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Ron Hughes: David, we've talked about some amazingly
complex things, but God is not just the God of the complex.
There are some wonderfully simple things, or things that to us seem
simple and common, ordinary, everyday - and yet when we look passed
the obvious we see God written all over them. And water is a
wonderful example of that.
Dr. Humphreys: Right. You know, that's an interesting
example; because water is something we take for granted. But
actually if you know some chemistry, Ron, you'd be very surprised
that water was a liquid.
It turns out to be a bit technical. Most people know water is
H2O. Chemists call it a hydride of oxygen. You see, it's
got hydrogen and oxygen, but you see, the hydrides of the other
family members - like sulphur and selenium in the same family as
oxygen - I mean, they're poisonous gases. Like H2S smells
worse than rotten eggs. I mean, it's a dreadful poisonous gas
and yet H2S is in the same family.
It's actually surprising that water is a liquid. And, of
course, if it was just H2O that wouldn't be enough. It turns
out that when it vaporizes - you know makes steam - water vapour -
it's disassociated a little bit. And without going into technical
details, this is what allows it to control the atmosphere and the
weather.
And of course, just as a liquid it's actually the most versatile
solvent there is. So, it transports substances in the body.
In fact, it's such a cold day outside here today that I see all
the ice floating on the river. And I'm thankful for the sake
of the fish that water is unusual in the sense that ice, the solid
form of water, is less dense than liquid water. That's very
unusual, because for most substances the solid is most dense.
Ron: It's the other way around.
Dr. Humphreys: If ice sank, of course, the whole river
would freeze up. The fish would be out of luck in the
winter. The fact that ice floats, which is fortunate for fish,
is again a unique property.
Water has so many unique properties - its ability to hold heat
and be a solvent - that enables it, really, to be tailor made for
life. And life requires that. You see, and so even in
these simple molecules we see, what I call, evidence for design.
I mean it is a long liquid range. Most people know water freezes
at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees Celsius. That's a long
liquid range.
All this is due to the arrangement of the atoms, but it is most
fortunate, you see. And what I say, I mean you might say if
you're a chemist, 'that's interesting,' but I'm saying it's not only
interesting, but it's significant.
Scientists talk about strange things like the Anthropic
Principle. Which means that somehow the cosmos needs us. It
sort of makes our existence an explanation for everything. And
we know that the explanation for everything, in terms of what the
Bible says, is God. But the significance of the fact that
water is special, that carbon is special, that the distance from the
sun is special, that all the molecules are tailor made for the job
they do in sustaining life is that life, again, is no accident.
And, hey, if we are designed with purpose in mind, I'd better
find out what God's purpose for my life is. I mean that's the
motivation for seeking God. Because if everything is just
right and we are not here by accident, then we'd better find our why
we are here. And that's what I mean by saying it's
significant.
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