Reasons to Believe Podcast

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Reasons to Believe Podcast episodes

June 24, 2024Stars, Cells, and God | Dark Matter Particles? | News of the Day
Join Hugh Ross in this breaking News of the Day episode of Stars, Cells, and God. Hugh describes stars at our galaxy’s center showing their luminosities are augmented by the annihilation of dark matter particles in their cores. This could be the first direct discovery of dark matter particles.
Dark Matter Particles?
Dark matter makes up 24.5% of the universe.
Neutrinos are the only dark matter particles detected so far and comprise <1% of dark matter.
Three astronomers produced a mock stellar population that evolves both with and without energy from dark matter particle annihilation.
High-mass stars that gain much of their luminosities from dark matter particle annihilation can shine brightly for >10 billion years rather than <100 million years. They shine as brightly as young stars, spectroscopically measure to be old, and have lower temperatures.
Density of dark matter in our galaxy is extremely high within one light-year of its supermassive black hole (SMBH).
Stars within one light-year of our galaxy’s SMBH have the distinct properties of stars whose luminosities are augmented by dark matter particle annihilation.
Observations by 30-meter telescopes will find enough stars within a light-year of our galaxy’s SMBH to make possible an indisputable detection of dark matter particles.
Links & Resources:
Dark Branches of Immortal Stars at the Galactic Center
Black Holes as Evidence of God’s Care
14 min
June 24, 2024 Clear Thinking | A Culture of Men without Chests, Part 2
58 min
June 19, 2024Stars, Cells, and God | Primordial Black Holes Resolve Dark Matter Mystery? | News of the Day
Join Hugh Ross in this breaking News of the Day episode of Stars, Cells, and God. Hugh describes a discovery that may resolve a long-standing mystery about dark matter.
Primordial Black Holes Resolve Dark Matter Mystery?
Dark matter is matter that doesn’t interact with light or interacts at an extremely weak level.
The quantity of dark matter that exists and its locations in the universe are not mysteries.
Dark matter’s composition is a mystery that has stymied astronomers and physicists for 5 decades.
Leading candidates for dark matter’s composition are axions and sterile neutrinos, but neither of these particles has been detected.
Physicists Elba Alonso-Monsalve and David Kaiser propose that primordial black holes (PBHs) could make up all or a large fraction of dark matter if they formed previous to a tenth of a quadrillionth of a second after the cosmic creation event.
These PBHs would take two forms: atom-sized bodies with masses equal to that Deimos and Phobos; bodies a ten thousandth the diameter of a proton with masses equal to a ton, with only the first form possibly existing to the present time.
Observable tests for these PBHs include the degree to which they would 1) shift the balance between protons and neutrons, 2) cause ripples in the cosmic spacetime fabric, and 3) affect the amount of helium produced during the universe’s first 3 minutes.
Resources:
Primordial Black Holes with QCD Color Change
Quantum Gravity Constraints Affirm Cosmic Creator
18 min
June 17, 2024 Clear Thinking | A Culture of Men without Chests, Part 1
48 min
June 13, 2024Stars, Cells, and God | Interstellar Cloud Trigger for Civilization | News of the Day
Join astrophysicist Hugh Ross in this breaking News of the Day episode of Stars, Cells, and God. Hugh describes the discovery of the important role interstellar space clouds played in establishing the current ice age cyclethat made our advanced civilization possible.
Join us as we explore why we must be in an ice age cycle and:
How rare it is for the solar system to traverse cold, dense interstellar clouds,
How the entry of the solar system into a cold dense interstellar cloud about 2.5 million years ago sustained the cooling effect initiated by the Eltanin collider,
How modeling of 21-centimeter data from the HI4PI survey revealed the velocity of the solar system across the Local Ribbon of Cold Clouds (LRCC),
How the solar system’s traverse of the LRCC drastically affected the heliosphere and cooled Earth’s climate,
How geological evidence for iron-60 and plutonium-244 isotopes affirms Earth’s traverse across cold, dense interstellar clouds, and
How measurements reveal the solar system will exit the local interstellar cloud in the next few thousand years.
This episode is packed with astronomical and geological revelations that explain why our current global, high-technology civilization is uniquely possible.
Resources:
A Possible Direct Exposure of the Earth to the Cold Dense Interstellar Medium 2–3 Myr Ago
Hugh Ross, Weathering Climate Change, 57–227.
15 min
June 11, 2024Star, Cells, and God | Distant Galaxy and the Big Bang | News of the Day
Join Hugh Ross in this breaking News of the Day episode of Stars, Cells, and God. Hugh describes the discovery of the most distant known galaxy and what the characteristics of this galaxy imply for the cosmic dawn and the big bang creation model.
Distant Galaxy and the Big Bang
Join us as we explore:
The astounding measurement of galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0 at a redshift of 14.32, revealing a glimpse into the universe just 280 million years after the cosmic creation event.
Insights into the size and brightness of this newly discovered galaxy, with its light spanning over 1,600 light-years, predominantly from young stars rather than a supermassive black hole.
The implications of JWST observations on the big bang model, sparking discussions among young-earth creationists and other astrophysicists about potential overhauls to our understanding of cosmic origins.
The standard big bang creation model and its components—including dark energy, exotic dark matter, and ordinary matter—and how JWST’s mission aims to detail the masses and populations of the universe’s first stars.
How JWST’s latest findings support the biblically predicted big bang cosmic model and strengthen the evidence for a universe finely tuned by a cosmic Creator.
This episode is packed with astronomical insights and cosmic revelations!
Links & Resources:
A Shining Cosmic Dawn: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Two Luminous Galaxies at z ~14
JWST/MIRI Photometric Detection at 7.7 µm of the Stellar Continuum and Nebular Emission in a Galaxy at z > 14
JWST Glowingly Affirms Big Bang Creation Event
What Does the Bible Say about the Big Bang?
21 min
June 10, 2024 Clear Thinking | Pride: the Anti-God State of Mind, Part 2
57 min
June 03, 2024 Clear Thinking | Pride: the Anti-God State of Mind, Part 1
57 min
May 27, 2024 Clear Thinking | Reaction to Pew Report on Atheists, Part 2
36 min
May 22, 2024 Star, Cells, and God—100th Episode!
Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana, Hugh Ross, and Jeff Zweerink for a conversation celebrating the 100th episode of Stars, Cells, and God. They answer questions submitted by our dedicated listeners and dive deeper into topics where science and faith intersect.

For 100 episodes, this podcast has served as a space for deep conversation with leaders in the science-faith arena to explore how the latest scientific discoveries provide evidence for God’s existence, the reliability of Scripture, and the credibility of the Christian worldview. We’re honored to have our listeners participate in this episode by posing great questions on YouTube to our three scholars.

We look forward to the next 100episodes with you!

Timestamps:
7:32 – Question from @EmaManfred on AI image generators replacing artists
You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhe5OxN6k3s

22:16 – Question from @whyaskwhybuddry on plants on Earth before the Sun, insects, and birds
You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jA0XVjNSZw

28:58 – Question from @SamytheGreek on humans having Neanderthal DNA
You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXUmCr_Ct1E

41:14 – Question from @johnbaker2755 on animals learning tactical capabilities
You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxyACrh2sUU

50:15 – Question from @pierreabbat6157 on vitamins in lab-grown meat
You can listen to the full episode on this topic HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gu3WtT3vAU

1 hr 13 min

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RTB‘s mission is to spread the Christian Gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible.