The Arrow of Time

Back in 1927 English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington coined the term “Arrow of Time.” Apparently it was a big deal.

As the online publication SciTechDaily explains it “Fundamentally, the arrow of time emerges from the second law of thermodynamics. This is the principle that microscopic arrangements of physical systems tend to increase in randomness, moving from order to disorder. The more disordered a system becomes, the more difficult it is for it to find its way back to an ordered state, and the stronger the arrow of time. In short, the universe’s propensity toward disorder is the fundamental reason why we experience time flowing in one direction.”

I’m not an astronomer or a physicist, but I like the term ‘Arrow of Time.’  The term makes me wonder where I am in my journey through space and time.  At this very moment, where am I? I will certainly never again be at the position I was at a moment ago.

The same is true with my journey in life. My path through time is unique to me, and I will never travel through time along that same path again. If I have any influence on my trajectory, where should I aim?

Traveling Through Space and Time

Joining that with what we know about the creator, we can presume each of our individual journeys through space and time begins at our conception and ends when we experience death.

God launches us like arrows when He creates each soul and aims us all upwards. Where else can He aim when we are considering the entire universe?  He aims us upward, which can easily be presumed to be heavenward. Then He waits to see where our journey takes us.

Our spiritual souls are immortal. They never cease to exist.  Our bodies were meant to be immortal also. But we all lost bodily immortality when the human origin of the human race (Adam and Eve) defied God and ate the fruit.

Yet because we have spiritual souls, and we are gifted with intelligence and free will, we can interact with both God and with the universe. We can influence the trajectory of our lives so that we gradually draw closer to God and salvation as the years accumulate. Or we can aim our arrows toward eternal damnation if we refuse to love God and obey Him as He commands.

When we started our journey at launch, we were empty vessels having no habits, no addictions or virtues, no goal in mind. We encounter the world during our journey with all its illusions and false hopes. We also encounter God’s Church, hear its gospel and decide what we want to do. And we change during our journey both in body and in soul, but the soul is far more important. It’s the soul that experiences our ultimate destiny: union with God in heaven or alienation from God in hell.

You Tube and Flash Mobs

In my old age, I got interested in YouTube.  There is certainly a lot of rubbish on You Tube, but if one looks hard enough, really wholesome stuff can be found.

I very much enjoy watching flash mobs.  These people are obviously proud of what they can do and generous enough to display their talents free of charge to others. It is edifying to see this, and it sparked interest on my part to look at the folk dances and music of peoples all over the world. Where am I headed with this? I’m still considering the arrow of time.

I recently chanced upon a real orchestra composed of young people playing Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero.” What I saw was Orquesta Joven de la Sinfónica de Galicia conducted by Vicente Alberola. It was superb.

I could see close up views of most of the musicians, saw that they were young, and heard the music without interruption. One young girl pounding the drum with both arms swinging batons sticks in my mind, but each of the players were contributing their best.  The combined result was a magnificent display of music.

Applying This to Us

I right away saw that as good as our efforts are when offered alone, they are very much magnified when combined with the efforts of others. God wants all of us to love Him and obey Him in this life and be happy with Him in the next life. If everybody on Earth played their part and loved their  neighbors like God commands, what a marvelous world this would be.  If only all of our arrows were in sync!

Instead, the most ambitious works of man have been weapons of war, and the history of mankind is filled with war after war.  Now, near the end of my life, I think that the world cannot continue on this path of evil any longer. I write this as Vladimir Putin’s Russia has invaded Ukraine and threatened the West with nuclear weapons if they intervene to assist Ukraine.

What a contrast seeing the good that humans are capable of and the horrendous evil their greed and defiance of God has wrought.

I don’t know how I can turn this evil human activity around all by myself. While I know God could, I have to wonder if He could do it in a way that is entirely satisfactory to Him. He could annihilate Lucifer and his brood of devils, but God created them immortal and I think He does not want to withdraw that gift. God could also force them into obedience, but I think He doesn’t want to do that either. He created them with free will, and I don’t think He wants to withdraw that gift either.

So, what’s left? He can punish them and mankind. He always predicted He would punish those who refuse love and obedience. I think He is serious. I’m convinced He will do it.

What we can do together

So what can we do?

The thought occurred to me that, in my arrow of time, I can start a righteous approach to life and pray that others see what I am trying to do, approve of it, and join in. All I have to do is live the Christian message: show reverence for God and for legitimate government. But I can also voice my disapproval for the failure of others to reverence God.  And of course I will obey our laws, but I will also be careful who I vote for. If many others did the same thing our world might soon start to turn into a safe and joyful place to be.

Naturally, I should not try to force others into compliance with what I am doing. Force never works for conversions. It’s prayer and good example that converts people.

Profane language, so popular today, is really vulgar, does not please God and is repugnant in children’s ears. Calumny and gossip, used freely today by almost everybody, can get a person into hell. People joke about being turned away by St. Peter at the gates to heaven. It won’t be funny if God affirms Peter’s judgement.

If enough people like my approach and join in, it can grow like a flash mob.  It could even begin to affect the world toward a better compliance with God’s commandments. If my flash mob catches on, it could improve life and happiness for a great many people. That would be a good trajectory for my life as well as the others in the flash mob.

What the world could be like

If almost everyone believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, governments would have much different attitudes than what we see today. Most governments would be patterned after the family. Just as fathers provide for their families and have authority over their families, so would governments provide for their citizens and have authority.

Fathers should also be zealous to keep harmful and seditious thoughts away from their families.  Governments should do the same for their countries. They should oppose any educational teaching destructive to proper flourishing of families and society.

It is common sense that God exists and created humankind, and God expects some minimal recognition of that from families and governments. Fathers and governments should be zealous in assuring that.

What the world is like

Instead, our nation is legislating against God in matters of abortion and sexual identity. We know God has commanded us not to kill and that life begins at conception. Why has our nation undermined traditional teaching that come from God?

The Nazis thought Jews were subhuman and a liability to Germany. They said that a brave new world could be established if the Jews were eliminated. They even promised a thousand-year Reich if Germany complied.

The German people had no choice but to comply, but Nazi Germany was destroyed within 12 years. What do you think is going to happen to our nation with over 63 million abortions on our conscience?

And who determines gender? God does. What is likely to happen to a nation that contradicts God and teaches its young people that there are many different genders?  Yet all but two are considered sinful by God.

There are even some who say the titles “sir” and ma’am” should be done away with in the military. This will avoid mis-gendering drill instructors and officers, they say.

Conclusions

It’s time to return to our roots and reaffirm that this country is dedicated to the God who created us free and has granted each one of us the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We should all examine our roots and help our governments teach our youth right from wrong. If we don’t teach them when they are young, they may never learn.