Month: July 2022

I’m No Scientist but I’m Awed

If we are awed by the revelations of deep space from today’s telescopes, we will be no less mesmerized by the unbelievable revelations of the nano-world from today’s microscopes. These powerful instruments deepen our look into the complex intricacies of living organisms. Using microscopes that fits on a needle scientists can now look deep into the human cells in real time! 

– Human Cells Under the Microscope- Brain, skin, blood cells. (nigms.nih.gov)

One such excursion into the microscopic world has allowed the genome editing technology called CRISPR. Using this technology, scientists have been able to snip away and alter the DNA of human embryos. In 2018 this resulted in the birth of the first genetically engineered humans— Amy, and twins Lulu and Nana.

The CRISPR technology which is like a gene scissors, allows scientists to cut away at defective or undesired parts of cells to eliminate diseases or unwanted traits. The problem is that this “molecular scissors” is not very precise and so genome editing may make unintended cuts resulting in a hodgepodge mosaic of cells. The CRISPR babies, Amy, Lulu, and Nana,  must be monitored closely for the rest of their lives for any unexpected effects on their physical and mental state.  

This experimentation has raised many bioethics questions, no small one being man’s right to invade the very essence of a living being. The Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, was imprisoned in 2018 for this experimentation but is free today. 

More recently the British Heart Foundation awarded £30 million to a research group for research using the CRISPR technology to eliminate cardiovascular disease.

The Psalmist speaking of human life says, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139: 13- 16. 

Hopefully, man’s excursions and incursions into the mysteries of our macro- and microcosmic worlds will not lead to a trust in self. The Psalmist says unequivocally, “I will praise You (God).” As technological access increases our knowledge of scientific phenomena will we continue to praise God because we are “wonderfully made”?   Will we see ourselves as the discoverers of the “fearful and wonderful”, or yield to the temptation to feel like the creators? Will our discoveries serve to bring us to our knees in awe, or lift us to pedestals of self-aggrandizement?  

I’m no scientist but I am awed! 

I’m No Scientist but Numberless?

I am blown away by the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) deep space pictures. The dimensions they show are represented by units of measurement that boggle my mind. The picture below is of the Cosmic Cliffs, a ‘small’ slice of the Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula, located in our southern skies, was  discovered in 1756 but with none of the details shown today. The Carina is not as famous as the Orion Nebula but it is four times bigger and brighter. The picture shows a majestic cavernous area with its backdrop of numerous galaxies. Its wall is spangled with glistening stars while its center bubbles with wild activity from intense ultraviolet radiation, strong stellar winds, billowing celestial mountains of steam, and jets of dust streaming away from newborn star! All this happening a mere 7,600 light-years from Earth!

Cosmic Cliffs – NASA.gov

As I said, these details boggle the mind but let’s zoom in to a conversation on earth:

“But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless . . .?”. . . Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15: 2, 5, 6.

Abram must have been awe-struck as he looked up and saw the starry sky above him. But little did he know that he wasn’t able to see the nano-half, the femto-half of what God was showing him! His star-spangled-heritage would be trillions stretching down through time to us. Mind-blowing, right?

In the book of Revelation, John describes an equally unbelievable scene whose dimension throw into shade those of JWST:

“Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it! And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne. . . From the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring and crashes of thunder. . . Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal.” Revelation 4:2, 3, 6. 

But it’s not done yet:“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7: 9, 10. 

The Webb telescope blows our mind with new cosmic revelations, but shrouded behind these mind-blowing pictures lies an exquisite cosmos yet to be revealed equally unbelievable and surpassing in its wonder. It is the celestial city of the Creator of it all. Too mind-blowing to be true?

I’m no Scientist but this infinitesimal slice of a ginormous Nebula is for real, and so too is  Abraham’s heritage!

I’m No Scientist But . . . A Hoax?

NASA has a new set of eyes named the James Webb Space Telescope. This massive telescope is a million miles in deep space and is sending to earth pictures that are astounding the world. Scientists who have spent their professional lives probing the universe in search of its secrets are  awed by what they are seeing and just how little they know. A new day has dawned for our understanding of the world in which we live. Given this new perspective, we are awakening to the fact that earth is a mere dot, a small insignificant speck in this vast cosmos. 

The pictures that are being sent back tell us that there are colors that we didn’t even know existed because our eyes are incapable of seeing them. Pictures show cosmic cliffs speckled with glittering stars! (NASA TV).  As one scientist put it, there are questions that we couldn’t ask because the knowledge needed was beyond us. We didn’t know what we didn’t know!

Another said, “”It’s really hard to not look at the universe in a new light and not just have a moment that is deeply personal,” he said. “It’s an emotional moment when you see nature suddenly releasing some of its secrets. and I would like you to imagine and look forward to that.””

There are other reactions that are less positive. Some people are saying that this is all a hoax. It is all being made up— pictures and all, to justify man’s desire to probe the unknown! A comment that is reminiscent of the attitudes to earlier moon landings.

There are others who have been thrown into anxiety and panic. A lady interviewed by National Public Radio expressed the fear of being swallowed up by some “black hole”. This reaction is not new, 15th century skeptics believed that to sail into the vast seas would result in man dropping off the edge into an abyss, an interminable waterfall!

So discoveries of our world are nothing new. They can lead to pompous declarations of scholarship and erudition or gasps of humility and awe;  overwhelming fear of the seeming chaos or awe and worship of an organized Creator; declarations of accidental happenstance or reverence for the Power that has been holding all this vast complexity together even as we journey in ignorance.  

I want to believe like Job and the Psalmist that there is a Creator, God who has designed it, sustains it, and reveals it to us in small manageable portions. Like Job I believe that “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth on nothing. He locks the waters in his clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them. . . .  By his power he stills the sea . . . By his breath the skies became fair . . . Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”” Job 26: 7-14. NET

I believe that the Webb is relaying to us are real, mind-blowing revelations of an ordered creation and Creator. I’m no scientist, but I believe this is no hoax!

In Search of God

For the past few months we have together journeyed “In Search of . . .”  such ideas as peace, forgiveness, self-worth, grace, beauty, perfection, and tolerance. It is the most natural odyssey that humans can take— the pursuit of something more, something better, something fulfilling. Knowingly or unknowingly, this search has been for a deeper, fuller understanding of God because we instinctively know that in finding Him, we arrive at home. 

Home— that place where we can exhale, let our guards down, drop the façade, unclench our fists, and still be safe, loved, embraced, and valued. 

 My hope is that this journey strengthened our belief that there is a transcendent power or God who calls us into positive relationship with Him and with our fellow human beings. A life that He says results in living “more abundantly”. Understanding that He has a high calling on our lives but He is not pushy— He gives us room to grow into that potential that He has given us. 

Fundamentally, God’s plan for us is: to have a worldview that says all men are equal, all are valued, and are of one family headed by a living God; to willingly live peaceably with all, accepting our differences while acknowledging our common elements— the need for acceptance and a shared responsibility for the care of our earth. 

My hope is that as we journeyed we found out things about ourselves: that we are not accidents on this earth but that our lives, when seen in the context of God’s will, are meaningful and valued; that we all have gifts that release us from positions of control to positions of brotherhood and mutuality of  understanding and acceptance. I hope that we uncovered our potential, our gifts as tolerant peace-makers, cheer-bringers, support-providers, willing care-givers, empathetic listeners, thoughtful writers, and indomitable encouragers.

 My hope is that we will practice a willingness to forgive and to love because it frees us to smile despite the rain; to sing when a sigh would be easier; to laugh even in the face of despair; to believe even in the darkness; to hope when all others have given up; and to embrace hardship because it brings a fullness of life we would never want to miss. 

Beginning next week I will pursue a new focus. This new project entitled, “I’m Not a Scientist but . . .”, explores the mysteries of our universe, genetics, CRISPR babies, hawks that teach drones, and more! 

NASA scientists say they are awed by things they are discovering.  Job says, you haven’t seen anything yet, “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?” Job 26: 14. 

Please join me!

Today’s Goal: To live peaceably and fully enjoying our fellow man and our world. 

In Search of Justice and Mercy

“Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.” Jeremiah 9: 23, 24. 

As humans, we take pride in our accomplishments. Our expert knowledge in the arts and sciences are astounding. Our harnessing of technology, our understanding of the human body, our exploration of the mysteries of the universe are surpassing impressive! God did make us to take dominion of our world and our accomplishments show this. Here is where the problem sets in: we feel self-actualized— that our accomplishments are the result of our own might; and self-sufficient— we are in need of nothing, no one, no God.

Jeremiah spoke to a people similar to us. A people who felt they were doing well for themselves and needed little more— they had the knowledge, they had the power and influence, and they had the money. With their knowledge, power, and money they could influence and change anything they found unagreeable. Through Jeremiah, God called out to them saying, you may feel your success now but don’t get too boastful, those things are temporal. They can be lost. In a second, the brilliance of the mind can fade, fortunes can be reversed, power and influence lost. 

Those of us who have neither expert knowledge, power, or riches, listen and think with relief, “Phew, I have none of those things. He’s not talking to me.” But let’s not get comfortable and glory in our humility too quickly. God goes on to say, “But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me”

Whether we have knowledge, power, or wealth, God expects an abiding patient love and tolerance of our fellow humans shown in just and fair interactions. In other words, He expects a life aligned with His in right-living.  With or without expert knowledge, power, and riches we are expected to contribute patient kindness, fairness and love to our fellow human beings.

Jeremiah is calling out to all of us isn’t he? Those with knowledge, power, and money and those who in their humble existence feel they can change nothing. He calls us to be contributors of patience, tolerance, caring, fairness thus displaying the light and love of God. 

“‘For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.”

Today’s Goal: To be fair, honest, and merciful in our dealings with all people we meet.

In Search of Healing

“You are betraying our friendship”, she cried over and over as Shechem persisted. Breathing heavily, and repeating jerkily, “It’s OK”, he lowered her to the ground. His sweaty hard arms wrapped tightly around her made struggle futile, and descending into a quiet whimper she repeated, “You are betraying our friendship.” 

The weather was great, Dinah had completed her chores early and she decided to take a stroll into town to visit her girl friends (Genesis 34). The girls laid a blanket under the terebinth tree, brought out some snacks and drink to enjoy each other’s company. They chatted and laughed way into the evening when a group of eligible young men strolled by. Giggling, the girls quietly speculated about each, and spoke of their dreams of marriage, and their plans for children. 

As they chatted, Shechem strolled over and it was clear his interest was in Dinah. The other girls drifted away, each suddenly thinking of things they had to do. Dinah and Shechem were now alone. The conversation was relaxed and she agreed to take a walk. Looking back Dinah wondered where she had gone wrong. She may have seemed a bit eager but did that suggest that she was ‘easy’?

The pain of the memory and the heaviness of heart made her desperate. She had to tell someone. Her distraught father was gentle, sympathetic, and distractedly promised her all the support she needed. Her brothers erupted in loud violent threats that only increased the pain and self-loathing she felt. Storming away, they left her alone and terrified by their angry ranting. Their threats would end in murder and destruction.

Rape— A sharply barbed word to say, and an unbearable load to carry. What is our attitude to young women and men who live through this experience? Blaming them is not fair. Most of them already blame themselves. Offering words of solace is helpful but not enough. What are the emotional and physical needs of people going through that experience— Medical attention, counseling, social support, financial support, a patient non-judgmental ear? Do we know how to give support without judging?

RAINN, the nation’s anti-sexual violence organization documents that in America, there is an attempt at or completion of rape every 68 seconds. One out of every 6 American women has experienced the attempt or act of rape. One in every 33 American males has experienced rape or attempted rape in his life time. And 9 out of every 10 victims are females. The majority of those victims experienced this  at or near home. This data confirm that this peril is real and pervasive and should therefore receive serious attention by influential social organizations. 

Churches and community agencies are well positioned to provide such support but are often judgmental, daunting, and shrouded in shame. Needed are proactive programs that teach healthy, responsible gender interactions as well as promote self-agency among our young people. Programs that support victims in reclaiming their lives are also desperately needed. 

Today’s Goal: To be the non-judgmental support that someone needs as they navigate a devastating life experience.