Writer
Whether we view the world through a stained glass window or a Dobsonian Telescope lens, we can observe and admire the natural world that our Father created and all its beauty. In most cases, science, much like religion, requires a sense of faith. The Scientific field of physics, through the lens of analogies, ends up inadvertently explaining the concept of Faith. One of the best examples of this is a physics analogy called Flatland.
Introduced to the public at large by The PBS Science anthology show “Cosmos” hosted by Cornell University professor and physicist Carl Sagan, “Flatland,” as an object lesson of sorts, explains the concepts of both dimensions and how we use them to understand better our perception of the world we live in. Below is the YouTube clip from Cosmos about Flatland Because Professor Sagan can explain the concept far better than I.
So, with the information given by Professor Sagan, believers can easily take the analogy and apply it to the principle of faith. Now, for the sake of familiarity, we shall call our main character. “Dimensional Dave”
- Although the people of “flatland” couldn’t physically experience the second or third dimensions, Dimensional Dave could still sense their existence spiritually.
- When Dimensional Dave first senses the other dimensions, even though he thought he was going insane, he seeks mental help for his newfound experiences.
- When Dimensional Dave, at long last, finally experiences the wonders of the second and third dimensions, his family and friends are in disbelief, as they assume he has lost his mind.
What Dimensional Dave had developed what the others in Flatland didn’t was a strong sense of faith. You must just be asking yourself, “What exactly is faith?” As the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1-3:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For it, the elders obtained a good spirit. Through faith, we understand the world by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Hebrews 11:1-3 (King James Version | KJV)
Faith fuels a disciple’s drive to follow Jesus despite the world’s misunderstanding. Jesus spoke on its importance in Matthew 17:20:
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Matthew 17:20 (King James Version | KJV)
When we as believers have faith as solid as a rock, we can not only face any troubles that come our way, but in time, relying on our faith to carry us will bring serenity and peace.