i am trying to be a christian. trying to have faith. do good deeds, etc. but science is not helping me........

Question

evolution and the scientic beginning of earth dont bother me. i dont think those things have to disagree with the bible.

but this DOES bother me.

in the bible it says that a new Jerusalem will descend from heaven down onto earth. and the new heaven and new earth will last forever. however, all you have to do is look anywhere in our HUGE universe to see that solar systems do not last forever. eventually the sun is going to die out and possibly engulf the earth before it does. but before that even happens the gravitational pull of the moon will slow down the rotation of the earth so the length of a day on earth will be 40 times longer!

and why is the universe so huge? why are there billions upon billions of planets?

i realize that God makes the knowledge of man look foolish. ...but still! these things dont make ANY sense to me.

would someone help me out with this please?

"because god doesnt exist" will get you reported.

however any thoughtful answer are welcome.

Answer 1

The new heaven and new earth are just that, whether "spiritual", like heaven today, or physical as we would think of it, God would make a new, un-fallen earth that would never have to decay into entropy the way this universe we live in does...

Why is the universe so huge? I figure that one planet would be awfully boring for an omnipotent Creator- does a human gardener plant one rose and say, okay, I'm done? No, they want acres and acres and acres to design and plant with all kinds of gorgeous plants and then greenhouses for more plants that don't grow outside... we are made in the image of God, and I think the creative aspect is one of the stronger reflections of that....

Answer 2

The best I can give you (to help with your faith) is to say that when the Bible speaks of Jerusalem descending from Heaven, it is not a world of "this world." It is spiritual.

If you believe in Heaven, then you know that if you look into the solar system, you don't see Heaven. It is simply in another plane of existence. Whatever laws may apply to the world or universe as we know it now, may or may not apply when "the end" comes.

I applaud that you are going far enough to question these things because the worst believer is a blind one. If you can still look at your beliefs after you've questioned them and come out on the other side knowing that you've reasoned your way through your doubts, your faith will only be stronger. However, don't be too quick to take everything in the Bible literally. I'm not saying that it is fiction or a lie. But for instance, the Bible does condone slavery and subjugation of women in the Old Testament. Remember that the things preached in the Bible are just as easily metaphorical as they are literal. Think on them and question.

When all is said and done, the ones who've questioned and answered their way through their faith are the strongest in their faith.

Answer 3

The universe is big because God is big and things die when God tells them too, So If he tells something to last forever then it does. Dont go putting your human limitations on God.
The old earth and heaven will be destroyed because they are tainted by sin.
The new jerusalem will descend after Gog (China) and Maygog (Russia) have been defeated because they thought they could fight God.
So dont worry about the Sun burning out or the days getting longer. God will step in long before that time.
You should study the Bible more and not worry over what if that mankind have thought up.

Answer 4

Its a metaphor. If I have the verses correct, New Jerusalem means Heaven, the new Heaven. At that point, all the former things as we know them will be gone. The sun, the moon, whatever, all gone. So its okay to recognize that the sun will burn out. Even God speaks of that, as there will be no sun in heaven, Light from God, but no Sunm no moon. The analogy that it came down from heaven, is a analogy, in that from heaven above, will it be created.

Once the new Heaven and Earth are built for eternity, they will not be anything like we know earth to be now.

So in this way, science does not dispute it, but even in the basic facts that we now know, that it will burn out, and the moon will move away, would fit the idea there would HAVE to be something new created.

The universe is a mystery unto all of us, even Science. God knows a many great things, and maybe he gave it to us for a purpose we have yet to understand and fulfill. God is ever growing, and maybe there are answers out there man just hasnt been able to reach and understand yet. Man is falliable, God is not.

Answer 5

One thing you have to realize is that the Bible is contradicting in some sorts.
The contradictions are not accidental. They are beacons urging us to seek deeper into the meaning of scripture. Just as you are doing now. You don't understand how these things can be possible, but that is God's way of getting you to dig deeper and learn his word.

There are many things that are not understood in our Universe. Our smartest scientists don't have all the answers and they never will. We can only try to learn more about our surroundings through trial and error. This is the same as trying to learn the Bible and what God's message is.

Some things are not needed in order to believe in God. For instance....
Copernicus was a Catholic who discovered the Earth revolved around the sun instead of vise versa. This discovery did not shake his faith. After all, what does that discovery have to do with believing in a creator? I am telling you the same. Just because things may not seem to make sense, does not mean they can't happen.

Like you said, we can't understand the knowledge and wisdom of God. How do we know that the Universe is all that is out there? Maybe there are multiuniverses with different properties that will make these things last forever. Our knowledge is limited and must be based on faith. But not faith alone. It must be based on belief as well. And for you to believe something you must have knowledge. I agree, some things do not make sense to us, but our knowledge is limited. So our faith and knowledge must coincide to work at it's best.

Have a great day and keep digging for answers.

Answer 6

Do not mistake GOD and RELIGION. A good scientist would tell you that he (or she) could not prove or disprove the existence of a God and only embrace the facts.

Religion will always tell you that you should never doubt about his existence, no matter what the facts.

Besides, the Bible is a literature work. It was made to show ancient people how to behave on the days Jews had no government. It's some kind of constitution for a nomad nation.

And once again, do you really believe a loving God would ever allow his son to die and even so keep his sons in pain like it's plain to see?

A God like that should not deserve your respect, your doubts or your time.

Hope it helps.

Answer 7

The more you actually study the earth and research, you'll see that there is more evidence supporting creationism vs. evolution and the more you realize that God's fingerprints are on the world..like for example..the human eye is such a complex system..it's designed exactly like a telescope and you would think that someone would have had to design something like that right instead of it coming from no where..and there's a lot of scientists and archeologists who are atheists who find the evolution theory to have too many holes in it for it to be possible..it's good to question what you believe in and go beyond what you just hear at church..but to tell you the truth, in my personal experience, the more you research the more proof you gain that God does exist..if you still have questions on evolution or any of that stuff..you should start reading "darwin on trial" it explains a lot of factual things that show how the evolution theory has too many holes in it for it to be true..well good luck with everything. take care and God bless :)

Answer 8

I think this is maybe part of "God's" way of telling us to seek him out. If the universe is so vast, isn't it possible that there is a greater being out there somewhere? Maybe what you see and know scientifically is only proof of something that has set all things in motion. I don't believe in the Christian concept of a God but I am not going to refute the possibility that there is a God(s). It can be hard to follow Christian doctrine when some of it doesn't seem to make sense, but then, this is the whole point of faith. To believe in something that seems irrational or impossible. These kind of questions tend to generate really long answers but I hope mine is short and at least provokes some thought. Best of luck in your personal struggle against science and Christian faith! I gave up and became very happy and content with my life, but that doesn't mean you need to abandon Christianity yourself.

Answer 9

The earth will be destroyed by fire at the end of the world, and then there will be a new heaven and earth. The world will be in its celestial state, which means it will be perfect in every way. There the population who deserves the highest glory will reside in complete comprehension of everything. Where it will exist I do not know but it may be brought to a realm closer to where God dwells. There are thousands upon thousands of inhabited planets for God’s children to exist on and more are made for future habitation. Only our Heavenly Father knows all the answers to the universe and it is for us not to critic him or his ways.

Answer 10

The Bible was written so even people early on in our history could read it. They would have known nothing about solar systems, the sun dying out eventually, or even what gravity was. Maybe this is the reason why these things were not mentioned. Some things you have to take on faith. This might be one of them.