Glenn Mertz Interview

I was interviewed in December 2009 by Ken Hancock of Stained Glass Radio (Northsound Radio) about “Who made God?” The full interview is reproduced here.

One result of this was that a complete stranger riding an escalator with me said “I’ve seen you somewhere before”. When I introduced myself he said, “I’m reading your book … it’s really entertaining and I’m going to share it with my friends!”

‘It is nearing the end of the year and although I have long lost count of how many books I have read this year, I have without a doubt just finished the best and likely most important book (other than the Bible) I have read this year.

      I will be writing a formal review of the book for Themelios to be published next year, so I will have much more to say soon. However, I really can’t wait until then to say “Buy this book and read it.”

      I really cannot think of another book that so effectively shatters all of the major arguments — from biology, to physics, to psychology, to just the average street-level atheist — against the Biblical account of God and His Creation, the whole time pointing the reader directly to the Gospel of Christ as the only hope for man!’

http://moodyradiopaulbutler.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/book-who-made-god/

The 5 billion years was a miscalculation by The Times — it should have been half a million. But what difference do a few zeros make to a gullible public? Furthermore, you must understand that the bugs in question have not actually been seen. Nor, come to think of it, has the planet. But then, as Mark Twain once pointed out, ‘It’s amazing how, for a small investment of fact, one can get such a large return in speculation’.

Investment of fact

First, what are the facts? The search for planets (so-called ‘exoplanets’) orbiting stars in distant galaxies is a large and growing area of astronomical research. Over two hundred planets are now known to be orbiting stars other than the Sun. Most of these planets were detected using the radial velocity method, which involves using spectroscopy to measure the ‘wobble’ of a rotating star caused by an unseen planet’s gravitational pull. An alternative is the transit method which involves measuring the small decrease in apparent brightness of the star as the planet passes in front of it. This method is only sensitive to planets with ‘edge-on’ orbits but if such a planet is detected, its size, mass and orbital characteristics can be determined.
      The exoplanet that caused so much excitement is one of three believed to be orbiting the star — a red dwarf called Gliese 581 in the constellation Libra. The planet (Gliese 581c) was detected using the radial velocity method; that is, it has not actually been seen but its presence is inferred from small variations in the star’s rotational speed (deduced from effects in its light spectrum).

Return on speculation

Its discoverers claim that Gliese 581c is a rocky planet with a radius 50% greater than Earth and about five times Earth’s mass. They estimate a surface temperature between -3degC and 40degC. This further suggests the possibility that liquid water might exist there — placing it within the ‘habitable zone’ of its parent star. And if there is liquid water (they argue) then life could have evolved there ‘as it did on Earth’.

      Bingo! Small flat bugs! Why flat? Because with a mass five times that of earth, the planet’s gravity would also be five times greater — enough to flatten even a bug. Why small bugs? Simply because uncritical viewers are more likely to swallow bugs (small ones, of course) than little green men.

Many assumptions

I should make it clear that the planet’s discoverers said nothing about bugs — that was an invention by the BBC. But their claim that Gliese 581c is a rocky planet like earth, and has liquid water on its surface, is itself based on a string of assumptions. 

      An informed website respondent comments: ‘You must remember that neither the mass nor the radius of this planet are actually known. The mass is the “minimum mass” and since radial velocity cannot determine the angle of the system, the mass could actually be much larger. I would be not surprised if it turned out that these planets are all Jupiter-size. The quoted radius of 1.5 Earth radii is the size the planet would be if it were terrestrial [rocky] which is not known. We actually have no idea what the density of Gliese 581c is’.
      Another astronomer points out: ‘The habitable zone isn’t a terribly robust definition. The inconsistencies in temperature [calculated by different correspondents] are due to [assuming] different albedos, that is, how much of the incoming sunlight energy is absorbed … I think a more important difference … is the greenhouse effect, given that many of the most abundant molecules in the galaxy are greenhouse gases’.

Healthy scepticism

All this adds up to the need for the general public to view with healthy scepticism all claims that appear in the media relating to the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Scientific discoveries are commonly reported in a manner calculated to advance the cause of evolutionary atheism, regardless of the true facts.
      And it’s not just the media. The scientific establishment, with government support, often leads the crusade to replace the Creator by the god of evolution. The European Union is currently considering spending over $1 billion to build the world’s largest optical telescope — with the search for extra-terrestrial life as a primary objective.
      Of course, as I have pointed out many times over the years, the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe would prove nothing concerning evolution and creation. But as long as unbelieving men think that such discovery would be a nail in the coffin of creationism, they will pursue it with vigour.

This supports the belief that if this book is made visible to the general public it will attract buyers and so reach out into the non-Christian world … where atheistic evolution gets saturation coverage in the mass media and in schools and colleges. “Who made God?” can be a strategic weapon in the war against atheism and unbelief and thus in the propagation of the biblical gospel. It’s no accident that Amazon have on their own initiative placed it in their “Christianity/evangelism” category (where it still stands at #2 best-seller).

 So what about helping us to raise the visibility of this book? Here are some possible ways of doing so:

1. Make sure your local Christian bookshop both stocks it and displays it prominently (if it doesn’t try some persuasion!)

2. Order copies through your local secular bookshop. Don’t be put off if they say that their wholesaler doesn’t stock it … they can still get it as a special order and this will bring it to the attention of the wholessaler. If several of your friends go to the same bookshop independently and order it, some action could ensue!

3. If you have access to the internet, log on to www.amazon.co.uk or in USA to www.amazon.com, search for the book by title, click on the cover to access the dedicated page, and post a reader’s review (while ticking other reviews with which you agree). You can only post a review if you have an account with Amazon, that is, if you have bought books from them on-line in the past or are willing to buy a book (any book) to give you access to this facility.

4. Give copies to the science and religious education staff of your local school or college.

5. Request your local library to obtain a copy.

And if you have any other ideas please post a reply/comment on this website!