Hey, Sunesis – interesting thing you mentioning about driving through fog and Christ walking through walls – the passage where Jesus visited His disciples after His resurrection.
John 20: 19-29 NIV
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
On pages 46 & 47 of Beyond the Cosmos Ross talks about this passage in extra-dimensional terms:
"…Jesus would have no problem passing through the walls of that locked room with His physical body if He were to simply rotate His body into extra dimensions of space. For example, He could have rotated the first dimension of His physical body from spatial dimension one into spatial dimension four. He could have rotated the second dimension of His physical body from spatial dimension two into spatial dimension five. And He could have rotated the third dimension of His physical body from spatial dimension three into spatial dimension six. His physical body would then have been present in dimensions four, five, and six and absent from the disciples' dimensions one, two, and three. Since the walls of the upper room are in dimensions one, two, and three, they would no longer pose a barrier to Jesus' physical body. He would have no trouble moving into the upper room without disturbing the walls or doors. Once inside the upper room, He could have rotated His physical body from spatial dimensions four, five, and six back into dimensions one, two, and three, where the disciples could see, hear, and touch Him.
This six-dimension rotation scenario may explain how Jesus entered the upper room to meet with His disciples after rising from the dead, or He may have chosen a different approach entirely. The point is not to assert one expalanation above others but rather to suggest that His multidimensional capabilities offer Him countless ways to accomplish the feat – and the feat itself more than hints at His extra-dimensionality…"
End of excerpt
The picture below is the Calabi-Yau six-dimensional form that string theory incorporates as the extra, curled up dimensions.
Of course these are just theories – but do present some food for thought…As can be seen from the picture above some string theorists suggest these other dimensions are wrapped up inside each other…Which gets me to wonder about this "spiritual realm." I used to have a concept of it existing in another space/time. This string theory stuff suggests a more convoluted realm – not one superimposed on another necessarily – but…I don't know – one realm wrapped up inside another? It's hard to visualize – and I stink at that Rubik's Cube thing anyway…That would be weird wouldn't it – what if Paul's trip to the third heaven he didn't go anywhere [in terms of up or out into space or something] – God just rotated Paul's dimensions – and poof he's in the third heaven. Okay – now I'm thinking of Gene Wilder inYoung Frankensteinwhen he discovered the secret entrance to his grandfather's laboratory – through the rotating bookcase – "Put the candle back!"
Here's a couple of references that explain a little of what string theory is about.
The following excerpt is from a Discover article The 11 Greatest Unanswered Questions of Physicsby Eric Haseltine
"...All this leads us to the string theorists and their explanation for gravity, which includes other dimensions. The original string-theory model of the universe combines gravity with the other three forces in a complex 11-dimensional world. In that world—our world—seven of the dimensions are wrapped up on themselves in unimaginably small regions that escape our notice. One way to get your mind around these extra dimensions is to visualize a single strand of a spider web. To the naked eye, the filament appears to be one dimensional, but at high magnification it resolves into an object with considerable width, breadth, and depth. String theorists argue that we can't see extra dimensions because we lack instruments powerful enough to resolve them..."
End of excerpt
In a Slate article Science as Metaphor Amanda Schaffer critiques Greene's Elegant Universe book – and I thought her explanation of string theory simple and helpful – which I pasted below:
"...First, a quick bit of background: String theory—and superstring/M theory, a variant—both propose a scheme that encompasses two major and previously incompatible scientific frameworks, general relativity and quantum mechanics. General relativity describes gravity in terms of the curvature of space-time by matter/energy and successfully quantifies the very large. Quantum mechanics, on the other hand, explains the behavior of atoms and subatomic particles, characterizing the very small. String theory seeks to unify the mathematics of these colliding theories by positing that all matter and all fundamental forces can be described in terms of the vibrations of tiny, one-dimensional strings. (Mathematically, the theory also requires the existence of multiple, extra dimensions, said to be "curled-up" and as such beyond the realm of our sensory experience.) Greene likens the wiggling strands of string theory to the strings of musical instruments. In his telling, not only do different patterns of vibration produce different particles, but the whole universe is "akin to a string symphony vibrating matter into existence..."
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T-Bone
Hey, Sunesis – interesting thing you mentioning about driving through fog and Christ walking through walls – the passage where Jesus visited His disciples after His resurrection.
John 20: 19-29 NIV
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
On pages 46 & 47 of Beyond the Cosmos Ross talks about this passage in extra-dimensional terms:
"…Jesus would have no problem passing through the walls of that locked room with His physical body if He were to simply rotate His body into extra dimensions of space. For example, He could have rotated the first dimension of His physical body from spatial dimension one into spatial dimension four. He could have rotated the second dimension of His physical body from spatial dimension two into spatial dimension five. And He could have rotated the third dimension of His physical body from spatial dimension three into spatial dimension six. His physical body would then have been present in dimensions four, five, and six and absent from the disciples' dimensions one, two, and three. Since the walls of the upper room are in dimensions one, two, and three, they would no longer pose a barrier to Jesus' physical body. He would have no trouble moving into the upper room without disturbing the walls or doors. Once inside the upper room, He could have rotated His physical body from spatial dimensions four, five, and six back into dimensions one, two, and three, where the disciples could see, hear, and touch Him.
This six-dimension rotation scenario may explain how Jesus entered the upper room to meet with His disciples after rising from the dead, or He may have chosen a different approach entirely. The point is not to assert one expalanation above others but rather to suggest that His multidimensional capabilities offer Him countless ways to accomplish the feat – and the feat itself more than hints at His extra-dimensionality…"
End of excerpt
The picture below is the Calabi-Yau six-dimensional form that string theory incorporates as the extra, curled up dimensions.
Of course these are just theories – but do present some food for thought…As can be seen from the picture above some string theorists suggest these other dimensions are wrapped up inside each other…Which gets me to wonder about this "spiritual realm." I used to have a concept of it existing in another space/time. This string theory stuff suggests a more convoluted realm – not one superimposed on another necessarily – but…I don't know – one realm wrapped up inside another? It's hard to visualize – and I stink at that Rubik's Cube thing anyway…That would be weird wouldn't it – what if Paul's trip to the third heaven he didn't go anywhere [in terms of up or out into space or something] – God just rotated Paul's dimensions – and poof he's in the third heaven. Okay – now I'm thinking of Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein when he discovered the secret entrance to his grandfather's laboratory – through the rotating bookcase – "Put the candle back!"
Here's a couple of references that explain a little of what string theory is about.
The following excerpt is from a Discover article The 11 Greatest Unanswered Questions of Physics by Eric Haseltine
http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-02/cover/
"...All this leads us to the string theorists and their explanation for gravity, which includes other dimensions. The original string-theory model of the universe combines gravity with the other three forces in a complex 11-dimensional world. In that world—our world—seven of the dimensions are wrapped up on themselves in unimaginably small regions that escape our notice. One way to get your mind around these extra dimensions is to visualize a single strand of a spider web. To the naked eye, the filament appears to be one dimensional, but at high magnification it resolves into an object with considerable width, breadth, and depth. String theorists argue that we can't see extra dimensions because we lack instruments powerful enough to resolve them..."
End of excerpt
In a Slate article Science as Metaphor Amanda Schaffer critiques Greene's Elegant Universe book – and I thought her explanation of string theory simple and helpful – which I pasted below:
http://www.slate.com/id/2103335/
"...First, a quick bit of background: String theory—and superstring/M theory, a variant—both propose a scheme that encompasses two major and previously incompatible scientific frameworks, general relativity and quantum mechanics. General relativity describes gravity in terms of the curvature of space-time by matter/energy and successfully quantifies the very large. Quantum mechanics, on the other hand, explains the behavior of atoms and subatomic particles, characterizing the very small. String theory seeks to unify the mathematics of these colliding theories by positing that all matter and all fundamental forces can be described in terms of the vibrations of tiny, one-dimensional strings. (Mathematically, the theory also requires the existence of multiple, extra dimensions, said to be "curled-up" and as such beyond the realm of our sensory experience.) Greene likens the wiggling strands of string theory to the strings of musical instruments. In his telling, not only do different patterns of vibration produce different particles, but the whole universe is "akin to a string symphony vibrating matter into existence..."
End of excerpt
Edited by T-BoneLink to comment
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DrtyDzn
These theories may some day give a clue to what dark matter is made up of.
Jerry
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