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The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the big bang are enormous…. I think clearly there are religious implications whenever you start to discuss the origins of the universe. STEPHEN W. HAWKING

An excellent video of 25 places in the world that looks they are are from another planet. You can access the photo version here .  

The capacity of the universe to surprise appears to be infinite. UK scientists have recently discovered that plants have a built-in capacity to do maths, which helps them regulate food reserves at night. A fact which has allegedly "amazed" because they did not them. Mathematical models show that the amount of starch consumed overnight is calculated by division in a process involving leaf chemicals. Overnight, when the plant Arabidopsis cannot use energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and starch, it must regulate its starch reserves to ensure they last until dawn. Experiments by scientists show that to adjust its starch consumption so precisely, the plant must be performing a mathematical calculation - arithmetic division. The scientists told BBC News, “They’re actually doing maths in a simple, chemical way - that’s amazing, it astonished us as scientists to see that. This is pre-GCSE maths they’re doing, but they’re doing maths.....This is th...

I recently watched a television documentary about Africa's beautiful landscape and  rich wildlife. In one episode the narrator took us underneath the Kalahari desert with a river that has never been fully explored and beams with increadible species. In another episode we saw the great "Google rainforest" of Mozambique, again teaming with all kinds of plants and animal life. God's creation is truly extravagant on earth, and even spectacularly so in the cosmos - the question is why is it so?  A recent book I read by Louie Giglio and Matt Redman Indescribable   puts it this way   : But why create stretches of the universe that will never be seen? Why be content for distant galaxies to go completely unnoticed for thousands and thousands of years? It is a mark of extravagance in the heart of our Creator God. God is not like us. So often our nature is to cut corners. If there’s a room people rarely go into, we’re unlikely to consider keeping it tidy. Or say, f...

The world is more delicious than it needs to be. We have a superabundance of divine goodness and generosity. God went over the top. We don’t need the variety we enjoy, but he gave it to us out of sheer exuberant joy and grace. God’s creative joy wasn’t only for the beginning of creation, leaving us “eating leftovers.” God continues to sustain creation out of joy. “The bloom of yeast lies upon the grape skins year after year because He likes it; C6H12O6=2C2H5OH+2CO2 is a dependable process because, every September, He says, That was nice; do it again. From A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community and Mission around the Table  by Tim Chester. Only a delicious God would create such a delicious world! He is truly pleasant and sweet in all dimensions!