS and "Origins" by
Nova.
For the first step
of this explanatory process, the PBS documentary does an
effective job of detailing the razor thin line of existence of intelligent
life (requiring a large magnifying glass to view between two
lines of human existence, as portrayed
on miles of highway), compared to the 3.8 billion years of life on our
planet. Dinosaurs ruled for over 150 million years, but none became
intelligent. Insects existed for over 300 million years, but none
became intelligent. What's most intriguing is how this "one
time" occurrence of intelligence takes place; only after
the earth effectively accumulated the fundamental essentials
required for advanced technological civilization, such as
coal, crude oil, natural gas, organic compounds, etc..
Considering the hundreds of millions of species throughout
history (possibly billions), intelligence only occurred once, and in a relative
instant. If intelligent life was introduced at any other point
in Earth’s history, it would be a technological dead end, as
humans would be trapped in a permanent stone age. Advanced
civilization would not have been impossible because of the
lack of the necessary natural resources for sophisticated
development. We would not have fossil fuels, natural gas, or
the organic materials crucial for plastics, rubber, etc. We
would not have cars, computers, power plants, electricity,
etc. Human civilization was only introduced when the natural
resources permitted us to develop to our full potential.
Humans were introduced at an exact point, when all the
resources were in place to permit advanced civilization.
In a naturalists
world, one would expect multiple examples in the past of forms
of intelligence on several different levels. There are none.
For example, no one has
ever found cave paintings, calendars or stone structures made by
dinosaurs.
Petroleum and natural gas formed from the anaerobic decomposition of
phytoplankton and zooplankton remains that settled at the bottom of proterozoic oceans. These tiny creatures first became abundant just
prior to the Paleozoic era about 650 million years ago (2,
3,
4). Correspondingly, the
American Association of Petroleum Geologists estimated that this
complex process requires about the same figure; 650 million years of anaerobic
decomposition to result in practical fossil fuels (5).
If these scientific estimates are accurate, the first homo sapiens
opportunely appeared shortly after the formation of these fossil
fuels, indispensable for large scale industrialization. Other
resources necessary for advanced civilization such as coal and
methane were formed from terrestrial plants dating to the
carboniferous era, about 360 million years ago. Coincidently, the
first land plants appeared in abundance approximately 380 million
years ago, making coal and methane available just prior to homo
sapiens as well (6,
7).
These strategic timelines reveal a logically intended
sequence of events. Out of hundreds of million of species conquering
every form of locomotion, intelligent creatures (capable of creating
art, calendars, written language, and technology) occurred only once in
all of earths history, and only after the resources for advanced
civilization became available. Nearly all species conquered flight,
even fish (flying fish), but not intelligence.
It is easy to
understand why intelligent creatures were only introduced once
in all earth's history, because these resources are a one shot
deal. Once all the crude oil, natural gas, coal, etc.
is used up, it would require over half a billion years for
replenishment.
The second step of this process requires some
explanation as to vital importance of our moon, without it the earth
would be devoid of land based life. If the moon were to
suddenly disappear, scientists claim that all life on earth larger
than algae would die. This is because the moon holds the earth on
its axis, like an outrigger on a canoe. The other planets in our
solar system, such as Mercury, Venus and Mars (which have no single
large moon to stabilize their orbits), tilt 90 degrees as they orbit
the Sun. If our Moon is eliminated from the mathematical model, the
tilt of the Earth's spin axis becomes unstable and varies from 0 to
90 degrees, making complex life on earth impossible (8,
9,
10). Models show the polar ice caps migrating to different parts
of the equator every eleven years. Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Kenya,
and Indonesia would take turns being under a mile of ice every
eleven years. Planetary Scientists Bill Hartmann and Dr. Robin Canup
(11),
agree that without our Moon, the Earth would be devoid of complex
life (12).
The general consensus of astronomers, astrophysicists, cosmologists and
planetary scientists is that planets cannot have a biosphere capable
of supporting higher life forms on it's surface without a stable
spin axis, and planetary computer simulations establish that a
stable spin axis can only be realized with one large orbiting
satellite. It is not enough for a planet to simply be in the
"goldilocks belt" and have liquid water, it must be environmentally
stable.
The Moon
was formed 4.5 billion years ago from a planetary
collision (13). Since its creation, it has been moving away from the
Earth 1.5 inches per year. 4.5 billion years ago it was 15 times the
size in the sky and kept the Earth rigidly on its axis, but the
gravitational effect on Earth was devastating. Planetary scientists
claim it elevated Earth’s molten surface 2000 feet as it orbited
above. Currently, our Moon is in what scientists describe as a
perfect sweet spot, 400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun. The
sun being exactly 400 times the diameter of the Moon, and the Moon
being 25% the size of the Earth. A position of exact or perfect
equilibrium. 4.5 billion years from now, we lose the moon
completely. So in the 9 billion years of Lunar history, this rare
point of perfect equilibrium precisely coincides with the fine line
of human existence. Again, these inexplicable coincidences reveal a
divine intelligence to creation.
The moon appears in the
sky the exact size as the sun. At the culminating point of total
solar eclipse, the fit of sun and moon is so perfect that beads of
sunlight can only penetrate through the rugged valleys on the lunar
surface, creating the diamond ring effect. The sun is 400 times
wider than the moon, but it is also 400 times further away. The two
therefore appear the same size in the sky, a very unique situation
among our solar system's nine planets and 174 known moons. No other
moon does this. Visualize holding a high
quality camera with a telescopic zoom lens aimed at the
moon. If you zoom in on the moon until it appears 15 times its
size, that was the proportion it was 4.5 billion years ago, whereas
scientists have evidence that life existed on earth during
this Hadean Eon of Earth's history 3.8
billion to 4.5 billion years ago (14).
If you could zoom out till it disappears, this represents what will
happen 4.5 billion years into the future when we lose the moon into
space. At this tiny fraction of time of human existence, the
moon is at the exact focal point where it appears the same size in
the sky as the sun. These extraordinary events defy statistical
analysis.
9 minute compilation from Discovery "If We Had No Moon"
The moon has been moving away from the earth 1.5 inches per
year for 4.5 billion years.
In the 9 billion years of Lunar history, this rare point of
perfect equilibrium precisely coincides with the fine line of
human existence.
.
.
.
4.5 Billion Years Ago / Moon 15X size of Sun
in sky
Present
4.5 Billion Years in the Future
/ Loss of Moon
Moon in perfect sweet spot,
400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun (sun being exactly
400 times the diameter of the Moon) Moon and Sun appear same
size in sky
Another striking coincidence is the rarity of the moon forming
impact, it took 98 simulations with a NASA super computer, tweaking
between each attempt to successfully produce one large stable moon (15).
A collision less than 42° (0°
representing a direct head on strike) yields one moon in which the
orbit decays in several thousand years (with the moon crashing back
into the earth). Greater than 50°
yields two moons that later collide back into the earth. 42°
to 50° collision simulations
have single moons with decaying or receding orbits up to several
miles per year. Our moon is receding 1 1/2" per year, that's exactly
what you would be aiming for, a one in a million lucky shot.
Astrophysicist Dr. Jacques Laskar and NASA Evolutionary Biologist
Dr. Lynn Rothschild established the importance of earth's 23°
spin axis (16).
Dr. Rothschild explained how a slight wobble less than 1°
occurred about 4,000 years ago, possibly due to a shift in the
earth's core or the close pass of a large asteroid. This slight
wobble turned the North African Sahara from a lush rainforest into a
desert (17).
Previously we were aware of
about 140 moons in our solar system, recent discoveries via the Cassini-Huygens probe exploring Saturn increased that number to 174
(18).
Of all these moons, only three appear as white as our moon
(Jupiter’s Europa, Ganymede and Saturn’s Rhea), primarily because
their surface's are composed of water ice in the frigid outer solar
system. Our moon is curiously white and reflective (particularly for
a natural satellite not surface coated with water ice), bathing the
earth at night with a pleasant white incandescent white light. A
soothing night-light in the sky (exactly the same disk-size as the
sun), for night travelers. These cannot be extraordinary
coincidences.
NASA orbital
computer simulations verified that our moon is not a captured rogue
satellite. No matter what angle, distance, speed or trajectory
is considered, the Earth does not capture the moon, it passes by.
These simulations also show
that our moon (25% of the Earth in size) is too large to have formed around the
Earth. It is
the general consensus of planetary scientists that Orpheus, a Mars
sized planet that orbited between Earth and Mars impacted the Earth
4.5 billion years ago forming our moon (19,
20). Impact Scientist Dr. Jay
Melosh verified the mathematical model (21).
After the Orpheus impact the moon was only four thousand miles away
and appeared fifteen times larger in the sky. Likewise, the
gravitational effect of the moon on the earth was four thousand
times greater. Every wave was a tsunami, an Earth day went
from naught to four hours. We are losing our moon
by one and a half inches per year, the moon is now two hundred and
thirty four thousand miles from earth. These Scientific
determinations are verifiable several ways, including laser Lunar
Laser Ranging equipment aimed at retro-reflectors placed on the Moon's lunar surface during the
Apollo mission (22). Ancient eclipse records as early as two
thousand years ago confirm that a day was shorter than it is today.
Had it been constant, the solar eclipse of April 15, 0136 BC would
have followed a different path and not have been recorded in Babylon
(23).
It is an astonishing cosmic coincidence that at the fractional
time humans inhabit the earth, the moon is in perfect
equilibrium in stabilizing our Earth's axis and appears in the
night sky exactly the same size as the sun, for the first time
in 4.5 billion years. This can only be the result of
impeccable planning, or an impossible coincidence. "In the
case of contradictories, no middle ground is possible. The
theistic affirmation God exists and the atheistic denial God
does not exist stand in contradiction to one another; both
cannot be true and both cannot be false; if one is true, the
other must be false" (Mortimer Adler, Truth in Religion).
At a Glance
1. Intelligence only occurred once, and instantly compared to the
timeline of life on our planet.
2. Intelligence occurred precisely at the most opportune time;
when availability of
3. Lunar alignment occurs at the same exact point in time, for
the first time in 4.5 billion years.
4.
Moon forming impact necessary for higher life forms was a one in a million lucky shot.
5. This lucky shot left us with a 23°
spin axis, which is the most environmentally stable for our
planet.
The Catholic website: Magis Reason Faith, delineates many more
examples of a Divine Creator. One of numerous examples is how
renowned vocal atheist and Director of the Institute of Astronomy
Sir Fredrick Hoyle converted to theism when uncovering the
impossible odds of the formation of the carbon atom. He later wrote:
"Some super-calculating intellect must have designed the properties
of the carbon atom, otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom
through the blind forces of nature would be utterly minuscule. A
common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a
superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry
and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about
in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so
overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question."
This DVD series by MagisReasonFaith
provides many more extraordinary proofs and is a invaluable
aid for high school and college student confronted with
atheism.