God is present in the things humans discover

A group of scientists come bragging to God. “We’ve mapped the human genome, unraveled DNA, learned how to splice genes, and we now can clone anything. We don’t need you anymore.”

God says, “Fair enough; there’s just one small matter we need to work out. Let’s have a man-making contest. If you win, then I’ll leave you alone.”

“OK,” the scientists say.

“The old-fashioned way,” God says. “From the dust of the earth.”

“Not a problem,” they say.

God says, “You go first.”

The scientists reach down and scoop up a handful of earth. “Wait just a minute,” God says. “Go get your own dirt!”

Have you noticed whenever scientific discoveries are made, that’s just what they are – discoveries? Solomon was right when, in Ecclesiastes 1:9, he said, “there is no new thing under the sun.” I mean, all these things ARE; they already existed: genes, DNA, planets, galaxies – everything.

I recently had the privilege of reading a 12-year-old’s report on “Why Organic Evolution is not Scientific.” She wrote: “According to most evolutionists all life came from an amoeba or bacteria. But where did that amoeba get its life from? Some say lightning hit a chemical pond and that made life. But doesn’t that sound a bit far-fetched? Even an amoeba is a supercomplicated organism … Even with all the knowledge scientists have about such things, they cannot make an amoeba.”

Throughout the history of the universe, mankind has never created anything from nothing. Those who believe man came from a primordial swamp, a chemical pond or a bacterial dump, must still explain how the swamp, pond or dump came to be. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This explains why there’s nothing new under the sun, while there’s infinitely more still waiting to be discovered.

The mind-boggling part of it all, for me, is endlessness; between 1 and 2 there’s an endless number of numbers; and between 1 and 1.1 – I understand even zero is considered as having value now.

My finite brain can’t grasp the magnitude of time without end. It reminds me of when Dad and I were working on plumbing for a new house. He was staring at the pipes overhead and I asked what he was doing. He said, “I’m contemplating infinity.” A few minutes later he hadn’t moved, and, when I caught his eye, he said, “It’s bigger than I thought.”

A reader wrote, “Please don’t use the Bible as authority for an answer for what you know about God.” An interesting premise. I tried to think of an appropriate analogy for this proposition and decided it would be like trying to prove two plus two equals four, without using numbers. My daughter suggested it would be like trying to write music without notes, or making purple without red and blue.

My brother observed: “The birds of the sky have wings in response to the air; the fish of the sea have gills in response to the water. Man has a spirit in response to God. Or, as our minister is wont to say, ‘Each one of us has a God-shaped vacuum in our souls.'”

We’re all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Psalm 139:14 says, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” To those naysayers who don’t believe or understand this, an explanation is found in 1 Corinthians 2:14: “The merely intellectual man rejects the teaching of the Spirit of God; for to him it is mere folly; he cannot grasp it, because it is to be understood only by spiritual insight” (Twentieth Century New Testament).

I’m amazed by the number of nonbelievers who say God doesn’t speak to them. They don’t acknowledge his existence in the first place, so how can they hear what they aren’t listening for? On an episode of “House,” the cranky doctor had a patient who’d had a near-death experience. The patient was serene about the bright light and peaceful-easy-feeling he’d encountered. The crabby but obviously troubled doctor, who’s fanatically atheistic, nevertheless stuck a penknife into an electrical socket, effectively stopping his heart for his own near-death event. He interpreted the not-so-surprising result – no bright lights or warm feelings – as support for his affirmation of no God or afterlife.

Granted, that’s Hollywood, but it raises the question: If some people are convinced there’s no God, no heaven, no everlasting life, why are they so intolerant of those who do believe? Life is a journey of discovery, and we’re all at different milestones on our personal treks, with some truths identified, others still a mystery. For the truth of any discovery, spiritual or scientific, one must keep eyes and ears open to see and understand all God reveals under the sun.

Brenda J. Norris is assistant Sunday school leader and choir director at the West Lubec Methodist Church. She may be reached at bdnreligion@bangordailynews.net. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.