HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS
Mike Cunningham
January 11, 2015

As I was thinking and praying about this morning’s sermon, I suddenly found myself silently humming and then singing two well-known hymns, “This Is My Father’s World” and “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands.” I have fond memories of singing those hymns during the Worship Service numerous times. Then when I thought about the lyrics I said to myself, “it sure doesn’t seem as though this world is in God’s hands.

There’s countless never-ending instances of man’s inhumanity towards his fellow men in committing horrible evil such as terrorism and wars, murder, rape, incest, pedophilia, child abduction and molestation, sex-slaves, pseudo Christian churches together with their pastors supporting a woman’s legal right to kill her tiny unborn baby boy or girl that’s nestled in her womb, and people of the same sex marrying each other.

I thank God for giving me the faith and the strength to trust him, and that he knows what he’s doing and is in complete control of everything that happens is the course of human history. However, I must admit that I do have a hard time understanding why God created a world in which he allows natural disasters such as horrendous earthquakes and tsunamis in the first place. Then there are all the terrible diseases and viruses’ that plague human beings. They sadden me, especially when they are folks that I love and care about deeply. That’s a huge test of my faith.

Dinesh D’Souza answers by saying, Let’s begin by asking a simple question: Why are there earthquakes? By extension, we can also ask why there are volcanoes and tsunamis and hurricanes. For many centuries, the only answer to this question was that the gods were angry. Even during the Enlightenment, the cause of earthquakes was not known, so it was natural for Voltaire, Hume, and others to portray earthquakes as somehow pointless and gratuitous. In a way, Voltaire and Hume agreed with the ancient primitive consensus-earthquakes have no other purpose than arbitrary divine action-except that Voltaire and Hume turned the argument around. If there was a good and wonderful God, clearly he wouldn’t allow earthquakes, and therefore we suspect that the planet is not governed by a good and wonderful God. Now, however, we ask whether there is a good reason for God to permit earthquakes. If there is, then Voltaire and Hume’s argument collapses. Picking up Voltaire’s line quoted at the beginning of this chapter, we would be able to specify, “What advantage can result to all, from wretched Lisbon’s lamentable fall.”

In the last century, modern science has discovered that earthquakes are the consequence of “plate tectonics,” the movement of giant plates under the earth and ocean floor. When the concept of plate tectonics was first proposed in the 1920’s by meteorologist Alfred Wegener, scientists dismissed it as preposterous. But the evidence for Wegener’s thesis continued to grow until it was widely accepted by the 1960’s; today it is beyond dispute. We know that the earth’s crust is divided into plates, and that old crust is destroyed and new crust is formed at plate boundaries. Very generally, plate boundaries are of two categories: ridges and trenches. New crust is produced at the ridges by the upsurge of liquid rock from the earth’s mantle below, and old crust is dissolved at the trenches by sinking back into the mantle. Theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson writes, “The action of plate tectonics ensures that the geography of the earth is constantly changing. New continents such as Australia and Antarctica are formed by splitting up old ones. New chains of mountains such as the Himalayas rise where the formerly separate continents India and Asia collide. And new chains of islands such as Japan and the Aleutians are created by volcanoes rising from the edge of a descending plate.”

As the giant plates move and rub against each other, they sometimes rupture the crust at the surface, cracking and splitting it. That’s how we get earthquakes. Volcanoes occur when scalding materials from the earth’s interior are coughed up and spewed out. When the cracking and rupturing happens on the ocean floor, huge quantities of water can get displaced, ant this is how we get seaquakes (earthquakes at sea) and tsunamis. In the important book “Rare Earth”, published in 2003 by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee, the authors-one a paleontologist, the other an astronomer-make the striking observation that “ours is still the only planet we know that has plate tectonics.” Earth is also the only planet known to have life. Obviously these are claims based on current knowledge, who knows what future discoveries will show? Even so, Ward and Brownlee ask, is there a connection? What does plate tectonics have to do with the apparent uniqueness of life on earth?

The authors show that plate tectonics are a “central requirement for life on a planet.” Plate tectonics are also largely responsible for enabling differences in land elevation and thus separating the land from the water. Without plate tectonics, the authors write, “the oceans contain enough water to cover the spherical earth to a depth of about 4,000 meters. If the surface of the planet varied only a few kilometers in elevation, Earth would be devoid of land. Keep in mind that, while two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, over two-thirds of animal species live on land. Fish might survive in such an environment, and perhaps birds, but not armadillos or antelopes or us. Plate tectonics also helps to explain the biodiversity we find on land because it causes the breaking up of land into continents, each with its own distinctive topography and climate, and thus each enabling the flourishing of different forms of life. So plate tectonics is responsible for earth’s stunning variety, and if we appreciate that variety, we must admit that earthquakes and volcanoes have helped to generate it.

But we shouldn’t be misled into thinking that if we subtracted tectonics, we’d still have, at least, oceans swarming with fish. Quite possibly without tectonics there would be no life at all. Life, after all, is highly dependent upon having carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Today we hear that the atmosphere contains too much carbon dioxide-the supposed cause of global warming-but whatever the merits of this claim, the fact is that we need carbon dioxide; without it the earth would likely resemble Antarctica. It is the tectonic system that recirculates carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, keeping the level of greenhouse gases (and hence the earth’s temperature) stable. The whole tectonic system serves as a kind of “planetary thermostat, “helping to regulate the earth’s climate and preventing the onset of scorching or freezing temperatures that would make mammalian life, and possibly all life, impossible. Plate tectonics also helps the formation of minerals on earth and their recirculation to the surface through tectonic activity. Without our vast, rich storehouse of available minerals, it’s hard to envision complex life and even harder to envision the development of any kind of complex civilization. Tectonics also maintains the proper chemical balance of the sea, allowing for its rich biodiversity. If that weren’t enough, plate tectonics makes possible the earth’s magnetic field, without which “earth and its cargo of life would be bombarded by a potentially lethal influx of cosmic radiation.

Other prominent scientists agree with Ward and Brownlee. Following the 2004 earthquake, William Broad of the “New York Times” interviewed prominent scientists and discovered a consensus that earthquakes and other such events, despite their tragic effects, were absolutely vital for life on earth to exist in the first place. “The type of geological process that caused the earthquake and the tsunami is an essential characteristic of the earth,” said geochemist Donald DePaolo. “It doesn’t occur on any other planetary body and has something very directly to do with the fact that the earth is a habitable planet.” Geophysicist Robert Detrick said, “There’s no question that plate tectonics rejuvenates the planet.” Frank Press, past president of the National Academy of Sciences, said, “On balance, it’s possible that life on earth would not have originated without plate tectonics, or the atmosphere, or the oceans.” And environmental scientist William Schlesinger added, “Having plate tectonics … is absolutely essential to maintaining stable climate conditions on earth. Otherwise, all the carbon dioxide would disappear and the planet would turn into a frozen ball.”

So plate tectonics, the process that gives us earthquakes, is also a process that is vital to enable and sustain life on earth. From a scientific point of view, we owe our existence to plate tectonics. Where, then, is the logic of bemoaning earthquakes? Certainly they create havoc and devastation when they occur near civilizations. But if we consider the evidence of the overwhelming benefit of earthquakes, decrying them wholesale is about as persuasive as cursing the sun. The sun can cause heatstroke, or even cancer-terrible maladies, surely-but where would humans be without the sun? Not only do we need the sun, but we also need the sun to be positioned precisely where it is, eight light minutes away from the earth. If the sun were only a little father away, we’d freeze; if it were a little closer, we’d bake.

And on the subject of overheating, fires, (such as those that occurred after the Lisbon earthquake) can be devastating-but on the other hand, where would civilization be without fire? Complex technological advances simply could not have occurred without the ability to smelt metals. Even forest fires, we now know, are helpful in maintaining the balance of the echo system, which is why we frequently allow them to burn unchecked and even start them in a controlled manner. Moreover, fire is the result of having just the right amount of that most important element for complex life, oxygen, yet many life forms such as humans would then have to endure severe breathing problems.

Of course, the same point can be made about water-it is responsible for floods and hurricanes, but how could we survive in its absence? “Without water,” writes biochemist Michael Denton in “Natures Destiny,” “life that exists on earth would be impossible. Intuitively, we all know that water is the “liquid of life,” and that’s why scientists searching for life on other planets often regard the presence of water the determining factor. But Denton also brings before us obvious-and amazing-properties of water that make possible the existence of life on earth. For example, water is virtually unique among substances in that it is more dense as a liquid than a solid. Because of this property, ice floats on water, insulating the water below from further loss of heat. This simple fact, writes Denton, prevents lakes and oceans from freezing from the “bottom up.” If water didn’t have this property, and the ice were denser than liquid water, each successive layer of ice would sink to the bottom never to thaw again, the result being that the oceans of the world would soon be permanently frozen. But that’s not all. “Surface ice also helps to regulate the climate by altering earth’s ability to absorb or reflect sunlight,” thus helping to maintain the earth’s temperature within the range necessary for complex life forms.

The strange abilities and benefits of water go on and on. Water also has a higher specific heat than any liquid except ammonia; this means that water heats up very slowly. Consequently the water in our bodies keeps the body temperature from rising rapidly and precipitously, and likewise the oceans exercise a stabilizing influence on the environment. In fact, evaporation from the oceans takes in heat from tropical regions of the earth; this latent heat is then carried to colder latitudes. There the vapor condenses, once again becoming liquid water. In the process, it discharges its latent heat and warms up the colder regions. Water is a solvent that breaks down and distributes minerals throughout the earth; it does the same for nutrients that it transports to various parts of the body through the bloodstream.

Denton concludes, “The evidence reviewed… indicates that water is uniquely and ideally adapted to serve as the fluid medium for life on earth in not just one, or many, but in “every single one” of its known physical and chemical characteristics.” Yet this same water is the water of floods, tidal waves, and hurricanes. These, too, have their function within the marvelous ecosystem of nature. Hurricanes, for example, regulate tropical ocean temperatures and circulate elements in a way that is very positive for life in general and humanity in particular.

There is a broader point here, of course. We live on a planet that is extremely rare in its ability to sustain life. Earth is a “bio centric” planet, the only planet that, as far as we know, has life; because it is only planet we know that has the necessary conditions for life. Other planets, including our next-door neighbors Venus and Mars, don’t have those conditions. Mars has dramatic fluctuations of temperature, and large parts of the planet are completely frigid. The south polar cap of Mars is a dry planet, but unlike Mars, Venus is boiling hot: its surface temperature often reaches nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Not only is earth ideally placed in the solar system, but also, cosmologist Joel Primack notes that our solar system lies in what he calls a “galactic habitable zone.” Our solar system does not lie at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, but out between two of its spiraling arms. This is a very good thing because, according to Primack, “dangerous radiation is likely to have destroyed or prevented life on planets around stars that happened to lie closer to the center.” By contrast, “Out in the galactic suburbs where we live, the nearest supernovas were far enough away from our solar system that their radiation was weak enough for Earth’s atmosphere to provide adequate protection.”

The point is that life as we know it is dependent on our living on a delicately balanced planet just like ours, located in a solar system positioned pretty much where ours is positioned, and displaying a set of natural processes identical to the ones that we see all around us. These are the processes-including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions –that give us land and water and warmth. In the past, it was intellectually respectable to conjecture that these processes were optional or incidental, so that a truly good God could have subtracted them and we could all live happily in an environment without some or most of these processes. Voltaire could get away with that two centuries ago, but today his position is an intellectual embarrassment. Today it is scientifically ignorant to say that we can do without natural processes like earthquakes, destructive and dangerous though they may sometimes be, and yet have our kind of a planet with humans on it. The same natural phenomena that are indispensable to our existence on earth are also responsible for our natural calamities, yes-but these calamities are not gratuitous but rather intrinsic to processes that are fundamentally life affirming. (1)

Granted, God placed us in the world alongside other creatures, but didn’t he also make man the sovereign of all the creatures? Didn’t God, at least according to the biblical account, put man in charge? Actually, he did, and we can see the evidence of this fact in our possessing a weapon of survival possessed by no other creature: reason. Humans can use reason to tame nature and to combat other creatures that pose threats to our welfare.

The best example of this is the effort to combat disease. Humans were once defenseless against most diseases. There were simply no way to effectively control epidemics. Consequently, human life expectancy was much lower. And we suffered a lot more, even as late as the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when people around the world endured such diseases as tuberculosis, typhoid, cholera, malaria, smallpox, and a host of childhood diseases. These were prevalent not only in Asia and Africa but also in Europe. Darwin’s family, for example, had virtually all the above listed ailments, and they took their toll. Even milder natural enemies-like tooth decay, which is caused by bacteria-previously, caused humans a great deal of distress.

All of this has dramatically changed in the past 150 years. The application of reason to nature has resulted in important scientific discoveries. Brushing your teeth with fluoride protects the teeth against bacterial infection and decay. Today some of the most lethal diseases of history are not the killers they once were. The discovery of penicillin and antibiotics has dramatically changed the balance of power between humans and disease-causing bacteria. Now humans have a technique for destroying bacteria that doesn’t also harm the human host. Admittedly, the bacteria can fight back. Through high rates of reproduction and mutation, bacteria develop natural resistance to the antibiotics that are so lethal to them. Humans must then develop more elaborate and more lethal cocktails of drugs to battle these tougher, more resistant bacteria. The struggle for life goes on. But the fact remains that on the human side, reason is being applied to the battle, and in most cases reason is what it takes to win.

We can use our reason so effectively because we live in a predictable and lawful world. We know why God has made such a world: in order to give scope to humans to exercise their freedom. But we are learning through science that lawful worlds are a package deal. Everything is woven together by a set of elaborate rules and dependencies; yank out a few threads, and the whole ball is likely to come apart. Thus it is simply unreasonably for us to ask of God that he exempt the world from earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. We can continue to deplore calamities and wish that the world didn’t have them-especially when we witness the devastating effect of a tsunami on a village or when we see it in our own lives with the loss of a loved one to a debilitating disease. But when we consider the alternative of a complete unraveling of human life, as we know it, we can begin to see that humanity, as a whole is better off in a world that includes them. Evils they may be, but they are necessary evils in order for us to be here to deplore them. (2).

I’m ending today’s sermon with the comforting assurance that God is indeed in absolute control of everything. “This is our Fathers world!” I hope this sermon has been as helpful to each of you folks as it has been to me. In one way or another please let me know. I appreciate knowing your thoughts.

Lord willing, next week….

What’s So Great About God, © 2013 by Dinesh D’Souza, Pages 123-130.
Ibid, Pages 133-134.