Faith To See The Invisible

From Faith Science;

Faith to See the Invisible

The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to
kill them. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?”

Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions
might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Daniel 2:10–19 nkjv

I established earlier in this book that the spirit realm is as real as the natural realm but it’s invisible and mass-less. Identifying the details of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation necessitated spiritual sensitivity. What the king’s spiritual advisors could not do was see clearly in the spirit realm. Daniel knew that if he could just get a glimpse of what God had revealed to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream, their lives would be saved. He shared it with his three friends, and they sought the face of God for insight.

In the spirit, the limitations of time and space do not exist. God said this about himself: “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’” (Isaiah 46:10 nkjv). God declared the future through images in a dream and set the stage for Daniel’s promotion. What kind of wisdom would you have access to if you approached God in a difficult situation before you ever considered another option?

Since our hypothesis states that biblical faith is “complete trust in the invisible evidence provided by the Word of God confirmed by commensurate action,” Daniel demonstrated his faith by confidently sharing what God revealed to him with the king. The king expected him to recount the dream and then explain what it meant, with the risk of death if he got it wrong. With the only evidence of the king’s dream being what God showed Daniel in a vision of his own, Daniel needed faith to survive. After Daniel told the king everything, let’s see how it turned out.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Daniel 2:46–49 nkjv

Daniel’s faith led to instant promotion. When people begin to see life through the eyes of God, they begin to see the invisible. What might look one way on the surface might be completely different underneath, and the person who always knows that is God. He knew all along that this situation was designed for their promotion and the threat of death was just a catalyst for action. Normal people limit themselves to what their natural senses can perceive.

In contrast, God has a plan for promotion that cannot be perceived through physical eyes or with carnal understanding. Like the magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans discovered, people who only see through the eyes of reason will draw blanks at some important times. They may have been able to create an interpretation of the king’s dream by reason, but they couldn’t deduce its contents if he didn’t tell it to them. From their perspective, deductive reasoning could only go so far and no farther. That lack of spiritual insight almost cost them their lives, while Daniel and his friends received great promotion. The lesson learned from faith to see the invisible is that spiritual eyes can see beyond the limits of time and space.

The Faith Science Experience 3 - Stem Cells and Cloning

When: Sat, April 30, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for next month's "Chapter Study" from his newest book, Faith Science. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

For More Info Visit; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience

Culture, Religion and the Kingdom of God

From The Mysterious Kingdom of Heaven;

CULTURE, RELIGION AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Matthew 24:14(NKJV) - And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

In the countries where religions originated, cultures originated. Jewish culture was birthed out of the religion of Judaism. Muslim culture was birthed out of the religion of Islam. Buddhist culture was birthed out of the religion of Buddhism. Hindu culture was birthed out of the religion of Hinduism. Therefore, in those societies, contrasting religions result in contrasting cultures.

Their entire lives are shaped by the religion they espouse. The way they dress, eat, talk, make decisions, raise their families, enjoy entertainment and think is based in their religious beliefs. As a result, conversion from most of those religions is more than just a change of church or belief system. It's dying to all they know and coming back to life as someone completely different. Their culture and religion are co-existent. When we understand these things, we'll recognize how revolutionary the gospel of The Kingdom really is.

According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, in this context, "culture" is defined as:

a: the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations

b: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time; popular culture, southern culture

c: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization; a corporate culture focused on the bottom line

d: the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic; studying the effect of computers on print culture, changing the culture of materialism will take time - Peggy O'Mara



Also, in this context, the word, "religion" is defined as:

a: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

b: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith


Take a close look at the second definition of religion. If you have any system of beliefs, whether you like it or not, you have a religion. Therefore, if you claim to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, by definition, you have a religion that is commonly known as Christianity. For the sake of argument, in this book, The Mysterious Kingdom of Heaven, let us define Christianity as following Christ the same way we define Buddhism as following Buddha.

John 17:14-19(NKJV) - I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

The world is not a place. A place does not have feelings and cannot hate someone. The same person can be in the world one day and be out of the world the next. That's the testimony of every Christian. The world actually refers to cultural systems which come out of secular beliefs. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, the god of this world is the devil so even the people who claim to have no god are given one by default.

The Christian Cultural Revolution

Acts 2:38-42(MSG) - Peter said, "Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away-whomever, in fact, our Master God invites." He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, "Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!" That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

Peter broke the gospel down in a way that we could all understand. Becoming a Christian is more than just missing hell, going to church and obeying uncomfortable rules. It's a change of belief system (religion) and a change of lifestyle (culture). We don't think the same way as the people of the world and we do not act the same way either. We cannot impact the culture of the world if we cannot impact what they believe. Until people believe something different, their lifestyles will never change.

Romans 10:13-15(NLT) - For "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"

We have to follow the example of The Apostles in The New Testament to have the impact that they had. By changing their own belief system, developing the culture of Jesus and sharing it with others they attacked the belief system around them and impacted the culture. Hence, we can't effectively invite people to join The Body of Christ if Christianity is not our culture.

Would a Human Clone Have a Soul?

From Faith Science;

Would a Human Clone Have a Soul?

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like ourselves. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky,
and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Genesis 1:26–28 nlt

God addressed Adam and Eve directly in Genesis 1:28 and gave them instructions. That scripture looks fine when considered on its own, but think about this. He did not create Adam’s body until Genesis 2:7 and did not create Eve’s body out of Adam’s genetic material until Genesis 2:22. If they did not have bodies when God addressed them in Genesis 1:28, what did their bodies have to do with their existence in God’s eyes? Absolutely nothing!

As far as God was concerned, he created Adam and Eve first; then he created a body for Adam and placed Adam in it. Then he extracted Adam’s DNA and created a body for Eve and placed her in it. Hence, the source of the human body has no bearing on the source of the human soul. That’s why there are no mistaken births with God. Every human soul was created by him and placed in a human body. Children who are born as a result of rape, incest, artificial insemination, or cloning are no less humans than those who come from the God-ordained sexual union of a husband and wife.

What we do on earth is only supply bodies, but God is the source of the soul. Did Eve have a soul? Yes! Was she created out of the ground like Adam? No! She was created out of Adam’s DNA. Did the creative process of her physical body impact the creative process of her soul? No! I have never heard anyone answer this question with certainty. Even the most noted biblical thinkers hit the wall when they consider the question of cloned human beings.

What does the process of acquiring a human body have to do with an eternal soul? Nothing! If two people can decide when they want to have sex or whether or not they want to use birth control, they can impact when a child is born. Does that human influence on birth cheapen the life of the child? Of course not!

Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28 nlt

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1 Corinthians 15:45–49 kjv

Sexual intercourse, artificial insemination, and cloning do not create souls. They are processes that create human bodies. God doesn’t discriminate based on the process by which the body was developed. A person is a person in God’s eyes because a person’s soul comes from him. The same quality soul can live in a strong, healthy body or one that’s broken and deformed. If the value of life was merely physical, people would be judged by the quality of their bodies and the circumstances of their birth. The better the body or birth environment, the better the person. Something about that approach doesn’t sound right to me and shouldn’t to you.

If you approach life this way, you’ll realize that God will hold every human being to the same eternal standard. It doesn’t matter the circumstances surrounding someone’s birth. If one doesn’t accept Jesus Christ according to Romans 10:9–10, one’s soul will be sent to hell. If one does believe in Jesus Christ, one’s soul will return to God, who created it. The moral questions that need to be answered have little to do with whether or not a human clone can have a soul. It’s more an issue of quality of life. If children resulting from improper sexual relationships face tremendous emotional and psychological challenges what do you think it would be like to be a human clone?

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mark 8:36–37 kjv

Faith Which Changes Nature

From Faith Science;

Jesus and the Apostle Peter broke the law of gravity when they walked on water in Matthew 14:25–29. Elijah broke natural laws when he stopped rain from falling using words in 1 Kings 17 and then started it again in 1 Kings 18. He also broke natural laws when he called fire out of heaven several times in 2 Kings 1:9–14. Philip broke physical laws when he disappeared from one location and appeared in another in Acts 8:39.

Paul broke natural biological and chemical laws when he was bitten by a venomous snake and nothing happened to his body in Acts 28:3–6. Like Paul said in Romans 8:2, the spiritual law of life in Christ Jesus triumphed over the law of sin and death. Though discernible, natural laws were made obsolete in specific human lives.

With this much evidence, it’s not difficult to see why God wants us all to live by faith. Trusting God’s Word liberates human beings from the limitations of natural laws and gives us access to the power by which he operates. When God created man, that was exactly what he had in mind. Even though he subjected the earth to natural laws, he gave man authority over these laws. When faced with impossible natural situations, faith in God’s Word can change things.

Here’s exactly how God designed the system:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26–28 nkjv

God expected Adam to determine what happened on the earth. Even though fish, birds, cattle, and every other animal were given minds of their own, God programmed them to obey the commands of a man. Fish could naturally swim and birds could naturally fly better than Adam, but that didn’t stop his dominion. He had the supernatural ability to do whatever was needed. So what seems outrageous to many of us is actually God’s original plan for our lives.

The Faith Science Experience 3 - Stem Cells and Cloning

When: Sat, April 30, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for next month's "Chapter Study" from his newest book, Faith Science. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

For More Info Visit; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience

Adam and Eve According to Science

First, one became two; then two became one!

From Faith Science;

Is There Cloning in the Bible?

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her
to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
Genesis 2:18–23 nlt (emphasis mine)

Long before scientists created Dolly the sheep, God put Adam to sleep, removed a rib, and fashioned Eve. Her body came out of Adam, but her soul and spirit came from God. Believe it or not, God chose not to create a completely separate human body from the earth but purposefully chose to make one human being out of another. For the role she would play in his life, God wanted Eve to come from the same genetic material as Adam. I believe God did not do that by chance. The umbrella definition of cloning provided by the Human Genome Project is duplicating biological material, so
Eve would be considered a clone of Adam.

I know this might get me in trouble with many religious people, because it’s completely outside of what is traditionally taught. God created Adam out of the ground, but he made Eve out of Adam. What is this process called? The Human Genome Project, on their Web site, genomics.energy.gov, defines reproductive cloning as “a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal.”

Dolly the Finn Dorset sheep was not the first mammal cloned. Eve, the woman who was made out of Adam’s biological material, was. Someone might argue that it wasn’t cloning because God used Adam’s rib to create Eve, not nuclear DNA. I find it hard to believe that Moses knew what DNA was at the time. Even if he saw in an open vision that God removed a cell from tissue in Adam’s chest, he still wouldn’t know what to call it.

The Faith Science Experience 3 - Stem Cells and Cloning

When: Sat, April 30, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for next month's "Chapter Study" from his newest book, Faith Science. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

For More Info Visit; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience

Is There Any Room for Science in The Church?

From Faith Science;

The foundational principles of science have enabled humanity to understand the world around us. Through the systematic pursuit of knowledge, the collection of data, and subsequent testing of formulated hypotheses, we have established “definitive” conclusions about ourselves and what can be perceived. Hence, established scientific laws must either be proven inconsistent, using the scientific method or fully accepted.

In other words, you have two options: beat them or join them. By definition, science as a whole is an approach to gaining understanding. It is systematic and objective so that the conclusions can be reproduced if the same steps are followed under similar conditions.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14 kjv

Scientists who think that spiritual laws are inherently inaccurate are themselves, inaccurate. The Bible refers to them as carnal thinkers who will never understand spiritual things. No human mind on its own is able to perceive the things of God. Even though they may be experts at natural things, without Christ, they are unskilled in spiritual things.

The greatest scientists on their own will never be able to bridge the gap between scientific and spiritual laws. Therefore, it’s easy to understand that just the mention of the word faith sends shivers down the spines of secular scientists. They consider Christianity foolish and don’t see how it’s possible for intelligent people to believe what’s written in the Bible. What many of them really have are preconceived notions that instantly reject anything that contradicts what they believe. So proving the viability of faith to them on a purely academic level will be impossible regardless of the evidence provided.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:15–16 kjv

The Bible says that he who is spiritual comprehends all things while he who is natural is not qualified to speak on spiritual things. The two systems, though they exist simultaneously, are not equal. Spiritual laws are inherently superior to natural laws because all that is natural came from that which is spiritual. I will prove this by Scripture later in the book. Since God is behind both systems, unless it’s necessary for carrying out his purpose, they shouldn’t inherently contradict.

The Faith Science Experience 3 - Stem Cells and Cloning

When: Sat, April 30, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for next month's "Chapter Study" from his newest book, Faith Science. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

For More Info Visit; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience

Why Should Christians Care About the Stem Cell Debate?

From Faith Science;

Therapeutic cloning, also known as embryo cloning, probably has the broadest impact on society of the three cloning technologies in question. It’s the foundation of stem cell research and continues to stir passionate discussions worldwide. The Human Genome Project calls it “the production of human embryos for use in research.”

Fierce critics call it farming human embryos for body parts to help other humans who need them. After a human embryo has divided for five days into what is called a blastocyst, stem cells are extracted for research, killing the embryo. Stem cells are valuable because they are not specialized and can divide and renew themselves for extended periods before giving rise to specialized cell types.

What Does the Bible Say about Therapeutic Cloning?

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in
your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Psalm 139:13–16 nlt

The Lord gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:4–5 nlt

But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
Luke 1:13–15 nlt

At conception, your embryo was formed and earthly life began. As your stem cells replicated themselves, these newly formed cells became specialized in different areas to create your body. The Bible does not give a cut-off stage in the cell division process at which your “real” life began. God had his eyes on you before you were born.

He monitored the process of cell division as you developed from an embryo. Ethically, we cannot value the life of a thirty-year-old more than that of a three-year-old because of age, size, or development.

In the same way, we cannot say a human five days after conception is less valuable than one who is five days away from birth. After birth, I can’t kill you and take your heart because I need one. From the Bible’s perspective, it’s no better if I decided to take you out of your mother’s womb and kill you so that I could use your stem cells to grow heart cells.

There really isn’t much to discuss when it comes to embryo cloning for a Christian who believes the Bible. Every human life is valuable, and we can’t grow human eggs to use in experiments like chicken eggs to use for breakfast. Notwithstanding, vegans might disagree with me about the chicken eggs, but this is the Christian position. Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story.



All stem cell research is not morally repugnant. The NIH Stem Cell Basics states, “Until recently, scientists primarily worked with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic “somatic” or “adult” stem cells.” (Stem Cell Information, The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research, stemcells.nih.gov)

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found among differentiated cells in a tissue or organ. Undifferentiated cells have not yet developed into a specialized cell type. These stem cells acquire the features of the specialized cells (heart, liver, muscle, etc.) around which they abide to replace what is lost whenever there is tissue damage. This describes part of the process of natural healing that takes place in living organisms.

If these cells can be harvested, doctors can treat patients with their own adult stem cells to induce the natural process of healing. Scientists are also searching for ways to cause trans-differentiation. That way, if an organ is too damaged to source adult stem cells, scientists can genetically modify cells from one body part to use in treating another. If this process is successful, the problem of tissue rejection will be history since the source tissue cells and recipient cells can come from the same person.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mark 8:36–37 kjv

In sum, from a biblical perspective, therapeutic cloning using human embryos is out of the question. We can’t grow people, kill them, then use their parts to help other people. On the other hand, as I explained earlier in this chapter, I see nothing wrong with the use of non-embryonic “somatic” or “adult” stem cells. The stem cell debate is important and Christians should care!

The Faith Science Experience 3 - Stem Cells and Cloning

When: Sat, April 30, 2pm – 4pm

Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)

Description: Join Donnell Duncan for next month's "Chapter Study" from his newest book, Faith Science. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

For More Info Visit; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience

Faith Science on Stem Cells and Human Cloning

From Faith Science;

In recent weeks we learned that scientists have created human embryos in test tubes solely to experiment on them. This is deeply troubling, and a warning sign that should prompt all of us to think through these issues very carefully. We recoil at the idea of growing human beings for spare body parts or creating life for our convenience. I strongly oppose cloning. And while we must devote enormous energy to conquering disease, it is equally important that we pay attention to the moral concerns raised by the new frontier of human embryo stem cell research. Even the most noble ends do not justify any means.
—George W. Bush, radio address, Aug. 11, 2001

The top story in the June 2010 edition of Scientific American listed “12
Events That Will Change Everything.” They are as follows:
1. Fusion Energy
2. Extraterrestrial Intelligence
3. Asteroid Collision
4. Machine Self-awareness
5. Polar Meltdown
6. Nuclear Exchange
7. Deadly Pandemic
8. Creation of Life
9. Room-Temperature Superconductors
10. Pacific Earthquake
11. Human Cloning
12. Extra Dimensions

The article acknowledged that some of the items on the list are much more likely than others. Notwithstanding, number eleven, human cloning, is believed to be on schedule for some time in the future. It may take decades to get the process right, but who’s counting? Whether we think it’s ethical or not has no bearing on what will be done. As long as there is funding, the research will continue.

What many of us don’t realize is that by the time a paper is published or an announcement is made, it’s too late to ask ethical questions about the project. They only make the information public after years of gathering and testing data. Today’s hot new scientific breakthrough is really just the announcement of what’s been going on in some cases for decades in the lab. It’s only news for the people outside the loop.

This type of research puts an interesting twist on the concept of “faith science,” which forms the basis of this book. There must be an element of faith at the beginning of these projects to cause scientists to invest their lives and millions of dollars in funding. Research scientists sometimes only theoretically know what they’re looking for when they start their projects. They may not be able to prove it at first, but they must believe before they see the hard evidence. Why? Simply put, finding proof to support scientific theories is the basis of cutting-edge scientific research.

Stem cell research and cloning seem like the stuff of science fiction.
The ideas surrounding these scientific phenomena have been used to produce books and movies that are so farfetched they discredit the science behind them. For that reason, I joined the masses of people who considered the advancement of both stem cell research and cloning as not just irrelevant but improbable. When they made news headlines I refused to pay attention.

It was fascinating to see that, despite being in a worldwide economic downturn, this type of pricey research was still being financed. I put them in the same category as NASA: interesting but unnecessary. Billions of dollars, years of effort, and what really has their research changed in how we live each day? Absolutely nothing!

Well, at least that’s what I thought. Then God tugged my heart and opened my eyes. Something’s going on in these laboratories that will directly affect our lives in the future, so we better start paying attention.


The Faith Science Experience 3 - Stem Cells and Cloning

When: Sat, April 30, 2pm – 4pm

Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)

Description: Join Donnell Duncan for next month's "Chapter Study" from his newest book, Faith Scence. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

For More Info Visit; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience

Hearing God's Voice Through Nature

From Faith Science;

Robert Boyle (1627–1691): Boyle’s Law

When with bold telescopes I survey the old and newly discovered stars and planets that adorn the upper region of the world; and when with excellent microscopes I discern in otherwise invisible objects … nature’s curious workmanship; and when, in a word … I study the book of nature … I find myself oftentimes reduced to exclaim with the Psalmist, How manifold are thy Works O Lord? In Wisdom hast thou made them all! And when I have been losing myself in admiration of what I understand not, but enough to admire, and not to comprehend; I am often obliged to interrupt or break off my enquiries, by applying to the works of God’s creation the expression … O the depth of the Riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his way untraceable.

—Robert Boyle, Seraphick Love: Some Motives and Incentives to the Love of God

Frank Wattenberg from the Department of Mathematics at Montana State University said the following of Boyle’s Law:

Boyle’s Law involves a relationship between three properties of a gas in a container: the volume of the container (denoted V), the pressure of the gas (denoted P), the temperature of the gas (denoted T).

Boyle’s Law states: PV = kT where k is a constant, or Pressure * Volume = Constant * Temperature

The value of the constant k depends on the units used for the other quantities, but once the units are fixed, k is also fixed. When any one of the quantities V, P, or T is changed, one or two of the others must change so that the equation above still holds. Robert Boyle developed his scientific and religious philosophies simultaneously. He is described as one of the founders of modern chemistry.

In college, I learned Boyle’s law as the inversely proportional relationship between absolute pressure and the volume of gas. It’s used to understand the behavior of gases in balloons, syringes, and even human lungs. It’s so commonly used that we hardly acknowledge it. With his extensive understanding of science came a great respect for God.


Michael Faraday (1791–1867): Faraday’s Law, Electromagnetic Fields

The Christian who is taught of God … finds his guide in the Word of God … and looks for no assurance beyond what the Word can give him. The Christian religion is a revelation, and that revelation is the Word of God. No revival and no temporal teaching comes between it and him. He who is taught of the Holy Spirit needs no crowd and no revival to teach him; if he stands alone he is fully taught.

—Selected Exhortations Delivered to Various Churches of Christ by the Late Michael Faraday, Wm. Buchanan, John M. Baxter, and Alex Moir, James Rorie, editor, (Dundee: John Leng and Co., Ltc., 1910)

HyperPhysics hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Georgia State University simply defines Faraday’s Law as:

Any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage (emf ) to be “induced” in the coil. No matter how the change is produced, the voltage will be generated. The change could be produced by changing the magnetic field strength, moving a magnet toward or away from the coil, moving the coil into or out of the magnetic field, rotating the
coil relative to the magnet, etc.

Faraday’s law is a fundamental relationship which comes from Maxwell’s equations. It serves as a succinct summary of the ways a voltage (or emf ) may be generated by a changing magnetic environment. The induced emf in a coil is equal to the negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux times the number of turns in the coil. It involves the interaction of charge
with magnetic field.

For more, read Chapter 2 - Prominent Christians in Science and to discuss even further join us at;

The Faith Science Experience 2 - Prominent Christians in Science

When: Sat, March 19, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for monthly "Chapter Studies" of his newest book, Faith Scence. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

Does God Exist?

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use”
(Galileo Galilei: 1564–1642 Italian physicist).

Does God exist? Let's see what some of the most prominent scientists in history had to say in their own words.
From Faith Science;

1. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627): Pioneer of the Scientific Method

The Scripture saith, The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God; it is not said, The fool hath thought in his heart; so as he rather saith it, by rote to himself, as that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be persuaded of it. For none deny, there is a God, but those, for whom it maketh that there were no God. It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip, than in the heart of man, than by
this; that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted in it, within themselves, and would be glad to be strengthened, by the consent of others.
—Francis Bacon, Of Atheism (Essays of Francis Bacon)

The scientific method defines science as we know it. So I can’t think of anyone who qualifies more to accept the title of an accomplished scientist than the man who proposed its definition in the first place. Bacon clearly despised atheism and did not hold anything back in his essay Of Atheism. I specifically chose this quote because he demonstrated his use of the Bible in approaching the concept of atheism.

He quoted from Psalm 14:1 and expounded on the scripture just like a preacher. In essence, he said that atheists can’t really believe what they say about God. People who claim there is no God know the truth in their hearts. They have no excuse, like Paul said in Romans 1:18–23. They just talk off their heads and feel better about their position if they could get some support from others.

2. Johannes Kepler (1571–1630): Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

I wanted to become a theologian; for a long time I was restless. Now, however, behold how through my effort God is being celebrated in astronomy.
—Johannes Kepler, 1595 Letter to Michael Maestlin, mathematics professor and Kepler’s mentor

HyperPhysics hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Georgia State University simply defines Kepler’s Laws as:

• The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.
• The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
• The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit.

Note: Kepler’s laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well.

While the general consensus was that orbits were circular, Kepler proposed that they were elliptical. His laws approximated the motion of planets around the sun and became building blocks of modern astronomy. Even as a respected astronomer, he was quoted as saying, “Nothing in the world was created by God without a plan.”

Kepler’s testimony in his letter to Maestlin is similar to mine. I also wanted to become a theologian but pursued physics and structural engineering. Now, God is being celebrated through my life.

For more, read Chapter 2 - Prominent Christians in Science and to discuss even further join us at;

The Faith Science Experience 2 - Prominent Christians in Science

When: Sat, March 19, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for monthly "Chapter Studies" of his newest book, Faith Scence. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

Prominent Christians in Science

The Faith Science Experience 2 - Prominent Christians in Science

When: Sat, March 19, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for monthly "Chapter Studies" of his newest book, Faith Scence. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!


From Faith Science;

Prominent Christians in Science

Mr. Duncan is a theologian, not a scientist. Rather than spend his time on academic pursuits, Duncan spends his time (by his own admission: “twenty-four hours a day”) on “spreading the gospel.”
—Arthur Ide, PhD, MD, DA: October 6, 2005, responding to comments by Donnell Duncan on the article “Drawing a Line in the Academic Sand” on Inside Higher Ed.

I guess I pushed this man over the edge when I said the following in a heated debate that day: “Intelligent design is definitely a sketchy issue, but some of the foundational principles of evolution, though widely accepted, are also highly debatable. A university is the one place where we hope students can develop into independent thinkers. If they cannot even discuss the validity of a contentious scientific theory with the faculty in a bio-physical science class, then some of that independence is lost. It is unfortunate that a public university administration chooses to be one sided instead of allowing competing theories fair exposure.”

The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being.
—Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), Principia (1687)

Science and theology are not mutually exclusive. Sir Isaac Newton is considered to be one of the most prominent physicists, mathematicians, astronomers, chemists, and theologians. Newton’s laws of motion are the foundational principles for classical mechanics. He also wrote the book “Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John.” If I were to respond with the same logic as those secular scientists who think Christians can’t also be scientists, I would say, “These guys are agnostics and atheists; they are not scientists.”

With that in mind, let’s observe the lives of prominent Christians who throughout history embraced the call of science and theology. I’ll start in the early 1500s and work my way to the twenty-first century. By the time this chapter is complete you will see how foolish it is to believe that Christians cannot be scientists and scientists cannot be Christians. Instead of telling you only what I think about their faith in the Lord, I’ll let them say it in their own words.

Donnell on the Mancow Muller Show

Mancow Muller Show Interview

When: Wed, March 16, 8:00am – 8:30am (Eastern Time)

Where: Chicago/ Nationwide (map)

Description: Donnell Duncan will be interviewed on the Mancow Muller Show (www.mancow.com). It airs in over 200 markets, has 11-12 million listeners per day and is ranked the number 4 top radio program in the US. You can check the website; http://www.mancow.com/stationfinder to see what time it will air in your US city.

Follow it live at the following link; Mancow Live.

Freshly Roasted Coffee and Scientific Conversations

Atlanta Coffee Roasters Book Signing

When: Sat, March 12, 1pm – 3pm
Where: Atlanta Coffee Roasters 2205 Lavista Road Northeast Atlanta, GA (map)
Description: Have you ever seen a real coffee roasting machine? Freshly roasted coffee combined with conversations about Faith and Science. That's right. Join Donnell Duncan and the Faith Science crew at this exciting book signing event.

The Faith Science Experience

The collision between Faith and Science continues with our brand new meetup group in Alpharetta, GA called The Faith Science Experience.... Check it out at the following link; http://www.meetup.com/The-Faith-Science-Experience/

What's happening in March!

Atlanta Coffee Roasters Book Signing

When: Sat, March 12, 1pm – 3pm
Where: Atlanta Coffee Roasters 2205 Lavista Road Northeast Atlanta, GA (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan and the Faith Science crew at this exciting book signing event.

The Faith Science Experience 2 - Prominent Christians in Science

When: Sat, March 19, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for monthly "Chapter Studies" of his newest book, Faith Scence. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

Talk and Taste - Writer's Edition

When: Tue, March 22, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Five Seasons Brewing - 1000 Marietta St, Atlanta, GA 30318 (map)
Description: Celebration * Networking* Fundraiser
Donnell Duncan will be a featured author at this event. For more info and to RSVP in advance visit; www.talkandtaste.eventbrite.com

The Big Bang in The Bible

THE SCIENCE

1. There is a singular point from which all time and space came into existence.
2. The Universe is continually expanding.
3. Dark Energy & Matter dominate the universe.
4. Due to the finite age of the expanding Universe & the speed of light, horizons of time and space exist.
5. The Universe will end by either collapsing in a Big Crunch or Heat Death.

THE BIBLE

1. Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
2. Job 9:8& Isaiah 40:22 - The expanding universe
3. Hebrews 11:3, Isaiah 45:7& Exodus 10:21-23 – Invisible matter and dark matter exist
4. Deuteronomy 4:32& Isaiah 48:13 – Horizons of time and space
5. 2 Peter 3:10-12 – The universe will collapse in fire

THE BEGINNING

Genesis 1:1(NKJV) - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Contrary to popular belief, The Bing Bang and The Bible are in harmony. The Bible agrees with the foundational principles of this scientific theory. First, Big Bang Cosmology states that there was a beginning for time and space which can be found in Genesis 1:1.

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

Job 9:8(NLT) - He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.

Isaiah 40:22(NKJV) - It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

The second major point in Big Bang Cosmology is that The Universe is consistently expanding. If we read The Bible we could see that principle in operation. God is stretching out the heavens and spreading it out just like we discovered from observing interplanetary motion.

DARK MATTER AND ENERGY

Hebrews 11:3(KJV) - Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Isaiah 45:7(KJV) - I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

Exodus 10:21-23(KJV) - And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

According to Physics.About.Com, Dark Matter is a hypothesized form of matter particle that does not reflect or emit electromagnetic radiation. The existence of dark matter is inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter, such as stars and galaxies. Scientists say that 96% of the universe consists of Dark Energy and Dark Matter. Do you know that according to The Big Bang Theory, darkness is not merely the absence of light? Dark Matter is a type of matter that does not reflect light which dominates the Universe. In other words, when we look into outer space, much of what we think is empty space is really matter that just cannot be seen.

Hebrews 11:3 states that everything that's visible came from matter that did not reflect light which made it invisible. Isaiah 45:7 states that darkness is a distinct entity that was created by God just like the photons which make up light. It specifically says that God created darkness. This makes darkness more than just the absence of light but an entity of its own. Exodus 10:21-23 confirms that God caused an invisible, dark type of matter to descend upon the Egyptians that could be felt. The darkness was thick and oppresive immobilizing the Egyptians for three days. Dark Matter is real. The Big Bang and The Bible are clear about that.

HORIZONS OF TIME AND SPACE

Deuteronomy 4:32(THE MESSAGE) - Ask questions. Find out what has been going on all these years before you were born. From the day God created man and woman on this Earth, and from the horizon in the east to the horizon in the west — as far back as you can imagine and as far away as you can imagine — has as great a thing as this ever happened? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

Isaiah 48:13(THE MESSAGE) - Earth is my work, handmade. And the skies — I made them too, horizon to horizon. When I speak, they're on their feet, at attention.

Do you know that both The Big Bang Theory and The Bible agree that there are observable limits to The Universe? It's impossible for you to look up to the sky and assume that there is an end to The Universe so the writers of The Bible could not have guessed that. However, both The Big Bang Theory and The Bible say that there is only so far back and so far forward we can see in time and space. The distance between planets is so great that by the time the light from visible planets reach each other what can be observed actually occured light years in the past.

Hence, when we on earth look into the sky and observe planets we're not actually looking at the planets, we're looking back in time at what happened when those planets emitted the light that finally reached the earth. That's the backward horizon of time and space. In the same way, if someone is on another planet observing activity on earth. What they see by the time the light reaches them is the past. As a result, we can determine the future that will be observed from the vantage point of other planets. Because the speed of light is limited there is only so much that can be seen. That's the forward horizon of time and space.

HEAT DEATH

2 Peter 3:10-13(THE MESSAGE) - But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment. Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day — but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

The Big Bang Theory does not only offer a plausible explanation of the past but it also offers credible predictions. Two possible scenarios offered by The Big Bang are a Big Crunch or Heat Death. With The Big Crunch, The Universe will expand until it reaches a maximum size and then begin to collapse. With Heat Death, the entropy of the Universe will increase until there is complete disorder and all organized systems will come to end. These two scenarios fit into The Bible right in 2 Peter 3:10-13.

In conclusion, The Big Bang does not disprove The Bible. In fact, it proves several principles that have been in the scriptures for thousands of years. Long before technology or research was developed to prove any cosmological principle by observation or testing, The Bible said it. The Bible is true and the evidence proves it. Maybe it's time we took it a little more seriously.

Faith Science - The Formation of Ice, Astronomy and Controlling the Weather

Welcome to Faith Science Chapter Studies! These monthly sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

You can join us in person on Saturday, February 26th from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022. Please RSVP to faithscienceonline(at)gmail.com if you plan to join us.


From Faith Science..


The Formation of Ice

Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.
Job 38:29–30 nlt

In polar circles and temperate climates as temperatures drop below freezing during winter, water surfaces freeze solid. The way liquid water turns to solid ice is a scientific process that God created. Since he created it, he knew all the details and could verify Job’s response. Also, in cold conditions, the dew freezes in the morning as frost on the ground. The cold temperatures cause the energy in the water particles to be reduced as they slow down and combine to form ice.

Astronomy

Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?
Job 38:31–33 nlt

God decided to discuss the constellation of stars and the way in which they maintain their formation. People who study stars or take interest in their horoscopes will recognize these formations. According to Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Pleiades is a cluster of stars found in Taurus that’s visible in the spring. In the dictionary, Orion is described as a very bright equatorial constellation. The sequence of seasons represents the zodiac, according to the Amplified Bible.

Barnes’ Notes say that the bear with her cubs is a reference to the constellation Arcturus, or Ursa Major, in the northern sky. People have always believed that the stars guide the laws of the universe. Maybe they’re right and we can interpret this to mean that those who follow daily horoscopes can use them to tap into universal mysteries. Unfortunately for them, the implication of God’s questioning of Job is that it cannot be done.

Controlling the Weather

Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?
Job 38:34–38 nlt

I saw a movie based on sophisticated technology that could dictate the weather. For generations, people have tried different methods, like “cloud seeding,” to cause controlled precipitation, with limited success. God alone knows how to make the process work in our favor. Without his authority, we can’t change it at a moment’s notice. However, with his authority nothing is impossible. The Bible says, “Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth’” (Mark 9:23 kjv).

Job couldn’t provide a positive answer to any of God’s questions about controlling the weather. Even so, in 1 Kings 17–18, the rain obeyed Elijah, and in Mark 4:39, the rain and wind obeyed the commands of Jesus. Scientists know that they can’t make the weather do anything, so humans are satisfied to report and predict it. We do have an understanding of the process now, but in our natural ability we can’t do much better than observe it.

In 2008, when there was a severe drought in the State of Georgia, nothing worked until Governor Sonny Perdue called a day of prayer. He was strongly criticized, but people stopped talking when the rain started falling. A few years later, things were back to normal. We cannot change the weather on our own, but if we can just believe God, nothing is impossible.

Faith Science Radio Interviews, Chapter Studies, Book Signings, etc. Join The Movement!

Radio Interviews

Bulldog and The Rude Awakening Show on WOCM-FM 98.1 When: Tue, February 22, 7:40am – 7:55am
Where: Ocean City, Maryland (map)
Description:Donnell Duncan will be interviewed on "Bulldog and The Rude Awakening Show on WOCM-FM 98.1". Listen live on the following link; http://irieradio.com/play.html

Interview on Jeremiah Greer Live Radio Show When: Sun, February 27, 10pm – 11pm
Where: Online (map)
Description: Listen to Donnell Duncan live as he discusses Faith Science with host Jeremiah Greer. You can follow it online using the link; www.jeremiahgreerlive.com

Interview on The Dr Sky Show When: Wed, March 2, 5pm – 6pm
Where: Arizona (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan as he discusses his new book, "Faith Science" with Dr. Sky; www.drsky.com. Listen live at http://teentalknetwork.com/sky.htm


Atlanta Events
Faith Science Chapter Study 1 - Science in The Bible
When: Sat, February 26, 2pm – 4pm
Where: AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022 (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan for monthly "Chapter Studies" of his newest book, Faith Scence. These sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

Atlanta Coffee Roasters Book Signing When: Sat, March 12, 1pm – 3pm
Where: Atlanta Coffee Roasters 2205 Lavista Road Northeast Atlanta, GA (map)
Description: Join Donnell Duncan and the Faith Science crew at this exciting book signing event.

Engineering, Geography, Geophysics and the Location of Hell in The Bible

Welcome to Faith Science Chapter Studies! These monthly sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

You can join us in person on Saturday, February 26th from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022. Please RSVP to faithscienceonline(at)gmail.com if you plan to join us.

From Faith Science:

Engineering, Geography, and Geophysics

• The Formation and Size of the Earth

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 38:4–7 nlt

In his first direct challenge to Job, God inferred that he laid out the earth like a building. This seems merely figurative for most readers. Yet, as a structural engineer, I can relate to this imagery on a more literal level. For most simple buildings, a structural engineer conceptually designs the building’s superstructure, which is the part of the building that’s above ground. With that in mind, the building’s foundation type is determined mainly by the soil conditions based on data provided by a civil engineer. Why is this important? The foundation supports the building, and the soil supports the foundation.

Hence, God described the earth’s creation like an engineer. Not only did he consider the foundation that supports the earth but also how the foundation is supported. We can look at it in two ways. From one perspective, all that is visible on the earth was built on a rock core that supports its foundations, as is clearly visible in soil “borings” or samples. From another perspective, the earth’s internal gravitational pull acts like an invisible support keeping its foundations in place. In addition, like humans use surveying equipment to measure elevations and large distances, God was very precise in his design of the earth. It was then carefully constructed to match the plans, starting with the foundation.

• The Ocean’s Boundaries

Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, “This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!”
Job 38:8–11 nlt

How long did it take mankind to truly understand the tide, even though it’s always been in the Bible? Every day, this cycle continues as the ocean responds to the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Without fail, sea levels rise and fall exactly on schedule. When the ocean meets dry land, it drifts in and out with a consistent rhythm. Interestingly, it doesn’t overflow its boundaries under normal conditions.

In Genesis 1:2, before the tide was created, the earth was covered in deep water and darkness. Then God invented the tide when he set limitations for the waters in Genesis 1:6–10. How gravity keeps the ocean from overflowing to cover all dry land remains a scientific wonder.

• The 24 Hour Cycle of Day and Night

Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.
Job 38:12–15 nlt

Before scientists could explain that the earth’s rotation around its axis caused the twenty-four-hour cycle of day and night, people came up with the most interesting ideas. Ancient civilizations created legends that lasted for centuries before someone figured it out. Based on observation only, many thought that the sun went away and the moon appeared due to the action of the gods.

Now we understand that night falls as each location on earth rotates away from direct sunlight and the moon is the closest planet that reflects that sunlight. Yet the real scientific wonder here is not the rise and fall of the sun each day but the rotation of the earth. How is it that the earth is slightly tilted, constantly rotates at a steady pace, and orbits the sun without failure? That’s the real question that needs to be answered.

• The Center of the Earth

Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!
Job 38:16–18 nlt

God identified underwater springs, which supply the oceans with water. They are so deep that only those whose effects are seen near the surface of the water are readily recognized. Many others remain hidden, and some will never be discovered in this age. In Genesis 7:11 when the flood destroyed the earth in Noah’s day, God caused these underground springs to erupt simultaneously with the rainfall.

God connected this to the location of the gates of death. Figuratively, he could have been referring to the difficulty of understanding the mystery of death. However, literally, he could also have been referring to the gates of Hades.

When taken in the context of Job 38:16–18, hell is located at the center of the earth, which is an accepted fact for many theologians. The Bible says, “And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation,” (Numbers 16:32–33 kjv).

In Isaiah 14:15, the pit within the earth’s core is used to describe hell. If you cross reference 2 Peter 2:4 and Revelation 9, you should draw the same conclusion. Hence, the earth opened and people fell directly into hell at the center of the earth. This position is confirmed in Numbers 26:10, Deuteronomy 11:6, Psalm 106:17, and Ezekiel 31:16. Scientists haven’t proven it yet, but I’ve personally heard an audio recording from at least one group of geologists who drilled a shaft deep enough.

Even though they were searching for something completely different, like the Bible says in Amos 9:2, they dug toward hell. The shocking recording contained the sound of blood-curdling screaming voices coming from deep within the earth. Maybe they made the whole thing up and those sounds came from routine movements within the earth’s crust. The only way to disprove these conclusions is to go there. Since the road to hell is a one-way street, it’s safer to take their word for it.

Science in The Bible - The Source of Light, The Water Cycle, Lightning and Wind

Welcome to Faith Science Chapter Studies! These monthly sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

You can join us in person on Saturday, February 26th from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022. Please RSVP to faithscienceonline(at)gmail.com if you plan to join us.

From Faith Science:

• The Source of Light

Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
Job 38:19–21 nlt

In this context, light is defined in Merriam Webster’s New World Dictionary as “the form of radiant energy acting on the retina of the eye to make sight possible.” These visible quanta of electromagnetic energy are called photons. When these same Scripture verses are seen through natural scientific eyes, God was asking Job to explain the formation and transmittance of photons from the center of the sun. Figuratively, he was asking Job if he could explain the source of light from a big-picture perspective. In that case, proper follow-up questions would have been, “How does the sun work?” “Where is it located?” “How did it get there?” Of course, he didn’t know the answers, and if we’re honest with ourselves, neither do we.

• The Water Cycle

Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)

Job 38:22–23 nlt

Snow consists of soft, frozen particles of water vapor, while hail consists of frozen raindrops, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary. The water cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation is responsible for their formation. God asked Job a trick question. The Bible also says, “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry,” (Isaiah 55:10 nlt).

There are no literal storehouses of snow or hail because once the condensed water in clouds changes to form precipitation, rain, snow, or hail immediately falls to the ground.

• The Source of Lightning and Wind

Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

Job 38:24 nlt

God asked Job for the source of light again. God then followed with another trick question about the source of the east wind. Wind is moving air that is naturally attributed to a difference in air temperatures. As warmer air rises and cooler air sinks, wind is formed. The east wind appears in several places in the Scriptures and received special attention throughout the Old Testament because of its strength.

God asked Job to literally explain the scientific process of lightning and wind formation. At the time, it was an impossible request. Since the light and east wind were grouped together in the Scripture reference, one interpretation can be that the east wind comes from the east the same way the sun rises in the east. Nonetheless, I agree with Bible Knowledge, The Bible Exposition, and Adam Clarke’s Commentaries that the light is interpreted to specifically refer to lightning, which connects it to the verses that follow. Regardless, how electrical charges flash through the sky from clouds until they’re grounded on the earth is a scientific wonder.

Faith Science - Dark Matter, Dark Energy and The Spirit Realm

From Physics.About.Com

"Dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates space and exerts a negative pressure, which would have gravitational effects to account for the differences between the theoretical and observational results of gravitational effects on visible matter. Dark energy is not directly observed, but rather inferred from observations of gravitational interactions between astronomical objects, along with dark matter.

Dark matter is a hypothesized form of matter particle that does not reflect or emit electromagnetic radiation. The existence of dark matter is inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter, such as stars and galaxies.

A small percentage of the gravitational effects observed are from visible matter (some estimates are as low as 4% of total gravitational effects). The remaining 96% is presumed to result from dark matter or dark energy, though these terms are somewhat indicative of our ignorance of the exact nature of these unknown quantities, as they have never been directly observed."

From Faith Science..

On November 11, 2009, the headline on CNN.com said, “Huge $10 billion collider resumes hunt for God particle.” That article, written by CNN reporter Elizabeth Landau, pushed atomic and molecular physics to the forefront of popular culture for at least one day. The story highlights read as follows: “The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will circulate a beam around the tunnel within two weeks. CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) scientists say an electrical failure caused a major shut-down of the collider in September 2008. The full scientific program for the LHC will probably last more than 20 years. The LHC will look for the Higgs boson, quarks, gluons and other small particles.”

Antoine Lavoisier is commonly referred to as the father of modern chemistry. In 1789, he formulated the law of conservation of mass, which in simple terms states that matter is neither created nor destroyed. This is an approximate physical law that loses its credibility in terms of mass conservation when physical matter changes to a form without measurable mass.

Albert Einstein, the most famous theoretical physicist in history, disproved the conclusions drawn by Lavoisier and took the concept a step further. His discovery of special relativity and the related equation of mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2, showed a relationship between mass and energy. This allows for mass to practically disappear during a chemical reaction and be changed into mass-less energy.

Withal, this still proved that if energy is considered a type of matter, the simple interpretation of Lavoisier’s conclusions still applies. Hence, even though mass in its traditional sense is not always conserved, matter, whether or not it has physically measurable mass, always is. Therefore, while things that exist can change form, science has proven that everything in existence has always been in existence and will always be in existence.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Hebrews 11:1–3 kjv

Let’s consider faith in the context of the basic scientific principles presented by Lavoisier and Einstein. Faith is “the substance of things hoped for.” Hence, even though faith is a mass-less substance, it is as real as any other substance that has traditional mass. As I said earlier, if the Higgs Boson theoretically gives particles mass, every particle is essentially mass-less. According to Hebrews 11:1, the presence of faith is evidence of things that are not seen. Therefore, our ability to see something with our physical eyes does not make it any more real than it inherently is.

We can also see plainly in Hebrews 11:3 that God used invisible things to create things which are visible. Consequently, even though many Christians assume when reading Genesis 1:1 that God made the heavens and earth out of nothing, the truth according to Hebrews 11:3 is that he didn’t. Traditionally, many considered what was invisible and mass-less as nothing, so they completely underestimated the value of spiritual materials which are the building blocks of the spirit realm. So it’s hard for many to understand that there can be angels or demons in a room without us being aware of them. Now we’ll discover the truth.

Ex nihilo nihil fit–Latin, “Out of nothing, comes nothing” a phrase originated by the Scholastics in claiming that the universe needs God as its cause because something cannot be created out of nothing.

Source: A Dictionary of Common Philosophical Terms, Gregory Pence, published by Mc Graw-Hill

Since matter is neither created nor destroyed but changes form, God used spiritual matter as the building blocks for all physical matter. Can you see a connection between Dark Energy and the spirit realm? I think so.