Everything And God

Last updated on: April 29, 2021 at 7:47 am by C. Don Jones

Everything And God 2021-04-29T07:47:38-06:00 C. Don Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I spend most of my time exploring everything in the realms of the Spirit and the Secular. More accurately stated, I work in these two realms of existence. It is fun then to explore the unseen realm of particle physics. Subatomic physics challenges the analytical mind. How is light both a particle and a wave? The imagination is exercised to explain what is demonstrated as real by the computer you are using to read this. But, the theoretical side is interesting because it takes imagination to figure out how to experiment and prove everything.

The Theory Of Everything

A friend once e-mailed me the following question. “What do you as a pastor think of physics?” It is an odd question indeed.

I replied, “Well, if they can explain the math and the thinking behind in terms I understand, I like it.”

His response was, “Dang autocorrect! I meant psychics?”

It was a good laugh. But I was serious in my first answer. This stuff intrigues me. I have walked in the world or General and Special Relativity, Quantum Theory, Quantum Electrodynamics, String Theory, Dark Matter, Blackholes, Curved Space, and Superstrings as a tourist in a foreign land. The knowledge makes me want to know more.

I received my copy of Michio Kaku’s new book The God Equation: The Quest For A Theory of EVERYTHING on the day it was released. His writing and explanations allowed me to read it all the same day too. It is easier to read than Stephen Hawking’s final popular book Brief Answers To The Big Questions.

A Troubling Problem

There is a troublesome problem with all of this popularized reading. Questions about how these ideas are developed arise. Several years ago I had a question. I decided to turn to a previously untapped resource. I knew the mother of a solid state physicist who I thought could help. My question concerned M-Theory.

He apologized in his reply. It turned out he had no idea what I was asking about. He “had to look it up,” he said. M-Theory is short for “Membrane Theory.” But that is not confusing enough. Membranes, like those of animal cells, are the defining barriers of the multiple universes from the “multiverse theory.” My friend’s son explained that to his mind M-Theory is just “merely mathematical philosophy.”

I was reading in his reply the old problem of theoretical versus experimental science. It is the dispute between Edison and Tesla which began before they lived and continues to this day. The reason I asked the question in the first place was an assertion about one of my own philosophical positions.

A Reason For Everything

Is there a purpose to the Universe? Did it come into being with no guiding principle and somehow develop beings that could ask these questions?

The Universe appears to be “fine-tuned” for the development of life and sentient beings. The idea is called the Anthropic Principle. The purpose of the Universe is to produce a self-awareness of itself through thinking beings. My own view is considered in scientific terms the weak Anthropic Principle. The difference is similar to the Strong and Weak nuclear forces.

M-Theory proposes an infinite number of possible (or potential) universes until we find one (or more) that produce intelligent beings. This is the view Hawking settled into. Kaku thinks M-Theory has too many problems and gives us the theoretical equivalents of 2+2=5 thus violating mathematical logic. (pp. 189-190) To my mind Occam’s Razor would favor the Anthropic Principle. Kaku even makes reference to Freeman Dyson “it seems as if the universe knew we were coming.” (p. 175) Yet, Kaku does not argue for this idea.

Any Or All

Kaku knows there a metaphysical questions that come from choosing his title. The word “metaphysics” is a compound Greek word meaning “after physics.” A theory of explaining the work and interactions of everything can be given the title “The God Equation” just like the Higgs-Boson became “The God Particle.” The idea relies on the proposed contribution the idea would make. Higgs-Boson explains the existence of mass. The God Equation would explain what makes it all work.

Kaku claims agnosticism as his metaphysical position. But as the famous line from the book by Aristotle says, “All people by nature desire to know.” Even with a simple e=mc2 type equation explaining how the universe works, we will still desire an explanation of why it exists. And if we get the answer that the universe exists because of the instability of nothingness there will still be a desire on our part to know why that is the case. The fact is we are never going to get away from the question of purpose. Whatever we learn will require us to know more. This truth was learned when Albert Einstein developed his theories of Relativity. The quest for knowledge never ends.

Will human being ever know all there is to know? Is information finite? It may be. Eventually individuals get tired of learning and are satisfied that we know enough. I can’t see that happening anytime soon for me. But I may get there tomorrow.

Spirituality

Theology

Truth

Previous Post

April 27, 2021

LOVE HEALS

Next Post

May 3, 2021 Two Righteous Evils

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who saw a vision of a valley of dry bones?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel Jeremiah Isaiah Ezekiel