What is meant by steady-state creationism, here anyways, is that the universe is and always was and everything today has been made inside of this infinite universe. This is most often the belief held by Mormons and so they will be suspect. It is hard to find a clear doctrine or set explanation of Mormon cosmology or creation because much of it varies from member to member so guidelines must be set for what is meant by it. This will set the basis to be compared with the second law of thermodynamics which is one of the most proven laws of science. With this in mind, any contradiction found between entropy and this form of creationism would only go to say that the latter is not true.
“To create is to organize. It is an utterly false and uninspired notion to believe that the world or any other thing was created our of nothing... The Elements are eternal.”1 From this short quote one can infer what Mormons believe about how things came to be: Things are and were today and yesterday forever and ever. What is foundational (infinite) to Mormon Creationism is not God as in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, but rather it is the universe which is an impossibility of metaphysics based on other LDS doctrines. Simply put, if the universe is infinite then god/gods cannot be infinite because infinity is not a variable, one infinite can not exist within another, and also the gods themselves were created which means they had a starting point; infinity has no beginning or end. Mormon theology presents the gods as infinite; this is impossible. Also, the elements themselves can not be eternal/infinite. This would be because it contradicts with their idea of god, but more than that it does not work with the second law of thermodynamics. A contradiction with such a well founded law should be clear evidence that the doctrine of the church is in error and that Joseph Smith was not a true prophet.
“[...]The second law of thermodynamics is that things become more disorderly, or have less information over time. That is, the universe starts out in a state of low entropy, where there is much order, and then steadily moves to a state of high entropy, where there is increasing disorder.”2 A good example of entropy would be leaving a glass of ice water on the counter. After time the ice cube melts and becomes one with the rest of the water in the glass. The contents of the glass become less stratified over time, less ordered, structured, and thus carry less information. Can this glass be taken to the cosmic scale? This law would be easier to apply to a grander scale because it is a general law about how things interact with one another. Since we are looking at the grand scheme of things we can rule of the instances of non-entropy and say that this would have happened in the whole universe gradually over time.
“Entropy measures the spontaneous dispersal of energy: how much energy is spread out in a process, or how widely spread out it becomes — at a specific temperature.”3 There are many types of energies, not just electricity like most of us probably think when we hear the word energy. So basically entropy applies to all matter and is not restricted to just temperature or the changing of matter from solid to liquid, sublimation. At maximum entropy energy become irrelevant because all things are basically equal and things are not able to change or progress anywhere, for example a piece of iron cannot rust or even, like a tire with a hole punched in it will leak air, at maximum entropy the air will not go anywhere.
What does all this talk about entropy mean to Mormonism? Going back to the first quote up above, “all things are eternal,” this can not be because in an infinite amount of time maximum entropy would surely have been reached. Mormons believe that the universe and all its matter have always been, that it has no beginning or end. With what we know about entropy one should clearly be able to see that this Mormon doctrine is clearly in error. The doctrine that the universe is eternal seems to fit more with the modern scientific theory came to be, the big bang theory. This theory says that something can not be made out of nothing, just like mormons will tell you. This over looks something though, if the matter always was for all of existence, eternity/infinity, then entropy would have maxed itself out by this time. So even though this Mormon doctrine is somewhat in line with what most scientists are saying about creation we know that because of entropy that even that theory isn't even true.
Mormonism presents a serious problem to the body of Christ, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.”4 Mormon missionaries try very had to appear as if they are christians, but they are not (“false christs”) and they uses this “christianity” to try and turn Christians to their faith. This is the very thing Christ warns us against so, it is very important to us as Christians to stand on guard against it. In 1 Thessalonians it says, “but test everything; hold fast what is good.”5 Hold onto the good of the Bible onto all Christ's words and test the supposed truths of Mormonism and you will see that it does not stand. The second law of thermodynamics stands boldly against the lies of the LDS Church proving that the most fundamental parts of their theology are utterly wrong. With all this said, a Christian must love a Mormon to try and show him the love of God. Remember not to be angry with Mormons, remember that through the grace of God they too could be saved, thus they are our brothers and need our prayers.
Bibliography
1. Thomas, Daniel G. The Mormon Scrapbook. Kokomo: Providence Publications, 2004. “Creation” p.110 Quote: Smith, Joseph. Mormon Doctrine, McConkie, p. 1692. Beckwith, Francis J., and Stephen E. Parrish. See the Gods Fall. Joplin, College Press Publishing Company, 1997.
3. Lambert, Frank. A Student’s Approach to the Second Law and Entropy. February 2006, http://www.entropysite.com/students_approach.html
4. Mark 13:22 (English Standard Version)
5. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (English Standard Version)
The crux of your anti-Mormon argument rests on this statement: "This over looks something though, if the matter always was for all of existence, eternity/infinity, then entropy would have maxed itself out by this time."
ReplyDeleteAre you claiming that big-bang theory suggests that matter and energy were actually created by the big bang? Does big-bang theory not suggest that, in fact, energy and matter have always existed but in changing states? Is the big bang not just a major example of such change, the consequences of which we are still observing?
In fact, are there not big-bangs occurring all the time, creating new universes that are not physically manifest to us (according to scientific theory)? None of this subverts Mormon cosmology.
You miss read me there. My argument was not that Mormon cosmology disagrees with scientific cosmology, but that the two have a serious discrepancy with the second law of thermodynamics. This problem is well known and attempts have been made to get around it. The problem with Mormon thought is that the realm of the gods needs to be a steady state. If indeed the universe is cyclical, big bang followed by a big crunch, then what would happen to the gods when the universe ceases to exist only to explode back again? The gods of Mormonism, even Elohim and Jehovah, are only exalted men. Being only men, they were created within the universe and will therefore be destroyed along with all matter at the end of the universe's cycle.
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