Science Logic and Faith

There is a lot of hype regarding UFOs.  I'm a science and logic guy, not a hype and speculation guy.  This episode will be a rigorous and methodological approach to UFOs.  You may find the material and analysis surprisingly different from other UFO presentations you've heard.  Part of my preparation for this topic was interviewing someone regarding events that happened over 50 years ago.  

Could there be other intelligent life in the galaxy?  Well of course there “could be”.  More meaningful questions are:  What is the likelihood that there is intelligent life somewhere else?  What is necessary for a star or planet to be a potential life site?  Could the universe have harbored intelligent life far in the past or far into the future?   If there is advanced intelligent life elsewhere, could it travel from its star to Earth?  Would it be possible to communicate with extraterrestrial life and what would be the risk/rewards of doing so?  What about non-carbon-based life?  What are the theological and philosophical implications of extraterrestrial intelligent life?  Listen in to this fascinating presentation on these questions.  UFOs will not be covered here but saved for the following episode. 

Since most people do not know what Quantum Mechanics is, it becomes a black box that swindlers use to sell things or justify bogus spiritual ideas.  This talk will put you in the driver's seat by giving an overview of key quantum mechanical ideas and show where quantum mechanics has philosophical implications and where it does not.  Some aspects covered: Heisenberg uncertainty principle, particle-wave duality, discrete versus continuous energy states, and Schrodinger's cat.  Don't let the big words scare you, non-technical people will follow the talk just fine.  

A religious sect can be described as a cult for doctrinal beliefs, sociological factors, or both.  This episode covers both but focuses on sociological factors where the discussion also encompasses non-religious organization/groups that exhibit cult-like behavior.  An overview of conspiracy theories will be covered.   Aspects of deception will be explored and the difference between deception and questions of truth will be clarified.   The episode will discuss how bad science is used deceptively in medical quackery and unethical product marketing.  This episode is a sequel to the prior one on truth.  

How can someone know if something is true?  Is there such a thing as truth?  How does one generation pass truth onto the next?  What are the various ways and degrees that science claims to know something?  This episode will address these questions and more, as it takes a deep dive exploring the concept of truth.  

If there is a loving God, why is there so much pain and suffering?  This is an age-old question that many have wrestled.  This episode will dive into this question.  Don't expect solid answers - rather new insights or a fresh perspective for looking at this issue.  The problem of pain flows out of the prior episode on thermodynamics.   

When giving this series to live audiences, thermodynamics has been one of the group's favorites.  It is possibly the most intellectually challenging topic in the series, but don't let that scare you as its presented in a way that non-science people can grasp the key ideas.  Most of the episode is pure science to lay a foundational understanding of thermodynamics.  With that background, the episode then explores some profound philosophical and theological implications that can change the way you view the world.  Thermodynamics is a natural lead-in to next podcast on the Problem of Pain and Suffering.  Best to get a good night's sleep before listening to this mind-expanding topic.  

“If God made the universe, who made God?”  Be ready to take a deep dive into this question and address it from a couple different angles.  If you get a chance, go to YouTube and search for “Dr. Quantum Visits Flatland”.  This is a 5-minute video that has nothing directly to do with the “Who made God” question but illustrates a concept used in this episode.  If you don't get to see it, by all means listen to this fascinating topic. The episode will also address the question “What is heaven like”, as the material presented offers insight into that as well.  

For centuries philosophers entertained the question of whether the universe is an illusion.  A modern take on this question is whether the universe is a computer simulation, like the movie The Matrix.  When researching this topic, I was shocked to see how much discussion is out there regarding us being in a computer simulation and how many people see this as a realistic possibility.  The episode will first address the illusion question and then move on to artificial intelligence.  From there we'll dive into the computer simulation possibility, which will be the bulk of the episode.

There is an expression, “All roads lead to Rome”.  In a similar way it can be said that among science-orientated people, “All existence of God discussions lead to contemplating the Multiverse”.  This episode will explore the possibility that there are other universes besides our own.  This concept is referred to as the Multiverse, for multiple universes, and is highly speculative since there is currently no way to measure or detect another universe and probably never will be.  Big Bang cosmology strongly suggests there is something beyond our universe.  Is it a God, a multiverse, or both?  If exploring what science says about the existence of God is of particular interest, then this is one of the key talks of the series.  Don't miss it!

Noah's Ark is one of the most extreme stories in the Bible.  Is it an allegory or a real event?  This episode will look at different interpretations of the story and the plausibility of it being a real event.  It then asks if there is any evidence that this event happened.  It turns out there are a couple things in science that offer subtle support for Noah's flood - nothing close to compelling, but interesting.  Chances are you've never heard what is covered in this episode.  

Life first appeared on earth about 3.6 billion years ago as single cell bacteria and scientists refer to this as the origin of life.  Where life came from is an important question in science and this episode will dive into the origin of life issue.  This is perhaps the most technical talk in the series, but it is explained in a way that those without a science background could understand. 

This is the last of a 3-part look at evolutionary theory.  With the foundation of the prior two episodes, we now look at more science and observations in nature that allows one to critique the theory.  The listener will be able to form an educated opinion on what aspects of life's diversity is reasonable to explain by evolutionary mechanisms, and what is better explained by some type of intelligent intervention.  The episode closes with a philosophical look at the role of science and the limitations society often places on it.  For the intellectually curious, dive in and enjoy this fascinating and eye-opening look at life.    

This is the 2nd of a 3-part look at evolution.  Scientists agree evolutionary changes contributed to life's diversity, but the debate is whether evolution explains all of life's diversity?  After studying evolution and presenting talks to live audiences, I realize one can't have a meaningful discussion regarding evolution unless those involved understand the theory – and few people do.  Here you will learn what I've found to be the key aspects of the theory.  Even if you have a degree in biology, you will probably pick up some key points.  The first time I spoke on evolution, someone with a master's degree in biology was fascinated. 

Scientists agree evolutionary changes contributed to life's diversity, but the debate is whether evolution explains all of life's diversity?  After studying evolution and presenting talks to live audiences, I realize one can't have a meaningful discussion regarding evolution unless those involved understand the theory – and few people do.  Here you will learn what I've found to be the key aspects of the theory.  Even if you have a degree in biology, you will probably pick up some key points.  The first time I spoke on evolution, someone with a master's degree in biology was fascinated. If the segment on evolution gets too technical for you or doesn't hold your interest, skip ahead to episode 9 on Noah's Ark.  

Where did mankind come from?  Did modern humans evolve from an ape-like species or are humans the result of a creation process?  As humans, are we just a higher form of animal, or are we distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom?  What were the Neanderthals?  Is there any scientific basis for the story of Adam & Eve to be literal?  This episode takes a fascinating look at these questions that have significance with how we view ourselves as human beings.  This is the last of a 5-part tour through Genesis chapter 1.

This segment looks at the history of life on earth except for man, which will be covered in the following episode.  The talk will primarily focus on the fossil record and when various forms of life appeared on earth.  We will then compare Earth's life history with the Genesis account.  A deep dive into evolutionary theory will be covered in later podcasts.  

Two minute trailer for the Science Logic and Faith podcast series

What were the Genesis phrases “Let there be light” and “The earth was formless and void” referring to?  This podcast looks at the formation of the earth, sun, oceans, continents, atmosphere, and water cycle.  It then compares earth's physical history to what is mentioned in Genesis.  Next it asks if there is anything special about the earth and sun, or are they just the result of a random process.  Reconciling earth's history with Genesis can be challenging and is an important topic in evaluating the credibility of the Bible. 

In the last segment, we saw that our universe had a beginning, which points to something beyond our universe that caused it to come into existence.  Does science give us any indication of what made our universe?  Was there a plan behind our universe, or was it just some random event?  Well, it turns out science does show evidence of what made our universe, or at least characteristics of what lies beyond.  

Where did our universe come from?  This episode looks at how the discovery of the red shift in the early 20th century radically changed our view of the universe.  From there it dives into Big Bang cosmology and the philosophical implications of our universe having a beginning.  These new insights from cosmology, provide a fresh look at Genesis chapter one and other Biblical passages on the Universe and the nature of time.   If you have not heard these concepts before, it is a fascinating topic and deals directly with the “Is there a God” question.