(In this series of “God’s architecture,” I will attempt to explain the plans made by God in our universe during the time of creation and how it affects our lives based on my understanding. In this first entry, I’m going to discuss Newton’s laws of motion in layman’s term and connect it with two tragic events in the Philippines.)

The sinking of M/V Princess of the Stars in 2008 and Ultra stadium stampede in 2006 are among of the many disasters we have had in the Philippines. This brought pain and suffering for the bereaved families and some of them have asked the question, “Why did God allow these to happen?”

This is a common question that goes into our minds especially when disasters strike. Did God really allow such disasters to happen to His creations? Was God there when the disasters struck? Why didn’t He save them? Some are faithful to Him, whey didn’t He spare them?

Sir Isaac Newton first published his works on the three laws of motion in the 17th century. The physical laws describe the relationship of bodies and the forces that act upon them. We can find the summary of the three laws in Wikipedia:

  • First Law: “An object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force”
  • Second Law: “Force equals mass times acceleration” or “F = ma.”
  • Third Law: “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

We as humans have credited Newton on his remarkable works for explaining what happens to the forces around us. We simply call it “Newton’s laws of motion” but of course this has a source that we know as God.

When God created the universe, He included these laws of motion that have affected both living and non-living things that are confined in the domain of his laws—which includes the tragedies I’ve mentioned.

Last June 20, 2008, the M/V Princess of the Stars left the port of Manila for Cebu City. The number of passengers was between 700 and 800. The next day, the ferry sent a distress signal around midday and was found sinking in Romblon waters. It was reported that it capsized because of the strong waves brought by Typhoon Frank that struck Romblon with signal # 3. An estimated 800 passengers and crew perished because of the disaster. (Detailed description of the tragedy can be found in Inquirer, Wikipedia and timeline in GMANews.)

Based on Newton’s 2nd law of motion, a force, in the form of waves, smashed the ship (the formula described above is F = ma wherein the waves had mass and acceleration but we’re not going to that stuff. The point here is that the waves had force that pushed the ship to capsize).

The relatives of the dead passengers grieved for them and I actually heard them cry on TV and even blame God for what had happened.

Was God there during the disaster? Yes.
Can God save them? Yes.
Can God really save them? No.

The last two items can be confusing for you but let me explain.

Like I mentioned, when God created the universe, He included these laws of motion with it. This means that these laws are the absolute truth. Whoever you are and whatever you do you are affected by these laws. You cannot escape them.

God can really save them. He has the power to do so–He can stop the storm or lift the ship in air and put it in safe waters. But He cannot save them because He is letting the law that He made to act upon them. If He saves them then that means He’s contradicting Himself. And from what I believe, a god cannot be called a God if he does this. Our God (at least my God) is not self-contradicting. If He has made a law it is final and irrefutable.

The same thing happened in the Ultra stampede last February 4, 2006, which killed 48 people and injured hundreds. (See description in Wikipedia and special reports in Inquirer.) This incident started when the organizers of the event started giving tickets. People tried to get ahead of the queue and started to push each other which prompted the security guards to close the gates. The situation got worse and more pushing against the gates caused the people in front to stumble, resulting in either injury or death.

Newton’s first law of motion states that: An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. Those people at the gates cannot stop the motion coming against them since there are more people pushing towards the gates versus them pushing from the gates. They cannot move to breath. The pressure on their bodies cost them their lives.

Was God there during the disaster? Yes.
Can God save them? Yes.
Can God really save them? No.

In these two tragedies, the people who are present were either good or bad. The laws don’t discriminate who is affected. The laws are perfect. This is God’s architecture.

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