I don't understand anti-matter. It could be my very right-sided brain is entirely incapable, like it can't wrap itself around how light and water make acorn squash or pelicans get off the ground. But, in a rare appearance of solid logic, I don't understand anti-matter because the word is an oxymoron. Matter is substance - you cannot not have substance and then say it exists. Doesn't everything that exists have matter, except perhaps God? Aren't we into some laws of thermodynamics (which include things like whatever line you get in at the supermarket will promptly become the slowest moving).
So, I fight against anti-matter, though I have no comprehension of the theory and am simply annoyed with it on a linguistic level. But as I was reading N.D. Wilson's Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl (wonderfully random grit), his answer to the question "what is the world made of?" rocked my tilt-a-whirl. He goes into a discussion of quarks, elements, and anti-turtles, but at the end states this:
"Words, magic words. Word spoken by the Infinite, words so potent, spoken by One so potent that they have weight and mass and flavor. They are real...In the Christian story, the world came into existence at the point of speech, and that speech was ex nihilo, from nothing.
My quarks are standing because they're obedient. They've been told to by a Voice they can't disobey"
The World is ultimately made of words spoken by a creative, joyous, awesome, infinite Creator. Beyond the periodic table, fire, air, water, atoms, molecules, electrons, quarks, and even anti-matter, are God's words. My body is not held together by a balance between electronic charges but by God's words. That is just so cool.
5 comments:
Professor,
Most of that post is way too "quarky" for me to even begin to think about, but I do understand the last paragraph. God made everything about me, and for the most part, all of me works very well. Some parts are getting a little worn out from age.
He not only made us in His own Image but He made us with the intention that we would do a bunch of things that He had planned for us to do, from eternity past, AND He perfectly equips us to do those things.
So you can think in a way that glorifies God, and I can't understand, but there are a bunch of people who can; so you should think and speak like you are. Our living is to glorify Him, whatever that looks like.
WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE COMMENT HERE?
Bleh.
We need to read more! Everyone!
Wow, I love reading your stuff... When is the book coming? Can you publish a collection of essays or something? It's interesting how I feel smarter and dumber simultaneously after reading your blog. (is dumber a word? or is it, more dumb? I don't know... that's why you're the english major!) Love you!
Love it, love it, love it!! YES! Words -- although I have always accepted the idea that they are symbols representing the objects of which we speak, but the WORD is our existence. The WORD is our actual reality, but in the creation of OUR "reality" we are not just words -- we are matter.
In eternity we are still comprised of some sort of matter -- not just words. (BUT! All of our "quarks" are operating and in existence because of HIM -- the Word.)
As you say, God is not matter and He is the truest form of reality because He is ABOVE creation and is THE Creator.
Hmm...I have doubted the power and stability of words. (But, then again, can OUR "words" be equated with the WORD?)
I will contemplate this a bit longer and I may want to browse this book you are reading.
I do enjoy your postings.
No, Alicia. You DEFINITELY want to read the whole thing. It is awesome.
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