Salamanders, Zircons, and Wham!

Keep us, O Lord, from one generation to another, and let not us, who have clung to Thy foundation, be carried away with this present world, but arise to be our Comforter in trouble, and by the bestowal of joy wipe away our sorrows; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end. Amen. (Psalm 90 Prayer, The Brotherhood Prayer Book*, Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood)

Today is Friday. My muse, typically over-caffeinated, is on a brief sugar high from scarfing glazed donut holes-- so time to strike while the iron is hot, as the old saw goes...

It seems as though the world becomes more ambiguous and disordered each day; however, there are moments when something-- a sight, sound, or smell-- causes me to mentally, emotionally, or even spiritually stop, drop, and roll.

This headline from Mental Floss (one of few print magazines left in the world worth a subscription) caught my eye on Twitter this morning: "Self-Perpetuating Female Salamanders Are Better Off Without Males, Study Finds" Sounds like another secular/science angle on parthenogenesis; however, there is more to this than meets the eye (the "Without Males" part is somewhat of a misnomer). But the article is very interesting. An excerpt:

Some all-female populations of salamanders have figured out a way to make copies of themselves without bothering to involve males. Now, ordinarily, that kind of reproduction shrinks the gene pool and makes animals less able to adapt. But researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of Zoology, say the opposite is true for some mole salamanders, which have complex genes and can regenerate body parts faster than their relatives.

Then there is this 2-year old report on CNN's website about a 4.4 billion-year-old crystal found on the western edge of the Australian outback. Science suggests that the Earth is some 4.6 billion years old, so such an old zircon crystal contains small particles that can offer hints of what geologists believe our planet was like in its Hadean (from "Hades") eon. An excerpt:

The crystal was found in an arid region north of Perth, Australia, in a low range of hills called the Jack Hills, in 2001... Scientists say the crystal's chemistry-- specifically, the ratio of oxygen isotopes within it-- suggests that the temperatures on Earth 4.4 billion years ago would have supported liquid water, and therefore perhaps life. Two isotopes of an element are considered different if they contain different numbers of neutrons.

Now, from salamanders, via detrital zircons, to the 80s duo Wham!. I heard the song Careless Whisper this morning and was whisked back to the ginza area of downtown Misawa, Japan, where and when my then-fiancée and I were ring shopping and this song was playing repeatedly over outdoor speakers. I was 22 and she was barely 21... (Somewhere in time just after the Hadean eon...) And yet somehow we have endured for over 30 years.

So how did salamnders, zircons, and Wham! (oh my!) wind up in the same post? It's a God thing.

I do not doubt for a minute that God is behind all three, but, truthfully, I do not understand a one of them! Why such a creature as the mole salamander? (As my eldest daughter used to ask when she was a little kid, "What's its purpose?") How can such an old crystal tell us anything, much less how old it is? And how to reconcile the age of the Earth with Scripture? We can't! And we don't need to if we truly believe in the omnipresence of God that transcends time and space (I'm pretty certain He doesn't wear a watch...); Psalm 90 helps with this. But of all of God's work in my life, the biggest headscratcher is the girl from Michigan who crossed my path in the Navy.

The most sparkling facet of faith is that it doesn't require an explanation; nor is faith powered by reason or intellect. Faith tempers my skepticism and permits me to believe that a Great God has been doing Great Things (yes, before the Hadean eon!) since time immemorial and will continue to do so... One God, world without end. Amen.

*For more on The Brotherhood Prayer Book, click here.