MURRAY, Ky. -- Christian Faculty Network (CFN) is sponsoring a speaker event, "God's Blueprint: Scientific Evidences for a God-Designed Universe," on Monday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. in the Curris Center Theater, located on the third floor. The event is open to all students, faculty, staff and members of the surrounding community.
Dr. Josh Ridley and Dr. Murphy Smith are the event speakers. Smith is the Dill Distinguished Professor of Accounting at Murray, and Ridley is an assistant professor in MSU's Institute of Engineering. The two examine scientific discoveries, which they say indicate that chance alone cannot account for the physical laws that provide the framework of a universe that supports life.
In Smith and Ridley's examination of the Big Bang Theory they will discuss how all the things that happened from then until now had to happen "just-so" for humans to be here today, from the formation of carbon atoms in the hearts of stars that are now part of each person's body to the proper positioning of the earth's orbit, tilt and spin. The presentation challenges participants to answer the big question: Are you here by random chance or is there a purpose for the universe and for you?
The universe contains about 200 billion galaxies, each averaging about a hundred billion stars. Smith and Ridley discuss how the Earth had to be particularly situated to sustain advanced life. There are many critical scientific factors taken into account that lead them to conclude that given the limited size of the universe, for a single planet with necessary parameters to sustain life to even exist is extremely improbable.
Furthermore, Smith and Ridley say that the harmony of the Bible with modern science can be traced back to the book of Job, written about 950 B.C., which described the Earth as floating in space.
The duo reference Robert Boyle, the founder of modern chemistry who said, "The vastness, beauty, orderliness of the heavenly bodies, the excellent structure of animals and plants, and the other phenomena of nature justly induce an intelligent and unprejudiced observer to conclude a supremely powerful, just and good author."
Ridley's research includes pulsar searches, pulsar timing and statistical simulations of pulsar populations in both this galaxy and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
Smith ranks in the top one percent of authors on Social Sciences Research Network with over 42,000 downloads of his articles. His research, which is widely referenced, examines ethics, international accounting, information technology, and the impact of religiosity on business and society.
Murray State's Christian Faculty Network is an interdenominational organization, Catholic and Protestant, with more than 60 faculty and administrators united by their common faith. CFN's purpose is to enrich the ideological diversity of the university community with the Christian worldview. More information about Christian Faculty Network can be found at murraystate.edu/cfn. |
