This is the personal testimony of former atheist Sarah Salviander, a research scientist in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Texas, who converted to Christianity. Her testimony touches on her childhood, growing interest in the sciences and space, success in her field, and how over time the puzzle slotted together pushing her towards a transition to religious faith and theistic belief.
Salviander was born in the United States but brought up in an atheist household in Canada,
“I was born in the U.S., but grew up in Canada. My parents were socialists and political activists who thought British Columbia would be a better place for us to live, since it had the only socialist government in North America at the time. My parents were also atheists, though they eschewed that label in favor of “agnostic.” They were kind, loving, and moral, but religion played no part in my life. Instead, my childhood revolved around education, particularly science. I remember how important it was to my parents that my brother and I did well in school.”
Salviander recounts how the popular entertainment series Star Wars made her fall in love with space and scientific exploration,
“I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, a time when science fiction was enjoying a renaissance, thanks largely to the popularity of Star Wars. I remember how fascinated I was by the original Star Wars trilogy. It had almost nothing to do with science—it’s more properly characterized as space opera—but it got me thinking about space in a big way. I also loved the original Star Trek, which was more science fiction. The stoic and logical character of Mr. Spock was particularly appealing to me.”
She was also particularly fond of the well-known astronomer Carl Sagan’s space series Cosmos: “Popular science was also experiencing a renaissance at that time, which had a lot to do with Carl Sagan’s television show, Cosmos, which I adored. The combination of these influences led to such an intense wonder about outer space and the universe.” At the young age of just nine, Salviander knew she “would be a space scientist someday.”
She explains that Canada was already post-Christian by the 1970s and that she “grew up with no religion.” “In retrospect,” she continues,
“it’s amazing that for the first 25 years of my life, I met only three people who identified as Christian. My view of Christianity was negative from an early age, and by the time I was in my twenties I was actively hostile toward Christianity. Looking back, I realized a lot of this was the unconscious absorption of the general hostility toward Christianity that is common in places like Canada and Europe; my hostility certainly wasn’t based on actually knowing anything about Christianity. I had come to believe that Christianity made people weak and foolish; I thought it was philosophically trivial. I was ignorant not only of the Bible, but also of the deep philosophy of Christianity and the scientific discoveries that shed new light on the origins of the universe and life on Earth.”
Salviander focused her energy on her studies and academic pursuits, “[I] became very dedicated to my physics and math courses. I joined campus clubs, started to make friends, and, for the first time in my life, I was meeting Christians.” These Christians she met, however, came across as “joyous and content. And, they were smart, too.”
She mentions her surprise when she discovered that her physics professors, whom she admired, were Christians, “Their personal example began to have an influence on me, and I found myself growing less hostile to Christianity.“
Salviander prospered in her field, notably in the study of big bang cosmology,
“I had joined a group in the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (CASS) that was researching evidence for the big bang. The cosmic background radiation—the leftover radiation from the big bang—provides the strongest evidence for the theory, but cosmologists need other, independent lines of evidence to confirm it. My group was studying deuterium abundances in the early universe. Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen, and its abundance in the early universe is sensitive to the amount of ordinary mass contained in the entire universe. Believe it or not, this one measurement tells us whether the big bang model is correct.”
Salviander touches on her work that probably would not remotely interest 98% of people. But she could not conceal her fascination,
“… being astounded by this, blown away, completely and utterly awed. It seemed incredible to me that there was a way to find the answer to this question we had about the universe. In fact, it seems that every question we have about the universe is answerable.”
This opened up her mind to the possibility that God might exist,
“There’s no reason it has to be this way, and it made me think of Einstein’s observation that the most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it’s comprehensible. I started to sense an underlying order to the universe. Without knowing it, I was awakening to what Psalm 19 tells us so clearly, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”“
She picked up a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, a book that entailed religious themes: “it’s more than just a revenge story, it’s a philosophically deep examination of forgiveness and God’s role in giving justice. I was surprised by this, and was starting to realize that the concept of God and religion was not as philosophically trivial as I had thought.”
Salviander soon came to the view that belief in God is unavoidable. She was,
“walking across that beautiful La Jolla campus. I stopped in my tracks when it hit me—I believed in God! I was so happy; it was like a weight had been lifted from my heart. I realized that most of the pain I’d experienced in my life was of my own making, but that God had used it to make me wiser and more compassionate. It was a great relief to discover that there was a reason for suffering, and that it was because God was loving and just. God could not be perfectly just unless I—just like everyone else—was made to suffer for the bad things I’d done.“
Despite her radical transformation from atheism to belief, Salviander felt she stagnated in her faith,
“For a while I was content to be a theist and didn’t pursue religion any further. I spent another very enjoyable summer with CASS, and then during my last year at EOU I met a man I liked very much, a computer science student from Finland. He’d been in the special forces in the Finnish Defense Force, and was just about the most off-the-wall character I’d ever met. But he was also a man of strength, honor, and deep integrity, and I found myself overwhelmingly drawn to those qualities.“
This man, like her, had grown up in an atheist home but later had “come to embrace God and Jesus Christ as his personal savior in his early twenties through an intensely personal experience.” A romantic period followed leading to the couple getting married,
“I graduated with a degree in physics and math that year, and in the fall, I started graduate work in astrophysics at The University of Texas at Austin. My husband was a year behind me in his studies, so I moved to Austin by myself. The astrophysics program at UT was a much more rigorous and challenging environment than my little alma mater. The academic rigor, combined with the isolation I felt with my family and friends being so far away, left me feeling pretty discouraged.“
One-day while browsing a local bookstore, Salviander came across a title called The Science of God authored by theJewish physicist Gerald Schroeder: “I was intrigued by the title, but something else compelled me to read it. Maybe it was the loneliness, and I was longing for a deeper connection with God. All I know is that what I read changed my life forever.”
She thought of Schroeder a unique individual,
“… he is an MIT-trained physicist and also an applied theologian. He understands modern science, has read the ancient and medieval biblical commentaries, and is capable of translating the Old Testament from the ancient Hebrew. He was thus able to give a scientific analysis of Genesis 1. His work proved to me that Genesis 1 was scientifically sound, and not just a “silly myth” as atheists believed. I realized that, remarkably, the Bible and science agree completely.”
Salviander explains that “Schroeder’s great work convinced me that Genesis is the inspired word of God. But something told me to keep going.“
She then arrived at the gospels of the New Testament,
“I read the Gospels, and found the person of Jesus Christ to be extremely compelling. I felt as Einstein did when he said he was “enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.” And yet I struggled, because I did not feel one hundred percent convinced of the Gospels in my heart. I knew of the historical evidence for their truth. And, of course, I knew the Bible was reliable because of Genesis. Intellectually, I knew the Bible to be true, and as a person of intellect, I had to accept it as truth, even if I didn’t feel it. That’s what faith is. As C. S. Lewis said, it is accepting something you know to be true in spite of your emotions. So, I converted. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior.”
Salviander still struggled with her faith saying that she “sometimes worried” about it. During this period, some things did not go well health-wise as she had a cancer diagnosis and an unpleasant course of treatment. Her husband also became ill: “Not long after, my husband fell ill with meningitis and encephalitis, and it was not clear if he would recover; we didn’t know if he would be paralyzed or worse. It took him about a month, but, thankfully, he did recover.”
Despite the good news of recovery, Salviander and her husband experienced a great tragedy, the loss of their child,
“At that time, we were expecting our first child, a baby girl. All seemed well until about six months, when our baby stopped growing. We found out she had Trisomy 18, a fatal chromosomal abnormality. Our daughter, Ellinor, was stillborn soon after. It was the most devastating loss of our lives. For a while I despaired, and didn’t know how I could go on after the death of our daughter. But I finally had a clear vision of our little girl in the loving arms of her heavenly Father, and it was then that I had peace. I reflected that, after all these trials in one year, my husband and I were not only closer to each other, but also felt closer to God. My faith was real.“
Salviander reflects back on her time as an atheist,
“I don’t know how I would’ve coped with such trials when I was an atheist. When you’re twenty years old and healthy, and you have your family around you, you feel immortal. I never thought about my own death or the potential deaths of loved ones. But there comes a time when the feeling of immortality wanes, and you’re forced to confront the inevitability of not only your own annihilation, but that of your loved ones.”
The beginning of the universe in the big bang impressed Salviander, especially since the idea was proposed by a priest,
“Georges Lemaître was a Belgian priest and physicist who solved Einstein’s general relativity equations and discovered that, contrary to the prevailing philosophy of the last 2,500 years, the universe wasn’t necessarily eternal and static. He discovered in his solution the mathematical evidence for an expanding universe, and pursued it vigorously. For that reason he’s considered the father of the big bang (which he called “the hypothesis of the primeval atom”). Shortly before he died, he was told that his hypothesis had been vindicated by the discovery of the cosmic background radiation, the most important prediction of the hypothesis. This discovery also vindicated the very first words of the Bible after 2,500 years of doubt—there was a beginning. And that beginning meant the universe had a transcendent cause, for nothing in nature is its own cause. Atheists have been dismayed by this and forced to retreat to the idea of the Multiverse.”
The multiverse idea that is often used by atheists to explain away the difficulty of a beginning to the universe is far from achieving any consensus in cosmology,
“It’s an interesting, but ultimately unscientific, idea. Science can only study what we can observe in this Universe. It cannot ever hope to study the Multiverse. Nevertheless, some atheists cling to the idea, because it’s the only serious alternative to God as the creative force behind the Universe and it’s a way to cope with mortality in the absence of God. The problem is, most proponents of the Multiverse haven’t seriously explored its logical implications. I think, when they do, their worldview leads to despair.”
Salviander concludes her testimony by saying that she does.
“not believe we are locked in that sort of prison. But the only way we are free is if the universe and everything in it was created, not by some unconscious mechanism, but by a personal being—the God of the Bible. The only way our lives are unique, purposeful, and eternal is if a loving God created us.“
Bishop's Encyclopedia of Religion, Society and Philosophy 
Wow!!! Reading is believing and it did stir
my heart. As an atheist, you have enlighten
What I believe will change many lives.
Through your studies, God was in the mist
of it all. He was directing your path from an
unbeliever to a believer. Everything you
have written inspired me to let others read
this article. By chance, did you write a
book of your experiences with. I am not very educated but I understood everything you
have written. There are many others have experienced the same way. I thank you very
of your experiences which will fulfill my
ministry. I am a voice for the Lord and not
not a minister. As I have stated earlier, I have
inspired by your article. May the Lord richly
bless in every way.
After reading this, I had to write a response. See here:
http://jameshutchisonblog.blogspot.com/2018/12/sarah-salvianders-reasons-for.html
Reblogged this on jillianedmonds.
Reblogged this on The Book of Works.
Sarah, your testimony leaves me breathless, because it is so close to my own life story. I too was raised by a militant atheistic, and very left wing family (in my case my parents were members of the Communist Party) and was taught to believe that Christianity was evil. I too went into science (biochemistry) which I loved. And I too found the possibility of God from my scientific studies. In my case a different book showed me that I was not crazy, it was Francis Collins The Language of God. And now like you, I am devoted to Jesus Christ as my savior. God bless you, and keep you and your family. I would write more, but my hands are shaking and the page is blurry through my tears of joy. Thank you.
Such a wonderful post! May the Good Lord bless your life as you live for Him! 🙂
I’m curious about the deuterium argument she mentions that she says is the one measurement that can prove or disprove the big bang. From what I have read about the Big Bang model, there are lots of problems with it. http://creation.com/darkmatter-and-standard-model-of-particle-physics This article talks about deuterium and other elements that would have had to be produced if the standard model is correct and it highlights the inconsistencies.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Listen for the “still small voice” of Almighty Creator God and His Spirit will “lead you unto all truth”.
[…] https://jamesbishopblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/former-atheist-astrophysicist-sarah-salviander-expl… […]
Nothing makes me feel better than reading a story of atheist who found God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is so incredibly helpful to hear this, as I was agnostic for most of my life, came to Christ in 2005, thrn suffered a terrible faith crisis last year. I’m slowly working my way back to a better faith, your story and conviction really helps me.
The Urantia Book (or Earth Book) explains and corrects all of the mid-understandings within THE BIBLE and within Christianity for all humans do understand now.
R.D.C.
[…] The story of former atheist astrophysicist, Sarah Salviander can be found here: jamesbishopblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/former-atheist-astrophysicist-sarah-salviander-explains-her… […]
http://homepages.xnet.co.nz/~hardy/gcon.html
I was born muslim then turned to science in uni then after many miracles to Jesus as Saviour.
Now our knowledge weak and we resist the miraculous even when it is right before our eyes.
For example, a cross on Mars thousands of kilometers high suggests recursion of the Gospel across eons and planets :
http://www.arkdeployment.com
The problem is that the human brain is a pattern seaker. Visually and otherwise. Have you ever wondered why you can see faces in the grain of wood or other random patterns? Our brain was evolved to pick out faces as a survival trait.
The same is true for events. We love to match events with conscious action even when there is none. So called miracles are only called that when one does not uncover the truth of a particular event. Imbuing the event with conscious action makes it special in our minds when no discovery is undertaken to uncover they”why”. Not taking the effort to uncover the “why” only serves to take away our humanity by reducing us to unreasoning animals.
It is the human’s ability to reason that sets us apart from most other life on Earth. Failing to reason debases us a a species. Religion is s crutch that removes our humanity.
Humans are pattern seekers. That is true. However, that doesn’t mean that seeking patterns and applying them is less than intellectual. For example, mathematics and science are built on seeking patterns and applying them, and also looking for anomalies in those patterns. Miracles are anomalies in patterns. I’m assuming, due to your closing statement, that you believe Christians are pattern seekers. However, we are all pattern seekers. Religion doesn’t have a monopoly on that. And remember, Christians are not blind followers of some outmoded philosophy. Religion and intelligence are not antithetical.
We can only understand the universe through mathematics (maths) Only minds ( conscious intelligent minds) can understand and put it to practical use.. Maths is discovered and not invented from our perspective. Mahs is eternal or appears eternal. However if only intelligent minds can use it, it had to be created by an intelligent m. mind. somehow an intelligent mind must exist with the ability’ to create maths. and this has led many intelligent atheists to GOD, However unfortunately many won’t confess in public..
Sarah is simply making a statement of faith here. There is no science involved in her conversion… and here conclusion simply is a restatement of her faith. No proof is presented. I personally know a Christian who committed suicide… So to offer this of proof of the phalicy of believing in the multiverse is dishonest at best. I did enjoy reading her story though…
I do not disagree with some of you assertions; someone being unhappy or committing suicide does not point to a person being an atheist, christian, or other. Sarah does mention that science brought her to the conclusion that there was order in all of the universe and writers like Gerald Schroeder helped her to make sense of Genesis in the context of modern science so I do think science played a role in her conversion. I think that believing that materialism is ultimate true requires faith just as believing there is a God. At some point you have to take all of the knowledge you have gained and your life experiences and come to a conclusion about the universe. I think human free will, our desire to make moral decisions, our concept of art, beauty, love, charity, etc. point to something beyond materialism. I also think writers like Gerald Schroeder, Stephen Meyer, John Lennox, and others, actually show how science points to a creator. Obviously others would disagree and have come to other conclusions; its a personal decision of each of us to make.
The difference between faith based belief and scientific experimentation is that the latter is repeatably objective. Meaning that had I the knowledge, resources, and will I could repeat and confirm any finding confirmed by other experiments. I am the only limiting factor to confirming what has already been confirmed through others’ experimentation. No faith is actually required. You can believe something is true by judging the experimental evidence. That, however, is different from faith, which requires no evidence.
On the other hand, faith based belief is purely subjective. There is nothing objective about it. While based on similar themes (e.g. Christian, Islam, etc.) groups of people may have similar experiences. Ultimately each person has their own different subjective experience. The only thing connecting those disparate experiences is the worldview through which they prescribe. It is the worldview that colors one’s faith and experiences.
A great deal of what is considered to be science is not the result of experimentation; much is theory. If science was purely objective then all scientists would agree on all science. On the other hand, religious faith is not purely blind faith it can be based on scientific evidence that leads one to believe the best explanation for what is observed is a creator, or God. Once one comes to conclusion that there is a God once can also examine evidence for a belief in Christ. Sure on has to have faith as well but its not all blind faith, its faith supported by evidence and experience.
You misunderstand the term theory. Everything that is proven by experimentation is theory. There is no such thing as a scientific fact. Yes, it’s true that theories can be modified to fit new experimental information. However, that is the point. That is the basis of scientific inquiry. Even as good as our theories might be there could always be new information that comes along that changes previous theories.
As far as faith based on evidence I’m not really sure what you are referring to. To put it bluntly holy books are not evidence. They are written by humans. They may describe events that may or may not have occurred. However, as has been shown eye witness testimony is one of the least accurate forms of evidence.
Well I wish you well in your journey. My faith is not based only on holy writings as I have referenced, and Sarah as well, although they do play an important role in my life.
Mathematics is a discovered ,not an invented entity and is the only tool that really help us to study the cosmos. Can mathematics exist without a conscious mind? EVEN A MULTIVERVE NEED ETERNAL MATHIMATICAL PRINIPLES.. WE CAN UNTIL PIGS VOLVEWING AND FLY,AIRST ETERNAL CAUSEWILL EXIST FOR ALLETERNITY.
Very much enjoyed reading Sarah’s story. For those of you interested in the intersection of science and faith and open minded about the possibility of God I would strongly recommend reading some of the writings from Gerald Schroeder, Stephen Meyers, and John Lennox. The Science of God is a good starting place.
Thank you for your story of how you became a Christian. I’m passing it along to my Agnostic grandson.
[…] https://jamesbishopblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/former-atheist-astrophysicist-sarah-salviander-expl… […]
Fabulous story of how in a vast universe, God spoke and you heard in a very personal way to know that you are loved Sarah. Only God ‘s voice could have reached you by His Spirit.. that part of Science belongs to the mysteries of God. Thank you for sharing , and pray blessing on you and the lives you touch with your story.
You may want to check out another book that offers an enjoyable read about God and science…https://www.amazon.com/God-Abduction-Scientific-Discovery-Strengthens/dp/0578149117
This is very peculiar for someone to turn to Christianity after having immersed themselves in science and other truths. I can’t imagine what went wrong. I sincerely believe people turn to religion after suffering trauma, or after they’ve done something wrong like committed a crime. It seems to be something people need rather than want. I personally don’t come down hard on people who are religious, but I am a strong advocate of living life religion-free, with an emphasis on belief in ourselves, others, nature, the universe, the laws of physics and the universe. It just seems so much more rational and comforting to me.
Why should people care about of what is rational and comforting to you? There is no point in it simply because we all shall stop existing. And what is your definition for living life religion-free? I am a Quran following Muslim who instead of upholding 5 pillows of sectarian Islam choose “belief in ourselves, others, nature, the laws of physics and the universe”. Do I shed them because they are in the original Islam? Also it seems that majority of the Christians, Jews and others are upholding them. Otherwise, there would have been no civilization. Your comment on what you find peculiar is pretty fairy tale like. You are talking about science but I bet you won’t do a single experiment to know whether there is any truth to whether God exists. Please do that first by praying everyday to God asking him to get your parents murdered in the worst possible way. If it ends up happening in real life you will know whether God exists. If you start shivering while uttering such prayer know that you are just in denial about him.
Because rationality by definition is universal. Rationality is belief that can be proven through reason and/or factual analysis. It is purely objective.
Conversely, religious faith is purely subjective. Each person has their own different subjective personal experience. Those experiences may be based in similar ideologies (e.g. Christian, Islam, etc) so they may have similarities. However, no person is going to have exactly the same experience.
Much of this is rooted in how are brains let us experience the world. For example, we don’t actually see the world directly through our eyes. Our brains first buffer and filter the images from our eyes through a kind of belief matrix. If what is seen does not match what we understand it tries to make it fit in the world we understand. That is how optical illusions work. It’s our brain trying to make sense of what it sees fit with how we understand the world works.
In a sense our whole understanding of the world around us is an illusion created by our brains. Most of the time it works well enough for us. This can cause problems with people who have slow reflexes (meaning their brain is slow to react to change) or whose brains have been damaged and so see things that really aren’t there.
On an experiment for the existence of god. How would one create such an experiment that would be testable and repeatable? Testability and repeatability are the cornerstones of the scientific method. Since experiencing god is purely subjective there can be no test to prove or disprove the existence of such a being.
Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. Why do you think she has to pray for God to murder her parent?
She has found God.
Really!
Dear Taddeusz: Perhaps the statement, “Conversely, religious faith is purely subjective…” needs to be re-evaluated. It is a common “belief” (assumption?) that “faith” is subjective, but science is “objective.” Even within the limits of the English language, upon simple examination, one understands that religious doctrine is not merely subjective, but objective. Take an ordinance, i.e., the Lord’s dinner (commonly referred to as “Supper”, Gk: deipnon, 1 Cor. 11:20). There are two elements, bread and wine. The manner in which the ordinance is conducted is the same in every case. However, what one “feels” before, during, and after this ordinance may be different. The manner in which the ordinance is conducted is the same. The repetition of this ordinance each time is likened to a science experiment: both have conditions and are repeatable, with a desired result. Prosaic language can’t convey the experience, but I am sure that to the delight of a child, lighting a bunsen burner for the first (and repeated times) brings surprise and elation. While adults may get used to going through the motions of “communion” (Eucharist-“I give thanks”), lighting the bunsen in the chemistry lab (ad infinitum) is a repeated experiment, of which the outcome is known, and is necessary for didactic purposes. “Faith” or “belief” (Gk: pistis) only differs with respects to the object of faith. Sadly, the oft-missed and overlooked point on the nature of humanity is the restoration spiritual life to the human soul, lost in the case of the first two human beings. That Jesus is called the Second-Adam/man (1 Cor. 15:45-47) is often lost among other doctrines. Thus, an a priori assumption concerning the nature of the human soul in relation to God are deemed irrelevant. While many may regard Plato’s Republic (on the Soul) as also “irrelevant”, it is perhaps noteworthy that his mental prowess has not made more impact upon the modern mind–lest one thinks that Plato was somehow an unworthy candidate in light of modern philosophy or science? Indeed, the Latin maxim “ignoramus et ignorabimus” applies when speaking the limitations of science. The same can be said about established doctrines. Subjective feelings about quarks and creeds are alike. Just ask a blind person.
What is meant by repeatability is that you perform the same action over and over again and get the same result.
In your example of the lord’s supper you have it backward. The performance of the ritual is the “test” and each person’s feelings are the result. Since person has their own differing individual feelings as a result of the ritual then this example has no repeatability. In fact, I would argue that this isn’t really a test and so also fails at being testable.
As far as the so called soul is concerned you assume one exists. There have actually been failed experiments to attempt to measure the existence of a soul through empirical means. I have seen no evidence in my life to suggest that there really is such a thing as a soul. Using Occam’s Razor one can deduce that the simplest explanation of the existence of our consciousness is that there is no soul. That our consciousness arises out of the collective power of neurons in our brains. Alas, more recent research on how consciousness arises confirms this.
The moment one invokes the superstitious to explain the apparently unexplainable they debase the intellect of humanity.
For those of you who would attain the higher state of conciousness to make sense of our inner and outer worlds, I would suggest the free book ‘Man or Matter’.
Or a short cut,
” Stanislav Grof has written that religious and mystical experiences observed during LSD sessions appear to be phenomenologically indistinguishable from similar descriptions in the sacred scriptures of the great religions of the world and the texts of ancient civilizations.”
Dear John, thanks for mentioning Grof’s point. He is correct (in terms of measurement). Similarly, the late Dr. Frank Lake, MD; DPM, wrote about his brief use of Lysergic acid in psychiatric practice (Clinical Theology,1966, re-print, 1996). He used minute levels of LSD-25 (a crystalline compound from which LSD-25 can be made) when treating patients suffering from internal states of pain during a 12-month period. However, he found the same “abreactive” results without LSD-25 use. His findings with clergy and parishioners are extremely straightforward and honest. He says, “Religion and medicine in Britain are more dedicated to concepts of mental health which owe more to successful repression of anxiety than to any of the ways of confronting it.” It is a fascinating read, especially the first 30pp of introduction.
No action (the future)can be taken without imagination.
Imagination (the present) is built from memories (the past).
This powerfull idea has many expressions.
Thinking, feeling (sensing) and willing.
Input, organisation and output.
The father, the son and the holy ghost.
The holy trinity.
The father, son and grand son relationship.
The four horsemen.
The tree of life (the heart), The tree of knowledge (the brain), and the garden of Eden (the result of balance between heart and mind).
Exact sensorial perception.
The wisdom of fairy tales.
The limitations of objective thinking, subjective thinking, and the state of ‘super conciousness’.
All comunication is symbolic in nature and with out knowledge of the meanings of the symbols used by the author’s, only a superficial understanding can be gained by taking these teachings literally.
Rationality of of eternal mathematics as a creative tool. I crate anything without maths? Impossible!
I have felt the Holy Spirit, at the time it had never been described to me how other people felt His presence and I wasn’t expecting it as I had no idea that anyone even actually physically “felt” anything either so no one can say I imagined it and I have felt Gods presence several times since. Since the first time I experienced God I have been to churches where people speak in tongues and where miracles happen in front of my own eyes in both big and small churches alike. This is proof and there is so much evidence out there. Why don’t you ask God, even if you don’t beleive, ask Him, if He really exists, will he show you?
Awesome article, thank you
Hi, thanks for the cool story! I’d like permission to translate it into German and put it on our new church’s website – dresden-sued.feg.de – along with the pic. We’re collecting stories like this in hopes they will spur predominantly atheistic East Germans to consider God and Christianity.
Father Spitzer on you tube also brilliantly shows how science and faith go hand in hand. I think you would all enjoy it an find it very enlightening.
Thank you for your witness. I am hardly educated, mediocre smart, didn’t do well in math, but science has always intrigued me. I shall read the books/authors that you recommend.
Awesome read! Great to see scientists believing in truth, and that the science is perfectly aligned to the Bible. Very encouraging read.
Christianity stands up to questions because it is the truth. In fact, as you know if you’ve studied the Bible, we are urged to test everything for the truth. And God begins to reveal Himself to us. He is personal and knows us individually. I am glad you are a believer and see the truth. Yes, the truth sets us free.
That was a beautiful testimony, as the Bible accurately states “all knees shall bow and every tongue shall confess ”
May God bless you. Kyrios Eleison.
Ben Schreoder studied and made contributions to the physics of radioactivity. He was NOT a cosmologist.Claiming that he has any credibility in cosmology is NONSENSE.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
POOR CARL SAGAN—HIS ATHEIST BULWARK IS CRUMBLING! WELCOME SARAH…TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD MOST HIGH!
If this is truly the case then why are the “nones” now a larger percentage of the population than any single religious denomination, including Protestant? The religiously non-affiliated now make up at least 25% of the population of the United States. To be fair, being religiously unaffiliated doesn’t mean atheist. What this means is that secularism and secular values are on the rise.
The United States was founded as a secular nation based on secular values. It’s written into the Constitution as the 1st Amendment. If you want further proof of this look at the Treaty of Tripoli which states that we were in no way founded as a Christian nation.
Where is your “kingdom of god” now?
I have been struggling with my belief system my entire life. My grandmother, a professor in theology, tried to steer me towards God but I viewed him like Santa. Just another character they lied to me about. I too was fascinated with science growing up. It seemed that science and religion were incompatible. I always wanted to believe in God but just couldn’t get there when all the evidence was contrary. Thank you for making this incredible slideshow. I can now cross that bridge of faith. I love your story. Thanks for sharing it!
It is my humble opinion that humanism is fundamentally more fulfilling than giving your very life over and kowtowing to a god. If you are living to give humanity another day on earth is than not better than waiting for death?
In light of recent events in Florida I see Christians saying that god is punishing us for our deviant ways. Some are saying it’s a response to allowing abortions while others are saying it’s because prayer is being removed from public schools. In either case I find it distasteful, to say the least, that anyone would find a god worthy of worship who would allow the killing of innocent children as retribution. Is this really a god worthy of our undying loyalty and worship?
Sorry my mistake, a correction of the verses I referenced are John 4:23-24,
not John 4:24-26
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Love this!
Thank you for letting us hear how an educated scientist found et way to the Creator💖
A wonderful story and blog – thank you. I’m always searching the heavens and asking questions about the age of the universe, edge of the universe, etc. that really we can only speculate on. But HE is good and HIS mercy lead me thru time and space – to this place which is temporary and soon to end. It’s Xmas time in 2020 and we’re looking for HIS soon return – just made aware of the https://torahcalendar.com/ which confirms more suspicions. For those more curious, the book of truth is open (mostly daniel 11) as promised at the end, verse by verse coming true and best explained at daniel11truth. Thanks for the blog and allowing my post.