A theory of everything

Nelly Villafuerte

HAVE you heard about the so-called “theory of everything” (TOE)? Simply, TOE claims that the laws of science are sufficient to explain the universe. But the flaw of this theory is that it has not resolved or answered one final question, namely: Who made the universe? Referring us back to a basic question on the existence of God.

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This question on the existence of God has divided the thinking of peoples of different races, including Filipinos. There are three kinds of thinking on this question of the existence of God. One, there are those who do not believe in the existence of God (atheists); two, there are those who doubt the existence of God (skeptics); and three, there are those who believe in the existence of God. Biblebelieving Christians fall under the third category. In the first verse of the first book of the Holy Bible, we find the following: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) The Holy Bible presupposes the existence of God.

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From the Biblical point of view, we cannot disassociate God from science. Because the God of the Bible is also the God of Science. Not many know that there are many scientific statements found in the Holy Bible which at different stages of history have been tested and verified by scientists to be true.

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Let me share some Biblical accounts that jibe accurately with scientific findings. Hopefully, these Biblical statements will increase your faith in our living God and make us realize that the theory of the supremacy of science in the universe is a fallacy. Everything bows down to our Lord God. No ifs, no buts.

* In the Holy Bible we find the following verse: “He (God) sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22) Before the introduction of the compass and the fifteenth century voyages of Columbus and Magellan, people thought that the earth was flat. Centuries before man found out that the earth was round, the Holy Bible already said in simple, clear, and brief terms that the earth is round.

* Long before our scientists and medical doctors found out that the perfect day to perform a circumcision is the eighth day of a newborn male, the Holy Bible already said so. In the Book of Genesis, God said to Abraham: “For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised… (Genesis 17:12). One may ask: Why is the eighth day of a newborn male the safest time to perform circumcision? Modernday doctors and scientists found out that a newborn infant has a peculiar susceptibility to bleeding between the second and the fifth days of life. Because the important blood-clotting element Vitamin K is not formed until the fifth to the seventh day of a newborn baby. Also, a second element which is also necessary for the normal clotting of blood (prothrombin) is most abundant in the entire life of a male on the eighth day of his life. Findings of scientists and medical doctors on this matter merely confirmed why the Holy Bible chose the eighth day of a newborn male as the best time to circumcise him.

* The medical wisdom of the Hebrews is incredible. Considering that their neighbors in almost all ancient cultures – the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and other peoples – were dabbling in spiritism of various kinds to solve the mysteries of disease, injuries, and other human ailments. In the Book of Leviticus of the Old Testament, we see the medical knowledge of the Hebrews on health, sanitation, and quarantine comparable to the modern practices nowadays. For example, God taught Moses about the value of handwashing and changing of clothes after contact with infectious diseases. The Holy Bible does not mention only washing in a basin, but repeated washings in running water, with time intervals allowed for drying and exposure to sun to kill bacteria not washed off. Likewise, doctors today wash their hands in the operating rooms to avoid infection of their patients.

* Long before ocean scientists discovered that there are mountains, valleys, springs, fountains, and volcanoes in the floor of the sea, the Holy Bible already said so. (See 2 Samuel 22:16; Jonah 2:6; Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2; and Proverbs 8:28).

* There are scientific principles accurately described in the Holy Bible some of them centuries before man discovered them. Like the Law of Heredity demonstrated by the monk Johann Mendel (that all living things are reproduced after their own kind:; and the fist and second laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics states that although energy can change form, it cannot be neither created or destroyed and therefore the sum total remains constant. The second law of thermodynamics states that when energy is transformed from one state to another, some of it is turned into heat energy forms.

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To me the most awesome and astounding scientific procedure described in the Holy Bible is the creation of the first woman. This set a precedent in surgical procedure – a masterwork in technique and, using a Latin phrase to describe the procedure, magnum opus. The Biblical passage on the creation says: “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.” (Genesis 2:21) To compare with the modern medical procedure: Pre-operative sedation (anaesthesia) vs. “to fall into a deep sleep;” surgical rib resection vs. “he took one of the man’s ribs;” closure of surgical incision vs. “closed up the place with flesh.” Is this coincidence? No, because nothing happens by coincidence. The creation of the first woman was actually the world’s first medical operation. But more than that. The dramatic impact of the creation can never be duplicated by science. Never!

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Let us not waiver in our faith in our Lord God. The intellect of the created (including the most learned scientists, researchers, and doctors) cannot compare with the wisdom of our Creator. As the Holy Bible says, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1Corinthians 1:25)

A theory of everything