Lundahl (2022q) Further Misunderstands Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation and Makes Up More Stories
Kevin R. Henke
September 23, 2022
In Henke (2022ai), I discuss Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation, how it would be relevant to Jesus’ supposed Accession and other miracles, and how Lundahl (2022i) misinterprets it. The universal gravitational constant is G = 6.670 x 10-8 centimeter-gram-second and is part of Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation. It’s an empirical or measured value. In Newton’s Law, the constant is used in the following equation that describes the force of gravity between any two objects separated by a distance r:
F = G m1m2 / r2
Where:
F = the force of gravity
G = universal gravitational constant of 6.670 x 10-8 centimeter-gram-second
m1 = mass #1 – the mass of an object, such as Jesus’ body
m2 = mass #2 – the mass of another object, such as the Earth
r = distance between the two objects (Orear 1967, p. 73).
Lundahl (2022q) then responds to my statements:
“Nothing in the equation says that the equation applies to all bodies without even miraculous exceptions. It is a description of how the force of gravity works. And if gravity doesn't work at some point, that description is irrelevant.
The main explanation to the miracle to me, is, anyway, not a removal of the force of gravitation, but something, and in this case not a solid object of created matter, but the will of God, interposing between Jesus' body and the effect of gravity. Any human body, why is it 6300 km above the centre of the Earth? Nothing to do with the equation that describes the force of gravity, it's simply because sufficiently much of the 6300 km separating us from Satan's waist down in Hell (see Dante, Divine Comedy, Inferno, Last Canto) is made up of matter that resists the effects of that force. Notably, and concerned with our comfort, the last kilometer up to us is land, a kind of solid (with or without cavities containing air or water), so that the resistance of that land stops our bodies from going down. My point is that the waves were not doing a similar service, but something else was holding Christ's body up : God's will. Which is not described by this equation.”
In other words, the equation as such is not the least any kind of cause to doubt the story.
Mr. Lundahl needs to read my reference Orear (1967) and learn some physics. This is Newton’s Universal Law. It applies to all masses in our Universe. Take any two masses. Enter into Newton’s equation as large a distance (r) as you want between the two masses, but F will never absolutely reach zero. There will always be a force between them no matter how small. So, Lundahl (2022q) cannot claim that:
“Nothing in the equation says that the equation applies to all bodies without even miraculous exceptions. It is a description of how the force of gravity works. And if gravity doesn't work at some point, that description is irrelevant.
The force of gravity is always there between any two objects, even if it’s unmeasurably small.
As I explained in Henke (2022ai), Mr. Lundahl then has the problem of explaining how Jesus would supposedly Ascend into Heaven without being dragged by invisible angels or having Newton’s Law locally and miraculously violated. Lundahl (2022q) then throws out the following nonsensical and groundless speculation:
“The main explanation to the miracle to me, is, anyway, not a removal of the force of gravitation, but something, and in this case not a solid object of created matter, but the will of God, interposing between Jesus' body and the effect of gravity.”
So, what is the physics of the “will of God”, Mr. Lundahl? How does that work? How do you know that this “will” even exists and that Jesus ever Ascended? Assuming that God’s will exists and that Jesus Ascended, how did the physics of “God will” interact with gravity without violating Newton’s Law and how do you know this is true?
Lundahl (2022q) then asks:
Any human body, why is it 6300 km above the centre of the Earth?
In Henke (2022ct), I listed several references that explain the origin of the Solar System and how gravity was responsible for forming the Earth and other planets. Certainly and fortunately, the electromagnetic repulsion of electrons, described by the Pauli Exclusion Principle, prevents us from physically passing through 6,300 km of solid and liquid matter to reach the center of the Earth (Orear 1967, pp. 341, 361, 405). People live on the surface of the Earth because of physics (gravitation and Pauli’s Exclusion Principle) and favorable environmental conditions (suitable pressure, temperature, oxygen level, food sources, etc.). There’s no evidence of magic going on here.
Next, Lundahl (2022q) ineffectively rambles on about the interior of the Earth and hell:
Any human body, why is it 6300 km above the centre of the Earth? Nothing to do with the equation that describes the force of gravity, it's simply because sufficiently much of the 6300 km separating us from Satan's waist down in Hell (see Dante, Divine Comedy, Inferno, Last Canto) is made up of matter that resists the effects of that force. Notably, and concerned with our comfort, the last kilometer up to us is land, a kind of solid (with or without cavities containing air or water), so that the resistance of that land stops our bodies from going down. My point is that the waves were not doing a similar service, but something else was holding Christ's body up : God's will. Which is not described by this equation.”
No. Because of gravity as described by natural law, we don’t float off into space. Because of geophysics, the chemistry and mineralogy of meteorites, and samples of the mantle brought up by volcanism, we have a pretty good idea of the structure of the Earth’s interior. There’s no evidence of Hell or demons being down there. No matter what the works of fiction by Dante say. Again, Lundahl (2022q) has failed to demonstrate that God’s will exists or that God was ever involved in holding Christ’s body up. Like any other human being, Jesus was affected by Newton’s Law of Gravitation and there’s no evidence that he ever walked on water or Ascended into Heaven.
Finally, Lundahl (2022q) dogmatically proclaims:
“In other words, the equation as such is not the least any kind of cause to doubt the story.”
No, Mr. Lundahl. There’s plenty of evidence that demonstrates the validity of Newton’s Universal Law. It helped us go to the Moon and back. However, you don’t have a shred of evidence that Jesus ever walked on water or Ascended into Heaven, or that Hell exists in the interior of the Earth.
Reference:
Orear, J. 1967. Fundamental Physics, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons: New York, 472pp.