We Got Yer God Particle. . .Maybe

Tags

big bang, Blaze's Nincompoops, cosmology, Humor

Hey there Billy Bob, come on in. Sylvia is in the kitchen russlin’ up some fancy dip for the pork rinds. Heck I like ’em plain myself.

Sorry we had to meet here today. Old Tom snuck in the trailer last night. I gotta get that door fixed. Anyway, he’s been sleeping under the trailer and just is full of fleas.

I set myself down on that sofa this morning and took to scratchin’ like a crazy man. Had to clear out and set off one of them bombs to clean it out.

Anyway, Margaret read all about this “God” thing. Has somethin’ to do with science. I don’t get it much, but she said we better discuss it. She’s in a real tizzy.

So set yourself down. Oh, not there, she said not on that chair, it’s full of cat hair and she ain’t had time to clean it off yet.

So anyway, there’s this big thing they call a collider over in Switzerland or some place. And they are shooting atoms around real fast and they think they are about to find this little itty bitty thing. Margaret called it a God piece, or something like Hogs Boone part-e-cal. I don’t see what all the fuss is about, but Margo is fumin’ about those atheist foreign scientists messin’ with our God.

She’ll tell you all about it here.

Swampy:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 1:39pm

I don’t know, this just seems like a bad use of this technology, trying to prove the big bang. Like all the time wasted with the Hubble looking at empty pieces of space trying to prove the big bang, when the time could have much better been spent actually viewing objects that might teach us something valuable.

What objects would those be Swamp head? I am looking up your nose and so far, nothing interesting there. There are lots of empty pieces though, so I guess I see you point.

Islesfordian:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 3:40pm

Another question is, will anyone outside the field remotely understand the theories involved and what is “discovered”? What proof will the layman be able to see that there is anything real to this? How will he know that these scientists know what they are talking about? Without practical proofs and explanations this will all just seem as relevant as a bunch of nerds arguing whether zombies ate brains to stay “alive” or just because they were compelled to.

Yeah dude, if it’s not understandable to a rhesus monkey what good is it? Everybody knows that. So mind explaining to me how your microwave works?

MomRules:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:49pm

Why don’t they just search for God,they could find Him with a simple prayer instead of all this expensive nonsense.

Yeah, you should write them and explain that. They could have had a V-8!

AOL_Refugee :  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:39pm

There will be no answer, just more questions

Dumb science! They never know when enough is enough do they?

TwinspeedR:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:29pm

Be careful where you tread, mister scientist man. The secular humanist viewpoint ends in tears, always has, always will because it tries to supplant God (over and over and over again).

The CERN facility is a modern day Tower of Babel, and we know how that ended.

Why you are so correct. I saw Isaac Newton in tears just the other day, and everyone knows that Albert Einstein cried at the drop of a hat. I also have heard that there are just too many languages being spoken at CERN. Nobody understands anybody!

Chigger:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 5:07pm

@Grapes: How could finding this particle prove something positive about God? The article says they would prove the big bang theory  if they indeed find the particle. That theory seems to be against God.

It SEEMS that you are a homo sapien sapien, but looks are often deceiving. Proof once again that you can walk and talk without functioning  grey matter.

Independent American:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:17pm

Scientists are looking for “God” in a particle? Truthfully, what they are actually looking for is an alternative to God. Men tend to find what they look for. If they don’t find exactly what they want, they will keep on looking or be forced to “redefine” what they do find to support their foregone conclusion, like global warming “scientists” did. Whatever they “find” will be hailed as the ultimate truth–if it fulfills their expectations. Their conclusions will be overly complex in detail, but basically simplistic in general.

Wait and see.

God exists all right, but not as a particle.

Pretty darn smart them scientists. Hey I think you have the makings of a first-class dissertation. Go ahead look that up and see what it means.  I’m sure you can get published in Horse’s Ass Monthly.

 

Sloburn:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:10pm

I have decided – I do not exist.

Now lets see if the Frenches can prove I do.

Who are the Frenches?  I frankly don’t think you do exist. I sure can’t see you. I think you burned up.

Eschatologist:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:09pm

“In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”

 So let me get this sorta straight? Are you saying that the universe should have been created at the end? Man there would be no place to sit down dude.  But I find there are a lot of angry people around the world. At last I know why!

Alps91:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 12:08pm

Nobody is claiming that the God particle is God, what they are claiming is that it is what gives physical matter its physicalness, so to speak. It is the theoretical particle that gives mass mass and makes matter matter. It is not in any way supposed to change your view on God, its just a nick-name because it is the end-all-be-all of subatomic particles…

Are you insane? Give these people actual facts and their minds will overload! Can’t you see the steam coming out of their ears already?

RN Mom:  Posted on July 26, 2011 at 6:30pm

Since this study has been funded by European tax dollars, I would like to make this point: How come scientists are given a free pass on developing anti-matter? Given the qualities anti-matter theoretically possesses I wonder why the EPA or environmentalists aren’t up in arms about this? I mean, we can’t drill for oil without millions of permits and bureaucrats, we can’t build bulk head without the wrath of the EPA, we can’t even exhale without offending them- yet antimatter can be developed unchecked???? Where was the vote for this. I think everyone should have a say about what they are doing in the dark cover of caves.

What are those qualities oh wise one? As to the millions of permits. Wrong kiddo. Only 987,322, last time I checked!  You always want to vote on anything you don’t like. You never mention the word if you do. I vote that we vote about whether we should vote.  And tell me more about the caves.  Oh and be sure to tell me what hospital you work in. I’d like to avoid it if possible.

Well that’s it for this installment. As always, I remind you. These people have a legal right to vote. Scary ain’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

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Creation and the God of Abraham

Tags

bible, big bang, Book Reviews, cosmology, creatio ex nihilo, creation, History, philosophy, science, theology

I am deeply indebted to Cambridge University Press for their kindness in sending me a copy of Creation and the God of Abraham, edited by David B. Burrell, et al.

This is an amazing book, to put it quite simply. It is a difficult book, especially if you are not learned in science, philosophy and theology. But I promise you, if you take the time to explore and read carefully, you will come away with a wealth of new understanding and knowledge.

The question is posited: Is there a place for the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, and with it a logical explanation of the God of Abraham that is consistent with modern philosophy, science, and theology?

Quite a question. A group of scholars, spanning all three “People of the Book” religions, and  including philosophers, scientists, historians, and theologians, set out to ponder together this foundational issue at the Vatican Observatory. Each of the participants then wrote a chapter in their area of expertise, and this book is the collection of that conference.

Editor David Burrell, calls it a “feast prepared” for the reader. And I concur.

Creatio ex nihilo is the concept of God creating out of nothing, and it has come to be foundational to all three Abrahamic faiths. Early chapters explore the history of the development of the concept. It was not self-evident from Scripture, since  it is arguable that the Bible speaks to an initial watery chaos. But it too speaks of an all-powerful deity, and over a period of one thousand years, the doctrine was fleshed out and refined.

Authors Ernan McMullin and Janet M. Soskice take us through the scriptures and philosophical development from Aristotle through Augustine, Philo and Plotinus  in the search for a fully formed theology of creation, one that comported with our understanding of a God that was both omnipotent and intensely involved with creation.

Of course, for Christianity, Aquinas becomes the standard for the theological underpinning of creatio ex nihilo. David Burrell explores this aspect. Others then look at Aquinas in the light of the Enlightenment philosophers, and from the great Jewish minds, Maimonides and Crescas.

At times, it is easy to get lost in the language used. Philosophy always has its unique definitions of words we know and think we understand. Most assuredly we must be careful. I can state that I no doubt understood a good less than was conveyed, yet I can unequivocally say with patience, I came away understanding Aristotle, Scotus, Hume and Kant better than before I started.

Jewish and especially Islamic philosophy was quite new to me, and I had more difficulty with explanations from the authors covering them. Daniel Davies section on Maimonides and Crescas was difficult but highly enlightening.

The second half series of chapters moves into the scientific realm, and cosmology. This is an area that I have some lay familiarity with, and I could follow the arguments and evidence much easier here.

One of the more interesting chapters is that by Simon Oliver, who as a theologian, explores the idea of the Trinity and motion and emanation. He continues  through to Newton and cosmology. Again, hard going, but worth the effort.

Perhaps the chapter by William R. Stoeger, S.J. was the most useful for me. His explanation of the Big Bang and cosmology was the best synopsis I’ve encountered. I am reasonably well-versed in this area yet, he explained the early Planck era in a way that truly cleared up a lot of fuzzy thinking on my part. His conclusion that creation ex nihilo and the current quantum cosmological models of creation are not alternatives creations but complementary was well shown.

His discussions of time was particularly useful and illuminating to the lay mind. Science can only take you through successive regressions in time, and this is never-ending, whereas creatio ex nihilo does posit  a God who is self-evident, self-sustaining, and  is the basic ground for all existence.

“. . .God, instead enables and empowers creation to be what it is–and both ultimately endows and supports all the processes, regularities and processes of nature with their autonomous properties and capacities for activity. Thus God as Creator does not substitute for, interfere with, countermand or micro-manage the laws of nature. They possess their own integrity and adequacy, which God establishes and respects.”¹

For me this was thrilling, for it stated what I had deduced in some manner myself. It has been my journey to examine the God defined to me with the world that exists, as I see it, and then to mesh these two things. Stoeger comes closest to voicing my conclusion, certainly with greater eloquence.

One minor error was located in Simon Conway Morris’s chapter, What is Written into Creation? He pointed out that certain elements were “essential to life.” Phosphorus was one of them. As we learned a few days ago, that is no longer true. A bacterium in a lake in California replaces phosphorus with arsenic in its DNA sequencing. Obviously this is no fault on Mr. Morris’s part.

James Pambrun’s discussion about free will and sin were deeply important and I thought well explained and convincing. I found Thomas E. Tracy’s contribution wonderfully beautiful in its concepts. God’s act of creating is at once but never-ending, since he continually acts “through” his creation, under the concept of double agency.

Of course, I am only setting out the barest of understanding of these issues. All these authors are experts in the field they are addressing. Finally we circle back to Aquinas:

In the life of Christ, God learns as a human being in order to grant human beings divine sight. In the grace of the Spirit, human beings receive the sight of God through learning to see themselves as God sees them.²

For Aquinas, God is the ultimate scientist.

This is an expensive book. It is a difficult book for those unschooled in these disciplines. But, it is a beautiful, rich feast for those willing to explore. You will learn many things I promise you, and if you too desire to know God, much will be found here to ponder.

_____

¹ pg. 173

² pg.  242

What’s Up? 07/07/10

Tags

2nd Amendment, aliens, astronomy, big bang, Glenn Beck, GOP, guns, Michael Steele, Sharron Angle, squirrels, teabaggers

Well, I think I’ve got this little guy’s attention! Can you say saucer eyes? I’m trying to figure out what he is eating, and it looks suspiciously like some kind of buggy thingie. Also check out the fingers! Makes you just wanna cuddle doesn’t it?

I think we made like 28 hours without rain. It was raining when I woke up, so I’m not quite sure when it started again. They are starting to put out some warnings for flooding, but not in this county.

I am aware that there can be cyclical changes in weather that go on for years, even decades. But I think there is every reason to associate this new “rainy season” with global warming. They say that England is having the driest summer on record for I don’t know how long.

Everybody has something to grouse about. The east is sweltering this year. I’m surprised they have been able to hold the line with electricity so far. I’ll do my best to bring forth some links that are amusing. Goodness knows I need some, and probably so do you.

I just read where guv Jindal of LA, just signed into law a bill that allows gun toters to bring their shootin’ irons to church–in the name of security that is. Sadly, such nonsense is not just laughable, but indeed frightening. Sarah Posner has a great article on how the right sees its need to arm itself against the danger of democracy in action. This is indeed scary stuff.

The teabaggers continue to struggle. You see, most of them aren’t educated much at all, and now find themselves, as candidates for serious offices, and unable of course to face media with anything close to a cogent message. Case in point, Sharron Angle who is trying to unseat Harry Reid. Now that she is the nominee, she decided to scrap her agenda and start over, and is mad at Harry for reprinting her OWN website, since as I said, she’s changed all her positions. Rethuglians continue to be amazed that what they say is RECORDED.

No doubt you have heard that there is now such a thing as Beck U. Our dear little huckster Glenn will for a small fee of $75 a year, let you enter the environs of Beck U. where you can take courses by faux “profs” and learn the learn history of America and other such reconstructionist ideals. Learn about yer rights there my friend, so you’ll be ready to take on the guv’ment which is takin’ away yer rights.  Glenn continues to make money off the gullible and stupid.

I happened to see Pat Robertson supporting Michael Steele and in the same sentence claiming that McCain and Graham have been rejected as party leaders of the GOP. He’s with Steele, Afghanistan is Obama’s war of choice.  It became that when he added more troops there. Interesting way of looking at it. I love watching the GOP beat up on each other. Oh yes I do.

I’m not an anti-squirrel person. Never have been. I don’t mind if they snitch a bit of food from the bird feeder now and then. In fact, I applaud their bravery. Few venture near our house with two snarly dogs who are quick enough to catch them. I think them cute. And I always do my best to give them the right of way when crossing highways. They are intriguing in ways I had not realized. How so? Read the NYTimes article and find out.

Some years ago we participated in the SETI program. Our computer crunched numbers when we were not using it, part of the massive data influx the program received. Anomalies were searched for. Stephen Hawking said we shouldn’t look for aliens, they are likely to be mean. That was never the working theory of the originators of the SETI program, Frank Drake from I think Cornell originally. Anyway, if the subject intrigues you (word for the day!), then read on.

There is a probe out there, mapping the very edges of the universe, thus displaying how our universe looked in the seconds following the Big Bang. Oddly there is a couple of guys who have proposed a new theory wherein our universe is the result of a wave hitting another wave ( visualize two pieces of paper waving in the wind and occasionally they touch at different parts, creating universes). This probe I think will likely answer whether the BB is the true cause or the oops we touched! is the winner. Either way, fascinating.

And with that:

Three Cheers for Imperfection!

Tags

astronomy, big bang, cosmology, God, perfection, universe

I must have read or seen renditions of the Big Bang a hundred times by now. Thought I pretty much knew what it entailed. However, last night while watching Stephen Hawking’s show, I learned something new.

Let me explain for all you novices out there. (*smirk*). Okay, so I’m no expert. I am however, pretty good at relating information that I may not actually understand all that well.

So. Once upon a time all that is our universe was compressed into what is called a singularity. A meaningless concept to astrophysicists and cosmologists (having nothing to do with hair–that’s cosmetologists, but they might be related given the change of but one letter which seems really odd to me, but I digress).

Singularities are pinpoints of “space” which are giganticus when it comes to matter. Got that? Well, I agree it’s much easier to visualize a pinprick of a head like Glenn Beck’s with NOTHING in it, but try to imagine a tiny tiny dot which contains all that is in our universe today.

Kay. Now for no reason we know, it explodes. And with no light mind you, cuz light requires a fusioning sun and we ain’t got there yet. So anyway, all these particles (sub-atomic, meaning smaller than an atom) are spewing out in all directions. Now, if that was all that happened, well, nothing ever would have happened and you wouldn’t be enjoying this post. The various laws such as electromagnetism, strong and weak forces and gravity would exactly balance out, and all that spewed out stuff would have just sat there.

But, and here is the NEW INFORMATION: the “stuff” didn’t spew out EXACTLY evenly. It had a few places where it was a little more or less dense. And thus, gravity could operate and cause the heavier concentrations to be stronger and thus attract more and the weaker, less, and well you get it I’m sure. When they got dense even, these particles were banging into each other harder and then faster and then all that caused heat, and then one turned on–it’s hydrogen began to fuse  and energy was given off, and then there was LIGHT!

From there some really big stars went through a process of getting so hot and compressing and fusing  into helium and then on and on until carbon and oxygen and all the elements were formed in it’s tummy until it blew up and spewed (word for the day!) all over the place. From this our sun and our earth (iron!) were born.

Phew! Okay, so from all that, we learn that the only way that we came to be is because the universe from it’s very beginning was IMPERFECT. Had to be so. And thus we came from imperfect beginnings.

I immediately thought of Plato and his forms. Now I will no doubt screw this up, so you brains out there who are philosophy freaks can come in and clean up my analysis. But Plato talked about what he saw as obvious: there was a material world and there was a real one. Note that folks. The material one was the one we see and feel and taste and so forth. The real one is the one we don’t. For every horse in the material world, there was a form horse in the real world–a perfect horse, the idea  of what a horse is, and presumably a perfect horse.

Smart people, according to Plato, sought to mold their lives toward the ideal variety. They, being thus the smartest, should govern, since they were not burdened like most folks with materialism. Sound like us today?

So given that our universe is imperfect by definition, I mean could Plato have been wrong about his ideal forms? I mean is there perfect beauty? Or perfect compassion?

We certainly attribute such perfection on say Jesus don’t we? He was at the least perfectly obedient wasn’t he? Perhaps we need conclude that only God holds all perfection? Horror of horrors, he does not create perfectly except in a metaphorical sense, of things being created perfectly to accomplish his goal of creating a living, growing  universe.

Now, the atheist would argue (ignoring the entire Plato thing no doubt) that it was random chance that our universe turned out to be imperfect thus allowing it to develop. They would claim that perhaps kazillions of other universes exist, and thus every range of possibility is met. So in some, a steady state of nothing exists, in others they went crazy and cycled through in a week, so sentience lasted maybe three minutes. You can see what they mean.

On the other hand, one can say, “wow, what an amazing God we have. Who but God could have realized that his perfect laws needed a push.” Kinda of like dipping a finger in a placid bowl of water, he disturbed the chaos which wasn’t really chaos, just enough to set  the dominoes a crashing.

I take great comfort in that notion and in another one as well. I mean, given that the material creator (the workings of natural laws) that created me was flawed, well heck, how can I be expected to be perfect either? That takes a lot of burden and weight off me I tell ya.

Next time I burn the roast and the Contrarian looks at me with consternation (never happened yet but it might!), I can shrug, and say, “hey, who knows but this imperfection is exactly what is needed to keep the universe ticking away.”

Ya never know, I say. Ya never know.

Thanks God, you always have my back!

What’s Up? 06/02/10

Tags

abortion rights, astronomy, big bang, Catholicism, DODT, feminism, Israel, lifestyles, Michaelangelo, Middle East, mind-body, oil spill, Palestine, right wing nuttery, Sarah Palin, Sistene Chapel, tolerance, What's Up? news

It’s another gorgeous day in the meadow. Alas I remain indoors, afraid to step out and be assaulted by the bug that bites me and leaves me itching for a week.

In ten years I’ve never been able to see a bug on my skin, and thereafter find that as the site of intense itching. I assume it is a mosquito, but never feel any bite from the critter and thus have no clue. But  a full week of itching ensues.

I’ve tried every manner of itch cream and calomine lotion I can find. Nothing works but temporarily. I am fine, and then brush against it and it flares up again. I cannot locate my OFF and so am indoors until I can get to the store tomorrow. Then it’s full coverage from head to foot for all of June. By July it seems whatever it is moves on.

Feeling sorry for me? Good! That makes me feel better.

***

A good editorial from the NYTimes on Sister Margaret McBride, excommunicated for signing off on an abortion in Phoenix. All those pedophile priests of course were NEVER excommunicated.

I confess to not knowing as much as I should about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This set of essays I think help us to work our way through a complicated history. Thanks of course to 3quarksdaily. (Do you think I’m over using this site or what?)

Just me, but since BP has asked for any suggestions in plugging that leak? I’d skip the tennis balls and tires, and send down some Rethugs ( I have a whole list I could give them of unnecessary air-users up top here). All that hot air might do the trick ya know. Just sayin’. It’s the patriotic thing to do doncha think? And the GOP prides itself on being patriotic.

Scientific American has a fascinating post on Michaelangelo and the Sistene Chapel. Seems that the great artist and renaissance man was quite the anatomist, and left some fine illustrations buried in the ceiling painting. Such work is now being described by Ian Suk and Raphael Tamargo, both experts in the field of neuroanatomy from Johns Hopkins. Some interesting speculation as to what it all means.

Mystical Seeker has some valuable insights into tolerance in our world today. It never fails to thrill me to see that bloggers read one another, read other articles, and new ideas sprout. Some thoughtful ideas here.

Who doesn’t believe in the big bang? Oh, your usual suspects, southern Republicans. What is it about these people that they are so fearful of reality?

Something like 70-80% of all Americans support repeal of DODT in the military. The right has raised new arguments every day it seems. First, it would increase gay rape, then we have to worry about tainted “gay blood,” then it would destroy military chaplains “rights” but the newest one is the best–It will enrage Muslims who will try to kill more of us. Right Wing Watch has to story.

If you like your news tart and saucy, then you better try out Black Magpie Theory. Brought to us by OKJimm!

Is Sarah Palin entitled to call herself a feminist? Do words mean anything? A terrific must read post at Jezebel!

If you need an attitude adjustment, and we all do from time to time, Atticus at StatesofMindz, has 21 “If’s” you might want to think about.

Hope you find a thing or two that strikes your fancy here.