I once did some reading/research for a dissertation on near-death experiences. The book I was reading was not a Christian book–far from it. (In fact, the book routinely blames “religion” for many of the world’s “wrong” ideas.)
BUT–in a section on physics and consciousness, the author came to a conclusion that pointed directly to God, and I practically whooped in delight.
Let me see if I can explain all this in a manner simple enough for ME to understand it (not being a physicist at ALL):
Quantum mechanics was developed early in the twentieth century to explain the seemingly random behavior of atoms. The rules of classical physics didn’t apply to atoms, so scientists set out to understand why atoms were so unpredictable. Quote: “Trying to understand what quantum mechanics means, however, brings us face-to-face with some of the most baffling mysteries ever confronted, and must profoundly change our world view.” (Chris Carter, Science and the Near-Death Experience, p. 39).
Probability reigns supreme in quantum mechanics. And subatomic particles do not have definite properties for certain attributes such as position, momentum, or direction of spin until they are measured. It’s not that those qualities are unknown, it’s that they do not exist in any definite state until they are measured. They behave as waves when not observed, but as particles in a definite location when observed. The position of the atom is thus an “observer-created reality. Its position will also be the same for all subsequent observers, so it is a reality that depends on an initial observation only.”
Until observation, the atom is in a “superposition state.” If you fired the atom toward two boxes, A and B, the box would simultaneously be in both box A and B until you looked to see where it was. Until you looked, you could not say it was IN either box, you could only speak of probabilities that it would be found in one location or the other. But the electron does not have a definite location until it is observed.
Still with me? Okay, now it really gets wild. The observer can be human (conscious being) or a machine (like a Geiger counter). But the machine is a physical instrument and subject to the rules of quantum mechanics, so it, too enters into a superposition state along with the atom. In other words, the results are suspended, too . . . as it awaits being observed by a conscious being.
(Anyone else thinking of the old ‘if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?’ This makes me wonder . . .).
Stay with me. This is GOOD. It’s GOD.
Physicist Von Neumann “argued that the entire physical world is quantum mechanical, so the process that collapses the wave functions into actual facts cannot be a physical process; instead, the intervention of something from outside of physics is required. Something nonphysical, not subject to the laws of quantum mechanics, must account for the collapse of the wave function: the only nonphysical entity in the observation process that von Neumann could think of was the consciousness of the observer. He reluctantly concluded that this outside entity had to be consciousness and that prior to observation, even measuring instruments interacting with a quantum system must exist in an indefinite state.”
Whoa. Do you grasp what he’s saying? In the creation of this material world, something other than physical processes had to exist.
I then read of experiments where scientists tried to get observers to use the power of their minds to put the fired electrons into one box or the other. He recorded two signals (zeros and ones) from a binary random event generator simultaneously on two cassette tapes, without anyone listening to (observing) the signals or knowing the output of the REG. One tape was kept in a secure location; the other was given to a human subject with the instruction to produce more zeros than ones. A 50 percent hit rate would have been expected by chance; the subject scored 51, but the odds of him scoring that were beyond a trillion to one. Furthermore, when they looked at the locked-away tape, they found it identical . . . unless someone else had examined it first.
Which leads physicists to this question: how could atoms form themselves into rivers and lakes and trees if no one was around to observe them?
“The assumption we are considering appears even more weird when we realize that throughout much of the universe, and indeed throughout all of it in early times, there were presumably no conscious observers . . . even worse are the problems we meet if we accept the modern ideas on the early universe in which quantum decays . . . were necessary in order to obtain the conditions in which conscious observers could exist. Who, or what, did the observations necessary to create the observers?”
I have an answer: “And God SAW . . . that it was good.”
I love this: the so-called quantum Zeno effect–physicists have found that if they continuously observe an unstable particle in its original state, it will never decay. That is, physicists can ‘freeze’ the decay of the unstable system by measuring it frequently enough in its initial state.” (Carter, p. 59).
In other words, simply by “observing” us, God sustains us. And what does this say about eternity? A lot!
Brings something to my mind: “In him we live and move and have our being.”
God sees us . . . and our world . . . and He is the sustainer of everything.
I know practically nothing about physics, but have delighted in seeing how God has underwritten the universe, and how all truth is His truth, and all mystery is His plan.
~~Angie
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Whew! I am not a science person at all, but I loved all that. I don’t actually know what the Big Bang theory is, but it has always sounded to me like another way of saying God Said … and it was so.
I agree! Leave it to humans to make something so simple complicated. 🙂
What a wonderful confirmation of faith! Trying to make sense of quantum physics makes my head hurt, but this post makes my heart happy. I know many Christian scientists (I work at a Christian university), and I’ve always believed that digging into science with an open mind will guide a person toward the truth of God and not away from it, as many suppose. After all, learning about the creation must point to the Creator. Thanks for sharing, Angie.
My pleasure! As someone who always likes to boil things down to its essence, this made perfect sense to me!
I did not follow all of that (no surprise there – my dad tried once to teach me how electricity in a string of Christmas lights works, and even that simpler science didn’t, um, cause any lightbulb moments ha!), but I did catch the ending, that observation by an outside force can influence and sustain. It brings extra meaning when the Bible says God sees things, in creation and after. He truly is the God who sees me! On a less serious note, all this does raise some questions about the watch pot that never boils… Could we speed it up by one percent if we put our minds to it? Or would it speed up (changing state) more quickly if we did stop measuring its progress? 🙂
Don’t know about that watched pot—mine always seem to boil the moment I turn my back! :-). Thanks for your thoughts!
Wow, I love this explanation of putting together both the scientific theory with the Bible to point back toward God! I studied geological engineering in college (so lots of physics, math, and geology), and it always amazes me the intricacies and detail God has put into His creation. It also baffles me that someone can look at it and still not recognize His handiwork.
I’m with you there—“the heavens are telling the glory of God,” but apparently only those with eyes of faith can realize it. Amazing!
Wow, Angie! This is powerful! A lot for my “kindergarten teacher brain” to follow (LOL) but I appreciate you sharing this with us. If only all the super-brilliant scientists would just realize and admit – – GOD created it all. 🙂
Amen!