Podcast appearances and mentions of jeff zweerink

262 Who's Afraid of the Multiverse? [Part 2] with Dr. Jeff Zweerinkapologetics, apologetics profile, Jeff Zweerink, Daniel Ray, Watchman Fellowship, multiverse, Reasons to Believe, fine-tuning, big bangOur guest again this week, astrophysicist and author at Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org) Dr. Jeff Zweerink, tells us that we have nothing to fear, not even the multiverse! Many atheists and skeptics have tried to employ the multiverse as a means of explaining away God as the cause of the existence of our universe. Come and hear what Jeff has to say this week about how creation not only is not threatened by modern science, but how it ultimately can encourage and strengthen our faith when we learn more about it. By faith we know that the physical universe and everything it contains, both seen and unseen, are all ultimately declaring the glory of God. This week we conclude our discussion about Jeff's 2008 book, Who's Afraid of the Multiverse?Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist and a senior research scholar for Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff's work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff has also made many media appearances, on television, radio, and in print. He earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology.Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast: Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Scientism by Dr. Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Scientism Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Carl Sagan's Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosTV Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Naturalism by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Naturalism Book: The Story of the Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosBook Additional ResourcesFREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook. SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

The telescope technology of our time has revealed wonders in the cosmos our ancestors could only dream about. But have these discoveries in any way undermined the biblical account of creation? Our guest again this week, astrophysicist and author at Reasons to Believe, Dr. Jeff Zweerink tells us that we have nothing to fear, not even the multiverse! Many atheists and skeptics have tried to employ the multiverse as a means of explaining away God as the cause of the existence of our universe. Come and hear what Jeff has to say this week about how creation not only is not threatened by modern science, but how it ultimately can encourage and strengthen our faith when we learn more about it. By faith we know that the physical universe and everything it contains, both seen and unseen, are all ultimately declaring the glory of God.  Jeff's Bio Astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink is a senior research scholar for Reasons to Believe (RTB), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff's work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff has also made many media appearances, on television, radio, and in print. He earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Prior to joining RTB, Jeff spent years working on the STACEE and VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes and was involved in research projects such as the Solar Two project and the Whipple Collaboration. He continues to work as a project scientist at UCLA on GAPS, a balloon experiment seeking to detect dark matter. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology. Jeff's Bio:  https://reasons.org/team/jeff-zweerink BLOG:  https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/author/jeff-zweerink BOOK:  https://support.reasons.org/purchase/whos-afraid-of-the-multiverse Free Resources from Watchman Fellowship Scientism: https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf Naturalism: https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf The Story of the Cosmos: https://www.watchman.org/CosmosBook 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 universe is a fantastically wondrous place. There are more things in heaven and earth than are often dreamt of in our philosophies, to paraphrase Hamlet a little bit. And for the many things we can observe in the physical universe, science sometimes struggles to come up with an explanation as to what is really going on. How much more mysterious are those things which we cannot see? How should Christians think about things that the science of the heavens tells us cannot be seen, such as the idea of the existence of many different universes? That's the question we tackle this week and next on the broadcast with astrophysicist from Reasons to Believe, Dr. Jeff Zweerink. We talk about his 2008 book, Who's Afraid of the Multiverse? So, who is afraid of the multiverse? Come and see! Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist and a senior research scholar for Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff's work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff has also made many media appearances, on television, radio, and in print. He earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology.Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast: Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Scientism by Dr. Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Scientism Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Carl Sagan's Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosTV Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Naturalism by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Naturalism Book: The Story of the Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosBook Additional ResourcesFREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook. SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

The universe is a fantastically wondrous place. There are more things in heaven and earth than are often dreamt of in our philosophies, to paraphrase Hamlet a little bit. And for the many things we can observe in the physical universe, science sometimes struggles to come up with an explanation as to what is really going on. How much more mysterious are those things which we cannot see? How should Christians think about things that the science of the heavens tells us cannot be seen, such as the idea of the existence of many different universes? That's the question we tackle this week and next on the broadcast with astrophysicist from Reasons to Believe Dr. Jeff Zweerink. We talk about his 2008 book Who's Afraid of the Multiverse? Come and see!  LINKS FOR JEFF   BIO:  https://reasons.org/team/jeff-zweerink. BLOG:  https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/author/jeff-zweerink BOOK: https://support.reasons.org/purchase/whos-afraid-of-the-multiverse   Astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink is a senior research scholar for Reasons to Believe (RTB), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff's work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff has also made many media appearances, on television, radio, and in print. He earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside.  Prior to joining RTB, Jeff spent years working on the STACEE and VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes and was involved in research projects such as the Solar Two project and the Whipple Collaboration. He continues to work as a project scientist at UCLA on GAPS, a balloon experiment seeking to detect dark matter. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology.   Free Resources from Watchman Fellowship 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 The Story of the Cosmos:     DISCLAIMER The views expressed by Jeff regarding the multiverse or the big bang or the age of the universe do not imply an endorsement one way or the other by Good Heavens! and Watchman Fellowship, Inc. and its board of directors. We seek to present the best scientific information available to the body of Christ on these topics from Christians who are knowledgeable in their field who hold different perspectives. We have featured guests in the past who hold to both a young-earth and an old-earth view.    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.

Join Jeff Zweerink and Kyle Keltz as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence. Modern scientists often dismiss Aquinas's Five Ways as being outdated, irrelevant, or even invalid. However, when properly understood, the Five Ways show a remarkable similarity to how we think and approach science and they provide profound insight into explaining the universe. In this episode, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink and philosopher Kyle Keltz clear up some misconceptions about the Fifth Way and design arguments while also showing how scientific advances over the last four centuries provide strong support for the premises of the Fifth Way. Links and Resources:  Dr. Kyle Keltz has written two papers on Thomas Aquinas's Five Ways, focusing on the Second Way and Fifth Way. They will be available at reasons.org in early 2025.

Join Jeff Zweerink and Kyle Keltz as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence. Modern scientists often dismiss Aquinas's Five Ways as being outdated, irrelevant, or even invalid. However, when properly understood, the Five Ways show a remarkable similarity to how we think and approach science and they provide profound insight into explaining the universe. In this episode, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink and philosopher Kyle Keltz discuss the philosophical background that led to Aquinas's work—specifically in articulating the Second Way—and explore its relevance in light of scientists' research to develop a quantum theory of gravity.   Links and Resources:  Dr. Kyle Keltz has written two papers on Thomas Aquinas's Five Ways, focusing on the Second Way and Fifth Way. They will be available at reasons.org in early 2025.

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence. Metal-Free Stars Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of 15 astronomers discovered a galaxy (RXJ2129-z8HeII) with a measured redshift that corresponds to a distance of 13.16 billion light-years. This measurement implies that astronomers are seeing it just 630 million years after the big bang creation event. The newly discovered galaxy's features include two unique features: a bright ultraviolet continuum with an extremely steep spectral slope and a strong helium emission line. These newly found features, combined with a discovery made a few months earlier of an ionized gas cloud in the halo of another galaxy that contains only hydrogen and helium, affirms a fundamental prediction of the biblically predicted big bang creation model. That prediction claims that before any stars form the elemental composition of the universe will, by mass, be composed of 75.33% hydrogen, 24.67% helium, and a trace amount of lithium. These discoveries provide yet more evidence that the more we learn about the universe, the more evidence we accumulate that a God beyond space and time created the universe and exquisitely designed it so that humans could live and thrive.  Links and Resources:  A Strong He II ƛ640 Emitter with Extremely Blue UV Spectral Slope at z = 8.16: Presence of Pop III Stars? Possible Population III Signatures at z = 10.6 in the Halo of GN-z11

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence. Himalayan Snow Warming Three physicists used data collected from 165 stations in the Himalayan-Tibetan region and a regional climate model to determine the effect of black carbon aerosols (BCAs) on the climate of South Asia. Their analysis revealed warming at high elevations due to BCAs. Such atmospheric heating reduces the global mean precipitation, which impacts the summer monsoons in South Asia. Thus, all of South Asia is facing a climate change crisis with both dire economic and health consequences. In this episode, astrophysicist Hugh Ross explains that replacing coal and biofuels with natural gas as an energy source is the quickest and most economical solution to South Asia's climate crisis.   Stabilizing Continents Continents play a critical role in Earth's capacity to support a thriving and diverse array of life. Scientific studies show that some present-day continents formed at least 3 billion years ago. Those studies have assumed that the same process responsible for how our continents look today also ensured their stability. However, a recent paper highlights some important processes needed for large pieces of continents to stick around for billions of years. In this episode, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink discusses how those processes reveal more fine-tuning of Earth to support life. Links & Resources: Elevation-Dependence of Warming Due to Aerosol-Induced Snow Darkening over the Himalayan-Tibetan Region Climate-Relevant Properties of Black Carbon Aerosols Revealed by In Situ Measurements: A Review Subaerial Weathering Drove Stabilization of Continents

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence. Smart Dams More than 58,000 dams that are built higher than 15 meters (50 feet) exist on nearly all the world's rivers. Consequently, migratory fish stocks have declined by 76% since 1970 and populations of “megafish” have declined by 94%. Two water resource engineers combined fish migratory taxonomy data with migratory fish life cycle and dam impact models to determine the best fish rescue strategies for five flagship fish species residing in the 12 large dams on the Yangtze River in China. They identified six major misjudgments in China's fish rescue programs and concluded that large, effective fishways are essential for maintaining robust fish stocks. Malicious AIs The quest for more powerful and capable AIs inevitably involves making more sophisticated training algorithms and models with a larger number of parameters. While pursuing this quest, AI developers are also investigating how to align AIs with the values and behaviors we want. Recent research demonstrated that those two goals currently stand in opposition to one another. Specifically, making larger, more sophisticated models results in AIs that effectively resist training to eliminate malicious behavior—regardless of whether the malicious behavior was intentionally programmed or an unintended consequence. Such results provide additional evidence that we humans need to build godly character in ourselves so that we can wisely and responsibly develop and use these powerful AI tools. Links & Resources: Dams Trigger Exponential Population Declines of Migratory Fish  The Evaluation of a Definite Integral by the Method of Brackets Illustrating Its Flexibility  

In the third episode of our "Reasons to Believe" series, we have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Jeff Zweerink, a senior research scholar at Reasons to Believe and a project scientist at UCLA. With a PhD in astrophysics, Jeff has dedicated his career to exploring the fascinating connections between the truths of Scripture and scientific evidence. Jeff is an accomplished author, whose writings and talks are aimed at encouraging people to delve into the intersection of faith and science. During our conversation, Jeff shares what it's like to be an astrophysicist and project scientist, offering a glimpse into his daily work and the exciting challenges of his field. We discuss his passion for teaching about the connection between Scripture and scientific evidence, and he walks us through his personal journey to faith. Jeff is known for tackling tough "What if...?" questions, even engaging with atheists in fair and fearless dialogue. We explore some of the most common and challenging questions he encounters, and he offers insight into how to approach these critical discussions for those who are seeking but struggling with their faith. For the skeptics, cynics, or those who feel "too smart" to believe in God, Jeff shares powerful starting points for conversation where faith and science meet in ways that are accessible and compelling. Join us for an enlightening and thought-provoking discussion as Dr. Jeff Zweerink helps us navigate the rich dialogue between faith and science, showing how each can illuminate the other.GUEST: Dr. Jeff Zweerink Reasons To Believe Website & Resources HERE HOST: @LeanneEllington To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana, Hugh Ross, and Jeff Zweerink for a conversation celebrating the 100th episode of Stars, Cells, and God. They answer questions submitted by our dedicated listeners and dive deeper into topics where science and faith intersect.   For 100 episodes, this podcast has served as a space for deep conversation with leaders in the science-faith arena to explore how the latest scientific discoveries provide evidence for God's existence, the reliability of Scripture, and the credibility of the Christian worldview. We're honored to have our listeners participate in this episode by posing great questions on YouTube to our three scholars.   We look forward to the next 100episodes with you!      Timestamps: 7:32 –  Question from @EmaManfred on AI image generators replacing artists You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhe5OxN6k3s   22:16 – Question from @whyaskwhybuddry on plants on Earth before the Sun, insects, and birds You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jA0XVjNSZw   28:58 – Question from @SamytheGreek on humans having Neanderthal DNA You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXUmCr_Ct1E   41:14 – Question from @johnbaker2755 on animals learning tactical capabilities You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxyACrh2sUU   50:15 – Question from @pierreabbat6157 on vitamins in lab-grown meat You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gu3WtT3vAU  

Eyes have been on the sky this season as we've been witness to the total solar eclipse, the Aurora Borealis, and solar storms. What do these solar events reveal to us? How do we respond, as Christians, to these signs in the sky? Astrophysicist Dr. Jeff Zweerink will explore how to approach these wonders and challenges and not succumb to fear but a strengthened faith and assurance of God's guidance and protection.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Biological Basis for Belief? As human beings, our religious nature defines us. Treating it as a scientific question, many scientists wonder, how do we account for human spirituality and religiosity? Are there brain structures and processes that explain this behavior? Using lesion mapping, a research team from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital recently determined the brain regions and neural circuits that account for religiosity and spirituality.   This study (amongst others) raises troubling questions for Christians.   Is our spirituality and response to religion based on our brain's biology? Is there a materialistic, mechanistic explanation for religious acceptance? Do people really experience God?   In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana addresses these questions and presents a model that accommodates these scientific findings, while retaining a biblical view of human nature.   Woke at the University During the 2023–2024 academic year, Rice University offered a course called “Afrochemistry” that claimed to “apply chemical tools and analysis to understand Black life in the US.” From January 16 to May 16, 2024, AcademicJobsOnline.org advertised a job for the University of Victoria's physics and astronomy department that was only open to an indigenous person. Both examples show how a worldview subversive to the scientific enterprise is spreading into the scientific community. This view of contemporary critical theory sees the world in terms of oppressors and oppressed. In contrast, the Judeo-Christian worldview sees all people as valuable and worthy of God's and our love. Additionally, the Judeo-Christian worldview buttresses and supports the foundation needed for the scientific enterprise to flourish.   YOUTUBE LINKS:   Michael A. Ferguson et al., “A Neural Circuit for Spirituality and Religiosity Derived from Patients with Brain Lesions,” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34454698/   Additional Resources   Fazale Rana, “Is There a Biological Basis for Belief?,” https://reasons.org/explore/publications/articles/is-there-a-biological-basis-for-belief   Fazale Rana, “Is There a Biological Basis for Belief? A Follow Up,” https://reasons.org/explore/publications/articles/is-there-a-biological-basis-for-belief-a-follow-up   Fazale Rana, “Does Oxytocin Cause Spiritual Experiences?,” https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/the-cells-design/does-oxytocin-cause-spiritual-experiences   PODCAST LINKS:   University of Victoria, Department of Physics and Astronomy New ‘Afrochemistry' Course Widely Panned as Identity Politics Dumbing Down Hard Sciences   YOUTUBE LINKS:   AcademicJobsOnline, “University of Victoria, Department of Physics and Astronomy,” posted January 16, 2024, https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/27010   Jennifer Kabbany, “New ‘Afrochemistry' Course Widely Panned as Identity Politics Dumbing Down Hard Sciences,” https://www.thecollegefix.com/new-afrochemistry-course-widely-panned-as-identity-politics-dumbing-down-hard-sciences/

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Before the First Stars A team of astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) “to boldly go where no man has gone before”: to observe and measure the composition of gas clouds before any stars formed. The JWST's primary mission is to explore the cosmic dawn—the first billion years of cosmic history. Astronomers took a high-resolution spectrum of a giant gas cloud in the halo of GN-z11, a bright galaxy 13.38 billion light-years away, corresponding to only 410 million years after the big bang creation event. The only elements found in the gas cloud's spectrum were hydrogen and helium. This is the first time astronomers detected an object in the universe where no elements heavier than helium exist. This discovery affirms a major prediction of the biblically predicted big bang creation model: that before stars formed, the elemental composition of the universe, by mass, will be 75.33% hydrogen, 24.67% helium, and a trace amount of lithium. The level of ionization in the gas cloud revealed that the stars in GN-z11's core must all be in the range of 50–1,000 times the Sun's mass. This mass range explains why astronomers observe many bright galaxies and several supermassive black holes in the cosmic dawn. All these discoveries provide yet more evidence that the more we learn about the universe, the more evidence we accumulate that a God beyond space and time created and exquisitely designed the universe so that at the just-right time and location, humans could live and thrive.  The Universe: 28 GYr Old?   Recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) found galaxies that, given their age, appeared far larger and more complex than expected. In more lay-level arenas, this discovery was used to cast doubt on the standard big bang cosmological model. However, this discovery generated quite a bit of excitement in the scientific community because it revealed a fun problem to investigate. Consequently, astronomers have invested much effort trying to understand how to explain these large, complex galaxies. An author of a recent paper attempts to understand these galaxies by modifying how light propagates through the universe and by having some fundamental constants change over time. A careful analysis of this latter approach shows how standard big bang cosmology (with dark energy and dark matter) can give a robust explanation of the universe—and provide evidence for the God of the Bible.     References: PODCAST LINKS: JADES NIRSpec Spectroscopy of GN-z11: Lyman-a Emission and Possible Enhanced Nitrogen Abundance in a z = 10.60 Luminous Galaxy   JWST-JADES. Possible Population III Signatures at z = 10.6 in the Halo of GN-z11   YOUTUBE LINKS: Andrew J. Bunker et al., “JADES NIRSpec Spectroscopy of GN-z11: Lyman-a Emission and Possible Enhanced Nitrogen Abundance in a z = 10.60 Luminous Galaxy,” https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346159 Roberto Maiolino et al., “JWST-JADES. Possible Population III Signatures at z = 10.6 in the Halo of GN-z11,” https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2306.00953   References:  PODCAST LINK: Testing CCC + TL Cosmology with Observed Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Features   YOUTUBE LINK: Rajendra P. Gupta, “Testing CCC + TL Cosmology with Observed Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Features,” https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1bc6

*Unfortunately we encountered audio problems at the time this episode was recorded* Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Xenotransplant Success Worldwide, millions of people need organ transplants and many die while waiting. It is impossible to scale up human organ donation rates to meet the demand. However, recent success in xenotransplantation may solve the shortfall. Surgical transplants of pig hearts, livers, and kidneys all show promise of (at least temporary) function and no signs of organ rejection. Xenotransplantation provides yet more evidence that God designed the higher animals to enhance human health and well-being.       References:   PODCAST LINKS:   First Pig Kidney Transplant in a Person: What It Means for the Future First Pig Liver Transplanted into a Person Lasts for 10 Days First Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant: What Can Scientists Learn? Monkey Survives for Two Years after Gene-Edited Pig-Kidney Transplant   YOUTUBE LINKS:   Smriti Mallapaty and Max Kozlov, “First Pig Kidney Transplant in a Person: What It Means for the Future,” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00879-y Smriti Mallapaty, “First Pig Liver Transplanted into a Person Lasts for 10 Days,” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00853-8   Sara Reardon, “First Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant: What Can Scientists Learn?,” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00111-9 Max Kozlov, “Monkey Survives for Two Years after Gene-Edited Pig-Kidney Transplant,” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03176-2         “Big Ring” of Galaxies Found Astronomers recently announced the discovery of a “Big Ring” of galaxy clusters. According to calculations based on scientists' best understanding of the universe, the size of this ring exceeds the largest size structure that could possibly form, and it joins a class of about 10 structures that are “too big.” While some people might take this find as evidence that our current understanding of the universe (size, age, composition, etc.) is wrong, the discovery highlights how well we comprehend the universe and provides insight that will direct us into a deeper understanding. It also affirms the biblical prediction that we live in an orderly, reliable, and understandable creation.   References:   PODCAST LINKS:   An Impossibly Huge Ring of Galaxies Might Lead Us to New Physics. Here's How Giant Ring? Giant Arc? These “Structures” May Not Even Be Real   YOUTUBE LINKS:   Keith Cooper, “An Impossibly Huge Ring of Galaxies Might Lead Us to New Physics. Here's How,” https://www.space.com/big-ring-galactic-superstructure-celestial-anomaly   Ethan Siegel, “Giant Ring? Giant Arc? These “Structures” May Not Even Be Real,” https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/giant-ring-arc-structures-not-real/  

Is it possible to prove that God is real through science?  The biggest argument against Christianity is that there is no empirical evidence to support God's existence.  Today's conversation will explain the existence of God through astrophysics.  Dr. Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist, published author, senior research scholar, and project scientist at UCLA.  Jeff earned a PhD in astrophysics from Iowa State University and worked as a research physicist for 16 years before working for 7 years as a project scientist at UCLA.  Expect to learn about the great contribution of Christian scientists in the scientific enterprise, why science is no enemy to Christianity, the dynamic nature of known realities, the truth behind time travel, why the universe can prove God's existence, and much more.  Welcome to Discover More. Let's get this started!  Let's get this started. * Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/discovermore Show Notes Jeff's Website: HERE Jeff's Books: HERE Jeff's LinkedIn: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE * Subscribe to Youtube: HERE Discover More Website: HERE More short-form on Instagram: HERE * Discover More is a top social sciences podcast for independent thinkers with mental health as a through-line. Looking for deep thinking? Let's get this started * Listen to all full-length episodes on audio: Apple Podcasts: HERE Spotify: HERE * Thank you for Discovering More with us!

Episode Description: Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   ERVs and Embryo Development For many people, the shared ERV (endogenous retrovirus) sequences in the human and great ape genomes evince common ancestry and an evolutionary origin for humanity. Yet, new discoveries about the physiological role of ERVs suggest another interpretation for why they appear in the human genome. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses the latest insight into ERV molecular biology and explores the question, “Can a creation model explain the occurrence of ERV sequences in the human genome?” References:   PODCAST LINK:   Endogenous Retroviruses Shape Pluripotency Specification in Mouse Embryos   Additional Resource: Insights about Suppressyn Support Creation Model View of ERVs     YOUTUBE LINK:   Sergio de la Rosa et al., “Endogenous Retroviruses Shape Pluripotency Specification in Mouse Embryos,” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk9394   Fazale Rana, “Insights about Suppressyn Support Creation Model View of ERVs,” https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/the-cells-design/insights-about-suppressyn-support-creation-model-view-of-ervs     Just the Right Amount of Water Most people know that life depends on Earth's oceans, but the continents play an equally critical role in Earth's capacity to support life. However, a planet's ability to have land relies on having just the right amount of water. Too little and there are no oceans at all but too much and the continents never rise above the ocean's surface. One factor that influences the amount of surface water is the planet's capacity to store water in its interior. Recent studies indicate that the ancient earth could store much less water than today. Therefore, doubling the amount of water on Earth would have prevented the formation of continents that rise above the oceans and stymied Earth's capacity to support life.   References:   PODCAST LINK:   Constraining the Volume of Earth's Early Oceans with a Temperature-Dependent Mantle Water Storage Capacity Model   YOUTUBE LINK:   Junjie Dong et al., “Constraining the Volume of Earth's Early Oceans with a Temperature-Dependent Mantle Water Storage Capacity Model,” https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000323

Join Jeff Zweerink and Josh Swamidass as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   AI Abilities Emerging or Not? One concern regarding the development of artificial intelligence (AI) relates to the emergence of unpredictable features that arise as the systems grow in scale. Researchers consider an “emergent ability” as something that the AI has routinely failed to accomplish but suddenly performs well as the system grows in size (either from hardware or software growth). A number of papers claiming emergent abilities populate scientific literature. However, a recent study shows that these “emergent” abilities often reflect poorly designed measurement metrics or insufficient statistics. Better metrics and statistics remove the indicators of emergence. In this episode, computational biologist and physician Josh Swamidass and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink discuss the details surrounding this issue and offer some insights from a Christian perspective.     PODCAST LINK:   Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?   YOUTUBE LINK:   Rylan Schaeffer, Brando Miranda, and Sanmi Koyejo, “Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?,” https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.15004

What is the significance of the upcoming solar eclipse? Is there a faith connection to this occurrence? How rare is it to observe a complete solar eclipse? Astrophysicist Dr. Jeff Zweekrink from Reasons to Believe will answer questions on this upcoming solar event on Friday's program. Jeff will give us both a scientific and faith perspective in this timely conversation, preparing us for Monday's eclipse!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   CRISPR Update In December of 2023, the FDA approved two revolutionary new treatments for the blood disorders sickle cell anemia and ß-thalassemia, both based on gene-editing technology. This approval represents an important milestone for gene therapy and the treatment of thousands of genetic disorders. It also serves as a stepping stone for human enhancements and adds to the legitimacy of transhumanism.   In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana describes these new gene therapies and discusses the ethical issues connected to them. He also offers a Christian response to the prospects of human enhancements and transhumanism.   Two Noteworthy AI Finds As the field of artificial intelligence (AI) advances, research continues to show both the promise and peril of using AI. For example, most AIs work well within a single domain (e.g., classifying signs, responding to language, playing a game). Recent work in game play resulted in an AI capable of mastering multiple games that in the past required different approaches. However, the AI (called Student of Games) mastered multiple different games using a single algorithm. This development represents a significant step (the promise) on the journey to make an artificial general intelligence. Yet, other research demonstrates that a wide variety of AIs are highly vulnerable to malicious attacks. Specifically, the algorithms AIs use to recognize images are easily exploited and manipulated (the peril).  In this episode, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink explains the breakthrough and why a Christian perspective is needed when considering such advances.       PODCAST LINKS:   FDA Approves First CRISPR Editing Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease   Sickle Cell CRISPR ‘Cure' Is the Start of a Revolution in Medicine   Additional Resources: Fazale Rana, Humans 2.0   PODCAST LINKS:   Student of Games: A Unified Learning Algorithm for Both Perfect and Imperfect Information Games   AI Networks Are More Vulnerable to Malicious Attacks Than Previously Thought   QuadAttack: A Quadratic Programming Approach to Ordered Top-K Attacks  

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Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence. Crust Thickness and Life A team of five geophysicists demonstrated that the level of oxides in basalt primary melts are a good proxy for the thickness of Earth's crust. They then supervised a machine-learning algorithm to analyze global geodatabases (e.g., EarthChem and GEOROC) of basalts to determine the variation of the thickness of Earth's crust spanning the past 3.8 billion years. Their analysis revealed five features of Earth's crust that led to supercontinent cycles and plate tectonics that are highly fine-tuned for complex life on Earth. Antimatter Feels Gravity When Einstein first published his general theory of relativity, scientists did not even know about antimatter—which was discovered almost 15 years later. Since then, scientists have speculated about how antimatter behaves in gravitational fields. Most think that it behaves just like normal matter. However, gravity's weakness compared to electromagnetic forces has prevented any direct test to see if antimatter falls like normal matter. Recently, the ALPHA collaboration was able to isolate enough atoms of antihydrogen (antimatter counterpart of hydrogen) to demonstrate that the atoms behave like normal hydrogen atoms in a gravitational field. This result demonstrates two things. First, it provides even more evidence for the constancy of the laws of physics. Second, it shows that scientists are willing, able, and driven to test fundamental parts of theories rather than simply accept them without data. LINKS & RESOURCES - PLAYLIST – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUwTeBAi_JFG-J6mqU3em0LV7pFUiq9wp&si=uiWkZdNWit1syzgn Crust Thickness and Life Zhen-Jie Zhang et al., “Lithospheric Thickness Records Tectonic Evolution by Controlling Metamorphic Conditions,” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi2134 Meng Guo and Jun Korenaga, “Argon Constraints on the Early Growth of Felsic Continental Crust,” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaz6234 Antimatter Feels Gravity E. K. Anderson et al., “Observation of the Effect of Gravity on the Motion of Antimatter,” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06527-1

Join Fazale Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Origin of Composite Genes A team of investigators from the University of Nottingham in the UK has demonstrated that composite genes make up about 5 percent of the gene groups in animal genomes. When viewed from an evolutionary framework, these composite genes don't appear to have accrued gradually in animal genomes but instead arose in bursts at times that correlate with evolutionary innovation. As it turns out, about 40 percent of composite genes appear to have had multiple independent evolutionary origins.   In this episode, biochemist Fazale Rana discusses this remarkable study and explores what this new insight means for evolutionary and creation models.   RESOURCES:  Bursts of Novel Composite Gene Families at Major Nodes in Animal Evolution Additional Resource: Fazale Rana, What If . . . ? Convergence Strengthens the Case for Creation?     Infinities and Absurdities The topic of infinity fascinates people and provides for interesting discussions regarding the nature of creation. Often, when discussing infinity, one will hear the claim that actual infinities don't exist because they lead to absurdities. In this episode, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink provides some background to this assertion and then makes a counter claim that we could apply the same logic to the notion of zero. However, since few rational people would argue that actual zeroes don't exist, Jeff contends that we cannot use some popular arguments about infinities to claim that actual infinities don't exist.   RESOURCES:  Infinity

Join Fazale Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Free Will: An Illusion? The prominent neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky has created a stir with the recent publication of his book Determined. Based on a wide range of findings from neuroscience and genetics, Sapolsky argues that free will is an illusion. All of our decisions are predetermined by influences beyond our control.   In this episode, biochemist Fazale Rana discusses the radical and far-ranging implications of Sapolsky's dangerous idea, before presenting the scientific evidence, demonstrating that free will really exists.    Rana concludes by offering a model for free will based on the Christian worldview.   References: Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Cosmic Explosion Risk Astronomers have discovered yet another risk to advanced life in the universe—extremely luminous, fast-cooling transients. The most likely explanation for this newly discovered cosmic exploder is a tidal encounter between a star and a stellar-mass black hole or a star and an intermediate-mass black hole. It will take further observations to determine the precise risk of these events to advanced life in the universe. Initially, however, it appears that Earth resides in a galaxy, galaxy group, and galaxy cluster where such events should either be nonexistent or extremely rare.   RESOURCES: AT 2022aedm and a New Class of Luminous, Fast-Cooling Transients in Elliptical Galaxies   Dust Drives Dinosaur Demise Overwhelming evidence points to dramatic extinction events in Earth's history where most of the life died out. One of the most well-known extinction events occurred 66 million years ago (the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods) and marked the end of the non-avian dinosaurs on Earth. Although the evidence pointing to the extinction is strong, scientists still seek to understand what caused the mass death. New evidence points to a specific size of dust particle that caused photosynthesis to shut down for almost two years after the impact of a miles-wide asteroid hitting Earth. This new research provides insight into Earth's history as well as the processes God used to prepare Earth for humanity.   RESOURCES: The Dust That May Have Killed the Dinosaurs Chicxulub Impact Winter Sustained by Fine Silicate Dust

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss ground-breaking scientific discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including for the evidence of God's existence.   Pig Organs in Humans Recently, research teams from NYU Langone Health, the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and the University of Maryland independently achieved milestones by transplanting kidneys and hearts from genetically engineered pigs into brain-dead patients and terminally ill patients otherwise ineligible for transplants.  Xenotransplantation holds the promise to ease the demand for organ transplants but raises a host of ethical questions.  In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses the technical challenges that xenotransplantation must overcome before it can move into the clinical setting. He also describes some of the ethical challenges associated with xenotransplants.  Once these challenges are overcome, the questions remain: What should the Christian perspective be on xenotransplantation? Should we “play God”?   References: Results of Two Cases of Pig-to-Human Kidney Xenotransplantation First Clinical-Grade Porcine Kidney Xenotransplant Using a Human Decedent Model Developing Pig-to-Human Organ Transplants Additional Resources: Pig Organs May One Day Save Human Lives by Fazale Rana (article) Advance Holds Potential to Resolve Cloning's Ethical Challenges by Fazale Rana (article) A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 1 by Fazale Rana (article) A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 2 by Fazale Rana (article)   Will AI Do Science? Researchers currently utilize AI (artificial intelligence) to diagnose early-stage Alzheimer's, analyze vast databases to discover protein-folding classes (and new protein folds), and determine whether a sample is biotic or abiotic in origin. The AI in the last example also differentiated between recent biotic and fossilized biotic samples. As AI development progresses, one wonders whether it will be able to do science rather than just assist scientists. Fuz and Jeff explore this question in light of recent advances.     References: Can the AI Driving ChatGPT Help to Detect Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease? Artificial Intelligence Tools Shed Light on Millions of Proteins Did Life Exist on Mars? Other Planets? With AI's Help, We May Know Soon

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   JWST Galaxies Explained The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed that early galaxies have much brighter ultraviolet luminosities than many big bang creation models predicted. Do such data challenge the creation view? Further research suggests not. Using a computer simulation, astronomers have found that the standard big bang creation models can still accommodate the new data from JWST. Their conclusions remain consistent with the findings reported in the Stars, Cells, and God episode #79 on the “Source of Heavy Elements”, aired on November 29, 2023.   RESOURCES: Bursty Star Formation Naturally Explains the Abundance of Bright Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn Dilution of Chemical Enrichment in Galaxies 600 Myr after the Big Bang   AI Sees Differently than Us As AIs (artificial intelligence) mimic more and more human behavior, the question continues to arise of whether AI is truly intelligent or not. One way to assess the data is to understand whether the AI does things differently than a human. In the arena of image and audio recognition, AIs have advanced tremendously, but there are some noticeable discrepancies between AI and human categorization. Research into one type of discrepancy shows that humans and AIs really do see the world differently—and those differences highlight important defining features of humanity.   RESOURCES: Model Metamers Reveal Divergent Invariances between Biological and Artificial Neural Networks  

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Too Many Early Galaxies The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed about ten times as many galaxies within the cosmos's first 420 million years as what some big bang creation models predict. Astronomers are searching for an explanation for this overabundance of early galaxies. Possible scenarios include a high number of supernova events during the universe's first 420 million years. Different big bang models predict different average star masses and different star formation rates during the universe's first half billion years. It will take at least another year of JWST observations to determine which of these big bang creation models correctly describes very early and later epochs of cosmic history.       Resources: Pointlike Sources among z > 11 Galaxy Candidates: Contaminants Due to Supernovae at High Redshifts?   AI Easily Fooled Powerful large language models (like ChatGPT) have demonstrated remarkable abilities to provide solutions to problems that require complex reasoning. Yet researchers want to discern the level of understanding by the AIs (artificial intelligence), just as a teacher wants to know how well a student comprehends a correct answer they provided. A recent study shows that despite generating good answers, AIs have very little understanding of the issues involved. Specifically, when confronted with challenges that involved absurdly wrong facts (like 8 x 7 = 14), the AIs will disavow the previous answer and apologize for being mistaken. This research demonstrates that, while AIs accomplish impressive tasks, they do not demonstrate some essential features of “intelligence.”   Resources: Can ChatGPT Defend Its Belief in Truth? Evaluating LLM Reasoning via Debate

Join astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink and special guest Christian apologist and lawyer Abdu Murray (president and founder of Embrace the Truth Ministry) as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Musings on AI Artificial intelligence (AI) has already penetrated many areas of our daily life. While AI can bring some benefits, we often don't understand the long-term effects of AI use. In this episode, Jeff Zweerink and Abdu Murray explore some of the consequences that might ensue as we utilize AI in the legal profession. Of particular interest is the way AI will impact our relationships, not just in legal matters, but in everyday life as well.   References: Can the AI Driving ChatGPT Help to Detect Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease? Did Life Exist on Mars? Other Planets? With AI's Help, We May Know Soon

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Life on K2-18b? Two months ago the Internet blew up with articles and blogs announcing that astronomers had discovered molecules in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b that only living organisms can produce. Those biosignature molecules were dimethyl sulfide and chloromethane. While there is no doubt that methane was detected in K2-18b's atmosphere and carbon dioxide likely detected, the detections of dimethyl sulfide and chloromethane were marginal at best. Furthermore, astronomers have detected chloromethane in a comet and an interstellar cloud where it is well established that life and life chemistry is impossible, and they found abiotic pathways for the production of dimethyl sulfide. The Internet articles overlooked the physical characteristics of K2-18b and its host star that categorically rule out any possibility of physical life on the planet.   References: Carbon-Bearing Molecules in a Possible Hycean Atmosphere   Structure and Dynamics of Cold Water Super-Earths: The Case of Occluded CH4 and Its Outgassing   Galaxy Formation Models The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided numerous images and results that challenge our current models of galaxy formation. Some astronomers have even used this discrepancy to argue against big bang cosmology. A recent paper provides strong evidence for the formation of spiral-type galaxies forming within the first billion years of the universe (where most models predict much longer formation times). We discuss the importance of this data and the implications for how galaxy formation models will change—particularly becoming more complex. Additionally, we expect that this complexity will reveal even more evidence for design in the universe than is now known.   Reference: The JWST Hubble Sequence: The Rest-Frame Optical Evolution of Galaxy Structure at 1.5

Jeff Zweerink discusses the need for Christians to guide the development of AI

Using the Latest Scientific Challenge for Evangelism is a talk given by Dr. Jeff Zweerink on November 4, 2023 as part of New Life Presbyterian Church's Apologetics Conference.

Christianity and Science: Allies or Enemies is a talk given by Dr. Jeff Zweerink on November 3, 2023 as part of New Life Presbyterian Church's Apologetics Conference.

Science and religion are often pitted against each other with many people believing faith is incompatible with science. But is it? Astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink PhD, Senior Research Scholar at Reasons To Believe believes the opposite. Jeff — whose publications include Who is Afraid of The Multiverse? —argues that scientific discoveries as well as theoretical notions like a meta verse actually offer evidence to back up his Christian faith. In this episode, we discuss the interface of God and Science. Guest: Jeff Zweerink Music and Sound Effects: Pixabay Resources: Reasons.org

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Sun's Birth Cluster The quantity of aluminum-26 in primitive meteorites indicates that a nearby core-collapse supernova event occurred during the first 100,000 years of the solar system's existence. For this to be possible, the solar system's birth cluster must have contained 2,000–20,000 stars. Additionally, the solar system must have formed in a huge, dense molecular cloud where multiple filaments join to form hubs (the only possible sites where stars with enough mass to become core-collapse supernovae can form) and where dense single filaments stream out from the hubs. Only if the solar system forms in a dense single filament at the just-right distance from a hub will it be enriched with the measured quantity of aluminum-26 without having its system of planets being so disrupted as to rule out the possibility of life. Furthermore, for advanced life to be possible in the solar system, the solar system must be ejected from its birth cluster at the just-right time to a location just inside the Milky Way Galaxy's co-rotation distance.   References: Insights on the Sun Birth Environment in the Context of Star Cluster Formation in Hub-Filament Systems Number of Stars in the Sun's Birth Cluster Revisited   More Gravitational Waves Recently, four different collaborations announced the potential detection of gravitational waves from monitoring the timing of pulsars. If confirmed, this would be the second type of gravitational wave detected, the first being the few-km-long wave found by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and similar instruments. These new waves have wavelengths closer to the distances between stars and most likely originate from mergers of supermassive black holes. We will discuss the detection techniques for these new waves as well as the apologetic implications.   References: Giant Gravitational Waves: Why Scientists Are So Excited Monster Gravitational Waves Spotted for First Time

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Earliest Rope Making When did humans first begin deploying fiber technology?   This question is important because fiber technology makes composite technology possible, such as textiles, ropes, baskets, nets, weapons, housing, and boats. It also reflects the capacity for advanced cognition.   An international team from the Philippines, France, and Germany recently published evidence that humans in the Philippines possessed fiber technology around 40,000 years ago. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses the scientific and theological implications of this discovery.   What does this advance mean for RTB's creation model for human origins and the scientific case for the image of God?   Rana will also discuss the ramifications of this discovery for recent claims that Neanderthals invented fiber technology.   References: The Invisible Plant Technology of Prehistoric Southeast Asia: Indirect Evidence for Basket and Rope Making at Tabon Cave, Philippines, 39–33,000 Years Ago Direct Evidence of Neanderthal Fibre Technology and Its Cognitive and Behavioral Implications Additional Resource: Did Neanderthals Invent String?   Gullies on Mars Observations of Mars reveal formations that strongly point to the presence of liquid water. While astronomers know that Mars had liquid water in the distant past, these features occasionally make the news cycle as indicating the presence of liquid water more recently. A new study of Martian gullies shows that the water needed for formation indicates a highly disruptive environment for life. These results further highlight Earth's remarkable ability to host life.   References: Gullies on Mars Could Have Formed by Melting of Water Ice during Periods of High Obliquity

On part two of our conversation with astrophysicist and author Dr. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe (Reasons.org), we discuss his book, Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men. and 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!Dr. Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist, founder and senior scholar of Reasons to Believe (reasons.org), 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.Related Links: Free links to some of our free, 4-page Watchman Fellowship Profiles on religious cults based in part on alleged alien contact: Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Chen Tao by Jason Barker: watchman.org/ChenTao Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Heaven's Gate by Bob Waldrep: watchman.org/HeavensGate Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Order of the Solar Temple by Marty Butz: watchman.org/SolarTemple Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Raelian Religion by Marty Butz: watchman.org/Raelian Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Urania Book by Jason Barker: watchman.org/Urantia Additional ResourcesFREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook. SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Hominin Burials? Were modern humans the first to bury their dead deliberately and ritualistically? Or did hominins that preceded them in life's history also deliberately inter their dead? These questions bear on the concept of human exceptionalism and, for Christians, the scientific case for the image of God in modern humans.   In this episode, biochemist and Christian apologist Fuz Rana discusses recent work by a research team of collaborators from the US, Spain, Italy, and South Africa that relies on the use of machine learning algorithms to analyze hominin burials.   What did they discover? How do their insights impact the case for human exceptionalism?   REFERENCES: Hominin Skeletal Part Abundances and Claims of Deliberate Disposal of Corpses in the Middle Pleistocene   Additional Resources: Rabbit Burrowing Churns Claims about Neanderthal Burials Does Homo naledi Undermine the Case for Human Exceptionalism?   Viscous Fine-Tuning For decades, physicists have recognized that the fundamental constants of our universe (speed of light, fine structure constant, proton-to-electron mass ratio, etc.) appear finely tuned to make the environment suitable for life to exist. Typically, that fine-tuning has arisen in the context of making atomic nuclei or stars or planets. A recent paper shows how the fine-tuning of the fundamental constants applies even to the life-essential processes at work inside the cell.   REFERENCES: Constraints on Fundamental Physical Constants from Bio-Friendly Viscosity and Diffusion

Join astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink and philosopher Brian Huffling as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Local vs. Real In our macroscopic world, things behave in a “classical” way that seems obvious to us. A ball has a definite position and speed at any given time. Additionally, it exists whether anyone sees it or not, and the only things that influence the ball's motion are close enough to not violate the light travel time. However, when we delve into quantum mechanics, these obvious truths no longer apply, which leads to an important question: What is the true nature of our physical world? We will discuss one recent paper that provides some insight into this question.   References: A Strict Experimental Test of Macroscopic Realism in a Superconducting Flux Qubit   God and Abstract Things Does red exist? What does it mean to be circular? Is murder wrong? Many people see these questions as obvious, but the questions deal with abstract concepts that philosophers have discussed for ages. Although most people think that there's an objective nature to these concepts, grounding that objectivity is not a trivial task. Even from a Christian standpoint, how we ground the idea that murder is wrong can lead to troubling implications—if done incorrectly. We'll discuss how these abstract concepts relate to God and how to use them to point to God. References: God and Other Necessary Beings

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 these episodes.Dr. Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist and research scholar for Reasons to Believe (RTB), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff's work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology. Jeff and his wife, Lisa, live in Southern California and have five children. Source: https://reasons.org/team/jeff-zweerink.Related Links: Free links to some of our free, 4-page Watchman Fellowship Profiles on religious cults based in part on alleged alien contact: Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Chen Tao by Jason Barker: watchman.org/ChenTao Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Heaven's Gate by Bob Waldrep: watchman.org/HeavensGate Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Raelian Religion by Marty Butz: watchman.org/Raelian Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Order of the Solar Temple by Marty Butz: watchman.org/SolarTemple Additional ResourcesFREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook. SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Neanderthal Engravings An international team of collaborators recently discovered “engravings” on the walls of the La Roche-Cotard cave system (in the Loire Valley of central France) that date to be older than 57,000 years. These engravings appear to reflect the intentional activities of Neanderthals, suggesting that these hominins displayed the capacity for symbolic expression—just like modern humans. This discovery raises several questions:   Can we no longer consider modern humans as truly exceptional? Were Neanderthals just like us? How do we make sense of this discovery from a Christian perspective? Is there any scientific evidence for the image of God?   In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses this important discovery and addresses these questions and more.   Resources: The Earliest Unambiguous Neanderthal Engravings on Cave Walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France   Additional Resources: Further Review Overturns Neanderthal Art Claim Did Neanderthals Have the Brains to Make Art? Timing of Neanderthals' Disappearance Makes Art Claims Unlikely Do Neanderthal Cave Structures Challenge Human Exceptionalism?   Capturing CO2 With the growing concern over global climate change, scientists are thinking deeply about how to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Many of these ideas focus on reducing the amount of CO2 produced, but they also address ways to remove CO2 and store it.   In this episode, we discuss some of the removal techniques while considering the technical and philosophical hurdles researchers face.   Resources: Carbon Dioxide Removal Is Suddenly Obtaining Credibility and Support

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. Find out from an expert cosmologist who has asked this question himself. Dr. Jeff Zweerink of Reasons to Believe joins us to We talk with us about his book Is There Life Out There? His answer may surprise you. Dr. Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist and research scholar for Reasons to Believe (RTB), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff's work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology. Jeff and his wife, Lisa, live in Southern California and have five children. Source: https://reasons.org/team/jeff-zweerink.Related Links: Free links to some of our free, 4-page Watchman Fellowship Profiles on religious cults based in part on alleged alien contact: Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Chen Tao by Jason Barker: watchman.org/ChenTao Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Heaven's Gate by Bob Waldrep: watchman.org/HeavensGate Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Raelian Religion by Marty Butz: watchman.org/Raelian Watchman Fellowship Profile on the The Order of the Solar Temple by Marty Butz: watchman.org/SolarTemple Additional ResourcesFREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook. SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science, discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Homo naledi Art? A team of paleoanthropologists made a splash when they announced that the enigmatic hominin, Homo naledi (who lived about 330,000 to 250,000 years ago), buried its dead, made art, and mastered fire. These claims are shocking because H. naledi had a brain size comparable to a chimpanzee. Most paleoanthropologists have long held the view that a large brain size was necessary for advanced cognition. If these claims stand, they will upend the prevailing thinking about what makes us human and undermine the notion of human exceptionalism, an idea closely linked to the biblical view that human beings uniquely bear God's image.   In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana, author of Who Was Adam?, will discuss these claims and their impact on RTB's creation model for humanity's origin and the biblical view of human nature and identity.   References:  241,000 to 335,000 Years Old Rock Engravings Made by Homo naledi in the Rising Star Cave System, South Africa Evidence for Deliberate Burial of the Dead by Homo naledi Burials and Engravings in a Small-Brained Hominin, Homo naledi, from the Late Pleistocene: Contexts and Evolutionary Implications Additional Resources: Who Was Adam? A Creation Model Approach to the Origin of Humanity Cave Art Tells the Story of Human Exceptionalism Further Review Overturns Neanderthal Art Claim Rabbit Burrowing Churns Claims about Neanderthal Burials   Sandgrouse Feathers Normally, bird feathers work to repel water so birds stay dry. However, the Namaqua sandgrouse has feathers that capture and retain water. This feature plays a vital role in allowing the sandgrouse to transport water from distant sources (up to 30km) with high efficiency to provide hydration for their chicks. Detailed microscopic studies of the feathers reveal the remarkable characteristics that enable this critical—and bizarre—function for the sandgrouse. Jeff Zweerink explains how these studies add to an impressive body of research showing how the designs of animal bodies often exceed the best human designs.   References:  Structure and Mechanics of Water-Holding Feathers of Namaqua Sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua)

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science—discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Saving Radio Astronomy The last unspoiled refuge for radio astronomy is the Moon's far side—the most “radio quiet” place in the solar system. There, researchers hope to place four 3-meter antennae to measure the “cosmic dawn,” the radio signal from the universe's first stars that will reveal the characteristics of those stars and evidence for the big bang. However, international lunar exploration could generate so much noise as to eliminate radio astronomy's last unspoiled refuge. In this episode, Hugh discusses how radio astronomers hope to protect this frontier.    References:  Are Telescopes on the Moon Doomed before They've Even Been Built?   Dating Bible Battles Archaeologists have discovered many sites where battles described in the Bible occurred, but determining the dates has been difficult. Recent advances in measuring magnetic field strengths provide a new dating tool. During the tenth to sixth century BCE, Earth's magnetic field experienced fluctuations much larger than seen today. Many of the battles during this time involved burning opponents' cities to the ground, and these fires often heated mud bricks and pottery pieces to temperatures hot enough that the pieces recorded the magnetic field and direction at the time. Scientists have used these magnetic field measurements in artifacts to validate the historicity of many battles recorded in Scripture. Listen to find out how.   References:  Reconstructing Biblical Military Campaigns Using Geomagnetic Field Data Earth's Magnetic Field Supports Biblical Stories of Destruction of Ancient Cities

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science, discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   AI-Human Collaboration Artificial intelligence (AI) can analyze enormous diverse databases at lightning speeds. But unlike humans, AI can't reason, produce new databases, or make sense of things it hasn't seen before. Only humans can determine what's interesting and worth pursuing and what isn't. Recognizing these distinctives, a team at Lam Research Corporation conducted experiments to determine how best to manage collaboration between AI and humans to optimize the development of computer chips with target characteristics. The Lam team found that AI works best when human experts operate as “data dieticians,” controlling the amounts, kinds, and timing of data being fed into AI systems.  References: Human-Machine Collaboration for Improving Semiconductor Process Development   New Hubble Constant Measurement The strongest evidence supporting big bang models comes from measurements of the universe's expansion. Although scientists have compelling evidence for expansion from Cepheid variables and Type 1a supernovae, as well as the cosmic microwave background radiation, astronomers continue to search for data that will confirm or falsify current understanding. Recently, scientists applied a new technique to measure the Hubble constant (which is a simple way to quantify the universe's expansion) and found results consistent with the best measurements from other techniques. These results add to the already substantial evidence that we live in a big bang universe. References: Gravitationally Lensed Supernova Yields Novel Hubble Constant Result

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.

In this episode, Kymberli Cook and Jeff Zweerink discuss the growing popularity of the Metaverse and how Christians can prepare to step into that space.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Mars's Core Problem A seismometer on the surface of Mars has detected sound waves revealing that Mars's core has a low density. This feature implies that a fifth of Mars's core is composed of sulfur, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. These light elements make up just 5% of Earth's core. The different size, density, and structure of Mars's core compared to Earth's explains why Mars has lacked a magnetosphere for the past 4 billion years. This research adds yet another habitability requirement for the possible existence of advanced life: the planet's core must be exquisitely fine-tuned.    References: First Observations of Core-Transiting Seismic Phases on Mars   Life and the Multiverse A great body of evidence points to the improbable nature of life's existence in the universe, which many people take as evidence of fine-tuning for our existence. However, some scientists have argued that our improbable nature provides evidence that a multiverse exists. In this episode, I'll discuss why our existence looks improbable as well as how people come to the two seemingly opposing conclusions. I'll conclude by presenting some recent arguments for why our improbable nature does not provide evidence of a multiverse.   References: Our Improbable Existence Is No Evidence for a Multiverse

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God's existence.   Lunar Catastrophes The Moon is exquisitely fine-tuned in various ways that are essential for advanced life to exist on Earth's surface. However, astronomers have determined that the Moon will reverse its outward migration from Earth and crash into our planet about 40 billion years from now. Astronomer Bradley Hansen recently demonstrated that for the majority of planet-moon systems capable of sustaining life, the moon will collide with the planet long before conditions on that planet permit the existence of advanced life. Hansen has discovered yet another habitability requirement: a large dynamically stable moon orbiting a large rocky planet. References: Consequences of Dynamically Unstable Moons in Extrasolar Systems   Peering Deep Inside Cells Scientists continue to develop tools to investigate the detailed workings inside the cell. In one recent example researchers tracked the motion of individual molecules that transport resources around the cell. Advances over past attempts now demonstrate the step-by-step movements of motor protein kinesin-1 as it moves through the cell, and data gives hints that the molecule might be twisting as it traverses the intracell highways. These advances not only show the incredible design within the cell but continue to add to the overwhelming evidence that humans are truly exceptional among all the animals on Earth.   References: Superresolution Microscopy Tracks a Walking Biomolecule Direct Observation of Motor Protein Stepping in Living Cells Using MINFLUX MINFLUX Dissects the Unimpeded Walking of Kinesin-1