Infinite diversity in infinite combinations? Not so great after all.

Suppose there were, as some scientists have proposed, an infinite multitude of parallel universes, each differing from the next in only the minutest detail. For instance, in one universe, my favorite color is red, while in another, my favorite color is blue, and in a third, I still can't make up my mind.

This might sound like a wonderful thing - it means that anything truly is possible. But is it really all that great? I think that if such a thing were true, it would mean that we actually have no free will. Because all the choices we make would be preordained at the creation of our universe, our actions would have no meaning - for every choice I make, my counterpart in another universe would make a different choice. For every time I say "yes" when my sister asks if I want to play a game, there's a universe where I say "no". There's also a universe where I walk off silently, a universe where I punch her in the face, and a universe where I spontaneously combust, then teleport to Mars. What kind of freedom is that if I'm constrained to do only what's within the parameters of our particular universe?

Now it could be that there are so many universes that there's room for more than one identical copy of each. That would allow for free will, and it would be the ultimate expression of God's creative power. But is that actually a good thing? A simple look at history would say: almost certainly not. You thought the Holocaust was bad? Multiply that by infinity! Of course, there would also be universes where the world was at peace all along, and unicorns frolicked among the verdant truffula trees. But would God actually allow an infinite amount of human suffering? Somehow I doubt this; it seems beyond cruel, even if he can make it up in the end.

So, I'd have to say that if there are multiple universes (whatever exactly that means*), there are only a finite number of them, because if there were an infinite number, either life would be utterly meaningless or God would be infinitely cruel.

*What's "multiple universes" mean? Well, I suppose that a "universe" can be defined as a self-contained region of spacetime to which there is no entry or exit. So, obviously, the universe we live in is one, as there's no way to enter or escape it. Also, any alternate dimension is a universe, as we can't get there, and whoever lives there can't get here. A black hole, though, while it might appear to be a universe, is not, because it has a connection (albeit one-way) with the outside world. Likewise, a warp bubble as envisaged by Star Trek is not a universe, because even if it is isolated spatially from the outside world, it is still connected via time at the moment the ship enters or drops out of warp.

How many astrophysicists were on Noah's ark? Maybe pi?

I just had this thought... You know how the dimensions of Noah's ark seem to imply that pi was somehow equal to exactly 3? Is it possible that God was being intentionally imprecise with the plan, leaving the details up to human ingenuity? God does seem to do that a lot... you pray for something, and your prayers are answered, but not in quite the way you might expect - you have to figure out what God's trying to say to you, or another human being comes along and offers what you need. And that's how salvation works too - it's not ENTIRELY God's doing; God certainly does the bulk of the work there, but it requires a tiny step of human effort called "faith"...


Another possibility of course is that pi WAS equal to 3 at the time, but due to the natural degradation of the universe, spacetime has curved such that it is no longer equal to 3 (much as a triangle drawn on the surface of the earth has the sum of its angles greater than 180 degrees)... I suppose we could test for that with some sort of laser measuring device - OK, pi is one millionth of a percent more than it was last year! -  but the first idea is more spiritually satisfying! :)

An entropic view of evolution, miracles, and the apocalypse

One time I was discussing the origin of the species with my friend who had previously brought me back to the church, and I was arguing in favor of evolution from a common ancestor (accelerated and manipulated by God, of course) while he was arguing in favor of a massive creation from which things degenerated, each creature containing "potential" for numerous other types of creatures similar but not identical to itself, with the amount of potential in each creature decreasing over the generations.

That theory sounded kind of silly to me, but now I realize that he's probably right... he didn't deny that evolution could happen; he simply said that no new species could appear through evolution, only changes in existing species!

So think about the universe in terms of thermodynamics... the second law of thermodynamics says that the entropy in any closed system will always increase. What's entropy? Well, it's basically homogeniety, or sameness. If all the universe were empty, for instance, entropy would be at a maximum. That's the way the universe was "before creation", so to speak. But then God created things, and since God is above nature, he has the power to reduce entropy, which he did then, and has done throughout history - we call these occurrences "miracles". The universe will then degrade over time - stars burn out, species go extinct, people grow old and die - but every so often God injects a shot of "anti-entropy drug" into the universe! God doesn't do that in huge ways very often, though, because he wants us to see that actions have consequences.

So what will the end of the universe look like then? Scientists tell us that one of the likelier possibilities is that the universe will just burn itself out - everything will become the same once again. That's almost like the Eastern philosophies of the "universal oneness". And that's what would happen were God not to intervene once again, once the universe (or at least humanity) has completely burned itself out! So the prayer asking Mary to "pray for us in the hour of our death" might not only refer to individual death, but death as a species. Once humanity has reached the point of annihilation, God will step in at the behest of all who have gone before (as described in Revelation where the departed saints have been pleading around the altar for ages) and rescue those who will accept his aid - all the rest (of whom I hope there are few or none) will be annihilated - but not by God's "punishment" or "wrath" - no, I think the "lake of fire" must refer to what remains of the earth after the apocalyptic war!

What does this mean we should do, though? Often I think the world is headed downhill - well, according to the Bible, as well as to science, I'm right! But does that mean I should study physics and start developing more powerful weapons of mass destruction in order to hasten the kingdom of heaven? No, while that would not affect my personal standing with God, it would not be what God wants me to do! It almost sounds like God is sadistic, but God wants the world to drag on as long as possible... not for any sadistic purposes, this is simply because the longer the world lasts, the more people there will be to join him in a relationship in heaven, which is what he's been seeking all along! What God wants me to do is to share my experiences with others so that they may come to know him through my testimony.

So yes, God has changed my life, and for the better, I'd have to say! If you don't know God or are confused about who he is, ask me or any other Christian - if we can't answer your question, we can at least point you in the right direction!

Insert Douglas Adams Quote Here

It occurred to me the other day... God could have created a really small Earth, consisting of nothing more than the Garden of Eden and some nice scenery to look at, or maybe a square block a few hundred miles on a side for people to settle over a few centuries - but isn't it a testament to the wondrous generosity of God that he didn't only create that, but also created the Earth as big as it is, that it took millennia to explore? And not only that, but there's space out there too... which is vastly bigger than the Earth... Isn't God amazing?

Sometimes I also think about whether there are aliens out there in space... I used to think that there were lots of aliens out there, like in Star Trek, only with more variety than could be shown on a sci-fi show with a limited budget. But (this has been debated by philosophers many times over I'm sure) if there ARE aliens out there, then are they made in God's image? And do they need divine grace? And if not, why not? So I've come to the conclusion (for the time being, barring any further evidence) that if aliens do exist, they are probably one and the same as "angels" as described in the Bible - beings of unimaginable splendor which cannot be put into words, created by God for some unknown reason (at least I don't know, maybe someone else does?) and with a limited degree of free will (Satan was capable of rebellion, of course, but the rest of the angels seem to be rather subservient to God - is this their intrinsic nature, or is it a choice they make, made obvious due to superhuman wisdom?) and not needing (or perhaps not capable of responding to?) divine grace.

Speaking of aliens, I saw in my neighborhood a statue on someone's doorstep of a beady-eyed green alien holding a globe, and that got me thinking... The true appearance of God is supposed to be so awesome that only on rare occasions can someone see him face-to-face and not die of shock, right? Such as the ancient Jewish high priests having to go through elaborate rituals in order to enter the Holy of Holies, and even then only once a year? And in the book of Revelation, where Jesus appeared to have a sword (yes, a SWORD) dangling from his mouth? Well, what if that's because the "true appearance" of God is something that human beings would find repulsive? And speaking of frightening, vaguely human-shaped creatures with power over the whole world and things dangling from their mouths, what about Cthulhu??? Could it be??? Nah, that's about as silly as comparing the pope to Emperor Palapatine just because they have both been seen to make the same facial expressions at certain points in time - just an eerie coincidence! Maybe, though, the appearance of God changes depending on who is looking? Such that those who believe in him in a mature manner see him as a comforting heavenly father, while those who might be less mature in their beliefs see him as a harsh taskmaster, and those who completely oppose him see him as something even worse? I suppose it's possible... or maybe I'm thinking too much of this Japanese RPG I never got all the way through, where there's this church which worships this god (by the name of Zehaal... wonder if there's any significance to that name?), and opposing the church are these witches with various natural powers, and the witches claim that Zehaal is attempting to destroy the world... never did get to the end of the story though, and I'm not sure I ever will... besides the fact that I hardly ever finish anything I start and drop for a while, and the fact that the game was getting kind of annoying (ok, WHICH crystalline platemail was that again in my inventory? the one that's enchanted with +5 vs. fire, or +2 vs. darkness? oh, I have to check EVERY LAST ONE to find out!), I seem to recall the plot going in the direction of "OK everybody, we've got to stop Zehaal from destroying the world!"... and unless the plot has any more surprising twists, I kinda expect the final confrontation to be with the creator of the world, and I'd really rather not have to kill him, even in a fantasy game, you know?

Well, that's enough for now... hope someone's reading! ;)