I have been watching a series of videos entitled "The Elegant Universe" about the quest to find a theory of everything. Now, math is definitely not my strongest subject and I get hung up even thinking about atoms and their constituent parts, so this is way over my head.
If I understand the question correctly, there are at least four forces in nature; three of them agree with each other and the fourth stands on its own and won't fit in with the other three. The three that agree with each other are Strong forces (holding atoms together), Electromagnetic forces, and Weak forces (radiation). The one that stands by itself is gravity. The divide between gravity and the other three is so great that they don't operate under the same rules, but operate under conflicting rules. What scientists are trying to do is to unite these diverse realities into one seamless mold. Some say it can't be done; others think something called string theory will do the trick.
It is like that with me and religion. I need to find my own theory of everything that will unite the two; that is my only hope for faith. The other day my mother said to me (after I chided her for driving through Alabama during the height of the tornado outbreak with no radio on--do you realize the danger you and Dad were in?), "It must not have been our time to go."
Immediately I said, "I have problems with that, based on where I work and the kind of work I do. If it is merely a matter of a person's time to go, no matter what, then how can you tell if medications are working or not? Think of all the drugs that have been recalled lately because it was found out that they caused heart attacks. Was it really the drug that killed all those people or was it just coincidence? How can you tell?" She thought for a minute and said, "That is a very good question."
I have the same problem when people say God is in control. A God that sends tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis, knowing full well the devastation and suffering they will bring, is not a God of love, as far as I am concerned. There is a disconnect there. Many people think that the message of the Book of Job is to stay faithful in the face of trials. I don't think so. I think that the author of the Book of Job intended to send a message about how he (or maybe even she) perceived God. It is no accident that God is depicted in that book as a raging tornado. And as far as the word "love" to describe the relationship between this God and His creation, you will look in vain in Job for it. Job's God is more like the Hindu Shiva. And Shiva was on the rampage last week in the American South.
No, I cannot accept that. Natural disasters are simply a consequence of living on a geologically alive planet. If you don't want them, go to the Moon or Mars. I have a feeling though, that should humans ever reach Mars they will find all their efforts at terraforming doomed to failure, because Mars, as far as we know, is tectonically dead.
So, here I stand, watching gravity (spirituality, religion?) go off by itself, while the other three forces (the sciences) group together, and I don't know where to turn.
If I understand the question correctly, there are at least four forces in nature; three of them agree with each other and the fourth stands on its own and won't fit in with the other three. The three that agree with each other are Strong forces (holding atoms together), Electromagnetic forces, and Weak forces (radiation). The one that stands by itself is gravity. The divide between gravity and the other three is so great that they don't operate under the same rules, but operate under conflicting rules. What scientists are trying to do is to unite these diverse realities into one seamless mold. Some say it can't be done; others think something called string theory will do the trick.
It is like that with me and religion. I need to find my own theory of everything that will unite the two; that is my only hope for faith. The other day my mother said to me (after I chided her for driving through Alabama during the height of the tornado outbreak with no radio on--do you realize the danger you and Dad were in?), "It must not have been our time to go."
Immediately I said, "I have problems with that, based on where I work and the kind of work I do. If it is merely a matter of a person's time to go, no matter what, then how can you tell if medications are working or not? Think of all the drugs that have been recalled lately because it was found out that they caused heart attacks. Was it really the drug that killed all those people or was it just coincidence? How can you tell?" She thought for a minute and said, "That is a very good question."
I have the same problem when people say God is in control. A God that sends tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis, knowing full well the devastation and suffering they will bring, is not a God of love, as far as I am concerned. There is a disconnect there. Many people think that the message of the Book of Job is to stay faithful in the face of trials. I don't think so. I think that the author of the Book of Job intended to send a message about how he (or maybe even she) perceived God. It is no accident that God is depicted in that book as a raging tornado. And as far as the word "love" to describe the relationship between this God and His creation, you will look in vain in Job for it. Job's God is more like the Hindu Shiva. And Shiva was on the rampage last week in the American South.
No, I cannot accept that. Natural disasters are simply a consequence of living on a geologically alive planet. If you don't want them, go to the Moon or Mars. I have a feeling though, that should humans ever reach Mars they will find all their efforts at terraforming doomed to failure, because Mars, as far as we know, is tectonically dead.
So, here I stand, watching gravity (spirituality, religion?) go off by itself, while the other three forces (the sciences) group together, and I don't know where to turn.
