Searching for the Start
There appear to be two fundamental and continuing questions.
- How did we get here?
- Where are we going?
Historically the billiard balls of John Dalton have morphed into quantum energy states, seeming more like fiction than science, yet giving birth to an amazing array of EED's (Electronic Enjoyment Devices).
Having identified the formerly fundamental particles of protons, neutrons and electrons, the deepening search produced an entire village of paired particles. Mesons, muons and various leptons begged the question... "What are you guys made of?"
Searching for "point zero" in the existence of matter has consumed the intellectual passion of many physicists, and results sometimes seem promising.
But what then?
Murray Gell-Mann thought the quark brought us home. Then people asked the next logical question, "Of what do quarks exist?"
Thus started the journey towards the scientific holy grail of the Higgs Boson, ironically using one of the world's largest research instruments to observe the most fundamental of the smallest of things.
In this quest to answer the final question, maybe we are really asking the wrong question...
Perhaps we should be asking, "Why are we asking?"
I think that as far as the question of where we came from or how the earth was made has become to much of a question of faith. its seems as if we think that if the earth wasn't made this one specific way than are whole faith is shaken. I think the more important thing to realize when tying to discover how the earth was made is that God made everything. Regardless of if it was the Big Bang happened or if Macro-evolution happened or not should not decide whether or not we belief or determine our faith. Ultimately all that happened in the wold is and was created by god, and we will never now everything. so i don't think that the question of science and faith conflict but are rather two pieces that go together regardless of if we know the answer.
ReplyDeleteI have grown up being somewhat anti-science because i've been brought up to think that it goes against my christian beliefs. However, these past couple years of college have shown me that that is a rather naiive idea. God created the universe and science and all of it. I don't know how he did it, and there are many valid arguments and thoughts that could very well be true. But even more likely, I would assume that we haven't even come close to finding out how God did it. Though we have made great strides and advancements in science, I doubt our limited human minds have even scratched the surface of God's science. But I'm sure He enjoys watching his children try to figure out his creation and unbury fun intellectual treasures he has hidden for us to find. I agree with Hayley...God made it and that's what matters.
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ReplyDeleteWhen you pose the question "Why are we asking?" My instant thought is, we ask these questions, wonder, and speculate because we are curious people who want answers. Although I in no way believe that asking questions or living a life full on wonder is a bad thing, I think that the focus should be shifted. Instead of asking questions like "how did we get here?" or "where are we going?" We should be asking "what is our purpose?" If we spend all of our time focusing on things outside of our world, our life, and our own understanding like "where are we going?" we might just miss the point in being here. Everyone thinks of things outside of our life and our understanding at times, but when thinking about those questions, I have to wonder why it matters. How I got here does not really matter, I'm here and now I should spend my time being fully present here on earth. Where I'm going, although is sometimes an interesting question and discussion about heaven, hell, and the afterlife, only really matters once I reach that point. Despite my faith, I do not know where I will go or what that place will be like, and I cannot even begin to fathom an intelligible answer to the question of "where are we going?" As I mentioned before, we ask these questions because we as humans want to know the answers, and we want certainty in those answers. However, we do not have the answers, and I think that we are asking questions that are interesting but ultimately irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly enraptured by the beauty and curious nature of the world, so much so that it makes me eager to study the scientific aspects of life. As I was reflecting on these existential quips and questionings, I happened across a YouTube video that made a profound impact on the way I view myself, society, and the earth as a single organism. I'd like to share it with the class:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M
"The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines...every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam." -Carl Sagan
If anything, we are asking these questions because we recognize our smallness and are contemplating, often with disbelief, how we made it this far with the odds stacked so high against us. The inability to fully understand the entirety of creation drives humanity to seek answers that are not given freely.
I feel that asking questions has always been a part of who we, as humans, are. In the Bible knowledge has always been pursued and encouraged by God. Asking intelligent questions is just a way to learn and to gain knowledge. In the aspect of faith, asking questions has always been associated with doubt or lack of doubt. So maybe we ask questions because we are at doubt with ourselves. Can we really believe this life? Life is so complicated that scientists don't even have a proper definition of it. Most people don't even know enough about the human species to properly understand our existence, so questions are required to understand more and learn. Understanding this world we live in is what causes people to question. We are driven to search for the unknown because we cannot stand the unknown.
ReplyDeleteOccasionally I pause and marvel at the innate awe children possess; their vast desire to gain more and more knowledge through the mere simplicity of asking questions of the world. Not only do they ask questions, but also they probe ever deeper with the almost annoying persistency of the word “why”. Perhaps looking at this wonder in a child describes a bit about our own human nature. Maybe we are curious people who want answers, as Janae Myers states, or perhaps we recognize our smallness and are contemplating how we made it this far as Elly Brown writes above. I wonder does it all not come down to our instinctive human nature initiated by original sin and the fall?
ReplyDeleteFor my Exodus/Deuteronomy class I recently wrote a course paper over Genesis 2-3 and was struck by the theological and anthropological implications I found. From the beginning of creation (as we Christians believe it to have begun) humans have been asking questions and wanting to know answers. When God provides paradise and sets forth a rule to eat of all trees but the one of the knowledge of good and evil, of course Adam and Eve long for, crave, and eventually grasp the wisdom the forbidden fruit contains.
Though scholars, scientists, archeologists, theorists and the like have been constantly searching for a reasoning behind our human creation, our proper response should indeed be, why are we asking? Throughout history mankind has sought greater knowledge, power, wisdom and control and perhaps it is time to no longer question our existence or argue over how it came to be, but rather live the lives we were given and search instead our intended purpose.
So many have already accounted for our natural curiosity and propensity to ask why. It is blatantly evident that we humans have the desire to know, whether it be a consequence of eating the forbidden fruit, or a God-given characteristic. As Emily appropriately noted, this is nowhere better observed than in children. Young children, of all people, act on pure instinct. If something hurts, they cry. If something makes them happy, they smile. If something confuses them, they ask why.
ReplyDeleteIt is a convicting thing that Christ so cared for children. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 9:14). Certainly, Christ valued children for many of their characteristics, though perhaps mostly for their innocence, their willingness to trust, and even their impressionability. The "why" is the greatest factor in that.
Without the "why" there is innocence. Without the "why" there is willingness to trust. And without the "why" there is impressionability. But, as soon as the "why" is discovered, all is spoiled. There is no longer innocence, nor trust, nor impressionability. Maybe Christ said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children not because they ask why, but because they've yet to find out.
I'm not saying to ask why is wrong. I'm simply saying that perhaps to have faith, a faith that is pleasing to God, one must temporarily forget about the why. There are just some things that we are simply not designed to understand. Why does God forget our sins? Why does God show us grace? Why does God love us? I believe that we cannot ever fully understand. As children, the "why" must be ignored. Maybe, "why" is the wrong question. And perhaps, God already answered it.
I have done my own logical reasoning and research on the topic of human existence. I’ve concluded the Big Bang theory is somewhat an oxymoronic explanation for human existence. The Big Bang theory basically states, in Wikipedia, the universe was originally in an extremely hot and dense state that expanded rapidly and has since cooled by expanding to the present diluted state, and continues to expand today. Using this definition of the Big Bang Theory provided by Wikipedia, I begin to ask myself this one particular question. How can the expansion of unconscious matter possibly play a role in the creation of conscious matter or in this context, human beings? I believe conscious-matter cannot evolve out of unconscious-matter. For example, I believe human beings did not come into existence out of microscopic rock sediments or atom particles which randomly combined together resulting in the evolution/creation of conscious human beings. Daily observations of the human species ability to reason, analyze, and rationalize points me towards a conscious Creator. A human being capacity to think must have derived from a Creator. Most humans’ have the mental ability to rationalize, analyze, and use logical reasoning to figure out life’s daily questions or situations. Human beings (conscious-matter) and the expansion of microscopic atoms (unconsciousness-matter) cannot possible fit together as debated by the Big Bang Theory. I do believe a Creator explains the conscious aspect of the human brain/mind. I haven’t heard of any scientific evidence providing evidence that a rock, gas, or H20 has the capacity to think. This simply analogy between a conscious human and a conscious rock lay the foundation for my belief in a Creator. So you might be asking to yourself, “How is this relevant to this blog?” Well, I believe we must examine and attempt to answer this question first off, “How did humans get here?” The answer to this subjective question might also help us subjectively answer the other fundamental question of “Where are we going?” for us. As Jenae Myers stated, we must focus our attention to the question of “Where are we going?” Even though I do believe we should believe we should focus on this question, our initial focus should be on “How did we get here?” If we spend our time and energy to figuring out “How we got here?” we can better understand “Where we are going.” For example, if a person doesn’t take the time to answer the question of “How we got here?” the possible directions of “where they are going” are endless. I believe it’s appropriate to ask “How did we get here” in order to help us guide our lives better.
ReplyDeleteIn my Christian Life Faith and Ministry class we are talking about people as a whole and how we as a people just want the answers. We don't want to try to figure out the answers but only for god, or whatever or whoever we believe in, to answer the questions for us. I think, that this problem is very interesting and it is also interesting how it relates to this big problem of evangelicals and the world not taking us seriously, or thinking that we do have scientific thoughts and we dont just blindly accept our faith. We as a church need to do more scientific explorations and come up with more evidence of creationism if we want the world to take us seriously.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Hayley B, why does the world have to take us seriously? It seems like a dead project to me... I don't think Jesus was concerned with being taken seriously by Rome. Modernity tried to make a division between civil and religious life but it has been shown that such accommodations--on the part of the church--are not faithful to the gospel. Put differently, we have tried so hard to show how "creationism" is a valid scientific theory in an effort to legitimate Christianity; when in reality such notions are anachronistic.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are many theories out there in the world today about why we are here or how we came to be I think that there is a reason why none of them can concretely prove that their theory is true. I believe that God created everything, even the evidence scientists are claiming proves our means of coming into being. If we continue to try to find out logical ways to explain our existence we will keep coming up with dead ends. Because to explain God's master plan is like trying to explain God. It is an impossible feat that no one will ever be able to accomplish. I believe that as Christians we are called to have faith in what we believe even if there is no scientific evidence to prove it.
ReplyDeletecreation < CREATOR. But we don't seem to get that. I really love what Allison said: "To explain God's master plan is like trying to explain God." It's just not possible. Whether we try to prove that God exists, or how He spoke the universe into being, we simply aren't going to find the answers. Or at least not ones that satisfy us.
ReplyDeleteIt's the vicious cycle that Professor Hitchcock alludes to. "Murray Gell-Mann thought the quark brought us home. Then people asked the next logical question, 'Of what do quarks exist?'" Sure, questions lead to answers... that lead to more questions.
Obviously God has created us with the capacity to seek these answers. He has also allowed us to continue finding them. But I don't think God designed this quest in such a way that we would eventually find the 'Holy Grail' that we claim to be after. I believe He allows us to go on this quest with the hope that we might recognize our own smallness; that regardless of the science we discover, He holds the lone answer that satisfies. Perhaps the fact that we persistently seek answers is what gives us a chance to eventually find God. The answer that truly does matter.
Emily Sulak brings up a good point about the fall of Adam and Eve. They were even more eager to acquire the forbidden fruit since it seemed intangible. We too are more eager to try to grasp knowledge that is unfathomable because of the fact that it is out of reach. However, I think that God wants us to know more about him. I do not think he was angry that Adam and Eve were curious, he was angry that they crossed the line and disobeyed. I believe God wants us to search and be curious even though we will never fully understand. But I think our searching for more truth shows our love for him and what he has created. Another example would be striving for excellence. God knows we are sinners and imperfect, and we know that we will never reach perfection either. However when we strive for excellence and try to be more like God, this shows our love for him. Even though we know we will not reach excellence, we can show our love by still trying. This also includes questioning our purpose, where we came from, and where we are going. He wants us to strive for excellence, truth, and wisdom because that's what we are created to do. It is in our nature. But strive for these things in him.
ReplyDeleteToo me the search for the "God Particle" seems a maybe a little, unnecessary. I feel like Kayla Jo Wright brings up a good point when she mentions that "God wants us to know about Him." However, he also says that we can never fully grasp Him. On another note, lets say we do find this "God Particle", what would this even tell us about God? Would it tell us anything that would help us understand Him better? I ask this almost cynically because i cant help but think of equating God in all His mystery to humanity, which we understand slightly more. For example, does knowing the how many kinds of chromosomes are in my body tell anyone anything about the love i have for my family? Does knowing the smallest of atoms in my thumb let one know anything about my sense of humor? The important part of God is not "His Particle" but instead Himself. I feel more time should be spent understanding the heart of God than the "God Particle".
ReplyDeletePiggy-backing on what Garret and Kayla said, I believe there to be value in the curiosity we find within our selves when seeking God; but all in all God is God, He's not meant to be figured out. If we had a full knowledge of everything in the universe, how it functions, all of its ins and outs, then we would have no need for God. What reason would be found in a higher power when we ourselves knew just as much. It's the mystery of Jesus, Father, and the strength we're given by the Holy Spirit that is so marvelous and infatuating.
ReplyDeleteBy striving to comprehend the ins and outs of creation we're attempting our hand at "God", when in reality we should be caught up in the mystery and within it be content. I continually come up with questions about faith, truth, value, purpose, and the more I learn the more questions I have, but that's the beauty of grace. We don't have to have everything figured out, we should marvel in the mystery, ultimately God is God, it's as simple as that.
along with what Garrett said, its very true that we can never know Everything about God. But, he has created this vast universe that we can use and strive to find out more about. I think the question "why" is relative to this earth and universe. Yes we have questions about faith and God but when we are on this earth we can not have them fully answered besides personal opinions and view points. But, back to the point, God has provided us with everything we could ever ask for to answer our questions of "why?". Not only can we find the answers to several of our questions but new "why?" questions are being found every day. This world is limited on answers but why worry about those answers when we cant figure out our own world and even the definition of life?
ReplyDeleteChris Thomas brings up a good point by saying new 'why' questions are pondered every day? So here's another question if anyone feels like discussing it. Since God is all knowing, does God know which of his children are going to Heaven and which aren't before he creates them? And if so, why would he create people he knows are going to end up in hell if he's a good God?
ReplyDeleteReferring to the previous topic i agree with Alex and Emily in that asking why is not a bad things, but there are things that as humans we were not created to know and figure out. That is why there is an all-knowing God who has created each and everything living thing and has created a perfect environment to sustain that life. i think that science and faith can go together as science is important to figure out medicine and create technology, but answering the use for every microscopic organism in your body just to know is not necessary to function in the way that God created us. He has a purpose for every one of us and we need to find that purpose, not all the answers to how the world works.
ReplyDeleteAs for the new question that Kayla posted I think that it is an excellent yet difficult question to answer. I believe that God is all-knowing and that he knows the path and purpose that he wants for our lives and put obstacles in our way to build our faith and character. He also created humans with the ability to make their own choices. With free will humans have the ability to choose to have faith in God or abandon him. I think that God knows that someone may go to heaven or hell but he will try and show both the love that he can give and have all his children go to heaven although he may know that one may not.
I think that the question(s) that Kayla posted are interesting questions. They are the type of questions that we tend to ignore or choose not to face, simply because they are the difficult questions to answer. I believe that God knows exactly who will end up in heaven, but he does not necessarily choose who will end up in heaven. In other words, I think that God knows who will accept Him, but he gives everyone the chance to accept Him, even if he knows that someone never will. That of course, is my own speculation, but I think that it makes sense given our free will and his omniscient power. The second question that Kayla posted is an even more difficult question, and I would like to believe that since God gives everyone the chance to accept Him, He gives us the benefit of the doubt in some ways, and allows them to make their own choices, and hopes that we do the right thing. Along the way, he will give us signs, but sometimes they are hard to see or listen to. Overall, God creates us because He loves us and wants to share life with us, but that does not mean that He can completely control us. Once we have been created, our fate is no longer God's failure or success. We have freewill, so it is our own failure or success to live a life that is pleasing to God. Although it may be difficult to grasp, I do not believe that God's goodness is even relevant because our freewill as human beings is the determining factor on where we spend eternity.
ReplyDeleteI believe God is All-Knowing. To go off of what Kayla said about if god is good why does he create people to go to hell.
ReplyDeleteFirst we must know why God created people. He created us to glorify and love Him, but most of all, He made us because He loved us.
I've heard it said (especially around our college campus) "I don't know what God wants me to do in life? What's His will? Whats His plan?
I believe that God's will for us and His plan for us are complete separate issues. I believe God's plan can change based on our choices in life. Think of Israel and all of its problems it had with God right after the exile. His will always remains the same. God's will is that all of the people he created would be saved! But bc of people's choices, not all will be saved.
I believe it is our human nature to be inquisitive and seek out answers regarding areas that we have no prior knowledge of. If it wasn’t for our natural human curiosity, we would never have come up with the scientific method or have made the scientific discoveries man accomplished during the scientific revolution. We as beings can probably be described in two different realms. The first is in scientific terms as being made up of chemical reactions with the atoms and all the cells that make up our processes. The second, however, is much more broad and not as concrete or rational; this is where religion takes place I believe, because we were created by God so He is the only one who could describe us fully because we are the products of his design. We are here because of Him since He is the ultimate creator and only He knows where we are going. He knows everything that will happen before it happens even though he chose to give us free will. For those that choose to believe the Big Bang theory, I say that this was also made possible by God and that if there truly was a giant explosion then it was through God’s doing. Taking the physical science class at APU last semester really made me believe that science and religion can exist and thrive harmoniously because God gave humans the ability to inquire and reason and make all the discoveries which advance life.
ReplyDeletethis is an interesting topic. Why are we asking the question? What is going to happen after we find all the answers? How would finding the most fundamental of subatomic particles change anything?
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny when you think about it. Scientists have been making great strides in getting closer to observing the smallest particle. I'm interested in what's going to happen when they figure it out. I suppose new questions would be formed out of obtaining that knowledge.
I completely understand the scientific curiosity behind the importance of measuring the smallest human particle and what that could mean for humankind and the history of the world. I believe that as Christians we must be knowledgeable in the foundation of the world in order for our faith to be tested and proven to be true. However, in my opinion, what I believe in does not have to be proven to anyone. I know that God created it all and that is what is most important to me. For me, this belief is enough. I never gave much insight into scientific foundations of existence because of reasons similar to Kayla's comments about always simply believing in Christianity over science. However, I also agree that college has taught me that is a very naive way to look at our origins. We must put scientific origins into context to enable our minds to think even more about God's creation. God wants us to examine His own science, even though we may never fully understand it, it is the combination of scientific and biblical fact that should be examined in order to begin to know how this world was made and how we exist.
ReplyDeleteI think that as humans we will never know all the answer. God made it that way. If our brains could figure out everything then there would be nothing to differentiate us from Him. I had wondered why it is important for scientist to research to try and find the smallest subatomic particle and how would benefit us, or is it just researched out of pure curiosity. I think that a majority of research is done to prove that there is an answer for everything and to prove that we have the capability to discover the answer but with every answer that we find, there are 10 more questions that now need to be answered. I know that through learning about science in High School, my faith was proven stronger because as scientist tried to disprove that God created the Earth, to me it only proved that He did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brie completely! The world we live in is such a complicated place and there are so many questions that we have, but they will never all be answered here on earth. God created it that way so we can depend on Him even if it seems like a leap of faith (which it is!) That is why He is God! If we knew all of the answers, we wouldn't need Him in the way that we need Him now!
ReplyDeleteKaylee Hunter
(Tuesday/Thursday 4:20-5:45)
The idea of having a "telos" (to what end) is a foreign concept in modernity. We naturally think "well why not?". If it is possible it should be done. But that is because we are autonomous individuals-- Kant's Man-God. Man standing on his or her own reason and discernment. Who needs the church when you have the courage of Kant? The point is, we are unable to answer that question because we have not been trained in a manner that renders the question intelligible.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should be asking, "Why are we asking?"
ReplyDeleteThis can be taken a number of ways.
I agree with the statement from the prompt above. Maybe we should be asking the question, "Why are we asking?" because that would lead us to say that the reason we ask is because it is in our human nature to ask questions. That would stem into the question, "Where did we get our human nature?" This would lead us to view the question in a literal sense. Literally speaking, the only reason we are able to ask a question is because God made us able to do that. We all have probably seen this response in simple and broad terms as in, "Mommy, why am I so short?" "Well, Johnny, because God made you that way." Even though it is a simple statement, that is all that is needed to be said. God made us humans with curiosity, intelligence, the ability to reason, and with the thirst for knowledge.
Why are we asking? Is it a lost cause to try to unravel all the mysteries? I believe a couple people mentioned something along the lines of humans never finding the answers. I agree with that and I agree that it is based more on faith.
-Chris Kline
How did we get here and where are we going? are questions that im pretty sure everyone has thought about at one point or another. I feel that it is human nature to be curious about and at times fear the unknown. I feel that these are the reasons we ask the questions and seek the answers so diligently. I also feel that faith plays a big part in these questions. If you are a Christian you already know the answer to these questions(god made us and then we can either go to heaven or hell when we die). Although Christians “know” the answer to these questions, most have doubted this answer at one time or another. To know the answer and believe it all comes back to faith, trusting in God, and trusting yourself that you believe what you religion has told you. If you are not a Christian you believe what your faith believes about death and is kind of the same concept as Christians in regards to you have to have faith in what you believe. If you are not religious I feel it is a whole new ball game because there is no answer and no way to know until it happens to you. As is said before it is human nature to continually question the unknown, it is a gift and a curse at the same time.
ReplyDelete~Vanessa Irizarry~
I agree with what Alex said regarding children. They are naturally inquisitive but do not have the need to understand the ‘why’ and are perfectly fine with not knowing the answer to everything from the start. Without knowing the ‘why’ in every situation there is a natural innocence and, I believe, that it has the propensity to strengthen our faith in God. To have faith is to believe and it shouldn’t be based on our understanding of God and His plans for us because we will never know everything God has in store for us.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris and his statement that the only reason we are even able to ask these questions is because God made us that way. He gave us the free will to explore and search for truth and meaning in life. He gives us the ability to choose to either believe in him or not. Curiosity is a natural feeling for humans but as Christians, we have to come to terms with the fact that this is a question we will never be able to find the answer to. And thats okay. We are called to have a faith that doesn't rely on physical evidence but on a deeper belief and trust in the Lord. So maybe we should just stop asking and just believe.
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