Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Higgs Boson?
Every believer has his or her own doubt instigator. For some, it's the problem of pain. How can there be a good God when there is so much indescribable suffering in the world? The problem of pain has made me question God's character, but never his existence.
For others, it's God's intangibility: "I can't see, hear, taste, touch, or sense God's presence, therefore he must not exist." But that doesn't really get to me, either. I'm willing to accept that there is a dimension to life that is inaccessible through the five senses.
No, for me, it's science that causes an attosecond of doubt. What we're learning about creation through astronomy and physics leaves me shaking in my boots. This past July, scientists presented evidence for a particle called the Higgs boson, or the "God particle." In simple terms, the Higgs boson lends credence to the Big Bang theory because it explains why particles have mass—and why, in turn, we exist. Without the Higgs boson, the universe would have energy but no mass.
Some scientists claim that the discovery is a severe blow to religion. One Cambridge professor said the Higgs boson was "another nail in the coffin of religion"; Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist at Arizona State University argued that the Higgs boson "posits a new story of our creation" independent of a supernatural creator. The Higgs boson, scientists argue, tells us how something came from nothing.
One month later, on August 5, NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars with the hopes that it could provide evidence that the Red Planet once—or possibly still—harbored life. Some claim that, contrary to what the Vatican says, life on Mars will similarly disprove the Jewish and Christian creation narrative and thus, all religions as well.
And this month, the Dark Energy Camera, a 570-megapixel digital telescopic camera positioned on an arid Chilean mountaintop, took its first photos of deep space. Each photo can capture up to 100,000 galaxies that are up to 8 billion miles away. Over the next five years, the camera will photograph no less than 300 million galaxies.
Since the 1920s, scientists have known that the universe is expanding, but most assumed that gravity would slow this expansion and eventually cause the universe to collapse or contract. But in the 1990s, researchers determined that the universe isn't slowing, it's expanding. For this to be possible, another force had to be counteracting gravity and pushing apart the cosmos. Imagine putting several dots on a deflated balloon. As you filled up the balloon with air, those dots would spread further apart.
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Flavia Bickford
what is man, asks the Psalmist, that you are mindful of him? Truly, who are we that such a Being would communicate with us?
Jodee Royster
why, in turn, we exist. Without the Higgs boson, the universe would have energy but no mass.
Paul Vinall
All the thinking that has been done about the Anthropic Principle and the Fine Tuning of the Constants of The Universe show that the Universe HAS to be the size it is for we humble humans to exist - which puts us right back at the centre of 'Why'.
John Richardson
It might seem unbelievable to most kids if you took them to see "Mary Poppins" and then told them that the entire movie had been created for them. But for two little girls (Walt Disney's daughters), that was absolutely true. And that's what an *earthly* father did.
Hana Bowlin
We dont know what (or Who) is beyond the universe, but we know its expanding at an ever-increasing rate!
kwadwo
I think the problem with the West might be lack of the manifestation of the power of God. If you've been to some areas in Africa or other parts of the world were the powers of darkness are confronted and broken by the power of God in the name of Jesus you'll believe in God's existence no matter what. I am a geologist and studied evolution but I've been a witness to such meetings and deliverance sessions in which demons talk through people, give them enormous strength and act wierdly and by Gods power all are cast out. If you have had such spiritual encounters which cannot be explained by science you will not doubt God's existence. Like i said earlier most people in the west haven't got such encounters and as such the existence of God has mostly been proved along theological lines but it should be in the demonstration of His power also(1Cor 2:4). the bible says God beared witness to the apostles preaching with signs, wonders and divers miracles- Hebrews 2:4(KJV): "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles". For example, in Acts 13:5-13 the proconsul believed the gospel when the Elymas the sorcerer was made blind.
Ann
Oops! Sorry! The last address is www. then you copy and paste the address below next to the www. discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/survivalOfTheFakest.pdf Not the one I gave above. It will not work.. Sorry about that! This site sometimes does not let me post links for some reason!
Ann
Finding life on another planet would not disprove the bible at all. There is life outside our world - there is a place where angels and demons reside. Is that somewhere in our universe or in another "plane/state" that we do not see? I do not know! But who says heaven isn't on the outside of the known universe? I have no idea. I just do not see or comprehend how finding other life would disprove God's Word... Also Christians need to understand that demons could also possibly pose as another life type, heck they even pretend to be people when they are possessed! And who knows what a demon looks like anyway... Jesus clearly saw them. I take the opposite view to you - That creation, including the huge universe, shows so much of who our God is and proves so much a need for a Creator! I also always see so much of the bible being proven true over and over again....As new information surfaces the more the bible is proven to be so.... As you even pointed out the bible says the universe is expanding hundreds of years before scientists even discovered this to be so! That is not all.... Check out these scientific facts in the bible that have only been discovered with "modern" science..... copy and paste the address below and place www. in front pleaseconvinceme.com/index/The_Bible_Foreshadows_Scientific_Discoveries and place www. in front of the address below eternal-productions.org/101science.html and place www. in front livingwaters.com/tracts/523/Scientific_Facts.pdf And not only that check out how many historical facts in the bible were scoffed at by historians over the years but over time with new discoveries are proven to be true! And I certainly do not see the enormity of the universe showing there is not a Creator! But the total opposite of how something so vast and amazing could exist. Something so intricate! And wondrous! Could only be in existence because of a Creator! Just as our human bodies are so amazing that there must be a designer and Creator/Maker. Even the created concept of "time" is just as amazing to me as the huge universe. But that is just my faith and I appreciate peoples faith differs! Check out this latest discovery concerning new theories surrounding the so called Big Bang - which if true - would line up with scripture so amazingly! copy and paste the address below and place www. in front - news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/8519215/aussie-researchers-rewrite-big-bang-theory If true this would line up with Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Though I do understand discoveries like this come and go... so may not be "proven" to be so. Just thought what he was saying lines up with scripture if it were proven to be so! And I love to see how new discoveries do! You said "We Christians in the West are a bit skittish about new scientific discoveries, and rightfully so. From the French Enlightenment right down to Scopes, reason, progress, and science have all been pitted against Christianity." I think it is wrong to say that "rightfully so" we should be skittish of new scientific discoveries!!!! There is nothing to fear! NOTHING!!! We should not be like that at all! We should welcome scientific advancement/knowledge. The morality of its use is a whole other issue though! But we should not be scared of new knowledge! God's Word will always stand true and will not return to Him void! If something that comes up that contradicts His Word we either do not have the full picture yet, the full story or the scientific community have lied or are being presumptuous, or negate/hide certain information. Which they do do. Do not believe me? Check out this Place www. in front of the address below discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/survivalOfTheFakest.pdf -Survival of the Fakest (how fake evolution information can be).
James Cowles
I should leave off the adjective "human" to allow for the possible, even probable, existence of non-human consciousness. JRC
James Cowles
Whenever I feel overwhelmed by the mere size of, say, a galaxy, I remember one salient fact: I am contemplating the galaxy, the galaxy is not contemplating me. Human consciousness dwarfs all the other wonders of the cosmos. JRC
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