Translucite Post One

Welcome to "SCIENCE, THE BIBLE AND LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS" the contents of a book examining issues between faith and our modern values. Each chapter will be divided into 3 or 4 posts of about a page and a half each. May all who read this be challenged to think in new ways and experience personal growth because of it. Sincerely, Les Miller "Mr. Les"

The blog will be divided into 10 chapters, each one sub-divided into 3 or 4 posts, about a page and a half each. The contents are as follows:
TRANSLUCITE
SCIENCE FICTION AND THE MEANING OF OUR MODERN AGE
BIBLE PROOF THERE’S LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS
JOB LEARNED WHAT WE ALL MUST
OF COURSE THEY LANDED ON THE MOON
WHY HAVEN’T THEY GONE BACK?
THE (NOT SO) SECRET KEYS THAT UNLOCK THE REAL TRUTH
JOHN 3:16 IN DEPTH
MR. SPIELBERG HAVE I GOT A SCRIPT FOR YOU
EPILOGUE “THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE”

TRANSLUCITE
It was the early 1980’s. I was about 19 years of age having recently moved out of home, facing life on my own. One night on television the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation showed a fascinating documentary with Dr. David Suzuki. It discussed how the nation of Bangladesh was coping with changes in technology. According to Dr. Suzuki, they were the largest exporter of jute fibre, a natural product used in the making of burlap. Their exports were slowing as plastic from other sources made an easy substitute for jute fibre. The show commented on how reinforcing plastic with jute fibre was a good example of how modern technology can balance with traditional ways in a society.

This is something of course that many people would be glad to achieve. University of Lethbridge Professor Ernest G Mardon wrote in 1973 “We are witnessing a change in our way-of-life and our civilization. Without any history, without an understanding of the past, we lose our sense of value” (“Community Names of Alberta”, page 13). These kinds of thoughts were spoken often by the parents of North America’s “baby boomer” generation. The baby boomers are the ones that take credit for all the changes in our modern world. Most of their parents have now passed on to their graves and into history. One rarely hears this kind of thing anymore. It seems however, as time goes on that each new generation embraces more and more technology and discards more and more of what the “old folks” call the things we could rely on. Where did this conflict come from? Where is it going? Is there any room for God in the modern mind? Or is the Bible just one big fairy tale? Most importantly, can humanity really solve their own problems just by inventing enough gadgets?

I was born in Canada in 1965. That makes me on the cusp between the baby boomers and “generation X”, the children of the boomers who grew up without the traditional values their parents discarded. Now those people are adults, and are raising a new generation of children themselves. Some people believe things are getting better all the time while others believe the end is near. What does it all mean?

First off, let me tell you the story of what I once hoped would be my greatest invention, something that I thought would bring us one massively huge step closer to creating the dream world of the future that’s been talked about for at least the last 50 years. Very near to seeing Dr. Suzuki on TV I also happened to watch a rerun of the original and what has often been called the best science fiction movie ever, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Michael Rennie from 1951. If you’re a sci-fi buff, you no doubt have seen it. There’s a scene early in the film where after the ship has landed in Washington D.C. and sat silent for several hours. Suddenly this single, hard shell of a ship with no seams or joints in it starts to change. Two lines form and the section between them collapsed into an elongated ramp while a doorway opens up at the hump in the middle of the ship. I had already seen the film many times from childhood on. This time though, I asked myself how that could be possible. I didn’t ask how the Hollywood special effects team could fake such a thing. I wondered within if a technology as advanced as that could actually be invented?

Then I remember the jute reinforced plastic, and looking at the screen in my bedroom window I started to think. What if one could manufacture a mesh screen so fine it could only be seen in a microscope? It would have to be made of a metal that conducts electricity well. The spaces between the wires would then be filled with some substance that will get hard or soft in the presence of electricity. Layering these screens would give strength and durability. What one would then need to invent would be a device that works like a laser, but instead of concentrating and directing light beams it would do the same thing with electro-magnetic energy. You could use two of these to make electro-magnetic holograms and when this miracle substance is in the presence of the hologram it will then change shape to conform to the hologram. If you took these “screens” down to a molecular level you would have a substance that is hard as metal but can be instantly changed into a liquid at will and reformed into whatever shape you want.

I called my miracle substance “translucite” for no reason other than I just liked that name. I was 100% sure at the time that if it could be created, this new technology would be just like what the laser has been called many times since it was invented in the 1950’s; a solution looking for a problem. The possibilities could potentially be endless. How about a curtain in a hospital ward that sits between two beds, which, when pulled out becomes a solid wall at the push of a button? How about a set of cookware that instantly transforms into serving bowls? How about a bullet-proof shield for a police officer that opens and closes like an umbrella? I was sure years ago that if I could invent this product I would be the next Leonardo DaVinci, or what Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is to the world today.

Growing up in western Canada I was taught science from an historical point of view. I didn’t just learn who discovered what, but also what world conditions were like at the time and how the changes made by people like Copernicus, Galileo and Isaac Newton made the world what it is today. After having been raised with the modern idea that humanity can solve all their own problems if they just try hard enough, one thing I was most sure of was that my invention would aid in the betterment of humanity and the advancement of world peace.

This is something we are subtly told so often whenever we hear of some great invention causing a revolution in technology. There’s a story that says the Wright brother were sure powered flight would aid in the betterment of humanity and the advancement of world peace. The story then continues by saying that they were shocked and dismayed when the first thing to happen was that it was used for military purposes. Those of you old enough to remember the 1970’s will remember a time when people would pass around chain letters (with bad luck warnings to those who don’t send them on to 25 friends) or single page photocopies of some vulgar and crude joke (drawn up like an editorial cartoon from a newspaper). Nowadays we don’t see those anymore, they’ve been replaced by flashy email chain letters (with those same superstitious warnings) and Youtube videos (where the same crude jokes are now acted out in a 7 minute video). I ask you, has technology advanced? You will answer yes no doubt. But has the heart of man really changed? The world is different but is it truly better?

If translucite were to ever become a reality undoubtedly the first application of this technology would be for military purposes. We’d end up with tanks that could disguise themselves as rocks, battleships that could disguise themselves as icebergs, and stealth bombers that could disguise themselves as storm clouds wouldn’t we? Technology would be taken to a whole new level, but it would definitely not make the world a better place.

Now you may say “Les, I kind of like hot and cold running water, are we supposed to turn back the clock?” The issue here is not where we are but where we are going. Like all the changes that have happened in the last 500 years in western civilization, some have been good and some have been bad. Some have been both at the same time. It’s not what we have, but how we use it. And that is not determined by the things we invent, but our own selfish hearts. Notice what it says in the Bible in Daniel 12:4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”(Unless otherwise mentioned, all references are from the New King James version.)

There is a difference between “facts” and “truth”, between “knowledge” and “wisdom”. This verse is a prophecy of our time that was given over 2500 years ago. Notice it said “knowledge” would increase not “wisdom”. And what are the two most significant ways in which our world has grown and changed? Transportation and communications, which is what is meant by “going to and fro” and “knowledge increasing”! However most people today believe that the more technology we have the better the world is becoming.

END OF POST ONE Look for posts likely once or twice a week. May God bless you as you read this blog.