In a universe of wonders, is mastering the elements really the ultimate goal of science?
What is dark energy? Dark matter? Gravity? Magnetism? These are only the latest/more well known questions in science right now that don’t have answers. Sure, there are theories. And, no, I’m not that guy that says “it’s only a theory.” What I say is, if you’re not sure how to explain something physical, like quantum effects, how are you at explaining spiritual things? In fact, what ground do you stand on to explain them at all?
I know the ground I stand on. I know the source of all explanations. We’re not made to have command of all that is knowable. Could there be a case made that the reason we’re unable to quite grasp at these things and understand them might be that we’re not equipped to do this, at all? In fact, isn’t there a place we just can’t go, why we can’t master the stars, or our diseases, or even the hair on our own head?
It’s all seeming more and more out of reach because, number one, we’re not the source of all these explanations. And, neither is the ground we stand on. I can barely control the level of dishes in my sink. Yet, we as a human race think we can control the elements and the weather. I’ve seen no evidence of this, at least none that shows we’ll ever gain a deeper understanding that allows us to alter things like the physical constants, and such. But, what I have seen evidence for is the explanatory power of the Bible.
I don’t know if I can get my house in order, but what I do know is that a way to do this is described in my Bible, for some reason. We’re not the source of all explanations, and we’ll never find that source looking only in the world of the corporeal. Problems we face are usually spiritual. The others, we can fix with a wrench and a hammer. It’s when a child won’t listen, or when we don’t have motivation, that we need to turn to another source, outside of ourselves.
There are many voices that claim to know what this source is, and what these explanations might be, but only one seems to work at all times, with 100% accuracy. When it’s mixed with our human reasoning, things get muddy and fall short, but blaming the source doesn’t help anything. What I’m speaking of is the voice of God.
Let’s backtrack for a minute. Things we, as humans, have called “gods” have had various levels of physicality, exhibiting some of our frailties even. So, if we retreat a bit further from our own explanations, even our own worldly understanding, we come to a much more pure form of this word, God. First of all, it would be in the form of something that has no frailty at all, even if this form appeared to have vulnerability, to us. Second, the physical manifestation would be only one part of the infinitely powerful, infinitely present, complete form, if we’re truly defining the word God.
In fact, infallibility would have to be the first and last quality check in any trait attributed to such a being. This calls for a much higher standard than we’ve allowed for in defining most gods. In our narrow view, we’ve mostly lost sight of what perfection really must mean. It’s not us. It’s not one of us. But, it would have to be like us, at least. Just, more. Infinitely more. This would have to mean attributing three indispensible traits to such a definition. Love. Personhood. Agency.
Humankind has all three in some capacity or another. Someone that we should then call God would need to have these as well, yet all in inexhaustible measure. Putting aside for a moment what this would mean as far as ultimate power and efficacy, the first consideration is that we should only ever grant such a name as God to a loving person, able to relate to us, and to provide for what we need, at a bare minimum. And, then leave out anyone unable to command all of physical reality to provide for us in this way, at least.
This is the voice, the person, and the power we find in the Bible. Now, I could go into all the evidence for this, things that the Bible has predicted and has come to pass, and still lies waiting to happen. But that is not what this exercise has been about. What we’ve been talking about is human limitation. We tend to strive towards achievements without asking, or even supposing, whether or not they’re achievable.
And, I think what I’ve shown here is that there are, at least in concept, places humankind has always wanted to go, but we’re willfully blind to admitting our lack of capacity to do so. What is left is a reality so beyond our comprehension as to suggest that failing to consider our own frailty in the face of such vast wonders of even the physical realities we can observe is woefully myopic, willing ignorance to the point of pure absurdity.
There is a source of love, power, and wonder that made us, and all we see. It’s right in front of our eyes. We can’t make ourselves, or the environment that sustains us. But, we were made to see it. And if only one thing I said is true, we should only be looking for a God that speaks, or he’s no God at all. Perhaps this universe and all we see had intelligence, power, and aptitude to create a world of creatures who wonder how it all came to be. But, if mastering the elements using what we have in our own power to do is all there is to this life, then why do we wonder about anything else at all?
Final note. We’ve seen what humanity has done so far with scientific discovery. We’ve come to the brink of self destruction, at the very least. And, I know that a common mantra heard when asking scientists is that the physical laws are just “what they are” so asking why is a moot point. But, the latest (and presumably now only) explanation for our finely tuned universe would have to include the infinite regress of alternatively tuned universes in a multiverse. Besides having no way to empirically test this, we’d also need to understand what an infinitely variable constant like the universal constant would even look like. If we did, the rogue manipulation of such a trait would be not just an extinction event for all life, but perhaps for this entire universe. So, this is, at the very least, one of the (hopefully) indelible limits to human comprehension. If it were, then we could truly say we have attained at least the destructive power of the gods. So, do you think humans are limited in scientific achievement, or not? Something outside of us had to have a higher order of understanding and agency, at least, to result in our sustained existence. Besides a multiverse scenario, there doesn’t seem to be an explanation. And all explanations at present are replacements for God, not denials.
I’m writing to inspire thought about God, his Son, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. If you can support my quest join me here on Medium, https://jusayin-topix.medium.com/membership
