Today shocking sound bites are blasted out at the public faster than bullets from a machine gun. The shock doesn't last long. The news cycle is moving way too fast for that. TV news is almost irrelevant. Nobody believes that propaganda anymore. And magazines? Magazine articles require too much reading for most people, so hardly move the needle of public awareness at all.

This has not always been so.

Back in 1966, there was no internet. No cable TV. There was radio and three TV networks in America, and that was it. Major magazines had real clout, because a lot of people took the time to read them. It is a very different world today, making it difficult to explain to a thoughtful younger person just how shocking the "Is God Dead?" Time magazine cover was, on the newsstand, or at the checkout of any store. I still remember seeing it for the first time at checkout at a grocery store. For me and for many others it was a shocking experience just seeing the cover in a public place. It felt obscene - just plain bad. And that's just the cover!  "[Many people were] "quick to judge the magazine by its cover and denounced Time as a haven of godlessness". For Time the issue caused around 3,500 letters to the editor—the largest number of responses to any one story in the history of the magazine. [See https: //en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_God_Dead]   

The 1966 article asserted a problem for modern theologians, in making God relevant to an increasingly secular society. It assumed that modern science had eliminated the need for religion to explain the natural world, thus making God "dead" for many. Clearly, the amount of pushback from the public was proof enough that the death of God had been greatly exaggerated.

Looking back at the 1960s, there can be no doubt that anti-god forces had come out of the closet with a full court press against God. The famous astronomer, Carl Sagan, emerged about that time. He became well known for the assertion that our earth is unexceptional in every way. He worked with a team to estimate the number of planets in our galaxy that could support life. By 1966, the same year as the Time issue mentioned above, they offered their results. They said a certain kind of star is needed, with a planet located at just the right distance from the star. In other words, just two conditions! Given their over-optimistic criteria, it is not surprising that they smugly arrived at an estimate of 1 million possible life-supporting planets within our galaxy alone - all with no need of a Creator.

Since the 1960s the mantra that science has removed the need for a Creator has been the norm, so by now a lot of people accept that as the scientific position. However, scientific knowledge has increased exponentially since then, because modern technical abilities have advanced so far beyond 1960 levels. Today we can see down to a far tinier depth than ever before, while also being able to see much farther out into the universe than ever before. This expanded vision of the natural world has changed everything. One overwhelming theme found in every field of scientific endeavor is this: absolutely everything is mind-bogglingly more complex than anyone ever thought possible. Intelligent design of the universe is becoming ever more obvious, and necessary, to explain the incredible complexity of how the world works. For example, instead of just two criteria for a planet to support life, there are now 200 known parameters to support life, and counting, that all appear to be fine-tuned to be in precise balance with one another and with the universe.

Sagan could not have been more wrong - the earth is far from unexceptional. It is, in fact, entirely exceptional, with no planet other than earth known to be capable of supporting life. Earth stands alone in the known universe as home to intelligent physical life. All of this is part of the "fine tuning" discovery of science. It turns out that our universe is fine-tuned to support life on earth. Well-known scientists are now backing off from Sagan's position, and some are now admitting that the idea of God as Creator is "the best explanation" of scientific reality as we now know it.

This is exactly the picture presented in the very first chapter of Genesis, by the way! The more we learn about the universe, the more Torah cosmology is being supported by scientific discovery. Of course, we knew that would happen, and will continue to happen, because the truth is always proven out in the end.

Here, I must put in a plug for our new Tsiyon Torah Course entitled Experience Genesis. Our very first lesson, on the first chapter of Genesis, deals with Torah Cosmology. Unlike so many other teachings on Genesis, that often water down the Biblical narrative to make it sound more agreeable to modern readers, we tell you what Genesis really says! No lies and no excuses. Many people have literally been astounded to see the curtain pulled back on Creation revealing amazing truth that has been there in Scripture all along; that only now some scientists are starting to get a glimpse at. You can take the first module on Genesis absolutely free. It will only take you a few minutes of your time to gain so much. To try the course, just click on the picture. If you are already logged in as member at TSIYON.NET the link will take you directly to the course. If you are not a member you can register free, and then take the first module free. That's all there is to it. If you have any technical problems registering, logging in or accessing the course, just contact us. You will find our contact information near the bottom of this newsletter. We will be delighted to help you access this amazing information, because we don't want you to miss out.

It is almost laughable that some scientists are just now grudgingly getting around to admitting the universe has a Creator, while the Scriptures give us so much more about Him. His tender care for all of us is seen in His fine-tuning of the universe to meet our physical needs. However, what He has done to meet our greatest need cannot be seen with a microscope or telescope. It must be perceived in the human heart, meeting the cry of the human spirit. Truly, when humble scientists finally arrive at the greatest truth behind the universe, they will make the greatest discovery of all, the discovery revealed in the book of Mark, chapter 15. That discovery that explains everything is nothing else but the amazing love of Elohim. His great love for His children goes far beyond the realm of mere observation, into the realm of revelation. Those who have entered into that realm know that love is the final frontier, and our Grand Creator defines love, in all its richest depth and grandeur, as the transcendent beauty and essence of His very being.