It has been a few weeks since the recounting of “doubting Thomas” was read at Mass. “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I thought about this as I was reading a recently published book, God, the Science, the Evidence by Olivier Bonnassies and Michel-Yves Bolloré. The authors provide emerging scientific evidence for the existence of what they call the “God-Creator” who indeed set the universe in motion. They go so far as to say that evidence suggests that the biblical story of creation is indeed the closest explanation to the formation of the universe and life that there is. The more they discover the more the Bible rings true.
Much of the science in the book I did not fully understand but could only appreciate. I signed up Astronomy as one of my undergraduate required science classes at Ohio State thinking it would be similar to grade school when we made models of the solar system. The course was almost all math, my Achilles heel in education. I squeaked through with a “C.”
How scientists, mathematicians, physicists, chemists and cosmologists discovered all that they have about the universe is amazing and I won’t try to explain it. How does one measure the temperature of the sun, for instance? But the authors account in great detail how people down the ages, particularly in the last 50 years, have come to an understanding of the origin of the universe. It was compelling, can’t put down the book reading.
Georges Lemaître, a Catholic French priest was one of the first to discover the “Big Bang.” This phrase itself was coined by a skeptic who believed that in calling this discovery by a pejorative name, people would dismiss it. But now, it is widely accepted. According to the big bang the universe was begun in an instant, and the rules of mathematics, chemistry and physics that control the universe, in the authors’ opinion could only be done by God or by such incredible luck that the odds filled the page with zeroes.
Even scientists who are not believers call the creation of life from non-life a “miracle.” The book describes each cell in living organisms a complete and complex universe.
My take on what I have read reinforces the notion that although there are trillions of stars and millions of galaxies in our universe, God created man in His image and likeness as the only living entity with the intellect and ability to appreciate Him and His creation. When we see our selves and our fellow human beings, when we experience that wonder of nature on our planet and gaze up at the stars as I did last month in the Andes Mountains in Chile, I can’t help but believe that God created it all for us. It’s like He is saying to us, “How many clues do I need to give you of not only my existence but of my love for each and every one of you.”
There are many who doubt the existence of God completely. And there are many of us who slug through hours, sometime days or weeks or even months where, although we are believers, lose faith. There are some people who won’t believe unless they put their finger in Christ’s wounds.
In addition to the miracle of the universe and the miracle of our lives, it is through faith, prayer, the sacraments and our interactions with one another that our faith in God is strengthened. In my humble opinion, when Jesus said, “Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believed,” Jesus was hedging his bet a little. He has indeed given us plenty to see.
Some scientists thought that the more they discovered the more they would disprove our God. It is nice to know that the opposite is true.