Eternal Harmony: Volume 1: the Unity of Truth in God

By Dr. Ron R. Rickards

Has modern physics proven that the universe was created by absolutely nothing? Absolutely not! Have modern cosmology and Darwinian evolution eliminated the need for God? Absolutely not! Have the new atheists demonstrated the irrelevance of theology and philosophy in the pursuit of Truth? Not even close!

The first of the four-volume Eternal Harmony series, The Unity of Truth in God demonstrates decisively the powerful convergence of God-made religion and genuine science as well as faith and reason in the unity of truth in the one, true, triune God of the Holy Bible. The Tower of Modern Scientism is concurrently demolished so that not one scientistic stone is left standing upon another. Can the truths of modern science and God-made religion be brought into Eternal Harmony? Most definitely! Are human life and the cosmos meaningful and purposeful? Yes! Can you personally inherit eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth and be with God Himself? Absolutely!

Join physicist Dr. Ron R. Rickards on a sacred journey up the Mountain of Truth, which begins on common scientific and religious ground and ends with the most exalted truths of modern science and God-made religion coexisting peacefully in Eternal Harmony.

By incorporating the lyric sheets to a dozen original songs, The Unity of Truth in God engages the reader as all human beings truly deserve to be engaged: in the fullness of our humanitythat is, in heart, soul, and mind. The soundtrack is available through Amazon, iTunes and other popular outlets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512734881

Dr. Ron R. Rickards

Dr. Ron R. Rickards is a physicist, a musician, and the founder/president of Eternal Harmony Music and Literature, a Christ-centered, science-based ministry. Eternal Harmony Music and Literature aims to foster a harmonious interrelationship between religion and science as well as reason and faith through original Christ-centered music and literature.

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Copyright © 2016 Ronald Robert Rickards.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Eternal Harmony, Free, Glorify You, Lord, Hallowed Be Thy Holy Name, Hands of God, Home, Jesus!, Jesus, My Lord, Oh, My Jesus, The Lord’s Prayer, Who Am I © 2016 Ronald Robert Rickards. Rise Up! © 2016 Ronald Robert Rickards and Gregory Paul Rickards.

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Einstein at the blackboard cartoon by S. Harris

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3489-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3490-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3488-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906041

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/15/2016

Contents

Figures

Tables

Songs

Preface

PART 1: The Truth War

Chapter 1: The Truth That Sets Us Free

1.1. The God of Truth

1.1.1. Truth Defined

1.2. From Common to Higher Ground

1.2.1. Reclaiming True Truth

1.2.2. Higher Common Ground

1.3. Onward and Upward: Running the Good RACE of Grace

1.3.1. Truth Refined

1.3.2. Truth Assigned

1.3.3. Truth Combined

1.3.4. Truth Enshrined

Chapter 2: The Way and the Truth and the Life

2.1. The Way of Truth

2.1.1. Reclaiming Both Scientific and Biblical Truth

2.1.2. How to Avoid Becoming a Pseudoscientist

2.1.3. The Way of Truth in Science

1.1.4. The Way of Truth in Religion

2.1.4. How to Avoid Becoming a Pseudo-Religionist

2.2. The Way of Life

2.2.1. The Hard Teachings of Jesus

2.2.2. On Being and Nothingness

Chapter 3: The Highest Ground

3.1. Breaking the Secret Codes

3.1.1. Breaking the Codes of the Illusionists

3.1.2. Breaking the Codes of A Universe from Nothing

3.1.3. On Fields and Quantum Fields

3.2. On the Being of Being and the Nothingness of Nothing

3.2.1. Blowing Away the Dense White Smoke of Particle Physics

3.2.2. From Whence the Dense White Smoke Came

3.2.3. Shattering the Mirrors of A Universe from Nothing

3.2.4. The Multiverse of the Gaps

3.2.5. Honesty, Transparency, and Full Disclosure

3.2.6. Peekaboo Physics vs. A Universe from Quantum Fields

3.2.7. Hide or Seek

3.2.8. The Pink Elephant in the Room

3.3. God Is God

3.3.1. The Most High God

3.3.2. Forward

PART 2: God Is God

Chapter 4: The One True God

4.1. First Things First: God Is God

4.1.1. The Question behind All Questions

4.1.2. God’s Eternal Perfection and Glory

4.2. The Incomprehensibility of God

4.2.1. God Is God and Man Is Man

4.2.2. What the Incomprehensibility of God Means

4.2.3. What the Incomprehensibility of God Does Not Mean

4.2.4. On Human Sin and Human Weakness

Chapter 5: The Unity of Truth in God

5.1. Breaking Free from the Shackles of Modern Scientism

5.1.1. Childhood Musings

5.1.2. For Your Information

5.1.3. On Information and Informationalism

5.1.4. Taking a Good Second, Third, and Fourth Look at a DVD

5.2. Chiasmic Cosmology

5.2.1. Cosmology with a Capital C

5.2.2. The Cosmic Showdown

5.2.3. Maslow’s Hammer and the Kenosis of Chiasmic Cosmology

5.2.4. The Cosmic Tree of Existence and the Unity of Truth in God

5.2.5. Stereoscopic and Cyclopean Visions of True Truth

PART 3: Man Is Man

Chapter 6: Who We Are in Adam

6.1. We Were Created in Glory: The Imago Dei in Overview

6.1.1. The Unity of Truth in God in Genesis 1

6.1.2. The Tripartite Nature of Man and Its Degeneration

6.1.3. The Aftermath of Three Centuries of Scientism

6.1.4. The Holy Bible as an Owner’s Manual and the Imago Dei

6.2. We Were Clothed in Glory: The Imago Dei Completed

6.2.1. The Most Blessed Dawn of Eve

6.2.2. Thee I Love

6.2.3. The Greatest Love of All

6.2.4. Sacred Blueprints of Spiritual Truths

6.3. We Are Fallen: The Imago Dei Shattered

6.3.1. The Heart of the Matter

6.3.2. Paradise Lost

6.3.3. We Are Taller When We Bow

6.3.4. A Clipped Rose by Any Other Name

Chapter 7: Echoes of Eden

7.1. Farewell to Eden: Picking up the Shattered Pieces of Our Hearts

7.1.1. The Protevangelium

7.1.2. God’s Holy and Just Judgments upon Eve and Adam

7.1.3. Physical Death Is the Gateway to Paradise or Hades

7.2. Expulsion from Eden and the Regeneration of Our Fallen Hearts

7.2.1. On God-Made Religion and Man-Made Religions

7.2.2. Light, Darkness, and the Impending Kingdom of Light

7.2.3. The Inherent Darkness of Man-Made Religions

7.2.4. True Freedom Is in Christ Alone

7.2.5. The Shedding of Innocent Blood for the Remission of Sins

7.3. Life after Eden: Eternal Salvation and Faith-Righteousness

7.3.1. The Absolute Incompatibility of Holiness and Sin

7.3.2. How Should We Then Live?

7.3.3. What Saith the Scripture?

7.3.4. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

7.3.5. Vicarious Atonement by Substitutionary Sacrifice

7.3.6. The Suffering Servant and Vicarious Atonement

7.3.7. God-Righteousness and Faith-Righteousness

7.3.8. It’s a Matter of Truth and Trust

7.3.9. Beware of Man-Made Christianity

7.3.10. We Enter God’s Home on God’s Terms Alone

Chapter 8: History Is His Story to God’s Glory

8.1. The Inherent Insufficiency of God-Forsaking Knowledge

8.1.1. The Absolute Infinitude of God and Creatio ex Nihilo

8.1.2. Weighing the Scientistic Worldview on the Balance of Truth

8.1.3. The Creator Is the Crucified

8.1.4. On Limited, One-Sided, Materialism-Based Worldviews

8.1.5. Modern Science Rediscovers the Tree of Knowledge

8.2. Recovering the True, Biblical Conception of History

8.2.1. God-Centered History is Meaningful and Purposeful

8.2.2. The Judeo-Christian Helical View of History

8.2.3. God’s Providence over History

8.2.4. God’s Everlasting Covenants with Man

8.2.5. On Physical and Spiritual Evolution

8.3. History Is His Story

8.3.1. The Profound Purpose and Eternal Meaning of History

8.3.2. The Spiritual Harvest of History within the Covenant of Love

8.3.3. History Is His Story to God’s Glory

Chapter 9: Union and Communion with Christ

9.1. Who We Are in Christ

9.1.1. The Remedy for Man’s Fall: The Last Adam

9.1.2. Noah’s Ark and Eternal Salvation in Christ Jesus Alone

9.1.3. Believers’ Lives Are Hidden Securely with Christ Jesus in God

9.2. Who the Christ in Us Is

9.2.1. Some Sobering Statistics

9.2.2. The Light Still Shines in the Darkness

9.2.3. The Protorevelation of Christ’s Humanity and Deity

9.2.4. The Deity of the God-man, Jesus Christ

9.3. Weighing Sin and Salvation on the Balance of Truth

9.3.1. The Mathematics and Dynamics of Sin

9.3.2. The Mathematics and Dynamics of Salvation

9.4. The Consummation of All Things in the Unity of Truth in God

9.4.1. On Measurement

9.4.2. On Fine-Tuning and Fine-Detuning

9.4.3. The Ongoing Clash of Worldviews

9.4.4. Grand Unifications in Christ Jesus

Chapter 10: Hands of God

10.1. Hands of God

10.1.1. Hands of God (Short Story)

10.1.2. The God of New Beginnings

Appendix

References

Figures

Figure P.1. An Equilateral Triangle.

Figure P.2. The Marriage Triangle.

Figure P.3. Triangle Representation of the Holy Trinity.

Figure 2.1. Hierarchical Structure of Authority in Science.

Figure 2.2. Hierarchical Structure of Authority in Religion.

Figure 2.3. Hierarchical Structure of Authority in Religion and Science.

Figure 2.4. Two Sides of One Golden Pendant.

Figure 2.5. The Defaced and Devalued Pendant of Atheism/Antitheism.

Figure 2.6. A Geometric Point, Straight Line, and Circle.

Figure 3.1. The Fields Medal Representation of Quantum Field Theory.

Figure 3.2. The Defaced and Devalued Fields Medal of Particle Physics.

Figure 3.3. Particle-Only Representation of Particle Physics.

Figure 3.4. Space-Law Duality Representation of Quantum Field Theory.

Figure 3.5. Level 1 Half-Truth: Empty Space Quantum Field Theory.

Figure 3.6. Level 2 Half-Truth: Law-Only Quantum Field Theory.

Figure 3.7. Scientism’s Pseudo-Reality vs. Biblical Reality.

Figure 3.8. Religious/God References vs. Chapter Designation.

Figure 3.9. The All-Seeing Eye of God.

Figure 5.1. Live Concert to Televised Concert Flowchart.

Figure 5.2. Chiasmic Cosmology Flowchart.

Figure 5.3. The Spirit-Truth Duality Representation of True Worship.

Figure 5.4. Scientistic Cosmology Flowchart.

Figure 5.5. Tree of Structure/Causation for the Natural and Life Sciences.

Figure 5.6. Hierarchy of Structure/Causation for the Natural Sciences.

Figure 5.7. Hierarchy of Structure/Causation for the Life Sciences.

Figure 6.1. The Unity of Truth in God in Genesis 1.

Figure 6.2. Triadic Structure of Marriage.

Figure 8.1. Schematic Representation of Creatio ex Nihilo.

Figure 9.2. The Scientific Christian and Scientistic Atheist Worldviews.

Figure 9.3. Grand Unifications in Christ.

Tables

Table 5.1. Truth and Error Matrix regarding the Worship of God.

Table 5.2. Truth and Error Matrix regarding the Study of Existence.

Table 8.1. Genesis Genealogy from Adam to Noah.

Table A.1. Abbreviations for the Books of the Old Testament.

Table A.2. Abbreviations for the Books of the New Testament.

Songs

Eternal Harmony

Free

Jesus!

The Lord’s Prayer

Glorify You, Lord

Hallowed Be Thy Holy Name

Who Am I

Home

Jesus, My Lord

Rise Up!

Oh, My Jesus

Hands of God

Dedication

To the one, true, triune God:

• To God the Father, who sovereignly elected me into His glorious Kingdom,

• To God the Son, who mercifully saved me by the shedding of His very own Blood, and

• To God the Spirit, who graciously indwells and purifies me, so that I, a sinful yet repentant believer, shall yet abide eternally in God’s everlasting Kingdom.

I also dedicate this book to you, my dear reader—Christian and non-Christian alike—for investing the time and effort to conscientiously consider Christ in the light of modern science and physics.

Epigraph

More than anything else, the future of civilization depends on the way the two most powerful forces of history, science and religion, settle into relationship with each other.

—Alfred North Whitehead

Preface

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what’s best—

as above, so below.

—Matthew 6:9–10 (The Message)

In a simple yet profound way, the story of my life is the tale of a journey that spans promisingly across three bridges. I learned about the first bridge primarily through my earthly father, Dr. Michael Anthony Rickards (1930–2015). My Dad graduated from M.I.T. in engineering and subsequently earned a Ph.D. at U.S.C. in aerospace engineering. Although he had never received the public accolades that university professors typically enjoy, it is chiefly because his scientific publications were in the form of classified technical reports that always remained internal to the companies for which he worked. Within the companies themselves, however, he was highly esteemed. Although you may have never heard of Dr. Michael Rickards before, still he may very well have contributed to the designing and building of some of the aircraft in which you have flown, as well as to the designing and building of some of the naval ships that protect our coastlines and country.

On one of my visits to Texas, soon after I had obtained my own doctorate in physics from U.C.D., my Dad and I went on a road trip together. One of the most memorable stops was a visit to the NASA Space Center in Houston, which we both loved. We were like two children in a toy store. As I gazed at a command module on display, I relived in my mind the tremendous awe and excitement I felt when, as a little boy, I watched (via a black and white television set) a NASA rocket ship lift off the earth and enter the distant realm of outer space for the first time in my life! As a grown man, however, I could not help but feel utterly astonished as to just how tiny and cramped the command modules of those otherwise towering rocket ships actually were. Looking through the doorway of the command module, I could also see just how small and narrow the seats were upon which the brave and courageous astronauts sat as they made history.

As my Dad gazed at the seat, he relived a great and memorable moment in his life as well. He told me of the time, early in his own professional career, when he was a key designer and builder of an ejection seat that saved the life of a then young test pilot. The name of that young and aspiring test pilot was none other than Neil Alden Armstrong! As the annals of science history attest, at 02:56:15 UTC on Monday 21 July 1969, when I was just eight years old, Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) went on to become the first man to place his foot on the moon, after which he uttered the famous and unforgettable words, That’s one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind. On that momentous Apollo 11 journey, both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, while Michael Collins piloted the command module.

While pretty much everybody in the modern world knows who Neil Armstrong was, almost nobody at the NASA Space Center on that day had the slightest inkling who Michael Rickards was. That is, nobody except me. To everybody else, my Dad was just another visitor at the Space Center. To me, however, he was an expert designer and builder. Today, he is still a profound reminder that, if you design and build the bridges of your lifetime thoughtfully and carefully, you will not only improve your own personal purpose and destiny, but you may even help save lives and permanently improve the course of human history in the very same process as well.

How, then, do you design and build the best bridges?

Since I was a little boy, before I really even knew what science was, I have always had an innate scientific curiosity. I was the child who always asked the why question. I simply wanted to know and understand how things worked. My Dad picked up quickly on my scientific curiosity and occasionally interjected a running scientific commentary on life.

As a prime example, when my brothers and I were taken to Disneyland for the first time in our lives, we were all very excited about going on the rides, particularly the rollercoasters. As we waited in the long lines, my Dad on several occasions leaned down next to me, draped one arm around my shoulders, pointed upward with his other hand at the ride, and said, Look, Ronny, triangles! He explained that, because triangles are ideal structures for handling both stresses and strains, all of the rollercoasters in the amusement park were constructed with triangles. And, sure enough, they were.

FigureP1.jpg

Figure P.1. An Equilateral Triangle.

Evidently, if it were not for triangles like figure P.1, Disneyland and Walt Disney World would not be such adventurous and magical kingdoms after all. I wonder how many fathers have ever had that kind of conversation with their children at an amusement park.

When I was a teenager, as we would cross a bridge or pass an electrical tower on the road, my Dad would still occasionally point and say to me, Look, Ron, triangles! Inspired by the tried and true bases of the electrical towers, my Dad even designed and helped me build what turned out to be a record-breaking toothpick bridge, when I took my first physics class at La Jolla High School. And, believe it or not, even after I had obtained my Ph.D. in physics, my Dad would still point and say, Look, Ron, triangles! Sometimes I would think to myself, "Wow! My Dad must think I am a really slow learner or something!"

But the correct answer is or something. Colleges and Universities are excellent at teaching students all the diverse things they need to know (logic, mathematics, chemistry, biology, engineering, physics, etc.) to become a good scientist. Nevertheless, the key to becoming a great scientist is not only to thoroughly master the technical skills of your field but, at least as importantly, to never lose your original sense of wonder and mystery toward the simplest things in life—including, especially, the wonder and mystery of simply being. Virtually all of us, I am convinced, are predisposed to begin our lives in this healthy way. Unfortunately, for some reason or another, somewhere along the line, the majority of human beings simply choose to forget.

Since we are creatures created with free will, you certainly do not have to build your own bridges with triangles. In fact, you are free to build them any which way you please. At the same time, take a good look around you: The longest and strongest bridges (as well as the tallest and sturdiest towers) are consistently designed and built out of elemental triangles. They are, in fact, the only long bridges that can safely withstand the heaviest loads and, furthermore, survive powerful winds, storms, torrents—and even typhoons, tsunamis, and earthquakes—essentially intact.¹ Nevertheless, real bridges always have real limitations.

In retrospect, I was a physicist in spirit long before I ever became a physicist in the eyes and through the institutions of the world. Paradoxically, if I had failed at this scholastic undertaking, I would have thereby essentially failed to become (in my mind) who I already was (in my heart). In other words, failing was not a viable option. And, so, the task challenged and consumed me for many years. When I finally crossed that bridge in my life and attained a doctorate in 1992, it was, quite honestly, one of the most gratifying and liberating experiences in my life. It meant not only that I could work as a professional physicist, but also that I could finally move forward with the rest of my life, without ever again fearing that that vital bridge that connected my mind with my heart would somehow collapse before it was completed.

I learned about the second bridge primarily with and through the love of my life: my wife, Ester. I met Ester at work within a few months of being hired in 1996 by Therma-Wave, Inc. (now assimilated into KLA-Tencor). TWI designed and built high-tech, integrated, optical measuring devices used by metrology groups in the fabrication of computer chips. Ester worked as a temporary accountant at TWI for only a few months—which, fortunately, was long enough for us to meet. One of the things I love most about Ester is that she has a warm and beautiful smile. From the very first time our eyes locked together, I had a deep sense that she had a look in her eyes and a smile on her face that was reserved somehow for just me. You cannot measure such things on a scientific device but, all the same, it is no less real than a meter, a kilogram, or a second. You know it when you see it. And when you know it and see it, it changes everything for the better.

I became a Christian rather late in life on a mid-August day in the year 2000, about eight months shy of my fortieth birthday. Like the Old Testament Israelites, you could say that I had wandered forty years in the (spiritual) desert before, by God’s grace, I finally entered into the larger meaning, value, and purpose of my own life. Immediately after I was born again, however, I read and studied the Bible voraciously, as I shall continue to do for the rest of my God-given life. I know very well what it takes to obtain a doctorate and I have approached the Bible with no less commitment and resolve. Meanwhile, the more I read and studied and understood the Bible, the stronger became God’s calling upon my life—until it eventually became an irresistible force, which I had an ever-diminishing will or desire to resist.

The Bible says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (Jas 1:17, NIV). While there is surely nothing wrong with helping to make faster and better computer chips, I knew that that was simply not God’s calling upon my life. I knew that my calling and my true and proper worship (Ro 12:1) was to give back to God the gifts of physics and music He had given me; to, as it were, duly and dutifully complete the circuits. It was the least I could do, given all that God had done for me and humanity on the Cross at Calvary. The more immersed I became in study, the clearer became God’s specific calling on my life: There is a Goliath in modern society named Scientism, and my assignment in the kingdom of God is to take scientism down, while lifting the Bible up, by appealing directly to modern science—particularly modern physics—itself. David (who was also a musician) did not wait until he was a retired and feeble old man before he confronted his Goliath head-on, and neither shall I.

We demonstrate our love for God not merely by the words we say or the songs we sing, but most importantly by walking along the path of wholehearted obedience, in accordance with the plans He has foreordained for our lives. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands (1Jn 5:3). In Matthew 14:25–33, Peter demonstrated his love for Jesus not by walking on the water but by simply getting out of the boat. We express our love for God through faithful obedience; God, in turn, expresses His infinite love for us through the ultimately unimaginably positive God-given consequences of our faith and obedience—including, especially, eternal salvation. Thus, as Dr. Charles F. Stanley sagely advises, Obey God and leave the consequences to Him (2005, 86). After much thought, preparation, and prayer, Ester and I made the spiritually wise yet worldly foolish move to, like Apostle Peter, get out of the proverbial boat. So, in faithful obedience to God, yet not without considerable trepidation and formidable challenges ahead, I separated from my worldly vocation at KLA-Tencor on 5 January 2009 to found and pursue full-time the Christian ministry of Eternal Harmony Music and Literature.

In the overall scheme of things, the Eternal Harmony Music and Literature ministry is primarily my dream child and not Ester’s. I am therefore especially grateful to Ester for sacrificially putting her own dreams on hold to help my dream come true. Ester singlehandedly held up the financial burdens of our household for seven years, which is a far longer time than either of us originally anticipated. In truth, the added time commitments put tremendous stresses and strains upon our marriage that, but for the grace of the God whom we both love, would surely have torn us apart. I have personally ventured forward upon this spiritual journey because, similar to the biblical Esther, I know to the very core of my God-given being that I was born for such a time as this (Est 4:14). Even so, I could not have embarked upon this work alone, because I have been enabled not only by God, but also by my wife.

It is vital to emphasize that these financial risks and sacrifices have nothing to do with either Ester’s or my personal salvation. Furthermore, the Eternal Harmony Music and Literature ministry and the Eternal Harmony series of books and songs have nothing to do with our salvation either. Rather, our personal salvation has everything to do with our individual faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary on our individual behalf. As it is written,

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2:8–9)

Still, the Bible immediately proceeds to state in no uncertain terms that all Christians are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10).

In the final analysis, real marriages between real people always have real limitations. Ester is not perfect, and I am certainly not perfect either. Rather, we are both repentant believers who love and praise and worship an absolutely perfect God. The second bridge is correspondingly made out of the elemental triangle shown in figure P.2.

FigureP2.jpg

Figure P.2. The Marriage Triangle.

The Bible states that God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1Jn 4:16). Therefore, to love fully is to first and foremost have a heart of gratitude toward Almighty God. Because human beings are imperfect, we need to love each other with forgiving hearts, as we all err along the way. And because God is perfect, we need to love God with hearts that are capable of duly worshiping His absolute perfection and humbly receiving His merciful forgiveness, as He acts in history with perfect judgment and redemption.

The first bridge, comprised of elemental triangles represented by figure P.1, is a basically static bridge designed and built to span great expanses of space. The second bridge, comprised of elemental triangles represented by figure P.2, is a basically dynamic bridge designed and built to span great durations of time—even lifetimes. Nobody is obliged to build their marriages in this way. But if you want a marriage that is designed and built to survive the powerful winds, storms, torrents, and even the typhoons, tsunamis, and earthquakes that life sometimes throws your way—and, moreover, survive these things essentially intact—you can do no better than to center and focus your marriage upon the God who is love. People who leave God out of their marriage are bonded only by a legal contract, whereas people who center and focus their marriage upon God are bonded by a holy covenant. As illustrated in figure P.2, as husband and wife grow individually closer to God in a holy covenant, we ideally grow closer to each other in the very same process. God, in His infinite wisdom, designed and built marriages not only to survive but to even thrive in all circumstances in precisely this way.

Finally, I learned about the third bridge from my heavenly Father. This is the grandest bridge ever constructed. It is the one and only bridge that has been designed and built not merely to span across the entirety of space and time, but, far more gloriously, to span from earth to heaven, from spacetime to eternity, from the finite to the infinite, from the imperfect to the perfect, and from here to the hereafter. It is a bridge whose span and burden is so great that it cannot incorporate even the slightest taint or tincture of weakness, for any bridge is only as strong as its weakest element. The third and most glorious bridge of all is correspondingly made out of the elemental triangle shown in figure P.3.

FigureP3.jpg

Figure P.3. Triangle Representation of the Holy Trinity.

As above, so below: The similarity of the triangles in figure P.3 and P.2 is the theoretical basis behind the mystery that is Christ and the church (Eph 5:32), which is expressed empirically in the Bible by alluding to the church as the bride, the wife of the Lamb (Rev 21:9).² As illustrated in figure P.3, the third bridge is not in any way whatsoever the design or work of imperfect, sinful human beings, but purely the design and work of the perfect, holy, triune God. This bridge alone, being absolutely perfect, can withstand any burden. While the third bridge is something we could never personally achieve in and of ourselves, it is nevertheless something we can always personally receive, by grace … through faith … in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:8, 10), up until the very moment we die and our fate is thereby eternally sealed. It is the infinitely lesser burden of this Eternal Harmony series to show, using reasonable faith and faithful reasoning in the light of modern science in general and physics in particular, just how and why eternal salvation is received in precisely this and no other way.

When asked by a teacher of the law, Of all the commandments, which is the most important? (Mk 12:28), Jesus responded as follows:

The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. (Mk 12:29–31)

As history and the Bible amply attest, Jesus Christ has certainly given His very all to humanity. So, in writing the Eternal Harmony series of books and composing and recording the companion songs, I have tried my best to give my all to honor my Lord’s commandments. The Eternal Harmony: The Unity of Truth in God soundtrack may be purchased at iTunes and other outlets.

If you are a scientist who reads the Eternal Harmony series without at least having the wonder and mystery of existence being rekindled within you, then I sincerely hope you shall find other works of art, literature, or science to help you achieve that basic goal. On the other hand, if you are a nonscientist who reads this Eternal Harmony series without having understood a lot of the science but having still grasped the wonder and mystery of being, then you can rest assured that you have comprehended the better part of the total exposition. Whether you comprehend all of the scientific details or not, you can further rest assured that Christianity stands in complete harmony with the very best of modern physics and well beyond. For those readers who understand all of the scientific and religious aspects, I hope you will find this work useful in further intensifying your personal worship of God, as well as in sharing your love for God with those around you.

Most of all, whether scientist or nonscientist, I hope and pray the Eternal Harmony series helps you acquire an ever-deepening sense of just how immeasurably God loves you—and how, once it is properly received, God’s love makes all the difference in the world … and, far, far beyond. Both Ester’s father and my father passed away in 2015. At this point in my life, I have seen enough death to know that, no matter who a person is, in and of ourselves, we are all equally powerless before death. How many times I have wished that my love would make more of a difference than it actually does! But, alas, it does not. Even so, I do intimately and personally know a love that truly makes the ultimate difference: God’s love, particularly as displayed by Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. Hence, in spirit and truth, I can do nothing more loving with my life than to simply point you to His love. For the good news of the gospel is that death is ultimately powerless before Jesus Christ, who now holds the keys of death and Hades (Rev 1:18). Thus, all who are in Christ shall ultimately prove to be more than conquerors through him who loved us (Ro 8:37). As will be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt, there is nothing in modern science and physics preventing you from fully embracing this biblical truth. On the contrary, everything in modern science and physics harmonizes beautifully and profoundly with the Holy Bible.

As it is written, so I pray it shall be as you read and study this book and the entire Eternal Harmony series:

The LORD bless you

and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you

and give you peace. (Nu 6:24–26)

For convenience, a list of abbreviations for the books of the Bible used in the text of this book is listed in the appendix. May the one true God be glorified by the strengthening of the faith of all my brothers and sisters in Christ by the wonderful light of modern physics, even as modern physics continues to be wonderfully enlightened by the infinite light of God. May God also be glorified by the marvelous sounds of our worshipful praises of Him, even as music continues to be marvelously enlivened by the infinite love of God. May God and the people of God use this book and its companion volumes as instruments through which innumerably more people shall wholeheartedly, whole-soulfully, and whole-mindedly receive the Word of God and come into God’s glorious kingdom.

Finally, I would like to thank my mother, Georgette Rickards McMorris, through whom God created me. Not only did she give birth to me, but she also made it a high priority that this project would be born into the world in as timely a fashion as possible. Because this work is meaningful and valuable to me, it has always been meaningful and valuable to her as well. Thanks also to Alan, who has proofread portions of the manuscript and offered valuable feedback. Although Alan is physically my stepson, he is spiritually more than a son to me: he is also my brother in Christ. Thanks also to Ester’s parents, Elisha (1935–2015) and Maria Eitalyaei, for the literally thousands of prayers they have lovingly and faithfully prayed over this book. One of my two best prayer warriors is now with Jesus. I look forward to seeing Elisha again in the new heavens and the new earth, where language differences shall no longer present any barrier to those who are united in Christ.

I have not journeyed completely across the span of the third bridge yet. But when I do cross the threshold and enter into heaven by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, I sure hope and pray to eventually see you there as well. If God uses this work as an instrument to draw just one person to Himself, then I have not labored in vain. In any case, from beginning to end, it has always been and shall forever remain a labor of love.

Ron R. Rickards

Arizona, 2016

Eternal Harmony (R. Rickards)

The Old is the New concealed

The New is the Old revealed

Timeless, sacred melody

Completed by Eternal Harmony

Christ died for you and for me

Christ rose for those who believe

And all those sins hung down at Calvary

Were defeated by Eternal Harmony

How many must fall

Even after You gave it all

How many go on

Pretending like nothing happened?

How many? How many?

Harmony, harmony …

Lord, how many take Perfect Love

Perfectly for granted?

Christ, be my heart, be my soul

My life is not just mine now, I know

So bless this song, Lord, to help them be

Completed by Eternal Harmony

How many must fall

Even after You gave it all

How many go on and on and on and on

Pretending like nothing happened?

O Lord! How many? How many?

Harmony, harmony …

Lord, how many take Perfect Love

Perfectly for granted?

The Old is the New concealed

The New is the Old revealed

Yes, I was blind, Lord, but now I see

Completed by Eternal Harmony

We were bound, Lord, but now we’re free

Completed by Eternal Harmony

VOLUME 1

The Unity of Truth in God

Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

—Isaiah 46:8–10

PART 1: The Truth War

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

—2 Corinthians 10:3–5

The power of truth is infinitely greater than the truth of power. Hence Jesus gives hope to those who are powerless but who represent the truth.

—Andreas Köstenberger, Whatever Happened to Truth

Chapter 1: The Truth That Sets Us Free

Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

—John 8:31–32

1.1. The God of Truth

Of all our duties, the love of truth, with faith and constancy in it, ranks first and highest. Truth is God. To love God and to love Truth are one and the same.

—Silvio Pellico, The Duties of Men

1.1.1. Truth Defined

The nature of truth is determined by the nature of God, who is, after all, the one true God (Isa 65:16) and the God of truth (Ps 31:5, YLT). Correspondingly, in his book The Truth War, Dr. John MacArthur provides the following simple yet most comprehensive definition of truth:

[T]ruth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Even more to the point: truth is the self-expression of God. (2007, 2)

Truth is therefore both theological and ontological. As MacArthur stresses,

Reality is what it is because God declared it so and made it so. Therefore God is the author, source, determiner, governor, arbiter, ultimate standard, and final judge of all truth. (2)

MacArthur’s definition of truth is vastly superior to the various definitions proffered by worldly philosophers, because his definition is, in a word, biblical. And the word of God is truth. Thus says God, I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right (Isa 45:19). Thus the psalmist writes of God, All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal (Ps 119:159). Thus, in His prayer to the Father for His disciples, Jesus said, Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (Jn 17:17). As it is written, All Scripture is God-breathed (2Ti 3:16). Hence, as Jesus personally assured, Scripture cannot be set aside (Jn 10:35).

Additionally, because the definition of truth flows from the personhood of God, truth is intensely and irreducibly personal. Truth is personified perfectly in the person and work of the God-man, Jesus Christ. In the words of MacArthur,

The Old Testament refers to the Almighty as the God of truth (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 31:5; Isaiah 65:16). When Jesus said of Himself, "I am … the truth" (John 14:6, emphasis added), He was thereby making a profound claim about His own deity. He was also making it clear that all truth must ultimately be defined in terms of God and His eternal glory. After all, Jesus is the brightness of [God’s] glory and the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:3). He is truth incarnate—the perfect expression of God and therefore the absolute embodiment of all that is true. (2007, 2)

MacArthur emphasizes the self-consistency of the biblical definition of truth, as well as its comprehensive correspondence to reality, which includes but extends far beyond mere physical reality to embrace vital truths pertaining to God, the human heart and conscience, moral standards, human law and religion:

[T]he truth of Christ and the truth of the Bible are of the very same character. They are in perfect agreement in every respect. Both are equally true. God has revealed Himself to humanity through Scripture and through His Son. Both perfectly embody the essence of what truth is.

Remember, Scripture also says God reveals basic truth about Himself in nature. The heavens declare His glory (Psalm 19:1). His other invisible attributes (such as His wisdom, power, and beauty) are on constant display in what He has created (Romans 1:20). Knowledge of Him is inborn in the human heart (Romans 1:19), and a sense of the moral character and loftiness of His law is implicit in every human conscience (Romans 2:15). Those things are universally self-evident truths. According to Romans 1:20, denial of the spiritual truths we know innately always involves a deliberate and culpable unbelief. And for those who wonder whether basic truths about God and His moral standards really are stamped on the human heart, ample proof can be found in the long history of human law and religion. To suppress this truth is to dishonor God, displace His glory, and incur His wrath (vv. 19–20). (2007, 3)

Beyond meeting the basic requirements of complete self-consistency and comprehensive correspondence to reality, MacArthur concludes his section on the biblical definition of truth by wisely reaffirming the rightful preeminence of Scripture in human life:

Still the only infallible interpreter of what we see in nature or know innately in our own consciousness is the explicit revelation of Scripture. Since Scripture is also the one place where we are given the way of salvation, entrance into the kingdom of God, and an infallible account of Christ, the Bible is the touchstone to which all truth claims should be brought and by which all other truth must finally be measured. (2007, 4)

After all is said and done, God is the final authority and the Holy Bible is His supreme revelation to all humankind. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land, assured the prophet Isaiah, will do so by the one true God (Isa 65:16). Hence, as physicist Michael Faraday states, We ought to value the privilege of knowing God’s truth far beyond anything we can have in this world (Buchanan, Baxter, and Moir 1910, 18). Indeed, as it is written,

All people are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of the Lord endures forever. (1Pe 1:24–25)

The inclusive yet expansive nature of the biblical definition of truth shall prove to be essential in duly incorporating all the various levels of existence into a self-consistent and comprehensive worldview in the unity of truth in God.

1.2. From Common to Higher Ground

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

—Amos 3:3 (KJV)

1.2.1. Reclaiming True Truth

If mountains did not exist, there would be no mountain climbers. If mountains do exist—as indeed they do—then there would still be no mountain climbers if the world were somehow lied to and deceived to simply believe with a blind faith that mountains do not exist. It is a staggering fact that, in this day and age, a person can ascend the ladder of academia to achieve even a doctorate only to be taught and actually personally feign to truly believe that there is no truth. Moreover, if there is no truth, there is no mountain of truth to be climbed. As a result, crucial truth-seeking journeys are often foolishly ended before they are even begun.

Notwithstanding, the claim that there is no truth is blatantly self-defeating. For if it is true that there is no truth, then there must be at least one truth. Alternatively, if it is not true that there is no truth, then there must be truth. Either way, truth irrefutably emerges. Any alleged universal proposition of truth that so blatantly contradicts itself is not truth at all. Furthermore, the twisted notion that "it is true that there is no truth, except for the one truth that it is true that there is no truth" is nothing more or less than totally blind and unreasonable faith, which should be immediately rejected by any genuine truth-seeker.

It is precisely the pervasive denial of truth and the blind adoption of self-defeating propositions that compelled Francis Schaeffer to coin the phrase true truth in the 1980s. As Schaeffer explains,

Before man had a romantic hope that on the basis of rationalism he was going to be able to find a meaning to life, and put universals over the particulars. But on this side of Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, and Kierkegaard, this hope no longer exists; the hope is given up. People today live in a generation that no longer believes in the hope of truth as truth. That is why I use the term true truth in my books, to emphasize real truth. This is not just a tautology. It is an admission that the word truth now means something that before these four men would not have been considered truth at all. So I coined the expression true truth to make the point, but it is hard to make it sharp enough for people to understand how large the problem is. (1985, 312–13)

Unfortunately, the problem Schaeffer highlighted is just as ubiquitous in the early twenty-first century as ever.

There are a number of other self-defeating propositions that have been made popular by postmodernism, including the following:

• There are no absolute truths. Is it absolutely true that there are no absolute truths? If it is absolutely true, then it is not true that there are no absolute truths. If it is not absolutely true that there are no absolute truths, then there is at least one absolute truth. Either way, absolute truth irrefutably emerges.

• All truth is relative. Is it absolutely true that all truth is relative? If it is absolutely true, then not all truth is relative. If it is relatively true that all truth is relative, then there is no necessary or sufficient reason to exclude absolute truth. Either way, absolute truth irrefutably emerges.

• All truth is subjective. Is it objectively true that all truth is subjective? If it is objectively true, then not all truth is subjective. If it is subjectively true that all truth is subjective, then what about those subjects who hold truth to be objectively true? Either way, objective truth irrefutably emerges.

The use—or, more properly, the misuse and even abuse—of the scientific theories of relativity and quantum physics to pseudoscientifically justify the philosophies of relativism and subjectivism will be duly exposed and uprooted in volume 3 of this Eternal Harmony series of books.

Notice that, by simply applying its own specified standard to itself, each self-defeating proposition collapses immediately under nothing more than its own weight. In a similar manner, the fundamental tenet of scientism that all truth is scientific truth is not a scientific but a philosophical proposition that thereby instantly nullifies itself. Jesus Christ summed up the self-destructive dynamic of self-contradiction this way:

Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. (Lk 11:17)

Although there are many important mitigating factors, it is generally better for such self-defeating kingdoms and houses to be ruined and fall sooner rather than later, so that more lives may be spared the destruction and death associated with their innate structural deficiencies and imminent collapse. Moreover, in their stead, a superior kingdom with superior houses can be built on an eternally true and therefore everlasting foundation. Indeed, Jesus Christ came from heaven (Jn 3:13) for precisely this reason: to permanently establish the kingdom of God on earth.

There is a visible and an invisible world that intersect, writes Chip Ingram, and we live in the intersection. Ingram continues,

A cosmic conflict is raging, and it has eternal implications. The souls of men and women, of little boys and girls, of people of every nationality and color and language all over the planet are at stake. The enemy seeks to blind us all to the truth, to dull our souls and ruin our lives. That’s what spiritual warfare is all about. (2007, 39)

It is there in the truth-denying outer darkness, beyond the God-ordained border of the very bottom of the mountain of truth, where numerous postmodern philosophers feign to reside. Nevertheless, also near the border, unashamedly on the side of truth, genuine religion and genuine science come together powerfully in complete harmony against the enemies of truth. Fortunately, as light excludes darkness, whenever and wherever genuine religion and genuine science form a unified front, it is very difficult for the enemies of truth to advance intact.

Whether overtly or covertly, any and all attacks on truth are necessarily attacks on the God of truth (Ps 31:5, YLT). To wit, consider the following syllogism:

1) Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God.

2) Truth does not exist.

3) Therefore, God does not exist.

Genuine religion completely rejects the conclusion (3) on the basis that the postmodern proposition (2) is itself false.

On a Christian worldview, the proper syllogism is as follows:

1) God exists.

2) Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God.

3) Therefore, truth exists.

Without God there would be no truth, for without God there would be absolutely nothing, whether visible or invisible (cf. Col 1:16–17). With God, however, there is also necessarily truth. God does not need atheists to be God; atheists need God to be atheists. Ironically, every time an atheist or agnostic appeals to truth—such as in employing the law of noncontradiction—he or she is, however unwittingly, implicitly assenting to the existence of God.

Modern science arrives at the exact same conclusion (that is, the rejection of postmodernism’s rejection of truth), although from a different yet complementary direction. The Holy Bible says, from the top down, The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ (Ps 14:1; 53:1), where God is the God of truth (Ps 31:5, YLT). The modern scientists say, from the bottom up, The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no truth’, where science is the generator of scientific truths.

Frankly, all too many modern scientists view contemporary philosophers with professional disdain, largely because all too many postmodern philosophers view truth with disdain. Modern scientists know full well that without truth there would be no modern science and, when it comes down to it, no philosophy or postmodernism either. In addition, modern Christians know full well that for otherwise intelligent people to write volumes upon volumes of books trying to convince people that it is true that there is no truth only makes sense in the wider context of spiritual warfare.

Thus, as far as establishing incontrovertible common ground is concerned, Christians and modern scientists are in full agreement: truth exists. Most physicists, in particular, have absolutely no need and thus little tolerance for self-defeating propositions. Accordingly, the question of real interest is not whether truth exists, but how best to go about the vital mission of truth-seeking. Unfortunately, the most reasonable answer is also the most neglected:

Ideally, truth-seeking is to be pursued both from the top-down perspective of God-made religion and from the bottom-up perspective of modern science.

By effectively burning the candle of truth from both ends, modern science becomes an important tool by which God-made religion is beneficially illumined, just as God-made religion beneficially illumines modern science. Toward thus optimizing the light of truth, it is crucial to continually strive to firmly anchor the dialogue between religion and science to progressively higher points of common ground. In this manner, the cross-flow of information becomes mutually constructive and the powerful convergence of religion and science as well as faith and reason in the unity of truth in God will be made most evident.

1.2.2. Higher Common Ground

The mission statement of Eternal Harmony Music and Literature is stated on the associated website at http://eternalharmonymusic.com/ (or, equivalently, ronrickards.com) as follows:

The mission of Eternal Harmony Music and Literature is to foster a harmonious interrelationship between the realms of faith and reason as well as between religion and science through original Christ-centered music and literature. Eternal Harmony Music and Literature is committed to equip Christians to rigorously defend the reasonableness of their faith and encourage non-Christians to critically reexamine their own belief systems, in light of the theories and concepts of modern science, particularly physics.

If the Eternal Harmony series of books were being written for a Christian audience alone, I would be quite content to take John MacArthur’s biblical definition of truth as a suitable starting point toward providing a reasonable justification for Christianity. In point of fact, however, the Eternal Harmony series is intended for a widely diversified audience of Christians and non-Christians alike. As such, it is prudent to first establish the presently highest point of common ground from which to launch as inclusively as possible into the higher truths.

In fact, a similar challenge confronts every aspiring physicist who strives to ascend through the curricula of undergraduate physics. In lower division coursework, the student is customarily given a solid foundation in basic classical physics. This point of common ground typically includes courses in Newtonian physics, optics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and the like. It is the upper division courses, however, that really separate the men and women from the boys and girls. The weed out classes of undergraduate physics tend to be the courses on special relativity and quantum mechanics.³ Some students find these two subjects to be hopelessly difficult and confusing and therefore opt out of physics in favor of an easier and more commonsensical major. Others find the subjects to be immensely challenging yet even more immensely rewarding, and therefore well worth the time and effort required to master them.

Professor Glen Erickson, for whom I was a teaching assistant in graduate school, once told me that the only children in his family he ever worried about were those who did not change majors in undergraduate school. More than anything, he wanted each of his children to major in a subject that they truly loved, rather than the subject in which they just happened to invest the most time and effort. In other words, Dr. Erickson was confident that the children who changed their major midstream did so as a result of positive self-discovery, and were thereby willing to courageously embark upon a new path of positive self-realization, despite all the extra time and effort it entailed. On the other hand, he worried that those who did not change majors may have failed to do so merely out of shortsighted convenience, indifference, or slothfulness. Evidently, Dr. Erickson is as wise and thoughtful a father as he is a teacher.

Fortunately, in my case, the more challenging physics became, the more deeply I fell in love with it. As a result, I did not find it necessary to change major midstream. I readily admit, however, that I did not know this would be the case when I first entered the university. I did, however, change colleges within UCSD from Revelle to Warren, so that I could switch from majoring in physics and minoring in mathematics to majoring in physics and double-minoring in mathematics and music. In fact, I love music at least as much as I love physics. Having had such a late start in music, however, I felt that physics was a more reasonable primary pursuit upon which to build an optimally successful life and career.

In retrospect, the motivational glue that connected my lower division work with my upper division work, and then my undergraduate work with my graduate work onward, was a love of truth. It was a love of truth that made me choose physics over mathematics, for physics is essentially mathematics that is concretely applied to and rooted in the real world. In physics, it is not enough to have a self-consistent theory. In order to be deemed true, a physics theory must also correspond accurately to physical reality, as verified by observation and experiment.

Scientists in general, and physicists in particular, thereby tend to routinely adhere to a correspondence theory of truth, which is roughly, the idea that truth is a matter of a proposition (belief, thought, statement, representation) corresponding to reality; truth obtains when reality is the way a proposition represents it to be (Moreland and Craig 2003, 130). Physics deals primarily with mathematical representations of reality. Additionally, as J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig affirm, Scripture regularly presupposes some form of correspondence theory of truth … correspondence theory appears to capture both commonsense intuitions and biblical teaching (132).

Here then, in the correspondence theory of truth, however desacralized and secularized it may currently appear to be, is our desired point of higher common ground from which to earnestly begin to systematically develop a progressively unified representation of science and religion.

1.3. Onward and Upward: Running the Good RACE of Grace

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

—Hebrews 12:1–3

1.3.1. Truth Refined

How should we then proceed? Once again, lessons learned from science education provide considerable insight and direction.

In transitioning from nonrelativistic to relativistic physics or from classical to quantum physics, to follow up with the two most vital and prototypical cases in modern physics, there are distinct elements of continuity and discontinuity. The element of continuity is inevitable, inasmuch as both the old and new theory fall under the common rubric of science and attempt to describe the same underlying reality. The element of discontinuity is also inevitable, inasmuch as the new theory really does encode new information not contained in the old theory.

To stress the continuity of the new theory at the exclusion of the discontinuity with the old theory is to fail to make due progress. To stress the discontinuity of the new theory at the exclusion of the continuity with the old theory is to make a huge pedagogical mistake. For it is rightly said that fusion, absent a foundation of common truth, results only in confusion. The best teachers tend to not only impress their students with their knowledge, but also optimally impress their knowledge upon their students. Accordingly, the best teachers strike the best balance between continuity and discontinuity, so that mystery is eventually united with mastery in spirit and truth.

Let us begin with the example of Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity.⁴ Now that special relativity is over a century old, we certainly know how not to teach the subject. The worst strategy a teacher can adopt is to only discuss the apparent absurdities and so-called paradoxes associated with the theory. Time dilation (moving clocks run slowly) and length contraction (moving rulers are shortened) initially seem to be patent absurdities to people who are familiar only with common sense and, perhaps, nonrelativistic physics. Furthermore, the numerous paradoxes that ensue from these relativistic effects initially appear totally bizarre and unrealistic.

Aside from positively whetting the scientific appetite, if not quickly established on a foundation of common ground, the apparent absurdities and paradoxes of special relativity are more likely to negatively result in the premature rejection of the theory rather than its positive acceptance and comprehension. Predictably, in the early twentieth century, many scientists instantly rejected