Ongoing Creation

 The term Creation possesses many definitions and meanings. The first book of the Bible (Genesis 1:1) refers to the most significant theological meaning of creation. The famous first verse of scripture refers to an absolute beginning of time—before which there was no space, energy, or matter. Prior to that, human time did not exist. From our human experience with the dimensions of time, space, matter, and energy governing our present lives, it is difficult to conceive or even imagine these conditions. The Creator of the Bible is able to exist within our dimensions, but also outside the dimensions in which we exist. Humans cannot conceive or even imagine that God could exist in other dimensions as well as in dimensions with which we are familiar.

The absolute beginning of time according to our human experience occurred at the Big Bang—about 13.8 billion years ago. God brought matter into existence from an infinitely small “singularity.” Physical descriptions for “singularity” characteristics are unlike anything with which humanity is now familiar. But Hebrew for Genesis 1:1, according to Hugh Ross in his volume “The Genesis Question” (Navpress, 2001), states the terms used in Gen. 1:1—heavens and earth,—“consistently refer to the totality of the physical universe: all of the matter and energy and whatever else it contains.”

Since the Big Bang creation event, our universe has expanded and has experienced many physical transformations. Credible scientists have described the primeval sea of quarks, early particles from which protons and neutrons formed and later combined to form atomic nuclei in the first several thousand years. These early particles were too hot to capture electrons. When they cooled enough, they captured electrons and formed elements which later formed galaxies of clouds and later, stars. The stars formed new elements and took on a life of their own. Astrophysicists refer to “cosmic evolution,” an ongoing sequence of events to explain our past and present physical existence. 

Our view is that the subject of creation, especially the creation event described in Genesis 1:1, usually signals a one-time event. The richness of our language and theology, however, permits discussion of many other aspects of God’s creative power. Our Creator is not limited to a singular creative episode with respect to our physical universe or physical life. The power of God’s creative work has been ongoing since the beginning. The study of our physical universe, its origin, its development over time, and its development in the present, reveals much of God’s ongoing creative work. Many useful discoveries have been made concerning the events of 13.8 billion years ago, but much reported knowledge about the origin of our universe is speculative, at best. 

Of even more importance is the manifestation of God’s ongoing creative ability with respect to living things. A riveting discussion topic is the origin of life on our planet. Is there a natural explanation for how life originated? In terms of our Christian belief system, God created life itself. Many scientists continue to search for a natural explanation for life’s origin. They are having little, if any success. The topic of divine action is off limits and even unwelcome in our science laboratories.

In contrast to our limited knowledge of events at the origin of the universe, we are far more confident that medical science has explained the sequence of events in the origin of planetary life. For instance—gestation—the events involving production of a human life from conception to birth. Knowledge of the process of gestation has increased exponentially. More knowledge of gestation is constantly being discovered. 

How do we relate our post title—Ongoing Creation—to the development of human life? As we study the wonderful events involving reproduction, we believe the terms divine creativity and divine creation are entirely appropriate to describe events occurring in our present day. God is the Creator/Author of the wonders involving the production of new life. Life begins at conception, the joining of two gametes, sperm and ovum, into a zygote. This new diploid cell possesses all the potential to become a fully human being. It is fully human, although not fully mature.

The creation process of the next nine months involves building and structuring many functional layers of cells from the early zygote. It becomes an embryo, soon becomes a fetus, and finally a newborn. This process is not random or incoherent. Rather, it is suffused with precision and wonder. In our post of 2-21-2018 we quoted a well-known developmental biologist, Lewis Wolpert: “It is not birth, marriage, or death, but gastrulation which is truly the most important time of your life. The term signifies “the embryonic process during which a living organism’s body plan is established.”

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2018/02/lifes-developmental-miracle.html

There are many dimensions of God’s creativity. Many theologians deal with the concept of divine creation in relation to preserving, upholding, sustaining, conserving, governing, or intervening. Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspective Ministries, states, “Each individual since Adam and Eve has been personally created by God.”     

   

Leftovers of the Initial Creation Event

 With a nod to the spectacular, we recently posted accounts of the ‘great planetary conjunction’ of Jupiter and Saturn, a spectacular rare total solar eclipse, a beautiful comet visitor, and a fireball meteor which spread treasured fragments of cosmic matter on our home planet’s surface. We resist focusing exclusively on overly spectacular astronomical phenomena. Everyday environmental events provide plentiful examples of natural wonder.  

There is nothing boring about sunrises and sunsets, the common star-filled sky (and perhaps the cloud cover obscuring the stellar show), ubiquitous common insects, (even in the spring), gentle rain events, plant growth, ordinary animal behavior, and  dozens of other daily events in which we are immersed.

Bear with us as we develop our case for divine creation, utilizing the term “leftover,” not in a pejorative but rather in a positive sense.

We highlighted both the spectacular and the mundane in our opening paragraphs. Both suggest a rich history. What came before? In terms of the ‘spectaculars’ mentioned in our opening paragraph: Are the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn “leftovers” of a divine creation event? Is Earth’s Moon, a main player in solar and lunar eclipses, a “leftover?” Are comets, fireball meteors, and meteorites “leftovers?” We ask, “Leftovers from what?” In terms of more ordinary phenomena including mountains and living things, could we make a case for creation’s leftovers? If we agree that the Big Bang, occurring 13.8 billion years ago, was God’s initial act of creation in our universe, the answer is an emphatic “Yes.”

For many, the issue of a young earth is important. They interpret the seven “days” as literal rather than figurative. They do not acknowledge that Genesis days could be anything other than literal 24-hour days. Their position forces then to the conclusion that Earth and the universe itself is only six to ten thousand years old.

The position of our blog and the position of the John Ankerberg ministry is that diverse interpretations of the Hebrew yom (day) in early chapters of Genesis allow for a very ancient Planet Earth and universe in accord with multiple discoveries of historical science. Most scientists are in agreement that there is overwhelming evidence that the Big Bang occurred 13.8 billion years ago. On the same time scale Planet Earth originated about 4.5 billion years ago and simple life first appeared about 3.8 billion years ago. Fully modern humanity appeared very recently—about 50,000 to 65,000 years ago. At that time there was a significant leap in the ability of homo sapiens. That human achievement leap is described as a cultural explosion. Some analysts call this ability leap evidence of a divine creation event.

Recently I was challenged to recommend a book supporting the relationship of science and faith. I offered a volume by theologian C. John Collins, entitled “Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?” (Crossway Books, 2003). The 400-page volume is a comprehensive defense of Collins’ confidence in science and its relationship to faith. Collins states, “I have already given you my reasons for rejecting the claim that the Bible teaches a young earth…” He outlines theories proposed by theologian/physicists John Polkinghorne and Ian Barbour:

     “About 15 billion…years ago, space, time, and the universe began when the initial 

     singularity—all the matter and energy compressed into a point with zero

     dimensions—suddenly began expanding unimaginably rapidly. (Theorists disagree

     on how rapidly, and how the rate has changed over time.) After the first three

     minutes, atomic nuclei could form, yielding helium and hydrogen; after about

     500,000 years, the lighter elements could be formed. After about a billion years 

     of expansion, the stars and galaxies began to form, in which the heavier elements

     were produced. Some of these stars have died and some have scattered their

     matter—this is how the basic building blocks for biological systems became

     available. About 4 1/2 billion years ago planet earth was formed, condensed out

     of cosmic clouds. Biological life first appeared on earth about 3 - 3 1/2  billion

     years ago.”

Note the citation of the formation of planet earth in the quote above. As planets formed from the gas cloud, likewise, comets and meteors formed in the same way. In Collins’ words they formed from rocky masses and frozen gases which “bashed into each other and fused.” In our times planets, meteors, meteorites, and comets remain as “leftovers” from the initial Big Bang creation event. These leftovers are composed of “heavy elements” formed from “light elements” helium and hydrogen. Primeval stars exploded into supernovae. Light elements fused and spread heavy elements, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and other heavy elements into space. Living things are now composed of light and heavy elements—“leftovers” from the Big Bang. (Carl Sagan in his TV series Cosmos once voiced, “We’re made of star stuff.” Sagan was not a Christian, but he was correct in his “star stuff” utterance.)

Throughout Earth history our Creator has performed miracles. In other posts we have categorized miracles as (1) sustaining, (2) transformational, or (3) transcendent. We recognize the Big Bang as “God’s initial creative act.” In this universe it qualifies as a transcendent miracle. The origin of life on our planet, including fully modern humanity, is a transcendent miracle. Other events such as the formation of planets from gas clouds could be classified transformational miracles. Everyday maintenance of the orderly physical system exemplifies ongoing sustaining miracles. In all these categories, our Creator is at work to manifest His glory.

The Creator endowed matter with a coherent set of physical laws and physical constants by which the current cosmic order has achieved its present maturity. We speak of a wondrous endowment: God’s handiwork is present in thousands of ways within our sphere of existence. Science has discovered how the manifold physical systems operate. We observe creation miracles each day. For these gifts we offer God our thankful worship.   

   

   

 

  

 

 

   

   

 

  

 

          

Observable Sky Wonders

 In past weeks we highlighted an unusual Great Conjunction of gas-giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, a visual treat in our dark evening skies. Reactions to this event ranged along a wide spectrum of excitement. As a former science instructor, memories returned concerning personal strategies for motivating and exciting students with observable astronomical phenomena. 

We favored naked eye astronomy. Systematic non-enhanced observations are useful for distinguishing between real and apparent motions of orbiting Solar System bodies such as the Moon and planets. Guided assignments effectively demonstrated apparent movements of all visible stars around the North Star (360º per day) owing to Earth’s rotation. Slower apparent changes in positions of constellations over several weeks caused by Earth’s revolution were studied and clarified with systematic activities. Our challenge was to distinguish between apparent motions caused by two different real motions. Telescopic astronomy was an occasional instructional bonus to observe Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s moons, lunar craters, and even the two million light-years distant galaxy Andromeda.

Curiosity about physical laws follows from naked eye observations of familiar Solar System companions. For example, what causes planetary motion in their repetitive, predictable paths? What natural laws govern their motion and speed? What forces act on astronomical bodies? How is an object’s mass related to it’s motion? These issues can be discussed at appropriate times. Instruction, however, must seem natural and not overly pedantic—a challenge for skilled teachers.  

In our day students and parents alike benefit by observing the wonders of our environment uninhibited by studio-produced visual or auditory animations. Virtual reality has assumed a distinctive presence in our modern society. The Online Etymology Dictionary states virtual is “being something in essence or effect, though not actually in fact.” Also, virtual is “not physically existing but made to appear…..” Modern media can produce incredible virtual reality substituting for a wide range of genuine reality, including astronomical events. But, citing a popular cliché, nothing compares with “being there.”

In that spirit, your blogger relates four outstanding in-person astronomy experiences of the last decade, all of which we have previously reported. These episodes have their initial causes in a long-ago divine creation event. In our modern day, many events in our natural world inspire significant personal worship experiences. The object of our worship is the Creator of All Things—the God of the Bible.

We recount several especially memorable celestial events. First, we reference the recent appearance of Comet Neowise in July 2020, one of the most spectacular visible comets of our lifetime. The Sun caused the orbiting comet’s icy matter to vaporize and produce a thin, gaseous comet tail millions of miles in length. Neowise joined an unusual pair of visible comets in the late 1990s—Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp. Many people fail to observe even one naked eye comet in an entire lifetime. Here is our July 2020 link:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2020/07/neowise-sky-spectacular.html

Second, fresh in our memory is the most spectacular personal astronomical observation of my entire life. A total solar eclipse favored millions of people as the Earth’s small shadow raced across the surface of the United States from coast to coast on August 21, 2017. For many years I had announced that I looked forward to some day witnessing a total solar eclipse. This type of eclipse roughly matches total lunar eclipses in frequency (just less than one per year) but the physical window of observation, merely a few miles wide, is exceedingly narrow compared with the planet-sized window of observation for a total lunar eclipse. The time of observation for a total solar eclipse ranges from a few seconds to a few minutes but more than half of Earth’s population is able to observe a lunar eclipse. Following is my personal account of the total solar eclipse of 2017:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2017/08/eclipse-everest-experience.html

Third, Earth residents were favored by an unusual total lunar eclipse on the night of 9/27/2015. It was dubbed a supermoon eclipse, described in our 10/18/2015 post. Extra appeal for this lunar eclipse consisted of the knowledge that the eclipse event was the last of a lunar tetrad—an unusual series of four consecutive lunar eclipses in only two calendar years. Read about it here:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2015/10/supermoon-eclipses.html

Finally, on the night of 4/14/2010 a several hundred pound fireball roared across the sky in southwest Wisconsin a few dozen miles north of our residence. It was a chunk of space rock, a meteor which became a meteorite when small fragments fell to Earth before it completely vaporized. Originally dubbed the Livingston WI meteor, it is now called the Mifflin meteorite. The meteor brightened our dark northwest sky for several seconds. Our family ascribed the light display to an approaching thunderstorm, an incredible explanation because the night was virtually cloudless. The next morning we heard the exciting news: We had experienced a visitor from the far reaches of our solar system!:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2010/04/meteor-madness.html

All physical matter described above in our four posts—rocky, gaseous, icy, metallic, dusty matter—is leftover material from the initial divine creation event. Some creationists believe that all cosmic creation events have occurred recently and suddenly ex nihilo—out of nothing. To limit creation acts to recent time frames places human limits on the omnipotent, omniscient Creator. When we observe wonders in our heavens we are studying ongoing divine creation processes. We experience emotions of thankfulness and worship for our timeless Creator.

 

    

   

Lessons from the Great Conjunction

 At present most readers are familiar with the Great Conjunction of December 20, 2020. It was a rare astronomical treat, not to be repeated for many years. Only twice before have Jupiter and Saturn appeared visually closer together in the past 900 years, but only once have Earth residents been able to see such a close planetary meeting in a dark night sky. That occurred in AD 1226! A third exceedingly close “Great Conjunction” occurred on December 21, 2020. In our last post we stressed the scientific value of ordinary planetary studies rather than their prophetic or astrological significance.

Astrology occasionally enjoys renewed popularity. Some sources state young people relish astrology as a tool for introspection or an aide for personal mystic significance.” In my astronomy instruction units students were amused by personal horoscopes printed in some publications. Our mention of horoscopes may have provided class members some entertainment, but the study of astrology is not a scientific discipline to help illustrate real causes and effects. Astrology is a pseudoscience. We endeavored to explain to students the popular meaning of “signs of the zodiac.” Here is a link to our post on “The Bible Zodiac:”

http://jasscience.blogspot.com/2011/10/bible-zodiac.html

        

In AD 1226, medieval residents may have seen the rare, exceedingly close planetary conjunction and ascribed astrological significance to the event. Many of that day believed events in the sky influenced human experience. Astrology was a significant scholarly pursuit. A few hundred years later astronomy began its ascension as a scientific discipline. We may connect it with the important Scientific Revolution.

Conjunctions of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn occur approximately every 20 years. Jupiter is closer to Earth and travels faster than Saturn. It visually overtakes Saturn every two decades. There are other conjunctions between and among other planets and celestial bodies, but conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn are called “Great Conjunctions.” They occur less often than other conjunctions. The extremely close meeting of these two planets in December 2020 was especially noteworthy. The Wikipedia article entitled “Great Conjunction” is an invaluable source for detailed information on the infrequent celestial meetings of these two important planets. The informational table of close conjunctions of these planets since AD 1200 has multiple columns and rows of information to boggle the mind. One is startled by the statistical analysis—multiple precision details of the gas giant planetary conjunctions.

Late in the 20th century the two giant planets were drawing closer to each other. In the last two decades they repeated their ancient cycle of drawing apart, then approaching each other once again. Following the 2020 conjunction the two planets are once more slowly drawing apart. We are currently only a few weeks past the exceptional Great Conjunction of 12/21/20. Jupiter will lap Saturn once more on 11/4/2040. The planet’s speed in orbit is 29,236 miles/hour compared with Saturn’s 21,675 miles/hour. Jupiter completes one revolution in 11.9 Earth years compared with Saturn’s 29.5 Earth years. These facts appeal to statistically minded observers, reinforcing our belief that the physical world is orderly, coherent, and systematic in accord with the divine characteristics of the Creator of All Things. God has enabled humanity to discover the orderliness of creation. Mathematical statistics strengthen our concepts of cosmic order and coherence.

The Book of Isaiah and other scripture passages have many references to the heavens and the wonders in the skies. Isaiah 40:26a is written in the context of the creative power of God, not only in the heavens, but also on the planetary surface. We are overcome with a sense of worship as we inspect passages extolling the orderliness of the creation and the characteristics of the Creator. 

 “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?…..”

 

    

     

Signs in the Sky

 Worldwide excitement was high on December 21, 2020 as a special event in the evening sky unfolded. We were disappointed but not surprised that a normal weather condition—cloudiness—obscured personal observation of what some have dubbed the “2020 Christmas Star,” a close conjunction of two bright planets, Jupiter and Saturn. This degree of planetary meeting has not visually occurred since AD 1226. We do not disclaim the astronomical significance of such an important planetary conjunction. Unusual or rare sky phenomena deserve special attention. Our natural inclination may lead us to assign theological significance to the event. Scriptural references to “Signs in the Sky” may indicate possible eschatological importance. This rare planetary conjunction inspires special attention among astronomers, but does it deserve to be highlighted among theologians?

The Gospels of Luke and Matthew have been important in end times predictions. Luke 21 and Matthew 24 contain commentary concerning the presence of signs, including “signs in the sky” and their occurrence in the future, especially at the  “end of the age.” Such speculation is natural. Has God provided guidelines for Christians to relate specific physical events to the end of the age?” This depends on how we interpret the guidelines and how precisely we demand time frames for the events. Generally, these chapters quote Jesus on (a) the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman armies in 70 AD, (b) generally stressful experiences in the time between the destruction of Jerusalem and the approach of the end of the age, and (c) the traumatic distress of nations at the return of Christ. Commentators have made efforts to interpret these passages. Their comments are helpful but very specific information on events, times, and places is not generally appropriate, to the disappointment of some students of scripture prophecy. Interpretation of end times prophecies is not an exact science.

The recent planetary spectacular may be explained in purely scientific terms. 

Following the rare December 21 close conjunction, the visual distance between the bodies slowly increased daily because of their absolute movement and Earth’s motion in relation to the planets. But on December 21 and succeeding days the display of combined light from the two planets was not exceedIngly bright as pictured on many Christmas greeting cards. 

Sky watchers are interested in visual events. Astrophysicists may focus more on effects of planetary revolution resulting from gravitational forces and laws of motion. Observers of unusual events such as the planetary display of December 21 have a plethora of scientific causes and effects to help explain the wonderful event. For example, we pose this question: Why are planets of the Solar System coplanar? Answer: Planets were formed from dust surrounding the ancient Sun. The dust began to spin and collapse into a flattened disc. Later the coplanar Solar System planets formed within this disc.

The prophecies in Luke and Matthew serve to remind us that our Creator is in control of all things, including physical events in our environment. Laws of nature were authored by God. The manner in which God uses natural events to carry out His will or foretell the future are not always in our purview. We posit that unusual or awe-inspiring astronomical events occur to focus attention on the workings of God in our physical world, to inspire our sense of beauty and worship, and sometimes to call attention to His authorship of future events.  

 

      

Star of Wonder 2020?

 “We Three Kings” is a popular Christmas carol composed in 1857 by John H. Hopkins for a New York City Christmas pageant. The Bible in Matthew 2:1-12 refers to the visit of the Magi, wise men from the east who visited the Holy Land and presented Jesus with gifts. They stated, “We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” Matt. 2:2b (NIV). “We Three Kings” musically chronicles the visit of the Magi.

The star of Matt. 2:2 is called the “Christmas Star” or the “Star of Bethlehem.” In this Christmas season 2020 many commentators see significance in the current appearance of an astronomical phenomenon that very rarely appears in our skies. Has the original Christmas star made a return visit during this Advent season? Is it the same “Christmas Star” that appeared at the birth of Jesus? Many are fascinated by this prospect—its timing together with its astronomical rarity.

To what astronomical rarity do we refer? Jupiter and Saturn, largest planets in the Solar System, present a beautiful sight in our dark skies. Jupiter, the largest of the four ‘giant planets,’ and Saturn, a close second, possess significant brightness in dark skies, but rank second and third to the brightness of planet Venus. Individually, Jupiter and Saturn are magnificent to the naked eye. Their orbits are generally coplanar: they revolve about the sun in more or less the same plane. On some occasions their coplanarity is responsible for providing a visual meeting, but they are not really close to one another. Their visual proximity is known as a conjunction.

All celestial conjunctions are not equal. Conjunctions between astronomical bodies are fairly common. For instance, sky watchers are fascinated when the moon in its movements appears to come close to a visible planet or a star. Conjunctions between bright planets are more noteworthy. Very close conjunctions generate the most excitement among astronomy buffs. When an extremely close conjunction between two of the brightest planets in the heavens occurs, public excitement is heightened. 

On December 21, 2020 an exceedingly significant conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs. Coincidentally, that date is the date of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, an important astronomical event. It is, in addition, the heart of the Christmas season. The two planets will be merely 0.1 degree away from each other, not enough to visually separate the combined light for many people. Others with outstanding visual acuity may be able to separate the planets’ light. Since November 1 the planets have been closing the visual gap between them.

The 2020 event is the closest Jupiter/Saturn conjunction since 1623 AD, but it was not as observable as a similar conjunction in 1226 AD owing to a more favorable distance from the sun’s brightness. A conjunction this close will not occur again until 2080. Conjunctions are not rare, but a combination of circumstances makes the event extraordinary.

Returning to the possibility that the “Christmas Star” of Matthew 2 has made a return visit, we have discovered many possible physical and spiritual explanations for the ancient coincidence of Jesus’ birth and the appearance of a “star.” Much speculation has centered around the unusual appearance of a planet or planets, a comet, or even a supernova. There is plentiful speculation about unusual appearances of conjunctions or other unusual astronomical phenomena, especially within this time frame. Several planetary conjunctions occurred around the time when Jesus was a young child.

Matthew 2 refers to a star the Magi had seen in the east which also went ahead of them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to guide them to the child Jesus. In their home country they may have focused on an astronomical/astrological heavenly object “at its rising.” It is called a “heliacal rising,” related to the progression of seasons.

We are more confident that the star which “went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was” is an example of a transcendent miracle. Such miracles are sometimes referred to as manifestations of the Shekinah Glory: a phenomenon denoting the visible presence God among men.

Should we assign the marvelous conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21, 2020 to a spectacular return of the “Christmas Star?” We prefer to join with Reasons to Believe president Dr. Hugh Ross. He states, in reference to the star and the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus, “What strikes me as the most important part of the account is its illustration of the hope and faith the Magi placed in the promised Messiah.”                 

   

Wonders of Water Solubility

 Our last two posts emphasized two substances—salt and water, two of the most vital substances on Planet Earth. Water is the most common liquid on Earth while salt water is the most common aqueous solution on the planet. Scientific knowledge concerning water is plentiful. Unique properties and characteristics of water are well known. We published seven posts on water in 2012, including this one:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/02/just-plain-water.html

When water acts by itself it manifests changes in density related to temperature and phase, cohesion and adhesion characteristics, and thermal properties related to weather such as specific heat and heat of vaporization. Another all-important characteristic is solubility—its ability to form solutions when other substances dissolve in it. We believe the properties mentioned above, along with its ability to dissolve various other substances, is a product of divine design by the Creator/Designer of All Things. Water, the universal solvent, dissolves thousands of substances. More substances dissolve in water than in any other known liquid. Water is able to dissolve many substances at the same time.

The solubility of many substances in water is a physical characteristic making possible many chemical changes on which our lives depend. Most chemical reactions occur in solutions. If water did not possess unique properties such as solubility, other necessary life processes would be impossible. “Ordinary” water is a compound whose molecules are composed of two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. Water is an example of a polar compound. Each water molecule has a positive charge on one side and a negative charge on the other. This fact is merely the beginning of a fascinating, complex story. Water’s polarity results in its ability to dissolve many substances.

Why is the water solubility characteristic so important? Our bodies’ digestive processes function to convert food into usable, absorbable forms. This means combining the food with materials that convert it to soluble substances. In digestion, food nutrients are altered to soluble substances which are then absorbed through the walls of the small intestine and into our blood stream for transport to trillions of body cells. Our cells metabolize food, synthesizing proteins and creating energy. Soluble waste products from cell activity are later carried to the kidneys to be filtered out of the blood and later removed from the body. CO2 is also a waste product dissolved in blood and must travel to the lungs to be exhaled. 

The human body is 60-70% water. Human blood is about 92% water, about 55% of which is plasma. Oxygen is dissolved in plasma after absorption in the lungs and quickly becomes dissolved in the water of plasma and red blood cells. The oxygen combines with hemoglobin molecules. The oxygen is then carried to human cells via hemoglobin. This exemplifies the solubility of gases in water. Solubility includes water’s ability to dissolve solids, other liquids, or gases.

Studying a physical property such as water solubility and the solubility of gases, solids and other liquids in water may seem tiresome or even boring. Reviewing this topic and researching related issues triggered renewed personal interest in a rather mundane topic. We all have experiences with the subject of solubility—for example, when we prepare meals in our kitchens. Perhaps we did not realize how important the topic was in relation to human body systems and bodily processes in all living things.

We link one more post from our 2012 series on water. Our prayer is that readers will acquire a heightened interest in the multiple design features of our universe. These features are not chaotic, random, or incoherent. When we study multiple physical systems and the orderly physical laws governing our lives, our conclusions concerning God’s creative works are inescapable.

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/02/dissolving-power.html