A Cosmic Relic

About ten years ago a new star was discovered. You may have read some of the articles that detailed this “cosmic relic.” It is thought to be more than 12 billion years old. Michael S. Bessell, an astronomer at Australia’s Mount Stromlo Observatory, said the newly discovered star arose from the debris of a first-generation star, so it contains only a very small amount of heavy elements. “This really traces things back to the very early stages of the universe because stars are records of that time. This is an indicator of those times,” said Bessell, the star’s co-discoverer.

It is interesting and somewhat humorous that people have such a difficult time accepting the simple truths of Scripture concerning creation. To trace things back to the early stages of the universe, I have found that the following Scripture suffices:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5 ESV).

I do not intend to scoff at the validity of research, however I have found it true that many people find it easier to accept the more difficult explanations of creation rather than to simply declare “God did it!” The French Mathematician, Lecompte de Nouy, examined the laws of probability for a single molecule of high dissymmetry to be formed by the action of chance. De Nouy found that, on an average, the time needed to form one such molecule of our terrestrial globe would be about 10 to the 253 power billions of years. “But,” continued de Nouy ironically, “let us admit that no matter how small the chance it could happen, one molecule could be created by such astronomical odds of chance. However, one molecule is of no use. Hundreds of millions of identical ones are necessary. Thus we either admit the miracle or doubt the absolute truth of science.”

The age-old conflict between faith and science seems to be perpetuated in every generation. Perhaps I am much too simplistic in my views. I have come to believe that God did it and if there is ever a need for me to know how He did it, I will be told! The real truth for me is not in whether God created or not. That miracle is nothing compared to the miracle of grace He performed in my life personally. Because of what He has accomplished in me, I have found it easy to accept the greater truths that have no explanation in science. Science is a gift from God. We should never disparage the discipline of research and discovery. Where would we be if men and women of science had not followed their quest for more understanding? However, there must also be a balance between the unknowns of science and faith. After every star is discovered, after every new galaxy is explored, the truth will remain that God did it!