138. Past
Leading
(In this section different reasons are discussed that might lead one to consider there is a maker, a God. At one point 11 reasons are given, Entropy being the 3rd. Entropy can turn our modern thinking upside down. It's very 'emptiness' can force a person to realize there must be more. It is one of the two or three physical concepts that have notched my understanding.)
Entropy
3) The law of Entropy had an influence on my life. I read about it over 30 years ago. It is the second Law of Thermodynamics. It was never taught in science classes. We were all taught about the first law that teaches matter can turn into energy and energy into matter. Entropy claims that with every such change heat is lost, and this loss is permanent. This counters what I had been taught, that the universe can be replenished, that it is a place where there is no loss, just change. We’ve all heard that change is good. We just haven’t heard that change has a price.
This goes along with my experience in life. In life there is loss. We all die, forests aren’t replaceable, relationships don’t always restore themselves, moments can’t be preserved, teeth don’t come back and time is unforgiving. On a larger scale, if entropy is valid, the universe is also dying. It is not in a steady state but a diminishing one. Instead of evolving and reaching a state of perfection, the universe is becoming less. In human history are we moving towards a great society or are we going in the other direction? Hard to say. Most new age religions espouse that we are emerging into a better age, that we are both individually and collectively evolving towards a better time. Some refer to this new age as the Age of Aquarius.
Entropy implies that we are devolving. We are moving further from an original source. This coincides with some old traditions where man fell from a 'paradise,' that he was whole and is now less and that some restoration is needed. It is hard to resist taking another look at these ancient stories.
In a sense man has thought that he can become Godlike, whether through technological evolution or through spiritual evolution. This law claims the opposite, that somehow we have devolved farther from God.
In essence Entropy can lead to an appreciation of an above because if we are in a dying universe, the above is our only hope. This is humbling. We have to find the way back, not forward. Previously, we thought we could make a better world, either by rolling up our sleeves in a material sense or spiritually evolving into transcendent beings. This law forces humility upon us in that we can’t solve our own predicament. Time does run out.
For now I have accepted entropy as a given. I have not fully ruled out other forces at work which might regenerate the universe. However, entropy certainly describes much of the mechanics of this physical existence.
Leading
(In this section different reasons are discussed that might lead one to consider there is a maker, a God. At one point 11 reasons are given, Entropy being the 3rd. Entropy can turn our modern thinking upside down. It's very 'emptiness' can force a person to realize there must be more. It is one of the two or three physical concepts that have notched my understanding.)
Entropy
3) The law of Entropy had an influence on my life. I read about it over 30 years ago. It is the second Law of Thermodynamics. It was never taught in science classes. We were all taught about the first law that teaches matter can turn into energy and energy into matter. Entropy claims that with every such change heat is lost, and this loss is permanent. This counters what I had been taught, that the universe can be replenished, that it is a place where there is no loss, just change. We’ve all heard that change is good. We just haven’t heard that change has a price.
This goes along with my experience in life. In life there is loss. We all die, forests aren’t replaceable, relationships don’t always restore themselves, moments can’t be preserved, teeth don’t come back and time is unforgiving. On a larger scale, if entropy is valid, the universe is also dying. It is not in a steady state but a diminishing one. Instead of evolving and reaching a state of perfection, the universe is becoming less. In human history are we moving towards a great society or are we going in the other direction? Hard to say. Most new age religions espouse that we are emerging into a better age, that we are both individually and collectively evolving towards a better time. Some refer to this new age as the Age of Aquarius.
Entropy implies that we are devolving. We are moving further from an original source. This coincides with some old traditions where man fell from a 'paradise,' that he was whole and is now less and that some restoration is needed. It is hard to resist taking another look at these ancient stories.
In a sense man has thought that he can become Godlike, whether through technological evolution or through spiritual evolution. This law claims the opposite, that somehow we have devolved farther from God.
In essence Entropy can lead to an appreciation of an above because if we are in a dying universe, the above is our only hope. This is humbling. We have to find the way back, not forward. Previously, we thought we could make a better world, either by rolling up our sleeves in a material sense or spiritually evolving into transcendent beings. This law forces humility upon us in that we can’t solve our own predicament. Time does run out.
For now I have accepted entropy as a given. I have not fully ruled out other forces at work which might regenerate the universe. However, entropy certainly describes much of the mechanics of this physical existence.
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