God's Fingerprint is Everywhere
Every time I look at the world around us, I see a lot of parallels to the stories found in the Holy Scriptures. Today I was reading some Pew Research survey results on religious affiliation in the United States. It was devastating to see a staggering drop over the last decade in the number of people that identify themselves as Christians. Meanwhile, the number of people that claim to be atheist or agnostic has approximately doubled.
This reminds me of a scriptural story found in the Book of Mormon (a book of scripture used alongside with the Holy Bible) about a man named Korihor.
Korihor traveled throughout the land, preaching there is no God to the citizens of each city. He contended that "every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime... [and] when a man was dead, that was the end thereof (Book of Mormon, Alma 30:17-18)."
Korihor ended up in a conversation with Alma, the leader of Christ's church in the land. Their dialogue went as follows:
"And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words. But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator (Book of Mormon, Alma 30:43-44)."
I have encountered many modern-day Korihors. Alma's counter-argument is full of wisdom. "All things denote there is a God." In this blog post I want to show how numerical constants denote there is a God. I will only discuss a few examples. I am sure there are many, many more valuable examples.
Phi
The first constant I want to talk about is called "Phi" (pronounced "fee"), is represented by the Greek letter "Φ", and is approximately 1.618. Phi is also commonly known as the "Golden Ratio". Personally, I think it should be called the "God Number" because it is an almost unparalleled evidence of God's hand at work.
Φ = 1.618...
Phi has a variety of cool mathematical properties. It is closely related to a mathematical series called the Fibonacci Sequence where each number is the sum of the two previous numbers.
Fibonacci Sequence:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...
Phi can be approximated by taking any number in the Fibonacci sequence and dividing it by the previous number. The further along in the series you go, the closer the number is to Phi.
1 ÷ 1 = 1
2 ÷ 1 = 2
3 ÷ 2 = 1.5
5 ÷ 3 = 1.67
8 ÷ 5 = 1.6
13 ÷ 8 = 1.625
21 ÷ 13 = 1.615
34 ÷ 21 = 1.619
Here is a another fascinating relationship between Phi and the Fibonacci sequence (The Fibonacci sequence is found going downwards in both of the columns of blue numbers):
Φ^1 = 1 × Φ + 0
Φ^2 = 1 × Φ + 1
Φ^3 = 2 × Φ + 1
Φ^4 = 3 × Φ + 2
Φ^5 = 5 × Φ + 3
Φ^6 = 8 × Φ + 5
Φ^7 = 13 × Φ + 8
Φ^8 = 21 × Φ +13
In addition to creating these (and many more) cool math relationships that are clearly not coincidence, Phi is found all throughout nature. It is found in ratios between many parts of the human body, honey bee breeding habits, planetary orbits, and the spirals of DNA, sunflowers, pineapples, snail shells, etc.
Below is a drawing of a Nautilus shell with vertical and horizontal lines following the spiral. If you start at the center of the spiral and work your way outwards, each straight line increases in length by a ratio of Phi:
The Speed of Light
Another constant that is a powerful manifestation of God's fingerprint is the speed of light. The speed of light is represented by the letter "c" and is 299,792,458 meters per second. (That is just over 670 million miles per hour!)
c = 299,792,458 m/s
In the early 1900's Albert Einstein came forth with his groundbreaking theory of Special Relativity. He proposed the radical idea that matter and energy can be converted back and forth into each other. (This has since been demonstrated very clearly with the atomic bomb.) For this conversion, he put forward his most famous equation:
E=mc^2
Energy equals mass (similar to weight) times the speed of light squared. The idea that the speed of light determines how much energy you get for a certain amount of mass is truly amazing! The speed of light is such an arbitrary value, yet it is the same constant used for this and many other important equations in physics about things other than light. Why is this? Once again, God's hand is at work.
Another thing that shows the speed of light is a value determined by God is merely the fact that it is a constant. Why does light travel at the same speed in every part of the universe at all times? If this universe was created by chance as many people claim, wouldn't we expect the speed of light to have been randomly determined? If it was randomly determined, why doesn't light change speeds at random as it moves from place to place? Science does not provide any explanation for how constants are determined and enforced throughout all space and time. On the other hand, revealed religion does.
A revelation from God to one of His modern-day prophets teaches that something called the Light of Christ "proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space. [It's] the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (Doctrine and Covenants 88:12-13)." The Light of Christ is the mechanism by which God implements constants throughout all space and time.
A revelation from God to one of His modern-day prophets teaches that something called the Light of Christ "proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space. [It's] the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (Doctrine and Covenants 88:12-13)." The Light of Christ is the mechanism by which God implements constants throughout all space and time.
Pi
The final constant I want to talk about is Pi. Pi is represented by the Greek letter "π" and is approximately 3.14.
π = 3.14...
Pi is defined as the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle.
The amazing thing about Pi is the fact that it never changes; the circumference of a circle divided by the diameter always equals 3.14... Some might ask "Why is that so incredible? Isn't it obvious that the circumference and diameter always maintain the same ratio?" However the issue is actually not that simple.
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which has been consistent with observed data up to this point, posits that space is not flat but curved. It is true that we can't see this curvature, but, according to Einstein, we can feel it. Einstein's theory says that gravity is the result of spacetime being curved. Once we accept that space can be curved, Pi being a constant is truly a miracle.
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which has been consistent with observed data up to this point, posits that space is not flat but curved. It is true that we can't see this curvature, but, according to Einstein, we can feel it. Einstein's theory says that gravity is the result of spacetime being curved. Once we accept that space can be curved, Pi being a constant is truly a miracle.
To demonstrate this, imagine that a circle is drawn on a flat surface. The ratio between the circumference and diameter will be about 3.14.
Now imagine that a circle with the same circumference is drawn on a spherical surface. If we measure the distance from one side of the circle to the other, traveling along the surface of the sphere, we will get a larger number than we did on the flat surface. Since the diameter is longer than before, the ratio between the circumference and diameter will be less than 3.14. We can see that the value for Pi changed.
Finally, imagine that a circle with the same diameter as the circle on the flat surface is drawn on a saddle-shaped surface. If we measure the perimeter of the circle, traveling along the saddle, we will get a larger number than we did on the flat surface. Since the circumference is longer, the ratio between the circumference and diameter will be greater than 3.14. Once again, we can see that the value for Pi changed.
The physics equations for spatial curvature state that the density of mass in a region of space determine its shape. If the universe really did spontaneously create itself in a Big Bang (as so many people claim,) we could expect to see a random mass distribution throughout the universe. Consequently, space would be curved like crazy all over the place with no apparent pattern. It would therefore not be unreasonable to expect to see Pi varying at different locations. However, we don't see this. Rather, there appears to be a definite order and uniformity to all things throughout the universe.
Again, math allows us to see Divine Providence in action. Apart from spiritual impressions, what better testimony-builder is there than theometry? Perhaps there is none. Check back in a couple weeks to see my next blog post on mathematical relationships in the scriptures.
Check out my other blog that gives answers to some of life's great questions at mormonanswersforlife.blogspot.com/
Again, math allows us to see Divine Providence in action. Apart from spiritual impressions, what better testimony-builder is there than theometry? Perhaps there is none. Check back in a couple weeks to see my next blog post on mathematical relationships in the scriptures.
Check out my other blog that gives answers to some of life's great questions at mormonanswersforlife.blogspot.com/
