Let's Talk About You - What Do YOU Think of Me?

"You know, if they ever find life on other planets you can throw away your Bible."

That was a comment once made by my brother during a conversation years ago. And, according to a lot of what I hear, his opinion (was) is a common one. Here is why:

Humanity has had this God complex for most of its recorded history. (And to keep grammar simple, I'm going to use male references, though this is not limited to the less-fairer sex.) Man has believed that God is here to fight his battles, give him special favor, or that he himself IS - in a sense - God. He has been so wrapped up in HIMSELF that he believes that God not only created the world, but that He created the ENTIRE vast universe JUST for him!

Talk about hutzpah!

One of the Bible verses used to support this is John 3:16 - "For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son . . . " (emphasis mine). You see it? God so loved THIS world that He gave His Son. That must mean that there cannot be any other life in the ENTIRE universe, or God would have had to give His Son to THAT world as well (because, of course life there would have had to sin and need a savior too!). And, since Jesus came to earth as a man, and not an aardvark, man MUST be the most important life on earth. And since man is only on earth . . .

You have to understand the importance of man in the grand scheme of things. You see, Adam and Eve sinned, and not only cursed themselves, but the whole of creation:

"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now." (Romans 8:19-23 NKJV)

So, creation eagerly waits for the sons of God (redeemed man) to be revealed. Creation will then be delivered from the bondage of corruption that man's sin put it in. And since man's sin took place on the world that God so loved, there cannot be life outside of earth.

So, if only MAN wouldn't have sinned, creation itself would be fine.

You know, the more I write, the more ludicrous that sounds.

If you are one who has this man superiority complex, may I direct you to my blog "Ptolemy Syndrome"!

I guess all I can say, if there IS life out there in the great expanse of the universe, and there very well could be, is that that life is far more intelligent, and far less full of itself, than what we have here.

(Inspired by the movie "Contact" and the podcast FilmSack! of the same movie.)

©Emittravel 2016

The Big Empty

I'm reading an interesting book by Paul Davies called About Time - Einstein's Unfinished Revolution. One of the topics mentioned is that the universe has been expanding since the "big bang". My question is, what is considered "the universe"? Is it just the material that was formed during that "bang" and is propelling away from the other material formed at the same time? Or is the universe itself the "big empty" BETWEEN the material formed during that "bang"? Is the universe a finite area that is expanding, much like a balloon being filled with air? Or is the universe ALREADY an endless expanse of "nothingness", with the material formed during that "bang" moving ever out into that "nothingness"? And if the universe is expanding like a balloon, what is beyond it? A balloon expands into something, but what of the universe?

And if everything started at the "big bang", where did that endless expanse of "nothingness" come from?

I posted a tweet that said, "Questions for God: What is the stuff of Space? How does gravity work? Why put the meat on the back of the leg, when we bang it on the front?" It was meant as sort of a grand joke - the three questions I want to ask God when I meet Him in heaven. But the first two are serious. Scientists throw terms around all the time, but do a lousy job of explaining the "why" behind them. Opposite poles attract (minus/plus) and the same poles repel (minus/minus or plus/plus). Why? What CAUSES those reactions. Just because we observed them, and gave them a clever name/law (Magnetism), doesn't answer the WHY. Same with gravity and the "stuff of space".

Another point in the book (which I am really enjoying, by the way) is that if the universe were to stop expanding (the amount of matter in the universe being enough that the amount of gravity overcomes the speed of expansion) and fall back into a "big crunch", that time itself would flow backwards. Understand, this is not something that the author is coming up with himself - many physicists and mathematicians have embraced it. Why? Just because stars and planets and "stuff" change direction, why should time as well? If I throw a ball really hard straight up, at one point, since the gravitational pull of the earth is greater than the speed of the ball, the ball would stop, change direction, and fall back to earth. Does that mean TIME goes backwards as well? Just because a star changes direction, does that mean time reverses and light from that star goes back TO it?

I guess some things are beyond our finite understanding. It takes One who is infinite to provide the answer. The One who is perhaps OUTSIDE of the universe - holding it in His hands.

© Emittravel 2013

Ptolemy Syndrome

Long before Copernicus discovered that the earth revolved around the sun, Ptolemy believed and taught that everything revolved around the earth. The earth was considered the center of the universe. As a matter of fact, Copernicus got in a lot of trouble with the Catholic Church because of his discovery. Some people just have difficulty believing that the universe does NOT revolve around THEM. I'm sure you have met a few of these in your time. Below are just a few that I thought of. I'd love to hear others - feel free to post them to this blog. Maybe people will be enlightened . . . like Copernicus . . .

People  who can't count in a 12 Items or Fewer line.

Men who think they have better aim than they do, and leave the toilet seat down.

People who use the Entrance as an Exit of a parking lot.

Texting while driving.

Taking the last cup of coffee out of the pot and leaving the empty one on the burner to burn - or better yet, not making another pot for somebody after them.

Those people who travel down the lane that is ending so that they can merge at the front of the line, thereby causing a traffic jam.

People who take two parking spaces.

People who don't use those really convenient shopping cart collectors in parking lots and just leave the cart in an empty space. You know, the space you were about to pull into.

Those individuals who pull out in front of you and then travel about ten miles below the speed limit.

Line cutters.

People who refuse to use the crosswalk buttons/signals, and walk on the "don't walk" - making the traffic wait for them.

Those individuals who drive with their high beams on, even when approaching on-coming traffic.

People using their electronic devices on a plane before they are allowed to.

Two-year olds. Enough said.

Those who come to Mass and make a bee-line to the exit immediately after communion. I mean, this is God's house. Would you go to someone's house and have dinner, and leave before dessert? That's kind of rude.

People who walk around stores and leave things in various places, because they decided they didn't want to buy them, instead of putting them back where they came from.

People who change the diaper of their child inside their car, and leave the dirty diaper on the ground in the middle of the parking lot.

Did I mention the non-use of turn signals?

Those who throw trash out of their car, when they are only twenty feet from a trash can. (See the diaper comment above . . . )

People who believe that their opinion is right over everybody else, and everybody has a right to their opinion. Oh wait a minute, that one is me.

© Emittravel 2012