Good Heavens! The Human Side of Astronomy

The Bible tells us that we can see and understand "God's invisible attributes" through what He has created. And this is precisely what former atheist Michael Ray Lewis discovered as he spent three years examining the evidence for Christianity. One of the most impressive arguments he encountered during his time of searching was that of the fine tuning of the universe. Jesus eventually got hold of Michael and not long thereafter his wife encouraged him to make a documentary about the evidence he had uncovered for Christianity. Here on part two of our conversation with filmmaker Michael Ray Lewis, we'll hear the story of how the idea of the film, Universe Designed, became a reality. For more info on the Universe Designed film, click here: https://universedesigned.com/ Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

This is why we produce Good Heavens! God's creation shows us His invisible attributes. He uses His creation to lead us to Christ, through whom and for whom the entirety of the heavens and earth were made (Colossians 1). Dan recently met a former atheist who became a Christian and has recently completed the final edits on a remarkable docudrama film about the cosmos and how it all points us to Jesus. The film is called Universe Designed and it is the passion project of our guest on Good Heavens! for the next two episodes, filmmaker Michael Ray Lewis. Universe Designed rivals anything produced by National Geographic or the Discovery Channel, without the naturalism of course, and is entirely Christ-centered. It is due to be released sometime toward the end of this year. Here on part one, Michael shares with us his story about how God began a good work in his life. For more about the film and how you can help get it into theaters, do visit the website at https://www.universedesigned.com for more information. Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Neptune is the Roman name for the Greek god of the seas and of earthquakes. Poseidon, in Greek mythology, is the father of Polyphemus, the tyrannical, man-eating cyclopes of Homer's Odyssey. Because the Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, it was Poseidon and his wrath which ultimately made Odysseus' trip home a little more circuitous than was to the Big O's liking. Thankfully, Poseidon and his offspring exist only in the long-gone minds and imaginations of Homer and the Greco-Roman world. But there is a true King of king and Lord of lords, which even the wind, wave, continental plates and distant planets obey. Who is this King of Glory? How do the heavens declare His glory? And what might the enigmas and mysteries of our solar system's most distant planet tell us about Him? Come and see! To see pictures comparing the actual colors of Uranus and Neptune see this article. https://www.space.com/uranus-neptune-similar-shades-of-blue-voyager-2-images Music featured for the first 7 minutes of the broadcast comes from Gustav Holst, The Planets Op 32 Vii Neptune The Mystic https://youtu.be/cZt9oXP1OKc?si=d8ZYuTbYtSKuwXtN CNN special episode of Voyager 2 arrival at Neptune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwb-o5N9LBM Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqnN72OlqA Sarah Salviander article https://sarahsalviander.substack.com/p/top-10-reasons-ill-never-go-back Wayne's blog article on 'Easter - Then and Now' https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2025/04/18/easter-then-and-now/ Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

You don't hear much about Uranus these days. Probably because it's 1.8 billion miles away, or maybe because the last time an Earth-launched satellite probe visited the enigmatic ringed world was in 1986. A few years ago the James Webb Space Telescope took the beauteous portrait of Uranus you see in the thumbnail, but for the most part, most folks don't think much about the quirky planet that orbits the sun whilst rolling on its side. Hopefully, this episode will at least make you think about Uranus as a work of art, the "handiwork" of God (Psalm 8 and 19), which silently declares His glory. The background music you hear in the introduction is from Gustav Holst's - The Planets, Op. 32 - VI. Uranus, the Magician [Copyright Free]. https://youtu.be/DEb1gtMljyA?si=e8qCMcurFy18Gmte Uranus press conference original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAEUvts2F6g Book on Uranus and Neptune (not Christian): https://a.co/d/8QlE8ur Also, this is Wayne's blog with an article on Easter and Jesus' resurrection: https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/   Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

What does the Bible say about the sun? What is the purpose of the sun? Why did God create it? How does the sun remind us of God's invisible attributes? How could there have been life on earth before the sun? How can we best understand both what the Bible says and what science says about our sun? The sun was designed and created for God's glory; for signs and for seasons, for days and years, to govern the day, and to give light on the earth. Come and see with Wayne and Dan what the Bible and the Parker Solar Probe can tell us not only about the sun, but about what God is like.   Audio clips used in this episode: Grackles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLteSIxC1hs Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OwP2MONfcE Dr. Carl Sagan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPkpBN6bEI Dr. Nour Rawafi Ted Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hktbamn2jX4 Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.  

Our thumbnail image this week is not a doctored or photoshopped image, but a genuine picture of the sun from October 2024. Taken in 193 angstrom light on Oct. 26, 2024, NASA captured our sun in a state of rejoicing, or so it seemed (image credit NASA/GSFC/SDO). The darker regions you see that comprise the eyes and mouth are actually regions of the surface of the sun that have been blasted off by coronal mass ejections that can trigger solar storms here on earth. In fact, solar storm warnings were issued because of this particular image. All that "missing" material is fired off into space and some of it could (and did) strongly interact with Earth's atmosphere, creating the Northern Lights effect. The charged particles from the sun interact with the magnetic field of Earth, which shields us from just such ejections. Without the magnetic shield, Earth's atmosphere would be stripped bare by these solar ejecta. This is a perfect analogy to what the Bible says about God in Psalm 84:11. "Our God is a sun and shield." The radiant and fiercely powerful light of the sun reminds us of God as a "consuming fire", while the Earth's magnetic field reminds us that God is a shield to us. We are protected by God's wrath through Christ on the cross. God provides us with His own righteous shield, in the person of His Son Jesus who, upon the cross, has taken away our sin. Come and see what the Bible and the Parker Solar Probe have to say about our Sun, the handiwork of God. EPISODE NOTE: In the beginning of part one, Dan mentions the faint, young sun problem but we forgot to get back to it. So here is an article about the problem you can check out if you're interested! https://creation.com/young-sun-paradox Audio clips featured in part one ABC DFW Northern Lights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM6FJbehp28 Solar Probe whistle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50kwxyFQalI Solar Probe CME sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF_e5eYgJ3Y Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

How might things like "spooky action at a distance" or mysterious as "dark matter" point us to the glory of God? Whether you are a theist or a non-theist or a Christian who believes in a young or an old universe, we can all agree on at least one thing. The universe is a fascinating place in which we find ourselves. That the universe is intelligible to us is even more remarkable. But here at Good Heavens! we like to think the cosmos is more than just fascinating. We believe, as the Bible reveals, that the physical cosmos, at both the incredibly large and infinitesimally small scales, reveal to us something about God's invisible attributes. As both the psalms and Isaiah tell us, the whole of the heavens and earth are filled with the glory of God. Often we are told that Christianity and science cannot possibly go together, however. But hopefully our special guests will continue to dispel that misconception. As mentioned on part one, Dan had the remarkable opportunity this month (January) at the Defend 2025 apologetics conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to have a fun and inspiring chat with not one, but two Christians who are professionally and popularly published doctors of the cosmos (at the same time!), one who studies the subatomic scale and one who studies galaxies, some of the largest entities in the cosmos. Dr. Michael G. Strauss is a particle physicist at CERN and the University of Oklahoma and Dr. Luke Barnes is a researcher and lecturer of cosmology and astrophysics at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia. Both have published works at the professional and popular levels. It was a wonder and a privilege to get them both at the table together to hear their insights about the structure of the universe at the large and small scales and how they see God in all of it. Here on part two, we chat about spooky action at a distance, the mystery of dark matter, and we'll glean some insights as to how we as Christians can have conversations about our differences in relation to the age of the universe. Good Heavens! this was a fun conversation. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as Dan did putting it together for you! Soli Deo Gloria. More about Luke More about Michael Luke's books  Michael's book Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

As human beings we occupy a wondrously peculiar size in the cosmos. With our unique stature, we are able to see and comprehend scales of the universe at the inconceivably huge and the unimaginably small. We here at Good Heavens! believe God has arranged this peculiar state of affairs and wants us to know and delight in what He has made.  The heavens are telling of His glory and we want to be a part in getting His word and the works of His hands out there for everyone to contemplate, consider, and enjoy. On this very special episode of Good Heavens! Dan had the remarkable opportunity this month (January) at the Defend 2025 apologetics conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to have a fun and inspiring chat with not one, but two professionally and popularly published doctors of the cosmos (at the same time!), one who studies the subatomic scale and one who studies galaxies, some of the largest entities in the cosmos. Dr. Michael G. Strauss is a particle physicist at CERN and the University of Oklahoma and Dr. Luke Barnes is a researcher and lecturer of cosmology and astrophysics at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia. Both have published works at the professional and popular levels. It was a wonder and a privilege to get them both at the table together to hear their insights about the structure of the universe at the large and small scales and how they see God in all of it. Here on part one, we chat about the standard models of cosmology and particle physics, the wonder of stars, and the unsolved mysteries facing doctors of the cosmos today. Whether you are a theist, non-theist, or take a young earth or old earth perspective as a Christian, we hope you'll find these episodes encouraging and informative. Above all, we hope it will inspire you to have thoughtful and respectful dialogue with others with whom you might disagree. Good Heavens! this was a fun conversation. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as Dan did putting it together for you! Soli Deo Gloria. More about Luke More about Michael Luke's books  Michael's book Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Black holes continue to amaze and surprise us. Just when it seemed the scientific community was settling in on how black holes form, a string of recent discoveries has begun to call those assumptions into question. How about a triple black hole system? Or how about a black hole that is "feeding" itself many times faster than astrophysicists thought possible. Here on part two Wayne and Dan delve into the mysteries of these entities to the best of their knowledge and ability and they consider how these recent discoveries point us to the glory of God in Christ. Come and see! Mysterious Supermassive Black Hole mentioned on Part One https://phys.org/news/2024-06-black-hole-inexplicable-mass-jwst.html Triple black hole system https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/first-black-hole-in-a-triple-star-system-found Super hungry black hole! https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/astronomers-find-early-fast-feeding-black-hole-using-nasa-telescopes/ Sarah Salviander's video on the history of science's understanding of black holes: https://youtu.be/xi0CwpY5ICg?si=3wZUSmRaQ-9pGyLO Press Conferences mentioned this series. First photograph of a black hole: https://www.youtube.com/live/XlrfBiuMzfE?si=RU3ZM2scyPAZE1wV Gravitational waves discovery: https://www.youtube.com/live/aEPIwEJmZyE?si=tZhq0Gs-WKZfRvOX FREE! Four-page articles from Watchman Fellowship - These articles help you better understand the ideas and ideologies of our time that challenge our Christian faith. Each profile offers a history, critique, and solidly biblical response to the topics. Scientism https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf Naturalism https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf Carl Sagan's Cosmos https://www.watchman.org/files/ProfileCosmos.pdf UFOS/UAPS https://www.watchman.org/ProfileUFOs.pdf Astrology https://www.watchman.org/files/profileastrology2018.pdf If you like the profile articles, be sure to check out Watchman's comprehensive two-volume collection of all of our profile articles, nearly 700 pages. You can get a print or digital edition. Check out our preview video of the notebook at https://www.Watchman.org/Notebook.  Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

Black holes remain one of the most enigmatic and wondrous entities in the cosmos. We have only known about them for less than a century. And just when you think you've got a handle on what exactly they are, new discoveries begin to challenge these assumptions. Just in the last decade, astrophysicists have not only photographed a black hole but have detected gravitational waves, the ripples in spacetime fabric created by the merger of two supermassive black holes.  (See a video on this at  https://www.youtube.com/live/aEPIwEJmZyE?si=tZhq0Gs-WKZfRvOX ) Here on part one, Wayne and Dan discuss the wonderful strangeness of black holes and a recent discovery of a black hole in a relatively young part of the universe. This black hole, based on current theories, shouldn't be there, as there were not enough stars or enough time for it to have accreted its mass.  So how did it get there? Astronomers are trying to figure that out. Come and see how the Good Heavens! duo thinks these dark stars point us once more back to the glory of God in Christ. Mysterious Supermassive Black Hole mentioned here on Part One https://phys.org/news/2024-06-black-hole-inexplicable-mass-jwst.html Sarah Salviander's video on the history of science's understanding of black holes: https://youtu.be/xi0CwpY5ICg?si=3wZUSmRaQ-9pGyLO How are Quasars related to Black Holes? https://www.space.com/17262-quasar-definition.html First photograph of a black hole: https://www.youtube.com/live/XlrfBiuMzfE?si=RU3ZM2scyPAZE1wV FREE! Four-page articles from Watchman Fellowship - These articles help you better understand the ideas and ideologies of our time that challenge our Christian faith. Each profile offers a history, critique, and solidly biblical response to the topics. Scientism https://www.watchman.org/scientism/ProfileScientism.pdf Naturalism https://www.watchman.org/Naturalism/ProfileNaturalism.pdf Carl Sagan's Cosmos https://www.watchman.org/files/ProfileCosmos.pdf UFOS/UAPS https://www.watchman.org/ProfileUFOs.pdf Astrology https://www.watchman.org/files/profileastrology2018.pdf If you like the profile articles, be sure to check out Watchman's comprehensive two-volume collection of all of our profile articles, nearly 700 pages. You can get a print or digital edition. Check out our preview video of the notebook at https://www.Watchman.org/Notebook.  Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.