Physics Ramblings

World Series Physics

2011-10-20T10:26:00.002-05:00

Last night while watching one of the best opening games of a World Series, I was introduced to a relatively new piece of TV technology which literally made me shout (with joy). The ultra high speed camera has been outfitted with IR capability, and they set it to very high contrast (B&W). They used it mainly to show the foul tips that would hit the batter or the catcher. What made me shout was what would happen to the ball when it was hit by the bat. It lit up (in IR) like a light bulb being turned on--exactly what it should do, but it's always exciting to see the experiment. Fairly quickly, it faded, but when it hit a player, the spot of impact would light up also. This is some HOT (or cool?) technology.

They were able to use it to show that a hit ball really did hit TX batter Adrian Beltre on the foot before it made its way to the 3rd baseman who threw to 1st for an out. This is where truth and reality depart (in some way): truth --the ball hit the batter's foot so it was truthfully a foul ball; reality -- the umpire missed the foul, the ball was called fair, and the out was recorded. Umpires are part of the game, plus the 3rd base umpire did NOT see compelling evidence to consult. Umpires calls determine the course of the game. I like the technology, but I don't want to slow the game with instant replay.

Take a look and see the thermal energy reality of collisions.

http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111020&content_id=25720178&vkey=news_tex&c_id=tex

Go to 1:28 for the best look.

Are Bluebirds Really Balanced?

2010-05-03T12:14:00.001-05:00

Wade Burleson recently wrote a post about natural balance and tries to tie that to the health of a local church: Grace and Truth to You: Are the Bluebirds, Evidence of Perfect Balance, at Home in the Our Churches?

I have a bluebird house which is occupied every year, so I can understand and appreciate the perspective of Wade's source, Mike Klemme, on whether man-made changes to the environment of the golf course was excessive or not (Wade and Mike used the term "natural balance."). Bluebirds are tolerant of man-made garden spaces, but insist on having the right size nesting hole and vegetative surroundings, not too cramped and not too open.

The problem with bluebirds, however, is that they are mean, selfish and stupid. I don't think they are interested in finding and preserving balance. They just go where they can have their own way.

Mean: Bluebirds will attack and disperse blue jays and mockingbirds. You've got to be tough and non-compromising to do that.

Selfish: They hate squirrels because squirrels crawl around and on their bluebird houses. The average time between the arrival of a squirrel on top of a bluebird house and the subsequent dive-bombing attack of the resident is 1.3 seconds, give or take 0.5 seconds. Seriously, bluebirds don't like company.

Stupid: Every day, my papa bluebird will attack his own image in the plate glass door leading to our patio. Over and over again, he tries to run off that other bluebird, for 20-30 minutes, repeatedly banging his wings and beak into the glass. He's never successful. The next day, the same thing. Oh, yeah, he poops on the doorknob and the threshhold. Yech.

I like to have bluebirds around because in the scheme of my backyard, they are entertaining and pretty and innocuous. It is annoying when they get stupid, but they do no harm, plus I think squirrels deserve payback for eating the sunflower seeds.

But I certainly don't want the equivalent of mean, selfish, stupid bluebirds in my church. That kind of church bird would not be so harmless.

It's About Relationships

2010-04-22T13:17:00.003-05:00

It's been way too long since I've posted. I've had interesting, but fleeting, ideas for posts that have gotten absorbed into the everyday drone and drain of teaching and administrating physics.

I've been frustrated recently about how my students approach mathematics. Too many of them want to know which formula to use. Too many of them can't figure out from the context how to use a formula. Too many of them think of math as "numbers" and "answers."

Mathematics helps us describe relationships (F = ma). It is a language that enables us to cleanly evaluate how one relationship affects another relationship (F = ma AND v^2 = 2ah, so if F changes how do h and v change?) If all you want is numbers, the relationship suffers; if all you want is "the answer" then you fail to appreciate or understand the relationship.

In my teaching I'm going to try to be more deliberate in drawing students into the language of mathematics rather than finding an answer. Don't get me wrong, answers are important (especially for beginning engineers), but casting a vision for possibilities requires understanding complex relationships. In science and economics, mathematics helps in that understanding. Having just the answer hides the relationship.

It's easy to get an answer. It takes time to understand why the answer is right. And if you don't understand then have you really learned anything?

Is Golf More Honorable Than Football?

2009-10-14T08:54:00.003-05:00

USA Today has an interesting juxtaposition of stories in the Sportsline column of their October 14, 2009 print edition. If you read the online edition, you may have missed it.

Kentucky high school golfer Emma Talley made a mistake. She signed an incorrect scorecard for the final round of the state high school golf championship. She recorded and signed for a 5 on the final hole but she really made a 6. Her playing partner recorded a 5 for Talley, too. A zone-out moment. Only she and her family knew, but she turned herself in. No hiding, no lying, and no request for an exception. Oh, yeah, she won by 5 shots, so the one-shot reporting error didn't change the outcome. The state champion by actual play, but disqualified by honoring the rules of scorekeeping.

Oklahoma State football player Dez Bryant made a mistake. He lied to NCAA officials. NCAA has asked him about a meeting he had with Deion Sanders, who is a friend of Bryant's and a former NFL player. Bryant assumed the meeting had been a violation, so he lied. He says he "panicked because I was scared." The NCAA declared him ineligible. Now Oklahoma State wants to reinstate Bryant, asking for a lighter punishment.

I don't know what the NCAA rules say about lying to investigators. I don't know if there is a definite consequence for lying to investigators. In golf, if a player signs and turns in an incorrect scorecard, the rules say they are disqualified for the whole round, no matter what the real play was. In the NCAA, who knows. the punishments don't seem to be spelled out.

But the contrast doesn't stop there. Tournament golfers will disqualify themselves from a round for an infraction that only they see. Golfers will come back days later and say, "I should have added a penalty stroke at hole X, so I signed an incorrect scorecard."

On the other hand, football (and most other team oriented sports) never self-report fouls or penalties. If the official misses it, ignore it, even though the player (and often the coach) knows better. but those are the rules. Players don't call fouls. Officials do. But oh, if the official makes a mistake, let the whining begin.

Now, which sport has honor?

How Dark Is It?

2009-09-17T13:23:00.002-05:00

Yale University President Richard Levin had the following to say about the recent murder of graduate student Annie Le on the campus of Yale:

This incident could have happened in any city, in any university, or in any workplace. It says more about the dark side of the human soul than it does about the extent of security measures.

Yale University started as a school in New Haven, CT, in the 1640's as a school "wherein Youth may be instructed in the Arts and Sciences [and] through the blessing of Almighty God may be fitted for Publick employment both in Church and Civil State." It was renamed in 1718 as Yale College. Somewhere along the way, Yale departed from the idea of the "blessing of Almighty God," and despite having a Divinity School, is considered somewhat less than evangelical.

That departure makes Dr. Levin's quote all the more interesting for it sounds more like something Jonathan Edwards would say than the current President of Yale. Here are some questions I would like to ask Dr. Levin:
How dark is the human soul?
Is every soul dark, or many, or few?
Why do you believe in the soul?
Is there a solution to the darkness of soul?

I believe Edwards (scholars please forgive me) would say something like "The soul is dark beyond human hope, with all of humanity bound in darkness. Any light which might soften this darkness comes only by God's grace, but apart from God we fail to understand this. In addition to the testimony of Holy Scripture, the soul is evident in the distinct ability of each person to be creative, investigative, corporate, solitary, compassionate, and evil, all within the space of a single day. The singular solution to the darkness is the Gospel of Jesus Christ in which God lovingly and sovereignly bursts eternal and overwhelming illumination upon the soul which responds in grateful repentance, now understanding how dark it was, and in faith for the work of Christ which made possible the illumination through the forgiveness of sins."

If Dr. Levin answered similarly, either Yale is headed back in the right direction or he would be hounded out of a job for being so narrow-minded. And whatever his answers would be, it will be interesting to see if anyone else pays attention to his dark-soul quote.

Hubble, No Longer Hobbled

2009-09-09T12:28:00.002-05:00

You may remember that back in May, a Space Shuttle Mission was dedicated to implementing some upgrades and repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA/ESA has released new images from the upgraded instruments that now reside on Hubble. As the Chief Scientist for the Hubble Mission told me back at the first of August, "You won't be disappointed"

Are You Really "In Love" With Jesus?

2009-09-03T12:12:00.002-05:00

Timmy Brister has posted an interesting interview segment of Matt Redman talking about the use of culturally romantic phrases in Christian worship songs. I don't really care for the "under-fathered, over-mothered" adjective, but I understand and agree with the sense of it: we try to appeal to the softer side of life, taking the militaristic idioms away (that destroys the whole concept of 'Lord of Hosts'), much in the same way that liberal non-churches try to eliminate any talk of sin, sacrifice, or crucifixion. Somehow, things that aren't warm and fuzzy are considered harsh and mean-spirited. This trend is something we need to think about regarding the songs we sing.

I'm not saying that I believe everything has to be sung to "Men of Harlach" or "Ein feste burg" and talk about the annihilation of demons and pagans. I think Thomas Clay, the first commenter on the post, hits a home run. Thomas is the music minister at Grace Life Church of the Shoals where Jeff Noblit is pastor. Thomas says

I constantly ask myself in looking at songs this question: Does this song I’m considering, so unmistakeably declare biblical truths about Christ that it would be difficult to sing it to/about anyone else?

Sounds like a good analytic principle to me. It could also serve as a good question for pastors to use while preparing their sermons: Does this sermon I’m considering, so unmistakeably declare biblical truths about Christ that it would be difficult to say it to/about anyone else?

Local Churches, the Community and the Great Commission

2009-08-07T10:24:00.004-05:00

A close friend sent me a quote today: "Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist." – Oswald J. Smith

The Great Commission refers to Matthew 28: 18-20

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. " [NASB]

Indeed, Jesus's words to his disciples carries down to us, otherwise there is no point in even having an "assembly of the called" (ekklesia). One of the difficulties that churches fail to engage is how to properly balance the different aspects of being "seriously involved" in the Great Commission. A simple recipe of "go, tell, win, baptize, teach" not only fails for most churches, but is not the correct process (mentally, physically, or spiritually) called for by Jesus. I believe that fulfilling the Great Commission involves a more "holistic" rather than cookie-cutter, first-, second-, third-step approach. It is not a scientific process; it is a supernatural undertaking.

The action demanded is "make disciples." Christ wanted his immediate disciples to do for others, temporally, what he did with them. The other actions ("go", "baptize", "teaching") are participles which help explain when, what and how the disciple-making process is to happen. It's probably a reminder process. "Go" actually would be better translated "while you are going about," similar to the way that Jesus was continually confronting, encouraging, teaching, etc., on their journeys around the Middle East. Baptizing refers to identifying (I'm not discussing methods here) the new disciple as embracing the commitment and discipline required to follow Christ. Teaching is the continual process ("all things") that is required for the new disciple to mature into one that "loves the brethren."

Some churches believe that maximum rapid exposure of the masses to their need for salvation (possibly a poorly defined idea in the presentation) should be the focus of their ministry. This is good because they are publicly identified with Christ. This can become dangerous because they deliver only the simplest of Gospel concepts and come up short on long-term sound theological teaching, encouraging, and commitment. Public, corporate proclamation is sufficient.

Some churches focus on sending agents to areas with little Gospel exposure. This is great because many churches have become comfortable working in "Christian" environments. This can become dangerous is that sending becomes the church's entire participation, and those who have provided funds feels absolved from daily participation in the Great Commission. Moral living and giving money is sufficient.

Some churches focus on individual evangelism with training programs to equip their members with good Biblical knowledge of the sinfulness of man, the work of Christ, the necessity of repentance and the beauty of redemption and forgiveness. This is good because it involves individuals personally in delivering the Gospel to lost people, often with more than a simple understanding. This can become dangerous because most of the theological training is geared toward the evangelism program. The experience is usually more "conversions" are recorded and reported than ever become disciplined disciples in a local church. Personal evangelism is sufficient.

Other local churches focus on teaching and training the membership in sound theology. This is good because individual maturity and discernment is encouraged and corporate bonds are strengthened. This can become dangerous because personal evangelism, while encouraged, is left to the individuals in their lives lived away from church meetings, with little or no corporate involvement or sponsorship of evangelistic effort. Also, numbers of "baptisms" are low and the church may be perceived by the above churches (and the public) as insular and unconcerned for the "lost." Growth and maturity of believers is sufficient.

At least these types of churches see that a serious involvement in the Great Commission is important. There are many who have relegated the Gospel message of sin & salvation to the "ancient religion" trash heap and focus on raising the dignity of man. They rightly should no longer be called churches.

Now my questions. Is it acceptable for a local church (FBC This Town, 3rd & Grafton, X Memorial, Grace) to have a certain focus as long as there are other churches in the community with the other focuses? One might argue that just as there are different gifts within a church, there are churches with different "gifts" within the community. On the other hand, how is it good for a church to have members who are all focused and committed to a singular participle/principle in the Great Commission?

I believe that churches need to continually examine not only their doctrinal, theological moorings in light of the Gospel, but also their practical balance in fulfilling each aspect of the Great Commission: while participating in the community and the world, make disciples (which involves telling and defending the Gospel, calling individuals to a commitment, identifying them with Christ and teaching the glories of God and how we, as ambassadors for Christ, are to reflect those glories).

None of us have arrived, and while striving to become better representatives of and disciple-makers for Christ Jesus, we should make sure that we don't become proud in the fact that "we do (insert your focus here) better than they." As Paul says, "Press on."

Cornerstone Songs for 7/12/2009

2009-07-10T14:22:00.001-05:00

One of our 3 elders, Nathan Young, will be preaching this Sunday from Psalm 96. This is a great song of praise, calling all of creation to recognize the majesty and power and goodness of Yahweh. It is also a reminder to avoid the attitude of doom and gloom about the situations thrown about in the world: disease, poverty, greed, nuclear weaponry, health care, climate change, materialistic naturalism or New Age mystics. "The Lord reigns; Indeed the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.He will judge the peoples with equity." In other words, God is in control, not man. Be glad and sing!

All Hail the Power
To God be the Glory
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
He is Exalted
Shout to the North
Song of the Lamb

What about This Week's Songs?

2009-07-04T21:09:00.003-05:00

You might be wondering why I haven't posted the songs for July 5, 2009. That's because Lee didn't preach last week, and I wanted to keep those songs for his Daniel 9 sermon. So we're singing those (from 6/28) this week.

Just as Lee was leaving Louisville from the SBC, he got a call asking him to preach a funeral in Michigan. He made arrangements with Ray Van Neste, one of our Cornerstone elders and a Bible professor at Union University to preach on Sunday. Long story short, I could use the songs I had planned originally (nope...) or choose what I wanted. He wasn't sure of the specific text yet.

After talking with one of the other musicians, I chose the following:

Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim it
Fairest Lord Jesus
How Deep the Father's Love For Us
Jesus, I Come (igrace version)
On Jordan's Stormy Banks (igrace version)

Ray preached on Isaiah 42:18-43:end, emphasizing how we often see our sinful condition, understand the work of Christ, but then we sometimes shy away from approaching God because we feel unclean. The text reminds us that it is because of the character and work of God that we can come to him. He is the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. You can listen here.

I am continually blessed to see how the Lord blends separate works to glorify himself.

Mental Illness, Theology, and Salvation

2009-07-02T14:32:00.002-05:00

In the Cold War era, many Eastern European Baptists abandoned the concept of perseverance of the saints, popularly denoted as “once saved, always saved.” The reason for this was that under extreme communist persecution, people who has once firmly testified and demonstrated with their lives of being saved by Christ were renouncing Christ. Rather than claim that the fruits of these “renouncers” were bad because they were never saved to begin with, the churches accepted that the renouncers had once been saved but had “fallen from grace,” that is, had lost their salvation.

While I sit here in the air-conditioned comfort of my office, not worried about governmental persecution, financial or health-related collapse, or a myriad of other calamities, I say the Eastern European churches are wrong. I would support the view that, as 1 John says, “they went out from us because they were not of us.” While they appeared to be true believers, it was revealed by the pressure of the world that they were not. Probably. But…

A friend committed suicide last week. For nearly two decades, I saw him as a faithful follower of Christ, a leader of other men, a Sunday School teacher, and for a short time he pastored a small congregation while they needed someone like him. Our sons were best friends, and as married couples we were friends. A few years ago, in a battle to control his weight, he underwent a gastric surgery. Following that, he manifested severe bi-polar symptoms, so much so that the “old” friend might as well have been dead. Behaviors which had been totally foreign and anathema to him became commonplace as he vacillated from despondency (when he recognized his sinfulness) to cavalier (when he tried to justify that he was getting better). Eventually, he left our church, was divorced from his wife. He would occasionally attend other churches, but was irregular, and made little attempt to get stabilized on medication. He sought attention from his family, but did nothing toward reconciliation or repentence. He commented to others that demons had a hold on him and wouldn’t let him be.

In summary, this man encouraged and supported others in their pursuit of Christ and modeled that pursuit with his own life for many years. Then for the past 3 years, he lived without hope, most of the time acting like an unbeliever.

Someone very close to me commented, “At least he’s whole now, released from his diseased body, at peace with the Lord.” I really want to believe that’s true. And I really believe that as merciful and gracious as our Lord is, it’s abundantly probable. And because he was someone I knew, because he was my friend, I want to say he is with Christ now.

Yet, there is that niggling little bit of theology hanging around, that “perseverance of the saints.” If my friend was truly born-again, why would he act like he did for the past 3 years? Does mental illness abrogate his bad behavior, or does it reveal the true nature of the person, stripping away any façade that may have been built? Rather than bi-polar disorder, what about those with Alzheimer’s, Turret’s, or amnesia, who have faithfully followed Christ for decades, and end up behaving badly? I also want to believe that my theology doesn't have holes, that I understand what it means for one to persevere, and this event so close to home shows me that my understanding has gaps.

A friend told me of another situation in which a faithful pastor of many years was involved in an accident and lost his memory. All his experiences with church, all his theological education and thoughts....gone! Blessedly, his is now studying with another pastor to relearn all he has lost. But what if, after this brain trauma, the man rejected Christ? Which part of his life, the first being grace-filled and Christ-loving, or the hypothetical second, Christ-rejecting, would reflect his eternal soul?

I don’t have an answer. I do know one thing. While my theology tends to keep me confident in the wisdom and power of God, it must also keep me humble. I know not with certainty about my friend, but I do trust in the rightness of my heavenly Father. I'll be satisfied to continue encouraging the living.

Cornerstone Songs for 6/28/2009

2009-06-25T22:16:00.002-05:00

Lee Tankersley is preaching this Sunday from Daniel 9. This text includes a powerful prayer in which Daniel confess his and Israel's sinfulness before the Lord. He pleads that the Lord God forgive Israel and him and restore Jerusalem because of His great compassion and promises to "Thy people who are called by Thy name." Rather than avoiding facing the sins of the people, Daniel fully recognizes that their captivity has happened because of their unfaithfulness. Yet, he remembers that there is hope: God hears the prayer of the brokenhearted, He forgives those of humble spirit, He acts decisively to preserve His people. In addition, the angel Gabriel is sent to tell Daniel of the times to come when Jerusalem will be delivered and when the Messiah will come.

This Sunday we will sing of the honor and glory of God, remembering that He is the one who forgives and cleanses. We also rejoice in the visitation of hope, our Savior, Jesus the Christ, and we anticipate His return.

O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
O Lord to You
Give Us Clean Hands
Psalm 51 (God Be Merciful To Me)
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Joy to the World

Bill

Cornerstone Songs for 6/21/2009

2009-06-18T22:21:00.003-05:00

Chad Davis has been an elder and our main preacher for almost 2 1/2 years. He was asked to fill this role when Lee Tankersley took a sabbatical to complete doctoral classes at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

This Sunday is Chad's last regular time to preach as one of our Elders. Lee is back from seminary, and next Saturday Chad will be installed as an Elder (and the main preacher) at Grace Church in Martin, TN. This is a church plant started because several families from that area were driving all the way to Jackson for worship at Cornerstone.

Chad's text will be Hebrews 12:1-2.

Hebrews12:(1) Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (2)fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.(NASB)

The writer of Hebrews has shown how Christ is better than the shadows provided by the Law, Temple, sacrifices, Levitical priests, and points to the reality of the promises of God. After recounting the faithfulness of people such as Abel, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David, the prophets and many others, he exhorts us to be faithful, enduring to the end, not deterred by sin. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus (not just any Messiah concept, but the specific person, Jesus) the initiator of faith, the completer of faith, who was not deterred by the cross and now intercedes for us from His royal and authoritative position in the real throne room.

Our service will begin and end with songs extolling the excellence of God. Psalm 29 was structured for singing by Chad, and will be sung to the tune "Austrian Hymn" (which is used for "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" and "Word of God, Across the Ages.") The remaining three remind us of the work of our Savior in removing the penalty, guilt and burden of sin in both our daily lives and for eternity. Sing boldly for our Savior is bold!

Holy, Holy, Holy
Psalm 29 (Davis)
How Sweet and Awful Is the Place
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
I Will Glory in My Redeemer
Worthy of Worship

Bill

Cornerstone Songs for 6/14/2009

2009-06-11T18:33:00.003-05:00

The text this week is Daniel 8 and Chad Davis will be preaching.

This chapter tells us of another of Daniel's visions, but this time we have at least a partial explanation. The Medes and Persians are to be conquered by Greece. Greece will thrive under their first king. Eventually, a terrible and strong king will attack the holy ones of God and truth itself, but God will, at the proper time, deliver His people. The vision and its explanation are so shocking that Daniel becomes ill. Like Daniel, we are not immune to the pressures of the spiritual war that rages around us, and we hurt for those who are harmed. We struggle to remember that our powerful Lord is never surprised by the prince of darkness, often because we long to see the rule of peace and kindness. As the end draws near, the persecution of God's people and the desecration of God's truth will continue. This end struggle, however, cannot withstand the power and love that God has toward His creation and His people. Let us be encouraged in singing of the beautiful truths of God and His Christ Jesus.

This is My Father's World
Shout to the Lord
O God our Help in Ages Past
Jesus the Conqueror Reigns
Before the Throne of God Above
Amazing Love

Bill

Cornerstone Services

2009-06-11T18:08:00.004-05:00

I attend Cornerstone Community Church, a Southern Baptist church, in Jackson, TN. Our services are a mix of traditional piety, youthful joy, and reformation. In them, we seek to encourage one another to focus on the love and power of our Savior, Jesus Christ, through the clear exposition of Scripture in preaching and the singing of "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."

The structure of our services is a little different from most Southern Baptist churches. First, we have no choir and no musical conductor, and the congregation does all the singing. We do have musicians (instrumental and vocal) up front as leaders, but the focus is intended to be on the songs, not the people. The words are projected (without flowers or swirling colors) on a screen, but hymn sheets with music are available for most songs. In singing hymns, we sing all the verses.

Our service order follows this general pattern:

Psalm reading (selected by the preacher), but sometimes a different scripture
Prayer
2 songs
Scripture reading
prayer
2 more songs
offering (with an offertory or introducing a new song)
time of corporate intercession (for 1 specific church or ministry or family) or welcoming and praying with new members
sermon
communion with congregational singing during the passing of the elements. Yes, we have communion every Sunday.
final song
scripture benediction

Yes, we enjoy congregational singing!

I am responsible for choosing the songs we sing each Sunday, and I try to bring a focus to the text of each sermon. With my choices, I write a brief explanation of relationship I see between the text and the songs I choose. I will be posting those each week from now on.

Bill

Free: 365 Lessons in Astronomy

2009-01-01T14:08:00.004-06:00

That's right! This year is the Year of Astronomy, and every day there will be a new and interesting podcast concerning a topic relating to astronomy, all the way from telescopes to pulsars with seasons and the North Star in between.

Here is the podcast website, and you can even subscrible via RSS feed or iTunes.

There is much more to the universe than stardust, and the awesome picture painted "out there" emphasizes to me how awesome God truly is.

Evidence of Life in the Milky Way

2008-12-18T09:47:00.005-06:00

I usually learn new things from my students while grading tests, especially Earth & Space. The things I learn most often remind me that 1) people don't have good memories, and 2) people don't think, even when they KNOW they have to remember and think.

Here are a few of some amazing "facts":

We know there is life on Jupiter. (should be Earth)
We know there is life on Mars.
The Earth is cooling down. It has a temperature of 3 K. (that's about minus 454 Fahrenheit)
The Earth is expanding. (don't know where that came from)
The Earth appears to be young. (No, it appears to be old.)
Everything appears to be the same age. (No, there are vastly different apparent ages.)
The most recent modification of the standard model of the Big Bang theory is called the Interactional model. (should be the inflationary model)
Evidence and model are interchangeable concepts. I asked for evidence (data) that support a certain model. I was given "inflationary model."
The closest star to our Sun is 0.52 or 33.6 light-years away. (No, it is 4.3 l-y.)
The time between full moons is 4 or 7 or 14 days. (Should be 29.5 days.)
Kyoto, Japan is 4 time zones behind Washington, DC. (Really, it's 14

But they all knew that our home galaxy is called the Milky Way. (Okay, so I did ask the question later What is the classification of the Milky Way Galaxy? Maybe I'll change that to Andromeda next time. Will life disappear from the Milky Way?

But I Thought That Mars Is the Red Planet

2008-10-27T12:31:00.003-05:00

Saturday night the sky was clear in West TN, a great night for a country bonfire and hayride. It was also a great night for looking at stars. I was almost confused on where specific stars and constellations were because there were so many visible that aren't seen in the city lights; it was supercalifragilisticexpialidociously disorienting. You could literally see layers of stars in the Milky Way.

Earlier in the evening, before the twilight was gone, two great sentinels, the planets Venus and Jupiter, appeared in the southwestern sky. Venus is the brighter, and closer to the horizon. People would come and confirm their suspicions about those bright objects (which was which) and go away happy. As the time passed, Venus got closer and closer to the horizon. Eventually, a couple asked me, "Is that Mars?" "What!?" I looked and, sure enough, there was this bright pink dot where Venus should have been. "No," I replied, "that's Venus." "But," they protested, "I thought Mars was red and Venus was white."

Why was Venus red? For the same reason that the daytime sky is blue. And why sunsets are red. It's something called Rayleigh scattering. Light travelling through our atmosphere gets scattered. Blue scatters more than red, so that when a star or the sun or the moon is close to the horizon (rising or setting) the blue gets scattered away leaving a reddish tint. Such consistency, such a testimony to God's faithfulness.

News Flash: Asteroid Strikes Earth -- No Fatalities!

2008-10-08T11:23:00.003-05:00

Yes, that's right. At 0246 UTC 2008 October 7 (that's 9:46 PM, October 6) an asteroid about 3 meters in diameter entered Earth's atmosphere over Sudan and blew up. The space rock was small enough that not much (if any) reached the ground. You can read a "blow-by-blow" account at The Planetary Society Weblog.

This is the first asteroid/meteoroid that has hit Earth's atmosphere that we have tracked before it actually entered. Thanks to a lot of astronomers responding to the call to look, predictions were made about the path and entry time and place. Seismic detectors in Kenya detected the sub-sonic "boom" a few hours later (it takes time for sound to travel), consistent with the predictions.

I like The Planetary Society site. Lots of interesting astronomy stuff with pretty pictures and thoughtful commentary, usually from Emily Lakdawalla. Plus, the politics are minimal. Emily ponders what we might do if we spot a larger asteroid on a collision course. We'd have more time (because a larger rock would reflect more sunlight and we'd see it sooner), but would it be enough?

My wondering makes me ask, "Why don't we get hit more often than we do?" The primary answer is that the Lord is protecting life on Earth. But I want to understand the means He is using to accomplish that.

Are the Foundations Destroyed?

2008-09-26T10:24:00.003-05:00

Whether it's women pastors, or bank failures or climate change, we're surrounded by voices that claim doom and gloom is upon us. If we don't take action "NOW" it's all over. Kaput, wasted, finished, canned, deep-sixed, 86'd, round-filed, zapped, flushed, cratered, and few other terms that only Marines can use around other Marines.

Why do we get so bent out of shape by things that seem bad? Because we want things to be right. At least, for us. Basically, we're selfish. After we realize we're selfish, we add a little compassion and add "and for those that aren't as well of as me." Politicians wouldn't be politicians if they didn't add that, would they.

But basically, we're told on the news, on blogs, at some churches, that our foundations are being destroyed.

Let me encourage you. The answer to the title question might be "yes," but exactly whose foundations are being destroyed? God's or man's? David has an answer for us. Psalm 11. He doesn't wait around, but immediately gives the answer: "In the Lord I take refuge." Then he immediately chastises those who are trying to scare him because they are scared and want some company: "How can you say to my soul, '[doom and gloom are coming] If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?'"

Then David basically says, "So what? the LORD is still in charge, His foundations are not destroyed. He is righteous, and He can do plenty."

Are things going to change? Yes. Is that bad? Maybe, maybe not. What can I do? Pursue righteousness, not protection. Take refuge in the Lord.

These Gettys are Richer than J. Paul

2008-06-18T22:44:00.002-05:00

I recently went to the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis. Among the business and speeches, music is interspersed. This year Keith & Kristyn Getty led us in two of their most familiar hymns, In Christ Alone and The Power of the Cross. I could have sung 10 more like that. It was one of the highlights.

I also got to ask Keith about instrumentation for church music. He was in a hurry, so his reply is somewhat a Sunday-school answer, yet true (think Irish accent):You really only need two things. Lyrics that honor Christ, and hearts that are ready to honor Christ. Whether you have a guitar or piano or band, whether you have a director waving his arms or not, its not that important. People of the church worshipping together is what's important. He had to go, but my next question would have been "So what is YOUR preferred instrumentation and why?" I guess that will wait for another encounter.

If you want to know more about these young (32 and 27) composers of hymns you can check out their website, especially the article that has this quote:

Also wrapped up in the Gettys’ hymn writing is a desire to help restore the unity that is lost when churches battle over musical styles. “It comes down to this,” Keith says. “If songs in worship are not expanding your mind to the glory and wonder of God and His redemption, and are not joining believers together; if you look around and 80% of the congregation are not singing even if the band is good and you are getting a massive crowd; then you have to ask, what is that actually doing for Christ’s church? For me the plumb line is: Can the church sing it and does it edify?”

No Rebirth for this Phoenix

2008-05-26T10:19:00.003-05:00

It's exciting to me to see complex engineering and science projects operate successfully. One of the most ambitious recent space projects has been the NASA mission to the Martian polar region, a project called Phoenix. This is one bird that made it right the first time.

There were hundreds of things that had to go right at critical points, and it appears that they did. And the solar panels have successfully deployed and the instrument is sending back pictures.

Is It Sacrificial to Listen to a Sermon on Leviticus?

2008-05-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that when most people read the Bible, they skip or skip through Leviticus. There is a lot of repetition. So why would one subject themselves to a sermon, much less a set of 5 sermons, on Leviticus? Talk about a sacrifice. Yet I was looking forward to it.

Chad Davis's sermon on Leviticus 1-7 really brought home the necessity of studying Leviticus, and honored the fullness of the work of Christ in a way that is rarely heard these days. I was humbled, challenged, and uplifted by the first one, and I'm looking forward to the other four.

I hope you'll listen, too.

Going to Mercury Via the Dark Side of the Moon

2008-05-06T11:32:00.003-05:00

Tonight, May 6, just after twilight (which is around 8:30 or so, depending on how far east or west in your time zone you are), look in the western sky. If the clouds haven't rolled in and you don't have mountains in the way, you should see a thin crescent (2-day-old) moon. Nearby will be a sparkle, which happens to be the planet Mercury.

I like to see Mercury because it took me years to figure out when and where to look. That little speck, just like Mars, is going to wander through the sky, but it always is close to the sun. That's why its apparitions are so "mecurical."

Spaceweather has a sky map if you need it, but you shouldn't. Binoculars will make the sight even more spectacular. And if you look carefully, you should also be able to see Pleiades (barely to the right) and Orion (to the left) just before they set.

And if you look at the moon with the binocs, most of what you see will be the "Dark Side of the Moon."

Have a Mars Bar

2008-05-06T07:24:00.002-05:00

For the past few nights, I've seen an interesting sight in the western sky after 10 pm. There is a striking lineup of 3 stars, forming a rod or bar shape. For various reasons, I've gotten distracted and didn't look at Stellarium until now.

The bar won't last for long because it's a Twin Mars bar: The leftmost star is the planet Mars, which dances among the other heavenly lights. The other two are the Twins, Castor and Pollux; they are always side-by-side. Soon Mars will drift out of alignment.

Go outside and enjoy this late evening sight, and wonder at the mighty God who planned and sustains it all with such regularity.

Why Does Spring Start on March 19?

2008-03-18T11:24:00.005-05:00

Well, at least it does in solar time for everybody in the Northern-Western quadrasphere, west of Leipers Fork, TN.

Spring officially starts on the vernal equinox . That's the moment that the sun is first directly overhead (perpendicular to the horizon) at the equator (some people say when the sun crosses the equator) on its apparent journey north. This year it happens at 0548 UT. UT means "Universal Coordinated Time" which is the new term for Greenwich Mean Time or Zulu, basically the solar time at the Prime Meridian. That's the designated "0" longitude. During a given day, the Earth rotates on its axis at a rate of 15 degrees per hour. That means that at the vernal equinox, it will be solar midnight of March 19/20 at longitude 87 west...Leipers Fork, TN (about). Every where west of Leipers Fork, all the way to the International Date Line, it's still March 19. And in the northern hemisphere, Spring has Sprung. Here in Jackson, TN it will be 8 minutes before solar midnight, March 19.

It will be solar noon at the equator at 93 degrees east. That's just off the coast of Indonesia, pretty close to where the Asian tsunami of 2004 originated. Is this a meaningful coincidence? Probably not.

Of course, Daylight Savings Time messes up everything, tricking us into thinking it's already March 20...don't believe it. As the Beatles sang, "Here comes the Sun . . . it's all right."

Welcome, J. William

2008-03-18T11:09:00.003-05:00

My friends, Joshua and Cari received their 2nd son, John William Vincent, yesterday afternoon, March 17. Big Brother Benjamin Brandt (B^4) will definitely be surprised to see his 9 lb brother outside the womb.

Joshua and Cari, congratulations! I pray that the lovingkindness of the Lord will overwhelm your family every day, and that the Lord will bring Benjamin and William to repentence and faith. In the meantime, may the Lord grant you strength and faithfulness in all your relationships.

3.14

2008-03-14T08:19:00.003-05:00

March 14...3/14...It's Day!

Also, Albert Einstein's birthday. If you were here at
Union University you could enjoy a cupcake....uh, a "pi" cake.

Lottery for Jesus or Making Disciples?

2008-03-14T07:51:00.003-05:00

Baptist Press reports:

Southern Baptist evangelist Ronnie Hill has found a unique way to draw people to his salvation story, and he wants to share his method with churches and individuals.

You can read the whole story here.

I'm not really excited about this kind of "event." It reminds me of the people in John 6 who followed Jesus around because he did miracles and fed them. Then when he revealed who He really was and what His followers would really be expected to do, the crowds disappeared. In fact, Jesus NEVER invited people to come listen to his testimony with the promise of a meal and a few miracles.

Now, I don't doubt that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. I don't doubt that a person with wrong motives can have his heart, mind, and soul overwhelmed by an awesome Lord. But running a lottery for Jesus seems more like something Joel Osteen would do. How many of the people are simply clicking on the website, waiting for the story to finish without listening, then registering for the prize? This is no way to present the Gospel.

Finally, what's the track record of the people who have stated they are now believers? Are they referred to a local church who will watch and care for them, "teaching them to observe all things" Jesus commanded? Maybe that's being done, but as is typical of most evangelists' stories, the highlighted point is the number of "decisions," not the number of faithful disciples.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

2008-03-13T20:10:00.003-05:00

My family took an outing to the local big city to get some ribs and enjoy the local color. While walking around we came upon the local NBA/concert arena with its new, big, electronic billboard.

This makes me wonder: if Joel Osteen is so healthy and wealthy, why does he need to sell tickets? If God is prospering him so well, why can't he afford to travel on his own (congregation's) dime and give away his "message" for free. I'm afraid it's because he has a false message (water is good, but have somebody spit in your glass...you get the idea), much like the casinos near Memphis--"Invest a little up front, and who knows, maybe it'll pay off later."

He apparently thinks he's a rock star, not a preacher of the Gospel; I would agree with that! And lest anyone bring up Paul's writing about people preaching the Gospel from false motives, that's a false comparison. Osteen's message is NOT the Gospel--he avoids mentioning sin, the necessity of substitutionary atonement, daily repentance and sanctification, the reality of suffering for Christ, and emphasizes selfishness and greed.

If I find somebody who's going, I'm going to ask them to get me a t-shirt...and a Bud!

Bad Moon Rising?

2008-02-18T15:31:00.002-06:00

While to some, a total lunar eclipse has been a sign of foreboding, to me it's a sign of God's faithfulness. He has allowed us to chart the regularity of His Creation, even to understand mathematically the interactions of planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and even artificial satellites. Some may say, "No, this is just the regularity of gravitation." Gravity, as we understand, label, and calculate it, is simply the direct, yet secondary cause. It is God who has created our gravitational universe, and sustains it. We are blessed to be able to understand it.

God's faithfulness is on display this Wednesday. If the clouds don't get in the way, try to see the full lunar eclipse this Wednesday evening. The show begins about an hour after sunset/moonrise and goes for about 3 hours. You can check the NASA eclipse website (available now) for more precise times of partial and total coverage in your locale.

You can also check SpaceWeather.Com (on Wednesday). Spaceweather is a fun site to bookmark for all kinds of interesting astronomical events. You can even find PHA's (Potentially Hazardous Asteroids) there.

The best part of the eclipse is watching when the moon is a crescent, then turns blood red when the crescent disappears. A good deal of the red from the sunlight scatters through the Earth's atmosphere around the Earth and hits the moon while the blue is scattered away. That's what makes the red appearance. When the bright crescent is there (just before and just after total eclipse), it's too bright to see the redness so it appears that the red just pops in there.

M&M or 3M?

2008-01-22T09:12:00.000-06:00

While studying for a Sunday School lesson to introduce/remind my friends at church of the beautiful concept of covenants, I came across this passage in Jeremiah 33:25-26[NASB]:

Thus says the Lord, 'If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant...but I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them."

The very foundation of science is found in the "fixed patterns of heaven and earth" that the Lord has established. And if you're into astronomy, you know all about the fixed patterns, the predictability of the motions of stars and planets and even manmade satellites.

So, during the next few evenings, just after sunset look west about 15 to 20 degrees above the horizon. The first star you see popping out of the twilight is really the planet Mercury. Mercury appearing so far from Old Sol's brightness is uncommon so now's your chance to marvel at this little pinpoint diamond. [If you want to keep up to date on other events, check out Spaceweather.com regularly.]

Then, turn around to the east and look up about 45 degrees to see a bright red Mars. It's an M&M sky! And tonight (1/22), just about sunset, a full moon will rise and we'll have a 3M sky. Tomorrow night (1/23), the moon rises 50 minutes later and Mercury might have disappeared by then.

When I see things like this, I marvel at my Lord who created them and established the "fixed patterns of heaven and earth" which testify of His faithfulness.

RSVP to Whom?

2008-01-21T12:38:00.000-06:00

As my wife and I drove away from our church yesterday she made the comment, "We can always count on hearing the Gospel clearly presented for unbelievers. And I really like the way it's done." She said this unaware of the recent meeting of some vocational evangelists in which, among other things, there was lamenting over the loss of the "invitation time" in some churches. While I wasn't at the meeting, I have heard quite a few "vocational evangelists" over my 5+ decades of consciousness and I suspect they were referring to a time at the end of a service when a hymn is sung and a strident plea is made for people to come forward "giving" or "demonstrating to everyone here that you have given" their life to Christ. Sometimes the plea will depart from a Scriptural challenge into an emotional sob-story about some lost family member who was stung by a wasp while leaving church and never regained consciousness. Much is said and done to get people down the aisle so that we know "how many got saved today."

The invitation is done differently at Cornerstone, but it is not a "seeker-friendly" non-confrontational suggestion. Without fail, during the sermon the preacher will apply the theme of the passage to the unbelievers who may be present. An explanation of their standing before God and why they should come to know Him, repent, receive forgiveness for their sins is clearly, explicitly given. A strong appeal is made of the urgency of placing their faith in the work of Christ. An invitation to talk to the pastors or to other church members is clearly given. But it is not tied to an action, because it is not an invitation to come to Cornerstone. It is an invitation--no, a cry--to believe in Christ. The person's response is NOT to our church or the pastor. The unbeliever's response must be to Christ, and the person who responds will let the church know of it.

Some may say "but what about Christians who want to 'rededicate' their lives." We have opportunity for that each week, too. We take the Lord's Supper at the end of every morning worship. After the invitation is given to unbelievers to repent and believe, the verbal reminder of Christ's redeeming work on the Cross is given, usually as an application of the Biblical text being preached. This reminder often focuses on the full sufficiency of the power of Christ in our lives, which is most often the type of rededication I need. The Lord's Supper is the actional reminder of His perfect covenant and redeeming sacrifice. Much better than walking an aisle and talking to a person, in my opinion. Plus, again, the response is not to man, but to Christ.

Do we have an invitation? Yes, but we insist the response be to Christ, not to man.

A Newtonian Perihelion

2008-01-08T23:02:00.000-06:00

From the vantage point of the Sun, all the planets move in elliptical paths around it. It's consistent and common among all the planets. Also, the moons of planets move in elliptical orbits around their respective planets. Again, a consistent and common behavior. And elegantly simple.

All that came from the analysis done by Johannes Kepler of data collected by Tycho Brahe. However it wasn't until the gravitational law of Isaac Newton that the reasons for the elliptical orbits and their periodicity were justified from a mathematically elegant perspective.

If you try to describe the motions of moons and planets and the Sun from the vantage point of the Earth, the behaviors are extremely inconsistent and non-common among them. And it's mathematically a nightmare, or "kash MAR" as the Russians would say.

In the elliptical path, the closest approach to the Sun is called the perihelion and the furthest point from the Sun is called the aphelion.

On January 3, 2008 at 0000 UTC (that's 6 pm, Jan. 2 in western Tennessee) the Earth reached the perihelion of its orbit. The next day, January 4 was Isaac Newton's birthday. In fact, it was his 365th birthday...hmmm does that have anything to do with the number of days in a year? Sounds like a clue in National Treasure.

Late Happy Perihelion Day and Newton's Birthday.

Making Things Up As I Go Along

2008-01-08T16:06:00.000-06:00

You made that up!

I've heard that many times. From my wife, my kids, my classes. In a sense, yeah, I did. That's how a lot of life (including physics) is. You make it up as you go along. What's important is that you have learned something along the way.

Most of the problems in physics classes and in life don't have 1-step answers. You have to get the answers in several steps. That means you need to have enough information to take the next step. And you need to be willing to take the step.

Often, when a student asks a question, I don't have a 1-second answer (something memorized). But given enough time (5 seconds, 1 minute, 3 years, etc.) I'm able to pull together several facts and principles that I have learned or memorized and I can "make up" a reasonable answer. That whole process is called "synthesis."

Synthesis is not fool-proof, perfect, infallible, inerrant, or whatever other redundant or tautatious adjective you want to overload in that list. But it is usually reasonable and satisfying to both asker and askee. And it's how we live life.

Not making things up. Finding answers.