Is God Expanding, Too (bara’, “to create”) “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 A journey on the evolution of our understanding of the universe and of our notion of God. First United Methodist Church of Arroyo Grande Leader: Jamie Foster Is God Expanding, Too?, Leader: Jamie Foster, printed 9/11/11, page 1. Is God Expanding, Too? First United Methodist Church of Arroyo Grande, 275 N. Halcyon. The class will be lead by Jamie Foster. It will consist of five 2.5-hour sessions (including a meal), Wednesdays 6:00-8:30pm, July 3, 7, 10, 17, 24, and 30, 2002. Tentative schedule and outline: This course will explore the interface between science and religion using the issues of creation and the universe as the medium. It will be an exploratory journey for all involved (don’t expect “answers”). We’ll grapple with what we know, or with what we think we know, regarding the creation of the universe and its fundamental laws (of physics), and with what God has to do with that. And we’ll look broadly at how science and religion relate. Participants will go away with some marvelous thoughts, ideas, and questions to ponder. 1. Introduction: how the course will be conducted, review/expand this outline, distribute materials. Has our understanding or concept of God been keeping pace with science’s understanding of our world? How do you describe God today? 2. Getting a grip on the universe via color slides, including an exposure to cosmological issues. Some of the WOW! facts of the bigger world in which we live, and the tiny world of which it’s made. Drawing the universe on 2 sheets of paper. 3. Detailed tracing of the evolution of man’s understanding of the origins and structure of the universe from Egyptians, Sumerians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Euclid, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein... 4. The Big Bang: An overview of theoretical and astro- physics as its relates to our universe from Time=0, or What we seem to know about how the world ticks and the laws of nature. 5. Discussion of the evolution of our understanding of God, and how theologians view creation. 6-8. Blending science and religion, particularly regarding cosmological and laws-of-nature issues: Does religion take into account what science knows? Should it? Does science tell us anything about freedom, evil and suffering, religious intolerance, or predestination? What are the “theories” and “data” of religion, and what are the “traditions” and “judgments” of science? What role does revelation play, either on the road to Damascus (Paul) or Bowes Moor (Fred Hoyle)? Does the universe need a Creator? Does design imply a Designer? How do the methodologies of science and of religion compare and contrast? How can we know something without knowing everything? What does it mean to be both observer and participant? What does it mean for something to “exist?” How do we have faith, but not blind faith? Just how rational is the universe? How do super colliders research religion? Is the universe intelligent or intelligible? Can beauty be a guide to truth? Does God play dice? Are they loaded? 8. Wrap up. How do you describe God now? Is God Expanding, Too?, Leader: Jamie Foster, printed 9/11/11, page 2. Table of Contents Is God Expanding, Too? ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 The Big Bang ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Timeline from Earth’s (our) point of view... ......................................................................................................................................... 6 The Creation Story (Genesis 1-2:3) ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Wow! ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Definitions .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Table of the Particles ............................................................................................................................................................................ 18 .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 A Chronology of the Evolution of Science ........................................................................................................................................... 20 A Chronology of the Evolution of the Concept of God ...................................................................................................................... 33 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Einstein, Christmas, and Infinity ......................................................................................................................................................... 47 In The Beginning...There Was A Computer...And God Said... ......................................................................................................... 48 Session 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Session 2: Getting a Grip on the Universe via slides .......................................................................................................................... 53 Session 3: Discussing the Evolution of Cosmology (and science) ...................................................................................................... 63 Session 4: The Big Bang ........................................................................................................................................................................ 64 Session 5: Historical Notions of God .................................................................................................................................................... 69 Session 6: How Science and Religion Operate / The Creation Story ................................................................................................ 72 Session 7: The Big Questions ................................................................................................................................................................ 81 Session 8: The Big Questions (continued); Wrap Up ......................................................................................................................... 84 This document was prepared using MS Word 2000 on an IBM PC. Machine-readable copies are available on a CD-ROM in any of the formats that Word will output. The fractals were generated using WinFract v18.21, and are also available. Pi was calculated using PiW v1.31 and is available up to 250,000 digits. No charge; just ask... Is God Expanding, Too?, Leader: Jamie Foster, printed 9/11/11, page 3. The Big Bang T=0 Creation. Infinite Singularity? T=10-43 second Planck barrier, before which all calculations break down, can’t describe space, time, matter, etc. The universe is at about 1032 degrees and the size of an atom. Gravity separates from “parent” force. For all practical purposes, this is the beginning of the Universe. The density of the universe is 1096 times that of water. One unit of quantum time. T=10-35 second Strong nuclear force begins separating out, universe is 10-24 centimeters big and 1028 degrees Kelvin (K). Baryon synthesis. X bosons are transmuting between quarks and leptons. After this point, X bosons cannot exists as the universe further cools, so they decay into quarks and anti-quarks at different rates. This difference ultimately results in the proton:anti-proton imbalance (1 billion and 1 : 1 billion). The inflationary period begins due to phase changes of particles and consequent release of energy. T=10-30 second The asymmetric decay of X particles is complete, and the ultimate matter:anti-matter ratio of the universe is fixed. T=10-32 second Universe is softball size, at 1027 degrees Kelvin. T=10-20 second Hawking’s mini blackholes are done; today, 100 million per cubic light year (theoretically). T=10-18 second The universe is a million billion degrees - staggering, but reproducible (for fractions of a second) in modern accelerators. T=10-12 second Universe is about 1015 degrees (1 trillion degrees). T=10-10 second Weak force and Electromagnetic force separate as W and Z particles decay. Universe is about the same size as today’s solar system. T=10-7 second Proton creation at 100,000,000,001 protons to 100,000,000,000 anti-protons resulting in today’s ratio of 100,000,000,000 photons (created by one proton annihilating one anti-proton) to the one remaining proton. T=10-5 second Meson creation. T=10-4 second Quarks form protons and neutrons in a sea of neutrinos, electrons, and photons. Universe is 1012