Common Word, Common Lord

Common Word, Common Lord

In “Them Thar Hills,” I See God

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I was listening to one of my favorite programs, NPR’s Fresh Air, and the show was about the Nobel Prize in Physics, which was awarded to two teams of scientists who showed that the expansion of the Universe is actually accelerating. It is quite fascinating, and I encourage you to listen to the show.

Astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter, who was interviewed in the show, said:

When we started getting results that showed that it was not slowing … [that] in fact it wasn’t slowing at all — it was speeding up — it was a pretty big shock. At the time, when you first get those results, it doesn’t worry you too much … because you know you haven’t finished doing the calibration. The more we did the calibration, the more the results didn’t go away.

He explained it this way:

It would be a little like throwing an apple up in the air and you would expect that it would be pulled back down due to gravity. What we were seeing was a little bit like throwing the apple up in the air and seeing it blast off into space.

These findings have led scientists to hypothesize that “empty space” is not empty at all:

The results of Perlmutter, Riess and Schmidt’s research may suggest that the empty space in the universe isn’t really empty — that it might be filled with what scientists called dark energy. The dark energy, spread throughout the universe, is thought to be associated with all empty space and is somehow working against gravity to push the universe apart faster and faster.

You know, there has been so much that has been said and written about the conflict between religion and science. In the minds of many, I suspect, religion and science are polar opposites. I see it quite differently.

In the wonders of science, I see the wonders of God and His creative powers. When I was listening to the show, I could not help but remember this verse of the Qur’an:

AND IT IS We [God] who have built the universe with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (51:47)

In that expanding Universe, in “them thar hills,” I see the Lord Our God.



You Might Also Like...
Previous Posts

Prayers for Boston
In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful The attack at the Boston Marathon is truly personal for me. I was blessed to finish the 2010 Chicago Marathon, in honor of my daughter who died from cancer the year before. I remember the sheer elation, despite being in tremendous pain

posted 1:46:59pm Apr. 16, 2013 | read full post »

Right Is Might
In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful This Sunday, billions of Christians around the world will celebrate what is the most important holiday of the Christian spiritual calendar: Easter. It commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the central

posted 3:20:18pm Mar. 27, 2013 | read full post »

HABEMVS PAPAM
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful I join the rest of the world - Catholic and non-Catholic - Christian and non-Christian - in congratulating the Catholic Church on electing their new Pontiff, Pope Francis I. May the Lord our God guide him to all that is right and good

posted 3:58:15pm Mar. 13, 2013 | read full post »

Our "First Love" Is Always There
In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful Given that is the time of year for love, sort of, I had blogged about a particular song, "Lullabies" by singer/songwriter Yuna (a Muslim woman who wears the headscarf, by the way). I wrote about how the song reminds me of someone who w

posted 1:59:26pm Feb. 15, 2013 | read full post »

A Very Happy Day
In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful No, it's not the "Muslim Christmas." I have never put lights on my house, placed a tree in the family room, and exchanged gifts. Nevertheless, it is a very happy day for me and Muslims all around the world: the Prophet Muhammad's birth

posted 3:48:44pm Jan. 16, 2013 | read full post »

Advertisement
Comments Post the First Comment »
post a comment

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.





Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.