Designer Universe: From Fractals to Faith

March 3, 2019                           NOTES NOT EDITED!

A Designer Universe—From Fractals to Faith

Psalm 19

SIS— The incredible evidence of design in our universe not only proves the existence of God, but demonstrates His incredible love for us.

What does a cauliflower, a mountain brook, a tree, a forest, a human heartbeat, a dripping faucet, and a coastline have in common?  These are all things that can be characterized by irregularity.  But, in fact, they are not irregular or random at all, but are representative of what is called, “self-similarity.”  They all are extremely regular repetitions of an orderly pattern. They are something simple repeated hundreds or thousands of times.

Take the cauliflower. [SHOW PICTURE].  If you break off a piece of the cauliflower, it will look just like what you started with.  Break off a piece of that, and it will look just like what you started with.  This “self-similarity” of an almost infinite repetition of a simple patter resulting in an irregular, chaotic, random-looking event or structure is referred to in mathematics as a “fractal.”  The pioneer of “fractal geometry,” Benoit Mendelbrot died in 2010 but left “fractal geometry” as a legacy that has touched everything from, “creating lava for a Star Trek movie, to making it possible to have a blue-tooth antennae in your phone, to research on how to map the blood vessels that support a tumor before it can be detected by other methods.

Just to wet your appetite for “fractal geometry” and this “hidden thumbprint of God” hidden in the “apparent” chaos in nature, here’s a couple video clips to get you up to speed on fractals. 

VIDEO 1   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFtTdf3I6Ug)

VIDEO 2 https://youtu.be/y5moYMIp8iU

From clouds to cauliflower, to mountains or even lava in a Star Trek movie, an abundance of evidence points to a Grand Designer—we call Him Yahweh, or God.  With evidence of design even in something as seemingly random as a river running down a mountain side or a vegetable like a cauliflower, nature shouts to the glory of the Creator.  The ancient Poet described this evidence for God in Psalm 19, among others.  Let’s read this: 

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. 2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. 3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. 4 Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. 6 It rises from one end of the heavens and circle to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.  7 The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, making the heart glad; the command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous. 10 They are more desirable than gold—than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb. 11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them. 12 Who perceives his  unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. 13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be innocent and cleansed from blatant rebellion. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Without any doubt, we live in a Designer Universe. The evidence for the existence of the God of the Bible who created everything from nothing is overwhelming.

My reason for showing the two previous videos, as with the focus of this Psalm, is to demonstrate the obvious:  “everything we see or experience displays a meticulous order, purpose, and design which makes it impossible for any rational person to come to the intellectual conclusion there is not God.  Even the Bible says, “Only a fool would say in his heart, ‘there is no God’.” (Ps. 14:1).  Let’s examine how the Psalmist lays out the evidence in making His case for the Creator.  The Psalmist calls three witnesses to testify to the evidence of a Divine Designer we know as Yahweh. The first witness is

1.  in the SKY.  (1-6)

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky 
proclaims the work of His hands.

To say that that our universe shows evidence of meticulous design—and there for a Grand Designer—is to state the obvious.  Not until the modern period beginning somewhere around Darwin’s time, did scientists begin to assert that “stuff just happens” by accident.  The concept of atheistic science (scientific naturalism) is a modern invention, springing from the work of Charles Darwin.  There had always been scientists who were not Christian prior to that time, but all the great discoveries arose out of the work of men who believed strongly in the God of the Bible.

For example, just a few names of founding fathers of science who were devoted believers were:  Copernicus, Francis Bacon (Father of the Scientific Method), Kepler, Galileo, Lord Kelvin, and on and on. All the major branches of scientific discovery were founded or greatly influenced by men (and a few women) who believed the universe was Created by God and the order which provides the ability to investigate it, is the result of God’s creative mind.

Even Einstein, though not a Christian who believed in a personal God, did believe the universe was created, not the result of chance through evolution.  One of Einstein’s most oft quoted statements is, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

The Psalmist does not offer a scientific proof of the obvious witness of God in the Heavens, but states it as an obvious, incontrovertible conclusion of his observation.  Order and design are everywhere evidenced in creation.

But, there’s even more than just order in form, there is order in function or purpose also.  The world seems to be moving toward a final goal or fulfillment.  The creation seems to be anticipating a great coming, catastrophic event.  There seems to be a “purpose” in everything we see happening around us.  Look at verse 5:

It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber;

it rejoices like an athlete running a course.

I will say more about this when I talk about God’s Witness in His Son, but for now I want to impress upon you the fact that order and design are not difficult to see, whether in the study of the stars, or in nearly everything around us. 

We see all around us the unmistakable, incontrovertible, intrique design, whether we are looking at a tree, a snowflake, or a galaxy.  Design is everywhere in the sky above us and the world around us.

God has left an unmistakable witness in the SKY.

2.  Another witness the Psalmist calls is the Scriptures (7-10)

The creation alone is a sufficient witness to prove without any reasonable argument, the existence of a Divine Designer, or Creator.  This evidence from the witness in the sky is not sufficient to prove that Grand Designer was (and is) Yaweh.  For that we need another witness, a greater witness; and we get that from the Scriptures.\

The SKY tells us there is a God.  The Scriptures record what that God has revealed about Himself.  And, beyond that, the Scriptures tell us what God expects of us—“His instruction manual so to speak.”

The SKY tells us there is a heaven to go to; the SCRIPTURES tell us how to get there.  Man could know nothing about God, heaven, or salvation unless God pulled back the veil of our ignorance and made Himself and His ways known.  Look at the last half of v 7:

7 the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.

The word for “inexperienced” refers to a person, usually younger, who is naïve.  The Proverbs talks a lot about such a person:

14:15 The inexperienced one believes anything.

Without the Word of God as one’s guide, a human can believe just about anything.  The fact that evolution has become the default position in science proves this fact. People, even supposedly very intelligent people, can be easily deceived (by self or others) if not grounded in the Word of God. 

God’s Word, the Scriptures, give us a clear witness of both how the heavens go, (science) and how to go to heaven (faith), but still people reject the clear evidence.

Just this month in Christianity Today, they wrote a feature length article on two scientists who have proven scientifically, there was not Adam and Eve but that chimps and humans descended from a common ancestor about 5 or 6 million years ago. 

Evolutionists have been saying that for over 150 years, but now, according to evidence from the Human Genome Project, chimps and humans share 95 to 99 per cent of the same DNA or genetic mapping. Wow!  According to these scientists and many others, it is scientifically proven that humans and chimps are nearly identical.  Just look at the evidence they say.

But, you know what I say: “how ‘bout we just look at the monkeys?”  Do they look identical (up to 99%) like humans?  Do they build computers?  Do they paint Picasso’s?  Do they write novels?  The point is:  you have to be very “simple minded” to believe that science has proven man and chimps to be 99% the same.

That’s why the witness of the Scriptures are so important.  They “make wise the simple.”  The Scriptures protect against eternal stupidity.  Look at verse 7 again.  It says,

The instruction of the LORD is perfect.

The word perfect means “whole, entire, intact.”  It can also mean “healthy.”  According to a leading Hebrew scholar the word translated “perfect” means, “what is complete, entirely in accord with truth and fact.”

I don’t have time to go through all the proofs of why we know the Bible we read each Sunday is “complete and entirely in accord with all truth and fact,” but I can tell you this:  for 2000 years potentates, popes, and skeptics have tried to prove it wrong and wipe it out, but the Bible still stands as the number one best seller 2000 years down the road. 

The Scriptures are an absolutely reliable witness of the Divine Designer’s self-disclosure of Who He is and What he expects of us.

There is irrefutable evidence in the SKY that our world was designed by a supernatural mind. There is a witness in the SCRIPTURES that have stood the test of time telling us everything we need to know about that Divine Designer, the God of the Bible.  The SKY tells us there is a grand heaven to go to, and the SCRIPTURES tell us how to get there.  But, there is another witness in regard to this case of a Divine Designer, that this Psalmist calls to the stand.

3.  The witness of the SON (Title, vv. 7, 11, 12-13)

Do you recall a couple weeks ago I told you how old and important the Ancient Superscripts to the Psalms are?  They actually are included as part of the Psalm in the Hebrew manuscripts.  Look at what this one says:

“For the choir director.  A David Psalm.”

There are about 73 Psalms ascribed to David. They are written by David after he became King.  They are “Kingly Psalms.”  Some of them are obvious references to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, who was prophesied to be of the “tribe and line of David.”  Psalm 22 which describes a “crucifixion of the righteous one” is an obvious Messianic Psalm, both kingly and prophetic.

This Psalm, is Davidic, which means there is some element pointing to the King of Kings in the line of David, or Jesus Christ.  I see such references about the Son of God in this Psalm.

Recall earlier I mentioned that design is exhibited not only in the form of a thing, but also in its function.  Take a watch for example (an antique watch, not a digital one). The order of its parts—hands, face, gears, springs, etc.—demonstrate an intricate order or arrangement of the parts.  That’s design as evident from form.  But, a watch, or a building, or a sculpture, or any man-made thing has not only a design in regard to form, but also design according to function.  A watch is designed to tell time.  This same fact is true of God’s designing of the universe—it involves both form, and function—or, parts and purpose.

God gave us a witness in the SKY, or creation to cause us to think about how the heavens came to be.  God gave us the witness of the SCRIPTURES to tell us how to get to heaven.  Yet, knowing the destination, or even knowing the way to get there, is insufficient to being saved.  That’s what this Psalm is trying to tell us. 

It’s not enough to look into the vastness of the SKY and see that every minute detail has been designed. It is not enough to search the SCRIPTURES and see that God has provided all that we need to know about how to get to heaven.  As I said earlier, God’s design is not just a matter of the intricate form of the universe, but also its function.  Here is where we learn that God’s design is not just a matter of declaring His glory TO us, but His love FOR us.  Look again at verse 5, especially the first part,

⁵ It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber.

 The heavens are the backdrop for the cosmic love story between Yahweh, and His Bride—you and I, the Church.  God’s design of the cosmos has an eternal purpose—the salvation of those God has chosen to be His sons and daughters—that is, Yahweh’s chosen Bride (Rev. 19:11).  The purpose for God’s glorious creation is reflected in the metaphor of a marriage ceremony.  The Son is the Groom and the Church is His glorious Bride.  Everything else, is the background for that glorious union.

As I said a moment ago, it is not enough to know “how the heavens go,” but we need Someone who can help us “go to heaven.”  That is why we need the witness of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  Look at verse 7, and then 11:

7 The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life;

……………………………..

In addition, Your servant is warned by them;

there is great reward in keeping them

The purpose and plan of God is to “revive the dead” and “reward them with eternal life.”  This is what the Psalmist is really trying to get at.  The word for “renewing” means to “completely change direction.”  It is an about face. 

This is why God has designed the universe the way He did, wrote the Scriptures the way He did, and sent His Son to die, the way He did.  It was all about our salvation—gaining the reward of eternal life.  The witness in creation as marvelous as it is, is insufficient to give us the reward of eternal life.  The witness of the Scriptures, as complete and as absolutely true as they are, are sufficient to give us eternal life.  This is why the Psalmist called the Son to the witness stand.  The incredible evidence of design in our universe not only proves the existence of God, but more importantly, demonstrates His incredible love for us.  Listen to how the Book of Hebrews describes the witness of God’s Son: Hebrews 1:1

1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets  at different times and in different ways.  2 In these last days,  He has spoken to us by ⌊His⌋ Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Jesus Christ is the “star witness” in the case for God vs. the Devil.  When Jesus Christ takes the stand, the Devil has to flee.  Everything God is, Jesus is.  Jesus was the exact representation and “full expression” of the Godhead.  When you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you know the Grand Designer of the Universe.  

When you gaze in wonder at the light show in the sky on a clear, warm, summer night, or you behold the beauty of the perfectly arranged petals on a rose, or you contemplate the intricate design and inner workings of the atom, you need to know this:  it was all designed for just one purpose—so that you would seek the Creator and be renewed by accepting the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.

In the 16^th century there was a debate about whether the earth was the center of the universe or whether the Sun was the center of the universe.  Copernicus and Galileo won the day and we know the sun is the center of our universe, or galaxy. But, there is a sense, if you read this Psalm carefully that the sun is not the center of the universe, and the earth is not the center of the universe, but you and I are the center of the universe.  God designed everything there is so that we would be drawn to Him through Jesus Christ.

As we learned in the short videos about “fractal geometry,” we live in a Designer Universe.  Nothing happens by chance.  God guides every event, God is Master of every circumstance, and You are the most important part of this universe in His eyes.  He did it all for you.

I know Rick Warren road in His book, “it’s not about you,” and who am I to argue with someone who sold over 90 million copies and still counting.  But, there is a sense in which the Designer Universe IS all about you—and me—and, the millions who have been saved, and everyone yet to be saved.  The witness in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s Son, is a testimony of God’s incredible, indescribable love for mankind.  All of the cosmos is the supporting cast for the glorious work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Listen to the echo of Hebrews 1 in the Book of Colossians in regard to Jesus:

¹⁶ For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him (Col. 1:16).

That’s why I say, this Designer Universe is all about you, because everything Jesus is and did was all about you and I, so that you and I could be saved and bring glory to God through our righteous life. 

The incredible evidence of design in our universe not only proves the existence of God, but demonstrates His incredible love for us.

The Psalmist said clearly,  The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. 

How very, very sad that so many people have this beautifully designed world all about them with every detail, even the dripping of a faucet, being guided by a Grand Designer, and so many simply ignore Him.

You are living in a Designer Universe, designed to show you not only the glories of the heavens, but to show you how to get there, and to even provide the Son of God to make the way. See the big picture, and give your life to the Grand Designer.  The same God that designed this incredible cosmos, has a design for your life also.