Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Good Heavens! The Human Side of Astronomy

Something a little out of the ordinary for our Good Heavens! family. How about theories in physics and cosmology combined with a discussion about Mormonism and storytelling? Yes! That's a lot to process, but we hope you'll find it mildly interesting and encouraging.

This broadcast will also be airing on our sister podcast Apologetics Profile later next month.

On this episode and next we'll be featuring our president of Watchman Fellowship, James K. Walker, a former 4th-generation Latter-day Saint in conversation with astrophysicist and cosmologist from Sydney, Australia, Dr. Luke Barnes, discussing many worlds, multiverses and Mormonism.

There are also some surprise bonus clips from previous episodes you'll not want to miss!

For millennia, man has been telling stories about himself, his origins and the nature of the cosmos. How do they all fit together? What's the right story of the cosmos and how can we know?

We think you'll find this episode and next quite fascinating as we dive into these and other topics!

Free four-page profiles from Watchman Fellowship!

Latter-Day Saints https://www.watchman.org/articles/mormonism/

Scientism https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf

Carl Sagan's Cosmos https://www.watchman.org/CosmosTV

Naturalism https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

Wayne and Dan's book The Story of the Cosmos https://www.watchman.org/CosmosBook

Luke A. Barnes is a Senior Lecturer in astronomy and cosmology. With PhD at the University of Cambridge, he has published papers in the field of galaxy formation and on the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He is the author, with Geraint Lewis, of "A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos" and "The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang)", published by Cambridge University Press. Luke, along with Allen Hainline, has also written a contributing chapter to The Story of the Cosmos - How The Heavens Declare the Glory of God (Harvest House). 

James Walker, the president of Watchman Fellowship, is a former fourth generation Mormon with over twenty years of ministry experience in the field of Christian counter-cult evangelism, apologetics, and discernment. He has been interviewed as an expert on new religious movements and cults on a variety of network television programs including Nightline, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He has spoken at hundreds of churches, colleges, universities, and seminaries throughout the United States and internationally.

Luke's Books:

https://www.amazon.com/Fortunate-Universe-Finely-Tuned-Cosmos/dp/1107156610/

https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Revolutionarys-Handbook-Beat-Bang/dp/1108486703

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

As you certainly know by now, for the month of August, Wayne and I have taken a little break from the heavens for a very special focus on the Earth, specifically some spectacular geological evidence for the biblical flood.

Here on part three of our three-part series we are yet again grateful and honored to have as our very special guest one of the top creation geologists in the world Dr. Andrew Snelling of Answers in Genesis.

Whether you are a young or old-earth creationist, a skeptic, agnostic, atheist or whether you know next to nothing about geology, we think you'll find our three-part series fascinating and enlightening.

Our series with Dr. Snelling has been focused mainly on the many examples Dr. Snelling believes provide solid geological evidence for the flood as described in the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9).

Here on part three we talk about the unusual folds of sedimentary layers in the Grand Canyon and about one of the greatest head-scratchers in all of geology, the great unconformity. Andrew will explain to us to what exactly this strikingly peculiar feature of the earth's rocks is not conforming!

We thank Dr. Snelling for his graciously giving us his time for this exciting and informative interview and we hope you our Good Heavens! family have enjoyed it.

Links and Resources: 

Dr. Andrew Snelling holds a PhD in geology from the University of Sydney, Australia. Dr. Snelling is active in research, writing and also speaking on topics such as the flood, fossils, the Grand Canyon, and the radioactive dating of rocks. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and papers as well as the author of The Genesis Flood Revisited (2009, 2022 Master Books).

The Genesis Flood Revisited:

https://www.masterbooks.com/the-genesis-flood-revisited

Answers Research Journal:

https://answersresearchjournal.org/geology/monument-fold-grand-canyon/

Andrew's Bio:

https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/

Previous Good Heavens! Episodes on Flood Stories from Native North American Tribes

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/flood-stories-part-1-from-native-people-of-north-south-america/

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/flood-stories-part-2-from-native-people-of-north-south-america/

Articles by Dr. Snelling:

https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/articles/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

For the month of August, Wayne and I are taking a little break from the heavens for a very special focus on the Earth, specifically some spectacular geological evidence for the biblical flood.

Here on part two of our three-part series we are once again grateful and honored to have as our very special guest one of the top creation geologists in the world Dr. Andrew Snelling of Answers in Genesis.

Whether you are a young or old-earth creationist, a skeptic, agnostic, atheist or whether you know next to nothing about geology, we think you'll find our three-part series fascinating and enlightening.

Our series with Dr. Snelling will be focused mainly on the many examples Dr. Snelling believes provide solid geological evidence for the flood as described in the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9).

Here on part two we talk about plutons, batholiths, and polonium radio halos and how Dr. Snelling believes they provide solid evidence for the biblical flood.

Was there a Global Flood?  Blog article by Waynehttps://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2019/04/15/was-there-a-global-flood/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

For the month of August, Wayne and I are taking a little break from the heavens for a very special focus on the Earth, specifically some spectacular geological evidence for the biblical flood.  And in this three-part series we are honored to have as our very special guest one of the top creation geologists in the world Dr. Andrew Snelling of Answers in Genesis.  Whether you are a young or old-earth creationist, a skeptic, agnostic, atheist or whether you know next to nothing about geology, we think you'll find our three-part series fascinating and enlightening.

Our talk with Dr. Snelling will be focused mainly on the many examples Dr. Snelling believes provide solid geological evidence for the flood as described in the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9).

 Here on part one, we talk about how Dr. Snelling became interested in geology, oceanic fossil finds in Kansas and the remarkably enormous Tapeats sandstone sedimentary layer that covers a large swath of North America and other parts of the globe.

Links and Resources: 

Dr. Andrew Snelling holds a PhD in geology from the University of Sydney, Australia. Dr. Snelling is active in research, writing and also speaking on topics such as the flood, fossils, the Grand Canyon, and the radioactive dating of rocks. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and papers as well as the author of The Genesis Flood Revisited (2009, 2022 Master Books).

The Genesis Flood Revisited:

https://www.masterbooks.com/the-genesis-flood-revisited

Answers Research Journal:

https://answersresearchjournal.org/geology/monument-fold-grand-canyon/

Andrew's Bio:

https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/

Previous Good Heavens! Episodes on Flood Stories from Native North American Tribes

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/flood-stories-part-1-from-native-people-of-north-south-america/

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/flood-stories-part-2-from-native-people-of-north-south-america/

Articles by Dr. Snelling:

https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/articles/

Was there a Global Flood?  Blog article by Wayne https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2019/04/15/was-there-a-global-flood/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

We continue our discussion about the Hubble Constant and delve into a few other cosmic anomalies, including the assumption Albert Einstein made regarding the speed of light.

And, somehow, we also ended up talking about Noah's flood and the Whopper Sand. You'll have to listen to the end to find out how that happened!

Come and see how we think it all points to the glory and majesty of God.

Dan's very short video on the whooper sand.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r9COYBra94

The following links are not meant to imply the ideas contained therein reflect those of Good Heavens! or Watchman Fellowship, Inc. All of these, with the exception of Danny Faulkner, are presented from a completely secular perspective of the universe

Veritasium Video on the one-way speed of light problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTn6Ewhb27k

More in-depth on the Hubble Constant -

Interview with Christian astronomer Dr. Danny Faulkner on the Hubble Constant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUkhyxCbPE

Cosmological constant (not the same as the Hubble constant, but related). 

https://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_accel.html

Hubble constant - two different ways to measure (from 2020). 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-dispute-over-a-single-number-became-a-cosmological-crisis/

Three ways to measure Hubble constant.  https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/hubble-constant-explained 

Brian Keating short video about using magnetism to measure the Hubble constant  https://youtu.be/kBdtvURyJ8Q?si=-wlE-9D1emA-NP1-

Dr. Becky most recent video on the crisis.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKmPJmaeP8A

Adam Riese from the Space Telescope Science Institute who won the Nobel Prize in the late 90s for discovering the universe expansion was (allegedly) accelerating. His SH0ES team measured the Hubble constant at 74 km/s/mpsc, far above Wendy Freedman’s 69.8 and the CMBR at 67.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmDszPExepc

Scientific American article on the HC from October 2023.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-possible-crisis-in-the-cosmos-could-lead-to-a-new-understanding-of-the-universe/

Wendy Freedman’s initial project of measuring HC using the HST to measure Cepheids.  https://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings/shst2/freedmanw.html

Historical background on the HC from STScI. (2020)  https://www.stsci.edu/contents/newsletters/2020-volume-37-issue-02/hubble-and-the-constant-the-next-and-the-next-generation

Good Heavens! Is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. For more information on our ministry and our sister podcast Apologetics Profile, visit Watchman.org today!

Contact Wayne and Dan at  Psalm1968@gmail.com 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Probably the only thing that is constant about the Hubble Constant is that it keeps changing! What is it? Why is it such a hot topic in cosmology today and why are some even calling it a "crisis"?

Come along with Wayne and Dan as they dive into the quest for the elusive magic number. What does it mean for cosmology and what might it all have to do with the way God made the universe?

The following links are not meant to imply the ideas contained therein reflect those of Good Heavens! or Watchman Fellowship, Inc. All of these, with the exception of Danny Faulkner, are presented from a completely secular perspective of the universe

More in-depth on the Hubble Constant -

Interview with Christian astronomer Dr. Danny Faulkner on the Hubble Constant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUkhyxCbPE

Cosmological constant (not the same as the Hubble constant, but related). 

https://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_accel.html

Hubble constant - two different ways to measure.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-dispute-over-a-single-number-became-a-cosmological-crisis/

Three ways to measure Hubble constant. https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/hubble-constant-explained 

Brian Keating short video about using magnetism to measure the Hubble constant  https://youtu.be/kBdtvURyJ8Q?si=-wlE-9D1emA-NP1-

Dr. Becky most recent video on the crisis. https://youtu.be/yKmPJmaeP8A?si=Wf6ajm4qGuC5CZX6

Adam Riese from the Space Telescope Science Institute who won the Nobel Prize in the late 90s for discovering the universe expansion was (allegedly) accelerating. His SH0ES team measured the Hubble constant at 74 km/s/mpsc, far above Wendy Freedman’s 69.8 and the CMBR at 67. https://youtu.be/JmDszPExepc?si=03HqPi3RU5uRkSSl

Technical  power point slides from Dr. Jo Dunkley on the PLANK CMBR data on the Hubble constant.  https://online.kitp.ucsb.edu/online/primocosmo13/dunkley/pdf/Dunkley_PrimoCosmo13_KITP.pdf

Scientific American article on the HC from October 2023.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-possible-crisis-in-the-cosmos-could-lead-to-a-new-understanding-of-the-universe/

Wendy Freedman’s initial project of measuring HC using the HST to measure Cepheids.  https://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings/shst2/freedmanw.html

Historical background on the HC from STScI. (2020)  https://www.stsci.edu/contents/newsletters/2020-volume-37-issue-02/hubble-and-the-constant-the-next-and-the-next-generation

Good Heavens! Is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. For more information on our ministry and our sister podcast Apologetics Profile, visit Watchman.org today!

Contact Wayne and Dan!    Psalm1968@gmail.com 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

What explanations have astronomers come up with to explain the recent mysterious discovery of JuMBOs in the Orion Nebula?  Why so many? How did they form? Why so many in pairs? Why did the form in the Orion Nebula? Here on part two we discuss some possible "naturalistic" hypotheses but conclude that no matter what technical explanation astronomers might offer, we believe these wonderful little orbs are just a small part of how the heavens declare the glory of God and show forth His marvelous handiwork.

Come and see!

Wayne's article on the subject. https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2024/05/13/jumbos-in-orion/

Dan's article on the subject. https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/a-jumbo-discovery-in-the-orion-nebula

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The "Standard Model" of particle physics is science's attempt to explain the basic, fundamental building blocks of the universe. In many ways, the Standard Model has accurately predicted many groundbreaking discoveries at the subatomic levels.

But for everything the Standard Model has predicted and described, there are a great many things for which it cannot account. Never in a million years could anyone look at the intricacies of the atom and think that from this tiny Lego-block-like structure things like giant sequoia redwoods, or blue whales, or even enormous variegated swirling arms of stars in galaxies would come about!

And the mysteries just continue to deepen! Last October, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope discovered a plethora of mysterious objects in the Orion Nebula, things for which there were really no classification schemes. Not stars, not planets, not asteroids, moons, comets, or brown dwarfs.

What exactly was discovered, then?

Haha! Think we would tell you before you listened to the episode? Come and see! (But if you must cheat and find out before you listen, well, ok. You can click below to articles written by Wayne and Dan).

Wayne's article on the subject. https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2024/05/13/jumbos-in-orion/

Dan's article on the subject. https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/a-jumbo-discovery-in-the-orion-nebula

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Come and hear more on Saturn's rings and what scientists say about how they formed! Despite all science tells us about the sixth planet from the sun, the wondrously ringed world of Saturn, there is still much that remains unknown. And maybe we will never know all there is to know about it. And maybe that unknown is part of what the glory of God is all about, after all He is omniscient and we are not! But God has graciously enabled us to look at what He has made in the heavens in a very up-close and personal way. Saturn and its majestic rings certainly affirm what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "Star differs from star in glory" (in Scripture any light in the sky was considered a "star").

So come and enjoy more of Saturn's wonders and mysteries and how they point us to the glory of God in Christ.

Clip from ABC News clip from August 1981 interview with Dr. Carl Sagan https://youtu.be/KEYJoTSnolY?si=ekTssEAB03PWduPq

September 2017 Cassini Press Conference Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/gs-dscW95PE?si=w6PTY6onccQIQ3Xa

Link to "The Journal of Creation" December 2023 issue, featuring Wayne's article on Saturn's rings. The article is presently through subscription to the Journal only. https://creation.com/journal-of-creation-373

Dan's article on the hexagon high atop Saturn. https://open.substack.com/pub/thestoryofthecosmos/p/saturns-hexagonal-hurricane

Watchman Fellowship's four-page Profile articles on Naturalism, Scientism, and Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series.

https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/files/ProfileCosmos.pdf

Image from NASA/JPL, Cassini Mission

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Wayne made up "eclipsnic" to describe our combination picnic and eclipse we watched with not a little awe and wonder in Waxahachie, Texas on April 8, 2024. On this special episode we try to put into words what words cannot finally adequately describe.

The event was truly wondrous - a carefully choreographed dance of the Sun, Moon, and Earth has to be experienced in person. If you did not get a chance to see this marvel, we try to give you a theater of the mind experience on this broadcast and make you feel like you were right there with us.

From cloudy, inauspicious skies, to a frosted chocolate donut, getting air in Dan's tires, to the sun playing hide-and-seek with us for most of the morning, we bring you along with us on this once-in-a-lifetime event in the heavens.  And of course, we contemplate how it all points to the glory of God in Christ. So come and see!

For a complete list of future total eclipses visit Nationaleclipse.com and start planning your trip!

Audio from FOX 4 in Dallas - https://youtu.be/61FZMurmE1c?si=antS2ZO4zD_vhLzn

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

News clip from CBS https://youtu.be/ZSMiQQ7aQKI?si=2KKoL2ECu8YOgOln

Link to "The Journal of Creation" December 2023 issue, featuring Wayne's article on Saturn's rings. The article is presently through subscription to the Journal only. https://creation.com/journal-of-creation-373

Dan's article on the hexagon high atop Saturn. https://open.substack.com/pub/thestoryofthecosmos/p/saturns-hexagonal-hurricane?r=29oa8g&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Watchman Fellowship's four-page Profile articles on Naturalism, Scientism, and Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series.

https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/files/ProfileCosmos.pdf

For over 400 years now, ever since Galileo lifted up his little spyglass toward the enigmatic ringed planet Saturn, we have been fascinated, and not a little stumped, by the sixth planet from the sun's mysteries. Even with the latest advanced technologies, astronomers are still somewhat in the dark about how Saturn's rings came to be.  See how evidence from the NASA Cassini mission shows Saturn's rings cannot be billions of years old!

On the next two episodes of Good Heavens! Wayne and Dan discuss many of the marvelous wonders of our billion-mile distant planetary neighbor. Come and see!

Images of from NASA, STScI, and JWST.

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Total eclipses are a spectacular and breathtaking wonder to behold. And a total eclipse is coming over the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as well as parts of the eastern United States on April 8th, 2024. Totality in the DFW area will last a little over four minutes.  If you are in the vicinity of DFW, come join Wayne and Dan in Waxahachie, Texas on April 8th, 2024 for the Discovery Institute event. You can find tickets here at this link.

https://www.discovery.org/e/eclipse/

Waxahachie, Texas will be nearly in the center of the moon's shadow as it passes over. There will not be another total eclipse over the continental United States for another twenty years. So if you can, get yourself to a spot where you can see this once-in-a-lifetime wonder of the heavens on April 8th.

You can check out this comprehensive eclipse event website, complete with easy-to-read maps of where you can view it. https://nationaleclipse.com/index.html

On this episode of Good Heavens! we had the privilege of talking with Discovery Institute astronomer Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez about his experiences in seeing total eclipses and a little bit about the science behind them and how he thinks they reveal the glory of God.

Guillermo's article on Salvo. https://salvomag.com/article/salvo68/signs-in-the-sky

Guillermo and Jay W. Richard's 2004 book, The Privileged Planet. https://www.discovery.org/store/product/privileged-planet/

Four-page Profile articles on Naturalism, Scientism, and Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series.

https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/files/ProfileCosmos.pdf

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Stereo repost.  Current models of how our universe came to be are based on a few assumptions the brilliant physicist-genius Albert Einstein made about the universe - things he could not finally physically test or demonstrate.  In order to do his calculations, Einstein simply assumed that matter would be evenly distributed throughout the universe and that the universe would look the same in any direction or location.  If Einstein's assumptions are indeed correct, astrophysicists and cosmologists calculate that the largest structures we should expect to see in the universe would not exceed 1.2 billion light years in size.  But discoveries in recent decades have posed a significant challenge to Einstein's idea of homogeneity and isotropy, with several structures far and away exceeding the the 1.2 billion-light-year limit.  Are these cosmic superstructures for real or just  anomalies? Come and see!

Links:

Press conference with Alexia Lopez, a PhD student at the University of Lancashire in the UK who has recently discovered two such structures. https://www.youtube.com/live/86Ps7vE6JHI?feature=shared

Wayne's updated article on things too big for the Big Bang. https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2017/11/15/structures-too-big-for-the-big-bang/

Dan further ponders the theological implications in his blog about things too big for the Big Bang. https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/are-there-things-just-too-big-for

Good Heavens! is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. For more information on apologetics, cults, world religions, and other non-Christian ideologies and spiritual practices, visit our website at http://www.watchman.org

Check out Watchman's main podcast, Apologetics Profile.  https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jwalker55293

Original Too Big for the Big Bang Good Heavens! episode from 2017. Please excuse Dan's rather juvenile introduction on this one! https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/good-heavens-are-there-things-too-big-for-the-big-bang/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

How often do you think of the Roman Empire? If you are a believer in Jesus, you probably think about it quite a bit! But how often do you think about the Parthian Empire?  And what do the Romans and the Parthians have to do with cosmic superstructures?  Well, we aren't giving the answer to that question away here in the notes! You'll just have to listen to the broadcast and find out! 

Are these cosmic superstructures for real or just anomalies? We hope you'll start thinking about them, anyway! So come and see!

Links:

Press conference with Alexia Lopez, a PhD student at the University of Lancashire in the UK who has recently discovered two such structures. https://www.youtube.com/live/86Ps7vE6JHI?feature=shared

Wayne's updated article on things too big for the Big Bang. https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2017/11/15/structures-too-big-for-the-big-bang/

Dan further ponders the theological implications in his blog about things too big for the Big Bang. https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/are-there-things-just-too-big-for

Good Heavens! is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. For more information on apologetics, cults, world religions, and other non-Christian ideologies and spiritual practices, visit our website at http://www.watchman.org

Check out Watchman's main podcast, Apologetics Profile.  https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jwalker55293

Original Too Big for the Big Bang Good Heavens! episode from 2017. Please excuse Dan's rather juvenile introduction on this one! https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/good-heavens-are-there-things-too-big-for-the-big-bang/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Current models of how our universe came to be are based on a few assumptions the brilliant physicist-genius Albert Einstein made about the universe - things he could not finally physically test or demonstrate.  In order to do his calculations, Einstein simply assumed that matter would be evenly distributed throughout the universe and that the universe would look the same in any direction or location.  If Einstein's assumptions are indeed correct, astrophysicists and cosmologists calculate that the largest structures we should expect to see in the universe would not exceed 1.2 billion light years in size.  But discoveries in recent decades have posed a significant challenge to Einstein's idea of homogeneity and isotropy, with several structures far and away exceeding the the 1.2 billion-light-year limit.  Are these cosmic superstructures for real or just  anomalies? Come and see!

Links:

Press conference with Alexia Lopez, a PhD student at the University of Lancashire in the UK who has recently discovered two such structures. https://www.youtube.com/live/86Ps7vE6JHI?feature=shared

Wayne's updated article on things too big for the Big Bang. https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2017/11/15/structures-too-big-for-the-big-bang/

Dan further ponders the theological implications in his blog about things too big for the Big Bang. https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/are-there-things-just-too-big-for

Good Heavens! is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. For more information on apologetics, cults, world religions, and other non-Christian ideologies and spiritual practices, visit our website at http://www.watchman.org

Check out Watchman's main podcast, Apologetics Profile.  https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jwalker55293

Original Too Big for the Big Bang Good Heavens! episode from 2017. Please excuse Dan's rather juvenile introduction on this one! https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/good-heavens-are-there-things-too-big-for-the-big-bang/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

"What are the chances of that happening?" we often say or hear whenever something remarkable or out of the ordinary takes place. When we use that phrase, we are invoking the design inference, even though we may not exactly call it that. Our guest again this week, philosopher, mathematician and senior fellow at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture Dr. William Dembski shares with us how his more formalized design inference is indeed rooted in simple, everyday inferences we all make. But he also how it fits into the laws of probability, information theory, and specified complexity as well, making it a rigorous formal argument applicable for intuiting design in the physical cosmos and biology. We further discuss the new second edition of his 1998 landmark book The Design Inference.

A noted mathematician and philosopher, William A. Dembski is a Founding and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and a Distinguished Fellow with the Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. His most recent books relating to intelligent design include Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information (2014), Evolutionary Informatics (2017, co-authored with Robert Marks and Winston Ewert), and the second edition of The Design Inference (2023, co-authored with Winston Ewert).

Bill's Personal Website - https://billdembski.com/

Book: Second Edition of https://www.discovery.org/store/product/the-design-inference/

Free Four-Page Profiles from Watchman Fellowship!

https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/atheismprofile.pdf

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

For centuries, Western natural philosophy, theology, the scientific tradition widely accepted that the physical cosmos and life within it was the creation of God. Arguably one of the most influential works which usurped the belief in God as the Creator was Charles Darwin's 1859 publication On the Origin of Species. It undoubtedly provided many with the intellectual framework for atheism, naturalism, and materialism. But in the late 20th and early 21st century, the concept of intelligent design has made a cultural comeback. This week and next we sit down with Dr. William Dembski, one of the leading founders and proponents of the Intelligent Design movement, to discuss his new second edition of his landmark 1998 book, The Design Inference. 

A noted mathematician and philosopher, William A. Dembski is a Founding and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and a Distinguished Fellow with the Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. His most recent books relating to intelligent design include Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information (2014), Evolutionary Informatics (2017, co-authored with Robert Marks and Winston Ewert), and the second edition of The Design Inference (2023, co-authored with Winston Ewert).

Bill's Personal Website - https://billdembski.com/

Book: Second Edition of https://www.discovery.org/store/product/the-design-inference/

Free Four-Page Profiles from Watchman Fellowship!

https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/atheismprofile.pdf

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Telescopes certainly have opened our eyes to the wonders of the heavens. For Christians images from the deepest regions of the universe only serve to confirm what David in the 19th Psalm declares. The heavens are telling of the glory of God and the skies proclaim His handiwork.

But the big institutional astronomical organizations that design and build modern sophisticated telescopes seemed to have lost this particular focus. While the lenses and mirrors reveal the wonders of the cosmos in vivid details, many ironically can no longer see how it all connects to the glory of God.  Here on part two Wayne and Dan chat about some of the bigger telescope discoveries and the implications of having your lenses and mirrors out of whack. So come and refocus with us! Soli Deo Gloria!

Good Heavens! is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc., Arlington, Texas. For more information about our ministry, visit Watchman.org.

Books mentioned in these episodes. Ideas and conclusions in these books do not necessarily reflect the views of Watchman Fellowship or Good Heavens!

Tycho & Kepler

https://kitty-ferguson.com/tycho-and-kepler/ 

The History of the Telescope https://www.abebooks.com/9780486432656/History-Telescope-Dover-Books-Astronomy-0486432653/plp 

The Stars: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Cosmos  by Dorling Kindersley

https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Definitive-Visual-Guide-Cosmos/dp/1465453407/

Wayne and Dan's co-authored book The Story of the Cosmos https://thestoryofthecosmos.com/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The telescope has revolutionized the way we understand the universe. But in the four centuries since its invention, it seems astronomy science today has lost the original focus of those Christians who first laid eyes on the heavens through their spyglasses. 

On the next two episodes of Good Heavens! Wayne and Dan take a peek back on some of the highlights and discoveries of the earliest telescopes. Here on part one we chat about who really invented the telescope, what the basic kinds of telescopes are today, and what sort of discoveries had been made with this revolutionary new device. 

Come and See! 

Good Heavens! is a production of Watchman Fellowship, Inc., Arlington, Texas. For more information about our ministry, visit Watchman.org. 

Books mentioned in these episodes. Ideas and conclusions in these books do not necessarily reflect the views of Watchman Fellowship or Good Heavens! 

Tycho & Kepler

https://kitty-ferguson.com/tycho-and-kepler/ 

The History of the Telescope https://www.abebooks.com/9780486432656/History-Telescope-Dover-Books-Astronomy-0486432653/plp 

The Stars: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Cosmos  by Dorling Kindersley

https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Definitive-Visual-Guide-Cosmos/dp/1465453407/

Wayne and Dan's co-authored book The Story of the Cosmos https://thestoryofthecosmos.com/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

While Wayne and Dan are certainly no professional cosmologists, they believe that scientists who study the universe need a bigger conceptual boat. There are "monsters" out there in the deep that don't seem to fit the current Big Bang dingy models of how the universe came into existence and slowly developed over 13.8 billion years. 

One astrophysicist has suggested the universe is more like 26 billion years old. Others believe there is no need to change the current age. What is the average person walking down the street to think of all this? 

As we learned last week, there was that curious star named Methuselah which seems to be older than the universe itself. But how could that be? One thing Methuselah tells us is that the ways in which astronomers and cosmologists measure the age and distance of objects in the universe is somewhat elastic and subjective. And now, with new images coming down from the James Webb Space Telescope, it seems that the problems with measurements in the sciences of the heavens are once again coming into focus. Just how old is everything? Does anyone really know? Are explanations for how the universe came to be about to be overturned? 

Come and see! Dan's article on Naturalism

https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf Article by Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray on Scientism

https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf Is the universe 13.8 or 26.7 Billion Years old?

An article from the cosmologist who believes the universe is over 26 billion years old Wayne's article on the James Webb Space Telescope (with pictures)

https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2022/08/25/images-from-the-james-webb-space-telescope/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity of Wayne and Dan's generation, you probably have at least heard of the band Chicago. They have a few catchy tunes with some interesting titles, like 25 or 6 to 4 and Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?

What do these songs have anything to do with the universe? Plenty! If Chicago were writing new songs today, they might do a remake of 25 or 6 to 4 and call it 26 or 13 Point 8. Turns out the age of the universe is up for discussion once again, raised by images of deep-space objects taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and a study published recently suggesting that the universe is some 26 billion years old, almost double the current age of 13.8 billion years.

As Chicago sings in in 25 or 6 to 4, "Dancing lights against the sky...Staring blindly into space...Wondering how much I can take...Searching for something to say..."

So as you're walking down the street one day, and someone comes up to you and asks you what the age of the universe is, you can ask them "Does anybody really know how old it is?" then share our podcast with them! That would be a timeless courtesy Wayne and Dan would both greatly appreciate!

So if you don't know where you are, can't see past the next step, or have no time to look around and are being pushed and shoved by people, come and take a break with Wayne and Dan as they help give you the big picture of what it all means, all for the glory of God in Christ (1 Cor. 10:31).

Dan's article on Naturalism https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf

Article by Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray on Scientism https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf 

Is the universe 13.8 or 26.7 Billion Years old? https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/universe-13-8-or-26-7-billion-years/

Wayne's article on the James Webb Space Telescope (with pictures) https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2022/08/25/images-from-the-james-webb-space-telescope/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Why does science explore the universe? If the universe has no ultimate purpose, why study it? But how can science know that the universe has no ultimate purpose? Can carbon from an asteroid really tell us where we came from and what our place in the universe really is? 

Recently, some 250 grams of carbon and other minerals gathered from Bennu, a near-earth asteroid, landed safely in a Utah desert. What can these elements really tell us about who we are and where we came from? Is debris from an asteroid really the place to look for answers to these questions? 

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1201386042/watch-live-nasa-sends-an-asteroid-sample-back-to-earth

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

You have likely at least seen pictures or videos of solar eclipses, perhaps you have been fortunate enough to see one as it happens. Either way, eclipses are quite a dramatic and awe-inspiring sight to behold. 

What do they mean? Anything? For non-Christians and those who hold to a completely materialistic view of the universe, sadly no. These events, while breathtaking, are not anything purposeful. They were not intended by anyone or anything. They are just chance alignments with no rhyme or reason for their occurrences. Science can tell us quite a bit about the numbers, forces, and elemental particles that comprise such a glorious arrangement, but science has no explanation for what it all means.  But for Christians, these celestial events are reminders and declarations of God's glory. And if you happen to live in parts of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, or Texas, you will be in for a real celestial treat - an annular eclipse will be happening overhead Saturday, October 14, 2023. You don't want to miss it!

Come along with Wayne and Dan as they talk about eclipses in general and how they see them point the way to the glory of God in Christ.

Eclipse Resource links from NASA including how and where to see the annular eclipse: 

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/where-when/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

If there are highly intelligent beings out there in the cosmos somewhere and they have perfected overcoming the impossible odds and dangers of interstellar and intergalactic travel, why do they always crash here on Earth? And is it even possible for such beings to defy the known laws of physics?

On part two of our conversation with astrophysicist and author Dr. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe, we finish up our conversation about aliens, UFOs, and UAPs, and the problems they pose for a naturalistic worldview.  We also discuss some of the recent findings of the James Webb Space Telescope and how Dr. Ross interprets some of these discoveries in light of Scripture and modern cosmology. A fascinating chat you don't want to miss!

Be praying for Dan. At the end of September, he will be traveling to the worldwide Mecca of all alien and UFO phenomena, Roswell, New Mexico. Dan will be handing out fliers about the podcasts and hopefully start some meaningful conversations with people he meets there!

Astrophysicist and author Hugh Ross is founder and senior scholar of Reasons to Believe, an organization that researches and communicates how discoveries about nature harmonize with the words of the Bible. His books include The Creator and the Cosmos, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, Improbable Planet, and Designed to the Core.

https://www.Reasons.org 

Also, be sure to check out many of our other helpful resources on UFOs and aliens!

Podcast episode on ancient aliens: Good Heavens! Ancient Aliens? No.

Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org

Wayne's article on ancient aliens:

https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm

Dan's article about "Alien Theology":

https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/alien-theology

Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:

Heaven's Gate

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf

Raelians

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf

Urantia Book

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/urantiaprofile.pdf

Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs

Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/

Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/

Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan, the daughter of the late planetary astronomer Carl Sagan

A Conversation with Sasha Sagan

https://youtu.be/0vQYDLeecN8

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

In case you have not been following the news in the recent months, there has been a resurgence of interest in UFOs, UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), and advanced intelligent beings from other dimensions or worlds visiting us. There has also been talk of "non-human biologics", allegedly the remains of the "pilots" of crashed UFOs and UAPs being secretly held by our government.

What are these things? How as Christians can we make sense of the claims being made once more by ufologists and those convinced aliens are among us? What is the evidence?

On the next two episodes of this special combined Good Heavens! and Apologetics Profile we sit down with astrophysicist and author Dr. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe to talk about his biblically informative 2002 co-authored book on UFOs, UAPs, and aliens Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men.

Astrophysicist and author Hugh Ross is founder and senior scholar of Reasons to Believe, an organization that researches and communicates how discoveries about nature harmonize with the words of the Bible. His books include The Creator and the Cosmos, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, Improbable Planet, and Designed to the Core.

https://www.Reasons.org

Be sure to check out our other podcast episodes and helpful resources on aliens!

Podcast episode on ancient aliens: Good Heavens! Ancient Aliens? No.

Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org

Wayne article on ancient aliens:

https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm

Dan's article about "Alien Theology":

https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/alien-theology

Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:

Heaven's Gate

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf

Raelians

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf

Urantia Book

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/urantiaprofile.pdf

Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs

Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/

Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/

Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan, the daughter of the late planetary astronomer Carl Sagan

A Conversation with Sasha Sagan

https://youtu.be/0vQYDLeecN8

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Be sure to catch the Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend (Aug. 12-13, 2023) , weather permitting! If the weather is bad or you can't see them, however, hopefully this episode will be the next best thing!

What is a meteor shower, anyway? What do they mean? Where can you see them? Wayne and Dan attempt to answer these and other burning questions about this weekend's Perseid fireworks! Come and see! 

Wayne's article on comets.  

Dan's article on the Perseids.   

Previous Good Heavens! Episodes on Meteors and Comets

Meteors (Sept. 2021)

Comets Part 1 (Jan 2021)

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

If extraterrestrial life existed, how would it impact our faith in Christ? What would it look like? Would it be something like bacteria, plants or animals, or something more resembling intelligent agents like ourselves? Is the Earth specially designed to host biological life or are there other "Earth-like" planets in the universe today? This is part two of our special combined broadcast of Apologetics Profile and Good Heavens! with cosmologist and author Dr. Jeff Zweerink of Reasons to Believe. If you have friends or family interested in the question of extraterrestrial life, you don't want to miss this episode.

Show Notes

Jeff's book "Is There Life Out There?" https://www.amazon.com/There-Life-Out/dp/1886653003

Previous interview with Jeff on Is There Life Out There?

https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-life-out-there-interview-with-jeff-zweerink/

Good Heavens Podcast episode (Feb. 2022): https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/chariots-of-the-gods-no/

Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org

Wayne's article on ancient aliens:

https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm

Ancient Aliens Debunked (Video by Chris White. 3 hrs, 10 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9w-i5oZqaQ

Website by Chris White.  Has some references related to topics in the video above. https://www.ancientaliensdebunked.com

Bible scholar Michael Heiser - Ancient Aliens Debunked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dER45rkGk

See also this website by Michael Heiser. http://SitchinIsWrong.com

Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:

Heaven's Gate

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf

Raelians

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf

Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs

Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/

Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/

Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan

A Conversation with Sasha Sagan https://youtu.be/0vQYDLeecN8

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

We have been asking the question as long as we have been able to look up at the stars. Is there life out there in the cosmos? What would it be like? What are the implications for us if there is? And especially, how might extraterrestrial life impact our understanding of the Bible and of the Christian faith? What might extraterrestrial life have to do with Jesus of Nazareth? There is presently no evidence for ET. So why are we talking about it? Find out from an expert cosmologist who has asked this question himself. Dr. Jeff Zweerink of Reasons to Believe joins us to talk with us about his 2017 book Is There Life Out There? The answer may surprise you.

Show Notes

Jeff's book "Is There Life Out There?" https://www.amazon.com/There-Life-Out/dp/1886653003

Previous interview with Jeff on Is There Life Out There?

https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-life-out-there-interview-with-jeff-zweerink/

Good Heavens Podcast episode (Feb. 2022): https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/chariots-of-the-gods-no/

Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org

Wayne's article on ancient aliens:

https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm

Ancient Aliens Debunked (Video by Chris White. 3 hrs, 10 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9w-i5oZqaQ

Website by Chris White.  Has some references related to topics in the video above. https://www.ancientaliensdebunked.com

Bible scholar Michael Heiser - Ancient Aliens Debunked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dER45rkGk

See also this website by Michael Heiser. http://SitchinIsWrong.com

Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:

Heaven's Gate

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf

Raelians

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf

Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs

Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/

Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/

Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan

A Conversation with Sasha Sagan https://youtu.be/0vQYDLeecN8

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

This is part two of our two-part episode on the wondrous world of exoplanets. On this episode Wayne and Dan explore a "super Saturn" with a ring system of over 110,000,000 million miles in diameter. If this planet were where our Saturn is located, we could easily see the rings with the naked eye. They would appear four to five times larger than the full moon!

We'll also be looking at the darkest, blackest exoplanet discovered to date. Just a tad larger than our own Jupiter, It has baffled astronomers ever since its discovery. No one really knows why it's so dark.

How do these marvels help us to better appreciate and marvel at what God has done?  Come and see as we explore these wondrous worlds on this episode of Good Heavens!

Links for more information:

Alien world is blacker than coal (TrES-2b) https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/08/alien-world-is-blacker-than-coal/

Super-Saturn: astronomers find a massive ring system around an exoplanet https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/184/super-saturn-astronomers-find-a-massive-ring-system-around-an-exoplanet/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

For the next two episodes of Good Heavens! Wayne and Dan will be exploring four fantastic worlds outside of our solar system. For the most part, there have been over 5,000 newly-discovered planets outside our own solar system since the 1990s, with thousands more "candidates" that need further exploration and confirmation. 

Astronomers call these planets outside of our solar system "exoplanets." 

On this episode we'll marvel at the mathematical majesty of TESS Object of Interest #178 or TOI-178 for short and we'll try to stay upright as we have a look at the wobbly but wondrous world of Kepler 413b which orbits two stars, just like Tatooine of Star Wars fame! 

Fascinating worlds that further show us God's glory, majesty, creativity, and many other of His invisible attributes. So come and see! 

Kepler Finds a Very Wobbly Planet https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2014/news-2014-12.html

The TOI-178 System https://www.planetary.org/space-images/the-toi-178-system

Dance of Harmony in Intriguing TOI-178 Multi-planetary System (more detailed) https://astrobites.org/2022/02/26/dance-of-harmony-in-intriguing-toi-178-multi-planetary-system/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to make headlines with its marvelous head-scratching discoveries. On this episode, Wayne and Dan explore a recent JWST unexpected discovery of a disc and multiple rings around the star Fomalhaut. This discovery promises to challenge current theories about how stars and planets form.

Wayne and Dan not only discuss the science, but also how we see the star pointing to our unique and special place in the cosmos, all for the glory of God in Christ. 

Dan's article on fish, faith, and the fantastic findings of Fomalhaut. 

Wayne's article on the mysteries of Fomalhaut. 

More on the science of Fomalhaut

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-looks-for-fomalhaut-s-asteroid-belt-and-finds-much-more https://earthsky.org/space/fomalhaut-b-not-an-exoplanet-instead-a-dust-cloud/

Astronomer Paul Kalas explains why he still thinks there is an exoplanet at Fomalhaut. https://w.astro.berkeley.edu/~kalas/index.php/fomalhaut/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

(Galactic image in the thumbnail - NASA - the James Webb Space Telescope Cartwheel galaxy, previously imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope).

Galaxies, we might say, are kings of the cosmos. Their splendor and size has really only come to be known in the last 100 years, since Edwin Hubble finally determined that Andromeda, and many other galaxies just like it, were not just nebulae in our own universe.

Hubble's telescope, the Hooker Telescope atop Mt. Wilson in California, was the largest of its day. But it's main mirror was only 100 inches. We say "only" because the collective surface area of the new James Webb Space Telescope, made up of 18 individual mirrors, is 21 feet, four inches! 

And what it has thus far captured is nothing short of astonishing, like being in the presence of royalty.

On this episode, Wayne and Dan discuss some unsolved mysteries of star and galaxy formation and just how Webb's new galactic discoveries only serve to deepen the mystery and threaten to make scientists completely rewrite their assumptions about how stars and galaxies form!

Come and see!

Some stuff we talked about during the episode.

Stellar streams

Geraint Lewis's work on stellar streams

New JWST discoveries of distant galaxies.

Galaxy basics, NASA. 

Wayne's article on galaxies. 

Dan's article on galaxies and our place in the cosmos. 

Watchman.org

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Good Heavens! Dwarfs (not dwarves) have stolen Pluto's planetary status! Who are these mischievous entities? Why did they steal from Pluto? Where are they, exactly? And what do dwarfs, dancing, and astronomy have to do with each other? 

Join Wayne and Dan for this educational adventure in exploring these recently discovered miscreants of the solar system! Hopefully they've answered all of the perplexing questions on this episode. If not, it's still a fun chat about what's out there and how it all points to the glory of God in Christ. 

Easter episodes mentioned at the end of the broadcast:

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/for-signs-and-for-seasons-calendars-of-the-ancient-world/

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/the-sun-moon-and-time-calendars-part-2/

https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/the-lamb-of-god-the-passover-in-the-gospels/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Dan summarizes four fantastical new images from the James Webb Space Telescope and how he believes they reveal the glory of God.

Objects discussed you can see for yourself!

Pandora's Cluster

VHS 1256 b (only an artist's conception)

Wolf-Rayet 124

NGC 7469 A Star Wreath

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Did dragons ever really exist? Why is there a constellation of a dragon? Where'd it come from?

On this episode of Good Heavens! Dan breaks down the myths and legends behind Draco the Dragon, the 8th largest constellation in the night sky, Find out about its brightest stars and some of the deep sky objects within and about what Scripture has to say about the dragon of old. 

Don't miss this fascinating episode. Sit back, close your eyes, and imagine you're in a state-of-the-art planetarium. If you have some booming home audio surround sound or good car speakers, they will certainly enhance this one-of-a-kind audio theater for the mind's eye! 

DISCLAIMER: In our series on the constellations, we are not condoning, endorsing, or encouraging any astrology or horoscope related practices. Stars do not determine one's future or personality. We simply provide a history and overview of the constellations and how they can remind us as Christians of God's glory in Christ. Please see our Watchman four-page profile on the spurious practices and assumptions of astrology written by a former astrologer now Christian.

https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/astrologyprofile.pdf

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

See a wondrous alignment of planets at the end of March! Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Mars, and the Moon! 

What does it all mean for us? Find out on this special episode! 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

What made Alice swim in a puddle of tears? 

Mathematics! 

As long division did for Dan in 4th grade. Math can bring tears, both of frustration and joy. What exactly is math? Why does it work so well in describing our universe? How can people explain mathematics apart from mind? And what's it all have to do with a grin without a cat? 

Come and see (or in this case, listen)! 

For more grinning from the heavens, see Wayne's article! 

https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2023/01/27/the-grin-from-space/

Dan's full interview with Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke. 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

A special edition of Good Heaven! A heavenly event you don't want to miss! Mark your calendars for a special sight in the heavens coming soon. And you won't need a telescope or binoculars. You'll even be able to see it from a big city if your western horizon is clear and the weather is good. 

Come and see! 

Have you ever seen a grin without a cat? Come and see, or at least listen to the story about a fascinating object in the deepest recesses of Ursa Major, the Great Bear! 

Alice in Wonderland, Charlie Chaplain, Albert Einstein, invisible space-time fabric, and a grin that is kinda out of this world. 

For more grinning from the heavens, see Wayne's article! The Grin from Space https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2023/01/27/the-grin-from-space/

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Part three of our discussion of the fascinating and inspiring life, imagination, and writing of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien includes Tolkien's concept of the eucatastrophe and the importance of friendships both in his life and in the characters of Middle Earth. 

Wayne's essay on Tolkien's Fantasy World https://creationanswers.net/goodies/Tolkien_FantasyWorldvsRealWorld.pdf 

Some titles mentioned in the broadcast

https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-4-Book-Boxed-Set/dp/0345538374/ 

https://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0063280779/ 

https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-Biography-Humphrey-Carpenter-ebook/dp/B00I7JFC7C/

https://www.amazon.com/Tolkiens-Modern-Reading-Middle-earth-Beyond/dp/1943243727/ 

https://www.amazon.com/Leaf-Niggle-J-R-Tolkien/dp/0008205531/ 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Part two of our discussion of the fascinating and inspiring life, imagination, and writing of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien includes the moral nature of Tolkien's Middle Earth landscapes, true heroism, and Earendel. 

Wayne's essay on Tolkien's Fantasy World https://creationanswers.net/goodies/Tolkien_FantasyWorldvsRealWorld.pdf 

Some titles mentioned in the broadcast

https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-4-Book-Boxed-Set/dp/0345538374/ 

https://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0063280779/ 

https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-Biography-Humphrey-Carpenter-ebook/dp/B00I7JFC7C/

https://www.amazon.com/Tolkiens-Modern-Reading-Middle-earth-Beyond/dp/1943243727/ 

https://www.amazon.com/Leaf-Niggle-J-R-Tolkien/dp/0008205531/ 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Part one of our discussion of the fascinating and inspiring life, imagination, and writing of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. Part one features Leaf, By Niggle, Tolkien's idea of the sub-creator, and how his work can remind us of Jesus as the Logos. 

Wayne's essay on Tolkien's fantasy world vs. the real world. https://creationanswers.net/goodies/Tolkien_FantasyWorldvsRealWorld.pdf 

Some titles mentioned in the broadcast

https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-4-Book-Boxed-Set/dp/0345538374/ 

https://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0063280779/ 

https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-Biography-Humphrey-Carpenter-ebook/dp/B00I7JFC7C/

https://www.amazon.com/Tolkiens-Modern-Reading-Middle-earth-Beyond/dp/1943243727/ 

https://www.amazon.com/Leaf-Niggle-J-R-Tolkien/dp/0008205531/ 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

If contemporary astrophysics and cosmology has demonstrated anything conclusively about the nature of our universe it is   (1) We have a very special and unique place here on earth to observe and learn more about the universe and   (2) It requires intelligent agents to create even the simplest models of our universe or other theoretical universes. 

In short, despite what popularizers of science tell us, we are indeed significant in the cosmos and there is an intelligent being behind and beyond the cosmos.  As Christians, we know that the Creator of the cosmos Himself came down to us in the Person of His Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. All things came into being through Him, but sinful humanity did not recognize or know Him. 

Can man invent a universe and live in it? Can we live as though our lives are really insignificant? The simple answer to both questions is no. 

On this episode of Good Heavens! Wayne and Dan discuss two basic problems with modern cosmology:   (1) Creating theoretical universes and   (2) Declaring human beings to be cosmically insignificant. 

Some thoughtful resources to strengthen and encourage you on these topics. 

A new video by Dan called "Fine Tuning is Dangerous" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqdvgQ2mrpk

Dan's interview with Steven C. Meyer, author of The Return of the God Hypothesis (Two Parts).  https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/return-of-the-god-hypothesis-part-1-with-stephen-c-meyer/ https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/return-of-the-god-hypothesis-part-2-with-stephen-c-meyer/

Dan's interview with Dr. Luke Barnes, coauthor of A Fortunate Universe https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/a-conversation-with-dr-luke-barnes/

Book: Cosmology without God? https://www.amazon.com/Cosmology-Without-God-Problematic-Theology/dp/1532636849/

James Walker's interview with former high-ranking scientologist Mike Render (Two Parts) https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jwalker55293/episodes/2022-11-06T23_00_00-08_00 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jwalker55293/episodes/2022-11-13T23_00_00-08_00

Original presentation from Dr. Sean Carroll, "God is not a Good Theory" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew_cNONhhKI

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The book of Job in the Old Testament tells of a prosperous man who was very good who lost much of what he owned and had 10 children die in one day.  Then he was struck with a terrible illness.  The book includes lengthy discussions between Job and his friends and tells of the gnawing questions and frustration Job experienced.  Job also contains the longest quoted passage of God speaking in the Bible, which ranges from high to low in creation.   

How does the beauty and majesty of the heavens and of creation fit in with our sorrows, doubts, and suffering? What were Behemoth and Leviathan? Wayne and Dan continue exploring the wisdom and wonders of the book of Job. May it be a blessing and encouragement to you. 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The book of Job in the Old Testament tells of a prosperous man who was very good who lost much of what he owned and had 10 children die in one day.  Then he was struck with a terrible illness.  The book includes lengthy discussions between Job and his friends and tells of the gnawing questions and frustration Job experienced.  Job also contains the longest quoted passage of God speaking in the Bible, which ranges from high to low in creation.  Was Job a real person?  What was God's answer to Job?  What did his friends think of Job in his suffering? 

How does the beauty and majesty of the heavens and of creation fit in with our sorrows, doubts, and suffering? While Wayne and Dan certainly don't propose to have all the answers, in this episode and in part two, they wrestle with the message of the Book of Job in hopes it can be an encouragement to you. 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

A short episode about seeing Jupiter this Monday, September 26th and a little background about meteor showers you can see this fall and how you can enjoy these declarations of God's glory. 

Meteor Shower Schedule Fall 2022 

Image of Jupiter is from the James Webb Space Telescope (NASA/ESA/CSA). 

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The "science" of the universe is daunting for most of us, in fact, quite literally in not a few ways, it's "over our heads"! 

Recently, the new James Webb Space Telescope has revealed some pretty spectacular never-before-seen vistas of some of the deepest regions of the universe. On this episode Wayne and Dan try to break some of it down and how we think it points to the glory of God. 

A careful reading of Scripture leaves one with the impression that God intended that everyone not only know about the cosmos, but that He created it for His glory. 

Big science spends billions of dollars annually to gaze more intently upon the resplendent handiwork of God, but increasingly make little or no mention of God when discoursing about the laws, mechanics, and elements of the universe. 

It's something akin to going to an art museum and looking past the beauty and symmetry of the art itself and instead focus more intently on what the painting or sculpture is made of. Knowing, for example, what elements comprise the paint in Van Gogh's Starry Night or what from what sort of stone Michelangelo's David is made tells us nothing about why Starry Night or David exists in the first place. What are those things? 

They are the handiwork and intimate expressions of the artists.

The heavens is no less an expression of God's glory. In the beginning, it was Jesus as the Master Craftsman, creating the cosmos (Gen. 1-2, John 1, Prov. 8; Col. 1; Heb. 1). . 

So what does Treebeard (maybe you're asking who or what is Treebeard?) have to do with the James Webb Space Telescope? You'll have to listen to find out! 

We here at Good Heavens! try to show you the human side of astronomy and how we as believers can revel in the wonders of the heavens and how that can encourage and strengthen our faith. We try to talk about the big science in understandable and accessible ways and offer some thoughts about how what is "above our heads" can be translated for our encouragement here on earth. 

We hope this special episode will encourage you. 

Here is a link to Wayne's accompanying article for this episode. https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2022/08/25/images-from-the-james-webb-space-telescope/

Below are links to three scientific papers about the new James Webb Telescope images:

Mysterious red galaxies https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.00132.pdf

'Normal' looking galaxies less than 250 million years before the Big Bang? https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.00986.pdf

"Panic! At the Disks . . ." On distant galaxy shapes https://arxiv.org/pdf/2207.09428.pdf

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

When we see a math problem in a text book or on a chalk or dry-erase board, we assume (quite rightly) it was written there by an intelligent agent. But when physicists discover the universe to be filled with mathematical laws, the implications are not a little disquieting, especially if one does not believe God exists. 

If God does not exist, from where do these laws come? Why is the universe intelligible? Why do our mathematics work so efficiently and elegantly in describing the universe? 

Modern science has few answers. But since we have only ever observed mathematics and laws emanating from intelligent agents, it is abductively reasonable to conclude that such laws and numbers of the cosmos ultimately originate from the mind of an intelligent Creator. And this is precisely what Scripture has been telling us for millennia. God's invisible attributes are clearly seen throughout the universe, so that we are all without excuse. 

On our final installment of our series with Christian and astrophysicist Dr. Leslie Wickman, we delve into the wonders of the laws of physics and talk a little about how important it is for us, believer or skeptic, to get ourselves out of the way and adopt a posture of epistemic humility when talking about things that are quite literally "above our heads"! So come and see! 

From Leslie's page at Azusa Pacific: 

Leslie Wickman is a research scientist, engineering consultant, author, and inspirational speaker. For more than a decade, Wickman was an engineer for Lockheed Martin, where she worked on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station Programs, receiving commendations from NASA for her contributions and being designated as Lockheed’s Corporate Astronomer

Leslie's Book God of the Big Bang 

Leslie's original article featured on CNN. 

Watchman Fellowship's Atheist and Christian Book Club. Join us this coming October as we further discuss God of the Big Bang with Leslie live!

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

"Everything that begins to exist has a cause." 

So begins the classical argument for God's existence known as the Kalam Cosmological Argument. Contemporary sciences of the heavens have, at least for the time being, confirmed that the universe we currently inhabit did indeed have a beginning. 

But what caused our universe to come into existence? The secular literature on the origin of the universe mentions God only in passing, or often merely to claim that theists are arguing about a god of the gaps. But if God did not create the cosmos, what did? When you read through the contemporary theories, they start to sound not a little like "invisible attributes" of God. Whatever created the universe in a naturalistic worldview has to be powerful beyond description, employing laws of physics heretofore unknown to man (as the current laws known by scientists 'break down' at the beginning), beyond space, beyond time, not made of anything physical or material, and either infinite or eternal. 

On part two of our discussion with Christian and astrophysicist Dr. Leslie Wickman, Dan explores some of these questions in more detail. Whatever you may think of the Big Bang, it certainly can be a point of discussion upon which you can build a conversation with your skeptic or atheist friends.  

From Leslie's website at Azusa Pacific.  

Leslie Wickman is a research scientist, engineering consultant, author, and inspirational speaker. For more than a decade, Wickman was an engineer for Lockheed Martin, where she worked on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station Programs, receiving commendations from NASA for her contributions and being designated as Lockheed’s Corporate astronomer.

Leslie's Book God of the Big Bang 

Leslie's original article featured on CNN. 

Watchman Fellowship's Atheist and Christian Book Club. Join us this coming October as we further discuss God of the Big Bang with Leslie live!

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The Bible describes Jesus as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah." God asked Job if he can hunt the prey for the lion, suggesting that it is God Himself who does the "hunting." And in the Gospels, Jesus calls His disciples to "come" as He will teach them to be "fishers of men." 

Our God is a Hunter and a Fisherman. C.S. Lewis described Jesus as the "Hound of Heaven" who unrelentingly came after the skeptical literary scholar over the course of many years. 

And in Lewis' beloved classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis created the character of Aslan the Lion, a "suppositional" representation of Jesus in another world. In Narnia, the Beavers tell the children that Aslan isn't "safe but he's good." 

Indeed God does not guarantee our personal and physical safety in this world, but He is good and bids us to trust Him no matter our circumstances. 

Both Jesus and His creation are in many ways "not safe" but they are good; good beyond what we can finally comprehend. As Joseph says to his brothers maltreatment of him that eventually enigmatically lead to Joseph being second in command over the Egyptian empire, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." 

On the next three episodes of Good Heavens! Dan speaks with Christian and astrophysicist Dr. Leslie Wickman about her faith and how she sees God in the finely-tuned details of God's universe. 

It is our aim at Good Heavens! to find common ground among all believers in relation to our faith in Christ and what contemporary science tells us about creation. We believe there are things to learn from a wide variety of different perspectives. We try to present thoughtful and faithful believers presenting their different points of view that will hopefully encourage you to seek out these issues more deeply for yourself.  

From Leslie's page at Azusa Pacific:  

Leslie Wickman is a research scientist, engineering consultant, author, and inspirational speaker. For more than a decade, Wickman was an engineer for Lockheed Martin, where she worked on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station Programs, receiving commendations from NASA for her contributions and being designated as Lockheed’s Corporate Astronaut

Leslie's Book God of the Big Bang 

Leslie's original article featured on CNN.  

Watchman Fellowship's Atheist and Christian Book Club. Join us this coming October as we further discuss God of the Big Bang with Leslie live!

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