Higgs-Bosons, Up, Down, Charmed, and Strange Quarks,
Anti-matter, Dark-Matter, and Light as both wave and particle – at one and the
same time. These are the present realities of physics which even the public has
come to accept as incomprehensible, but real. How can one begin to understand a
universe that contains this many uncertainties, paradoxes, and seeming
impossibilities? Yet, this is what our contemporary mind has been trained to do
by the realities of our physical world. It did not start with Albert Einstein,
but his descriptions of the Theory of Relativity did much to train the world to
believe two contradictory truths at once. This is one of the hallmarks of our
post-modern culture and this influences philosophy and theology as well as
science. As Alistair McGrath puts it.

For an orthodox Christian theologian,
the doctrine of the Trinity is the inevitable outcome of intellectual
engagement with the Christian experience of God; for the physicist, equally
abstract and bewildering concepts emerge from wrestling with the world of
quantum phenomena. But both are committed to sustained intellectual engagement
with [these] phenomena, in order to derive and develop theories or doctrines
which can be said to do justice to them, preserving rather than reducing them.
Both the sciences and religion may therefore be described as offering
interpretations of experience. (McGrath, 1998, p. 88)^[1]

The Bible speaks of the Creator God who is the same yesterday,
today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8); the canon of the Bible has now been
established for many centuries and will not be changed; but theology has and
will change. Science, philosophy, and theology must change, as they are interpretations
of experience. God remains the same, but humans have passed knowledge and
experience from one generation to another, slowly building a base of wisdom and
information that allows us to relate to our physical, philosophical, and
theological world. Humans, as a collective, know much more about the universe
today than we did prior to God’s Abrahamic covenant with his people. Humans are
not the same people today as those who interacted with him in the Middle-East
or African deserts of those times. So, the unchanging God has chosen to change
the way in which he has interacted with humans. First, he chose a way to
interact with those who lived in the days of Adam and others before the Abrahamic Covenant. The details of this interaction are sparse and hard to ascertain, but
clearly different from his covenant with Abraham. Then, there are all those who
lived under the covenant of Abraham, as described in Genesis 12:2 and 3.

“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

Next, there is the Mosaic Covenant, described in Exodus 19,
in which God reminds his people of their obligation to obey all that he has
commanded them in the Law, and the people respond with, “All that the Lord has
spoken we will do!” 

The next change that occurs within the way in which God
interacts with his people is the Incarnation. In this covenant, God himself
steps into history, biology, and physics, in the form of Jesus Christ,
Immanuel. The Good News of the New Testament is the covenant between God and
people who choose to follow Jesus, who is the Lord. As far as we know, this
represents the last iteration of God’s interaction with his people, before the
final judgement and the renewal of all in the definitive Kingdom of God.

Again, I need to remind myself and my readers that this is
not about God changing, the Bible changing, or the cultural perspective of
humans changing. This is about the information, wisdom, and experience of
humans that shape how God chooses to interact with his created beings. As humans
grow, mature, and advance in technology, God chooses to interrelate to us in
new ways.

The previous discussion about how God has chosen to relate
to humans may give us cause to pause in our desire to be completely and
definitively correct in our assessments of anything in life. If science has the
potential to discover new things that shape the way we view life, then theology
and our understanding of the Bible can and will change as humans mature and
change. We should not be too quick to decide that we have the last word on any
given topic, theological or secular. Some new fact or feature may be discovered
which requires an attenuation, correction, or confirmation of our assessment.
In other words, on some given topic, we might be wrong.

Works Cited: 

I have been
fortunate to have many great mentors, coaches, disciple-makers, and spiritual
friends in my life. I dare-say it would not have been possible to live my life
without these people. A full education in life requires more than just information,
it requires transformation. This is where a good friend and mentor comes into
the picture. James Houston puts it this way:

When we are looking for help from the
right kind of people, “teachers” are not enough… We forget that the
nurturing and caring relationship is inherent in effective teaching. Wisdom,
after all, is more than data processing. Activism that is devoted to a cause
can also be a poor substitute for relationships, because it is too busy to
cultivate friendship. The Greek philosophers were wiser when they stated that “thought
is not meaningful without action; and action is not meaningful without
friendship.”   James Houston, The Mentored Life

May 2017 be
a year in which you find one or two additional mentors in your life. I would
suggest that this would make 2017 your best year ever.

Elon Musk is a contemporary industrialist who has been compared to a real-life Tony Stark. But here are two names you may not yet have heard: Harold “Sonny” White and Zefram Cochrane. As any Star Trek fan will know, Zefram Cochrane is the fictional inventor of the fictional Warp Drive. His name or his character appears in several episodes, movies, and versions of the Star Trek franchise. On the other hand, Harold "Sonny" White is a researcher who is attempting to invent genuine warp drive technology that would allow the human race to travel to places beyond the reach of the fastest spacecraft of today. Thus, he could turn out to be a real-life Zefram Cochrane. Although you may have watched many episodes of Star Trek and other movies featuring warp drive, you may now be asking, “What is warp drive technology?”

According to Star Trek’s pseudo-technology, creating a warp field around a spaceship results in changes to the fabric of the space-time continuum, such that the normal laws of physics do not apply. The spacecraft may travel at rates less than the speed of light, while the space-time warp opens holes in the fabric of space and time such that the relative movement of the spacecraft, and everyone inside it, appears to be greater than the speed of light. It’s alright if you don’t understand what I just wrote, simply repeat after me and wave your arms around as if you were describing a warp cocoon around an Enterprise ship and people will believe you just like they believe the Star Trek writers.

Now, let’s get back to Harold White. White has received research funding to look into the possibility of warping the space-time continuum such that objects might travel through space and, relatively speaking, the objects would get from one place to another in less time than it would take light to travel the same distance. In other words, he is working on creating a warp field for faster than light travel. The journal, Scientific American devoted an entire article to the news about "Sonny’s" research.  What do his colleagues think of this? Most are highly skeptical that his research will bear fruit. Most would say that any kind of faster-than-light-travel is impossible. Yet, in terms of pure research with potential for a tremendous practical outcome, it is certainly worth the gamble of a little bit of research money. The colonizing of other planets, other solar systems, and other galaxies depends upon someone finding a way to get places fast. Why not spend some time, money, and energy on a possible solution?

Randy Stonehill is “turning sixty,” no, wait, next March he will be 65! This will be another major milestone for the young man who wrote “Turning Thirty.” Randy Stonehill came along at just the right time for me in my musical appreciation. In 1976, I was 16 years old when I discovered Randy’s album, “Welcome to Paradise.” There was a lot of radio music that I loved, but even as I was greatly moved by bands like Chicago and Chilliwack, I found myself wondering what it was that music points toward. It felt like all that beauty must have a deeper meaning. The album, “Welcome to Paradise” (1976, Solid Rock Records) introduced me to that deeper meaning of music. It helped me to put music in its proper place. The album, originally produced on an LP record, had two sides: “Paradise Lost (sorrow and sadness...)” and “Paradise Regained (...turn into gladness).” Side one told the story of one who has lost his or her way and is running from God. Side two tells the story of finding that Jesus is the way, and describes the first few steps back on the road toward a Paradise in which there is companionship with God. Here was a creative rock musician who was not only making great music, but was pointing toward deeper truths.

Later in life I would learn the reality in the words of A.W. Tozer when he said, “Every true work of art praises God apart from the composer’s intentions, because it could not have been written without the gifts which God gave His creation.” However, at 16, I needed words that explicitly pointed to how music can praise God and tell the story of salvation. I also needed music that spoke to my soul. Certainly, some of the hymns and choruses of my childhood could do this, but “Uncle Rand,” as I began to call him, provided one of the best vehicles for understanding and praising Jesus.

The album is a masterpiece. Larry Norman spends many hours producing this album and the attention to detail shows. I now own the 2003 release of the album on compact disc and as I recently listened to the 10 songs plus two bonus tracks, I was still impressed by the production, engineering, arrangements, instrumentation, and string accompaniments. This 1976 album holds up against all others from that era and many from today as a marvelous work of art.

The 2003 release has a particular appeal for song-writers as the bonus tracks give an insight into how some of the songs came to be. There is a raw demo called “I’ve Got Good News For You” that is not quite ready for “primetime,” but shows the amazing vocal stylings of Uncle Rand and Larry Norman. (Make sure you listen to it with headphones to help separate out the two voices in the two track stereo creativity.) Also on this release is the recording of a session in which Randy and Larry write a song called “Heart Lock.” The genesis of genius is evident in this rough track.

I have so many favourite songs on this album that time will not permit an explanation of each. Allow me instead to direct your attention to just a few of them. “Keep Me Running” has a great guitar riff that reels me in long before I realize what the song is about. Next, the lyrics catch me asking questions about my own life and the ease with which I can find myself running from the one who gave me life.

Puppet Strings is a retelling of the ancient story of The Fall. Humankind has strayed far from the intention of a loving God and, although he is patient with his children, he has allowed them to go their own way and “stumble into night.” The darkness of that world is still very much evident today.

Perhaps the song that most sticks in my head after all of these years is the song called “Christmas Song For All Year ‘Round.” It is a simple retelling of the life of Jesus and how the incarnation intersects with both Christmas and Easter. I recently found myself quoting many of these lyrics in an advent sermon at Bow Valley Christian Church. They still ring loud and clear.

Randy Stonehill has become so much a part of my life and the life of my family that our youngest daughter was once under the impression that he actually was her uncle. So, to this larger than life man, whom I am happy to call Uncle Rand, I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Joyous Easter, and many more Happy Birthdays. May you keep on “Turning Thirty” even as the calendar years fly past.

At a
biological level, what is the minimal number of genes needed to sustain life in
an organism? That is a question that is being asked by a group of scientists
who have been engineering the genome of the bacteria known as Mycoplasma mycoides. For a few years, the team has been taking genes out and rearranging the order of
the genome within this bacterium. In 2010, they engineered a strain called
JCVI-syn1.0 which contained only 901 genes. That is a relatively small genome
considering that a typical strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) has
approximately 5400 genes; but JCVI-syn1.0 was not yet minimal. A new strain,
created in 2016, called JCVI-syn3.0 has been developed that contains only 473
genes. The bacteria continue to live, thrive, and reproduce with only these
genes. This strain may be pointing to the basic building blocks of life and the
minimum genes necessary to sustain life and reproduction.

It is an
interesting philosophical question: “What is life?” What are the basic
components necessary to make something alive versus inanimate? These 473 genes
may define life. An interesting side-bar is that 65 of these genes are known to
be necessary for life, but it is not known what they are doing in the cell.
Further research into the function of these 65 genes will be a key area of
future research.

Another fascinating
aspect of this research is that the researchers have been organizing the genes
into little modules and keeping genes of similar function together in the
genome. Evolutionary change has put genes in a certain order, but these
scientists have found that they can change that order and make it more
convenient for their work without detrimental consequences to the bacteria.
CRISPR technology has made the whole process simpler and led to the recent rapid developments.

This brings science
a few steps closer to creating synthetic life. Of course, at this stage, researchers
are simply reassembling the components supplied by the Creator to build a
synthetic cell. How far might humans be able to go in building other cell
structures beyond these artificial genomes? Whatever one thinks of such
biological engineering, it is important to be aware of the directions in which
science is moving. There are philosophical, theological, and ethical
implications of such research. We must be ready to discuss and give guidance in
these areas as technology continues to push boundaries. 

Almost two years ago, I wrote a blog about
the effects of gravity and wondered when we would have a better understanding
of this powerful force.
Earlier this year, we came several steps closer to understanding gravity when
researchers at LIGO
detected gravitational waves.
In my article about gravity, I also commented that “there may be as much as five times more dark matter
than ordinary matter in the universe.” Dark matter is non-luminous material
that does not interact with radiation (visible light and other portions of the spectrum). At least, that was the accepted understanding of dark
matter at the time; but that view has been called into question in 2016 by the
results of two experiments that failed to detect dark matter despite the
elegant systems established to do just that.
Now researchers are wondering if dark matter exists at all. This is a great
reminder that scientific theories of the universe are ever in flux. What is today
accepted as a model for how things work in our universe may, on the basis of a
few experiments, be discarded tomorrow. Now, let’s be careful here; let’s not
get confused. This does not mean that the scientific method is inaccurate. In
fact, this demonstrates that science is a powerful tool for understanding our
universe. For, if the method truly works, it will find some theories to be
correct and will prove other theories to be incorrect. The fact that these two
experiments failed to find dark matter gives us greater confidence in science,
even as they cause us to question the existence of dark matter.

So, three experiments
in 2016, which all ranked high in the top news stories of the year,
show us that there is still much mystery to our universe. They also show us
that we can trust in the logic and methodology of science. Gravitational waves
are real, and we are uncertain as to the existence of dark matter. What might
2017 teach us?

Key of Zed is a duo consisting of Mike
Charko (multiple instruments, engineering, background vocals, melodies, lyrics,
and arrangements) and Keith Shields (lead vocals, background vocals,
percussion, lyrics, melodies, arrangements, social media, and promotion). The
duo has been collaborating on song-writing and performing since 2009. Their
latest release is a song called “I Remember It Well.” Keith Shields says that
the song started out as a pure love song but, in true Key of Zed fashion, it
morphed into a song about a man who is far away from his love, “paying for his fame
with memories.” The guitar style is reminiscent of 1970’s sounds with just a
bit of Blue Rodeo thrown in. We think you will enjoy this fresh kick at a retro
mood and we hope you like our latest hit (okay, I said “hit” with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek). Check out all Key of Zed music at Reverbnation. You can even download selected tracks and take it with
you on the road.

I
Remember It Well

(Lyrics and Music by Mike Charko and Keith
Shields; SOCAN 2016)

(Listen while you read the lyrics.)

I can still recall

The first time I held your hand

I can still recall

Oh the life we planned

Butterflies in my tummy

First time I called you honey

Oh-Oh I remember it well

I can still recall

Oh, the way you smiled

I can still recall

How you drove me wild

Making love under the covers

Talking on and on for hours

Oh-Oh I remember it well

But tonight I call your name

And it’s all a shade of blue

I’m paying for my fame

With memories of you

I can still recall

The times we ran away

I can still recall

The crazy things we’d say

Talkin’ ‘bout the dreams we’d chase down

The legacy to leave our children

Oh-oh I remember it well

But tonight I call your name

And it’s all a shade of blue

I’m paying for my fame

With memories of you

(Instrumental break)

And as my mind goes racing back

I can’t recall the things we lacked

Girl you’re easy on my mind

On days like this I find

I remember it well

But tonight I call your name

And it’s all a shade of blue

I’m paying for my fame

With memories of you

I can still recall

I can still recall

I can still recall 

Neil Postman in his essay, “Science and the Story We Need,” has this to say,

“But in the end, science does not provide the
answers most of us require. Its story of our origins and of our end is, to say
the least, unsatisfactory. To the question, “How did it all begin?”,
science answers, “Probably by an accident.” To the question, “How
will it all end?”, science answers, “Probably by an accident.”
And to many people, the accidental life is not worth living. Moreover, the
science-god has no answer to the question, “Why are we here?” and, to
the question, “What moral instructions do you give us?”, the
science-god maintains silence.”

It is slowly dawning upon our majority culture, that science does not
have answers for certain questions. Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking may
wave their hands around and say that science answers the questions of “Why are
we here?” and “What moral instructions do you give us?”, but the answers
science gives do not hold up. It can’t answer the question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” Left to the answers science gives to these questions, most people do indeed feel
like life is not worth living.

Some are beginning to recognize that the concept of God makes more sense
than atheism. A universe created by a Creator God is a universe with purpose.
It is not an accident and it does not leave us to come up with purpose or
morality. Perhaps the world is once more ready to embrace the story of the God
who decided to enter his creation as a fragile, dependent, helpless baby.
Perhaps the message of a God who enters creation and offers a purpose may
once again make sense.

Cassini has begun grazing the rings of Saturn. This represents the next phase in the journey of NASA’s preeminent spacecraft. Around November 30, 2016, Cassini began orbits that swing close to the outer rings and give a great view of the north pole of the gas giant. The resulting images are spectacular and are a testament to the concerted effort of many engineers, astrophysicists, technicians, and experiment designers. NASA has a new gallery of photos to spark imagination and create additional questions about what is happening on this planet. One of the most interesting phenomena is the hexagonal shaped polar vortex on the north pole. What forces create this uncommon geometric shape when the more common shape would be a circle?

Cassini will continue to send back pictures as it systematically surveys the atmosphere, rings, and moons of Saturn over the next 9 months. On September 15, 2017, Cassini will dive toward the surface of Saturn where, long before it reaches the planet’s crust, it will be crushed and vaporized by the forces of Saturn’s atmosphere. A fitting pyrotechnical finale for a noble spacecraft.

In the last 12 days, I wrote a song for our sixth grandchild, Aubrey Claire. The song, although it does not yet have a
melody, contains references to three songs by three respected song-writers.
Sting (Gordon
Matthew Thomas Sumner) wrote the song “Wrapped Around
Your Finger” about how the apprentice becomes the master. Certainly, that is
what must happen in every generation but not without some angst on the part of
both master and apprentice. There is a tension between old ways and new ways
that is recognized in Sting’s song and my own.

The second musical influence is the song, “Change the World,” written by Tommy
Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Eric Clapton had a big hit with
this song and it has inspired many others to write about changing the world. In
my song, the concept of “if I could change the world” is transformed to the
idea of how all of us do change the world and the hope of a grandfather for
the positive change a granddaughter might make.

Lastly, a song written by the members of
the band Jars of Clay, “Revolution,” challenges us all to “be a
revolution.” Here are the full lyrics to that song. Listen to the song here.

Revolution

Peace takes a taxi to
the underground.
I want to love the world but I don’t know how.
I’ll blame it on the d.j. spinning all the fast songs,

ain’t playing anything
that I can sing along.

If you know the words
try to sing along.
When you get the beat, grab a hammer, bang a gong.
‘Cause you don’t gotta fight or make yourself belong to be a revolution.

If you want to learn
to play the “rock guitar,”
Throw down your guns, you’re gonna be a star.
You gotta begin with who you know you are to be a revolution.
The time is right to cross that line and let love find a way.

So, if you know the
words then try to sing along.
When you get the beat, grab a hammer, bang a gong.
‘Cause you don’t gotta fight or make yourself belong to be a revolution.

Songwriters: Stephen
Daniel Mason, Charlie Lowell, Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark; Published by Universal
Music Publishing Group.