Back in 1927, Belgian college professor and Roman Catholic Priest Georges Lemaître opined that prior to what we now call the “Big Bang,” there was no time, no space, no night, no day, and no universe, only a single gaseous mass. Lemaitre believed that (about 13.7 billion years ago) the mass exploded and hurled it gaseous matter outward. As it moved outward from the blast the gaseous matter is what actually created space and, subsequently, time.

Interestingly, here we are billions of years later, and the outward movement from that “Big Bang” is still continuing . . . creating more space and spreading its gaseous matter even further. As a side note, I had thought that over time, the outward movement would attenuate or slow down. I asked a friend, a distinguished former Bell Labs scientist and college professor about that. He said it is not slowing down as there is nothing there slow down its outward movement as it spreads its gaseous matter and creates more space.

Another curious side issue is that we know that the planets moons satellites are not solely gaseous matter, much of their composition is solid matter. For, years scientists have been trying to find the Higgs Boson, what they refer to as the “God Particle,” the particle that turns gaseous matter into solid matter. They are still searching. The bottom line on the Big Bang theory is that Almighty God’s creation of the universe has not ended, it is still continuing after 13.7 billion years. When will it stop expanding? Only God knows.

While the Almighty continues to expand the universe, let’s take a few minutes to contemplate the gifts given to us on planet Earth. They include the Sun and the water and the earth/soil itself, the minerals, and all the living things that are on and in the earth, and in the sky, and in the seas. From the birds and the bees to the fruit on the trees, the slugs and the bugs from below and above, the fish and the fowl and the occasional owl, the meat that we eat and the things that we drink.

All these are just a bit of the gifts that abound. Just think of the trees that provide the lumber that goes into buildings and furniture, and is used to make paper or provide heat. And don’t forget the rocks and the minerals that all have a purpose, some for their beauty and others for building or other practical uses. There is a purpose, a need, for all that has been created, even those pesky insects that become the food source for our winged co-habitants, or the abundance of little fish that become the food for the bigger fish.

What is so interesting is life itself. Whether its humans or animals, or trees and shrubs, or grass and flowers, or creatures in the seas or the birds above, every single form of life has one thing in common, the ability to reproduce itself and thereby sustain life. All of those forms of life sustain life itself. Just think for a moment about the grasses that spring from the earth and all the different animals that feed on that most basic form of life. And how those forms of life that feed on the grasses become the meat that sustains human life. And think too, about the large humpback whales that mainly feed on some of the tiniest creatures in the oceans; small shrimp and krill.

Think too, about how plants nourish themselves through the process we call photosynthesis. It begins as the roots of the plant suck up water from the ground, send it to the leaves through tubes in the stems of the plant and through the process feeds itself.

The Sun, the moon, and the Earth that we live on, and the rest of God’s creation that is still expanding, are all the result of that one “big bang.” The sheer numbers in that creation are beyond calculation and the genius of life in all its forms, with each having the innate ability to reproduce life, is absolutely mind blowing.

A column in “Life Advancer” indicated that since Earth’s creation, 99 percent of all animal species have become extinct. The primary reasons being asteroid strikes, climate change (Ice Age), illness, loss of habitat, shrinking genetic pool, competition (survival of the fittest causing the shrinking genetic pool), food shortage, and human predation. It does not appear that the animals that became extinct did so knowingly but rather, because of things beyond their control or beyond their knowledge to understand and evaluate and adjust (

Today, many countries, particularly those we call “developed” nations, have diminishing populations, as they are birthing less than the 2.1 children per couple that is required just to maintain a stable population number. On the other hand, the less developed and poorest countries generally are birthing over double what is needed to sustain their populations. If those conditions persist, will it lead to the -extinction of the human race?

(Bob Meade is a Laconia resident.) 

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