Nature’s laws appear to be the same in the distant universe as they are here, a study has found.
According to an article in ScienceDaily for March 12, 2008
"The idea we're exploring is that the universe has an imperceptibly small dimension (about one billionth of a nanometer) in addition to the four that we know currently," Kavic said. "This extra dimension would be curled up, in a state similar to that of the entire universe at the time of the Big Bang."
New calculations by University of Sussex astronomers predict that the Earth will be swallowed up by the Sun in about 7.6 billion years unless the Earth’s orbit can be altered.
In the past three parts of this Parallel, I've discussed "states of existence" as a parallel to the scientific concept of multiple universes. In this, the final part of this Parallel, I'm discussing a state of existence that is a closer parallel to a multiple universe, because it concerns the final state of the earth.
In Mormon Belief: The Earth will Become a Celestial World I explained that the final destination of this earth is to become a celestial home for those of God's children who inherit that degree of glory. The concept behind this is that the Lord creates worlds with his long range goal in mind: eternal homes for his children. This mortal state of existence that we are in now is a temporary state to provide a home for us as we experience mortality as part of our eternal progression.
In Mormon Belief: Other Worlds I explained that the Lord has created "worlds without number"as homes for his children. I am not saying that all of those worlds will become celestial, but the verses from Section 88 do tell us that this world will become celestial. Section 76 of the Doctrine & Covenants says there will be three kingdoms for God's children: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. I assume that the "worlds without number" will become the final homes for persons in all three kingdoms. As a side note, there is no reason to believe that all of the worlds created by God are inhabitable. Since God does his work via natural laws, I would expect that most of the worlds created would not be inhabitable.
I explained in Mormon Belief: Two Creations of the Earth that there were two creations of the earth, one spiritual in Heaven and one mortal. This means our earth has already experienced one change of state.
This view of the earth changing state from a spirit state to a mortal state to a celestial (no death) state is quite different from the scientific view of the earth. We should not expect our scientists to have a view that is different from the view they currently have, because the domain of their research is the mortal world. They have no way of getting information from other states. They currently have no instruments that can detect energy from spirit matter or resurrected matter.
In Section 88 of the Doctrine & Covenants, the Lord explained that the earth would experience a change of state from a mortal earth to a celestial earth. The Lord referred to the poor and the meek inheriting the earth, and then in the context of the earth, he said
Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;
For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.
And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—
(D&C 88:18-20, 25)
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this Parallel, I've talked about states of existence. I've been discussing the change from mortality to immortality in the Mormon Transhumanist Association blog, and I was just thinking that *states* and *state-change* are technical terms that may not have the same meaning to persons with a liberal arts background that they have to persons with a technical background. So, I thought I'd try to explain those terms in a non-technical way by reposting my comment in the MTA blog about states of existence. Sometimes expressing a concept in a different way helps to clarify the concept.
In technology, a *state* is a set of significant conditions. Changes from one state to another state are significant changes. For example, a computer that is turned off is in a different state than a computer that is turned on. In my posts, I'm using *state* to refer to a condition of existence, including the type of matter used in bodies and the natural laws that govern that matter.
In the spirit world before birth, we were spirits and had bodies composed of spirit matter. There were natural laws that governed spirit matter. We were in a spirit state of existence. Now, we are in mortality and are in a different state. Our bodies are composed of different matter, and there are, I assume, different laws that govern mortal matter. After the resurrection, we will, I believe, be in a third state. Our bodies will be composed of resurrected or immortal matter, and there will be laws that govern that matter. We began in the spirit state. Then we went into the mortal state. At death, we return to the spirit state. Then at some time, we will go to the resurrected state, and we will stay in that state forever. Because each state has its own set of natural laws, I don't believe the changing from one state to another is just a matter of biological, technological, and ethical evolution. There is more involved, and I don't understand it very well. The scriptures teach that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the key to the changing of these states.
States of existence are a parallel to the scientific concept of multiple universes.
In Part 1 of this Parallel, I discussed theories from science about multiple universes. Then, from the religious viewpoint, a different universe or state of existence was introduced, one that we call Heaven. In this post, I discuss information from the scriptures about two additional states of existence. This information allows me to conclude that the scriptures teach there are three basic states of existence, the second state being our mortal world that we live in and that is studied by scientists.
Before we look at the three states of existence, let us look in a general way at matter, the "stuff" of which bodies are made. In my post on Mormon Belief: Spirit is Matter, I quoted from D&C 131:7 that
There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.It isn't clear exactly what Joseph Smith meant in that verse, but one thing is clear: spirit matter is different from the physical matter in our universe. It is different, being "more fine or pure", and it is different in that it can only be discerned or viewed by "purer eyes". I will give my interpretation of those phrases. I believe that spirit matter is matter, in that it has mass and is controlled by natural laws, but I believe those laws are different than the laws that govern our mortal world. How are those laws different? I don't know. Because spirit matter can only be discerned by purer eyes, I believe that scientific investigations, as we currently conduct them, can not detect energy that is given off by the spirit matter.
I realized yesterday that I've been doing posts about multiple universes but I've never posted the Parallel post correlating those posts with religion. So, here is the first part of the Parallel post for multiple universes. This parallel is in my book, and I hope my publisher won't be too angry with me for posting it in this blog.
In my earlier post about a parallel concerning the creation of the cosmos starting with energy, I described a concept from string theory that is called an Ekpyrotic Universe in which there are two universes that are close together. People in the two universes can't see each other, because the two universes are in different dimensions. After about a trillion years of coexistence, the two universes collide, resulting in an enormous explosion. That explosion, or big bang, ends the two universes and starts two new universes. Thus, if this concept is true, we have a neighboring universe that we can't see but that will eventually collide with our universe. Our universe began in a big bang, and it will end in another big bang when our universe collides with its neighbor universe.
Mormon theology teaches that God lives in Heaven. We can't see Heaven, but it is real, and I think of it as another state of existence or another universe. This post about multiple universes extends to the existence of another universe, Heaven, but it does not include a collision of those universes, as depicted in an Ekpyrotic Universe.
In a live chat on the BBC, Sir Martin Rees answers questions from callers about multiverses. See my post on Creation Started with Nothing But Energy.
Dr. Michio Kaku, in a BBC interview, gives interesting speculation about parallel universes as defined by string theory. See my previous post on Creation Started With Nothing But Energy.
Mathematicians are using string theory to predict that other universes exist. However, physicists disagree with those predictions, because, they say, the predictions are not testable and are therefore not science.
That could change soon. An array of new devices—including new atom smashers, gravity detectors, spaceborne satellites, and buried detectors—could provide significant evidence that would support string theory. The rub is that all this new evidence, no matter how compelling, will still provide only indirect proof.The article, dated August 30, 2005 from Discover discusses some of the methods of testing string theory that are being considered.
In March, 2006 five physicists and astronomers discussed the question of their being other universes in addition to our universe. Two of the panelists believe there could be other universes, while two panelists oppose that idea. The fifth panelist is a historian. One comment in the article that caught my attention is the following.
If there are infinite universes, each one can have different physical laws, and some of them will have those that are just right for us.The article gives a brief history of the idea of multiple universes, including the concept from string theory about an Ekpyrotic Universe that I referred to in my post about creation starting with just energy.
Krauss allowed that he might buy the multiverse idea if it’s a consequence of some new theory that also successfully accounts for many other unexplained phenomena. But otherwise, multiverse concepts “are extending into philosophy” rather than science, he added, “and may not be testable.”
World Science, in its October 11, 2007 edition, reported that three scientists at the University of California in Santa Cruz have published a paper speculating that if other universes exist and collide with our universe, the impact might change our universe in a way that the collisions might be detectable.
Johnson and his colleagues reason that any collision between bubbles would, like all collisions, produce aftereffects that propagate into both chambers. These effects would probably take the form of some material ejected into both sides, Johnson said, although just what is unknown. This would in turn affect the distribution of matter in each pocket universe.Johnson admits “Nothing like this has presently been observed, although no one has ever looked for this particular signal”.
Some of the most interesting parallels between science and religion are the parallels between a scientific theory known as an Ekpyrotic Universe and the Mormon view of creation. In my book on the debate between science and religion, I give a brief overview of an Ekpyrotic Universe, and I describe seven parallels between that scientific theory and Mormonism. In this post I will discuss two of those parallels, simple but elegant parallels that I find fascinating.
Very briefly, an Ekpyrotic Universe is a theory of creation that was derived from a mathematics discipline called string theory. According to an Ekpyrotic Universe, there are many dimensions and the cosmos that we see is only one of those dimensions. Nearby our universe is another universe. We don't see that universe because it is in a different dimension. Our universe is on a collision course with the other universe, and in about a trillion years, the two universes will collide, resulting in a terrific explosion, corresponding to the big bang. A new universe will be created by that explosion, and life will evolve on planet(s) in that universe. In another trillion years, that universe will collide with its nearby unseen neighbor, causing another big bang, and the cycle will begin again.
After a trillion years of expansion, the matter in our universe will be distributed throughout the universe, but the density of that distribution will be so small that the universe will be essentially empty of matter. The universe, however, will have high energy and great gravity, and it is that gravity that will bring the two universes together. The significant thing to remember from this overview is that at the time a big bang occurs, the universe will be empty of matter but full of energy. That is, the creation of a new universe, via a big bang, will be the result of energy.
The Ekpyrotic Universe was derived from string theory, and the basic concept in string theory is that all matter is composed of oscillating strings of pure energy.
So, we have a scientific theory that correlate creation with pure energy. How does this discussion relate to religion, you might ask? To answer that, let's turn to Genesis and read how God began his creation of the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:2-3)Notice that the earth was without form and was void or empty. Darkness was upon the earth. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light". Light is pure energy. So, let's re-read those verses from Genesis and substitute "energy" for "light" and "no energy" for "darkness". Let us also substitute "empty" for "without form, and void".
And the earth was empty and no energy was upon the face of the deep (on what would become the earth). And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be energy: and there was energy.Do you see the parallel? The heart of string theory is vibrating strings of pure energy. An Ekpyrotic Universe begins with pure energy. God began his creation by introducing energy into the creation-process. I expect that the people in the time of Moses didn't understand the concept of energy as we do. It was appropriate for Moses to phrase his revelation from God with the words "light" and "darkness", because the people could understand that.
From The Pearl of Great Price, Moses 3:5 we learn there were two creations of the earth, one spiritual and one physical.And every plan of the field, before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air.
