The heavens are holey
Not written by AI but by AK
By Angeline Koh, June 1996
A headline in an article of the April 30, 1990 Newsweek magazine reads: The Heavens Are Holey. Science can’t explain what fills the universe, but there are lots of theories about “missing matter.”
Writers, Begley, McCormick and Glick, tell us, “Something’s amiss. There’s a big hole in Orion’s Belt, a leak in the Big Dipper, and the Pleidades are positively porous… Our universe is missing! OK, not all of it… Ninety percent or so. Observations of how galaxies spin have convinced most astronomers that what they see through telescopes reveal only a minuscule portion of what’s Out There. The rest of the cosmos consists of “dark matter” – mysterious stuff… lost matter…”
The article goes on to say, “These collections of billions of stars were rotating so quickly that, by right, their out regions should have spun into intergalactic space eons ago. That’s because all that holds a galaxy together is gravity, and gravity comes from matter. The visible matter in spiral galaxies isn’t enough to keep them from flying apart. Conclusion: there must be more sources of gravity, more matter, than meets the telescope.”
What then is the “Matter” that is holding our world together?
Scientist have come up with many theories about this mysterious “Matter.” Brown Dwarfs, Neutrinos, WIMPs, Black Holes. The article admits that these theories are “good on paper” but they don’t fit the facts.”
The stars have long held a fascination for man. More than 2000 years ago, a simple shepherd was able to pen these words, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). The writers of the Scriptures did not have the same problems that modern day scientist have. His boggled mind responded with bended knees to His Majestic Creator,
When I consider Your heavens,
The work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars,
Which You have set in place…
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
– Psalm 8:3,9
For the apostle Paul, that “Matter” was a non-issue when he declared in Colossians 1:7: He (Jesus Christ) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
We as Christians know better and acknowledge that it is not created “matter” that is holding everything together but the Creator and Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Does It Matter?
Perhaps like me, you have been challenged with the statement to “make Jesus Christ Lord of your life”. We must begin to grasp this rudimentary fact that we cannot “make” Christ Lord for His is already the incomparable cosmic Lord, the risen victorious Lord of All. All of life, every realm and dominion find their source and fulfilment in Him. Christ is that unexplainable “Matter”. He is the centre.
So What Has The “Matter” To Do With Me?
Last month, I had the thrill of making my almost once a year ritual of going deep sea fishing in the South China Sea off the coast of West Malaysia. It took us a good five and half hours travelling on a fishing boat from Mersing Port to arrive at Pulau Dayang.
Our noisy monotonous sounding motor launch sailed through the night in the pitch darkness with nothing to guide us except a tiny little compass and the stars that spilled all across the celestial skies. In this vast nowhere, there were no reflections of light from the cities to pollute the dark skies. In the densely star spread sky, we were able to spot the Big Dipper, Orion, the Southern Cross and the billions of stars I could not name. My heart was once again gripped by the words of Paul,
For by Him all things were created;
things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things were created by Him and for Him. – Colossians 1:16
For David and Paul, the “Matter” really mattered. They did not need to be cajoled into “making Christ Lord”. Their personal encounter with God was so real that it was a simple response to what God has revealed so plainly in creation. They not only broke out in poetical praise and worship but in humble acknowledgement that He owned them.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
– Romans 12:1, ESV