Rod Martin, Jr.

Writer, Artist, Scientist and Engineer

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Genesis 1:26 KJV)

It is amazing what a little knowledge can do — how anyone can see so much more of the world around them with the perspective given them by science. Back in the 1970's, I was studying electronic engineering. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I figured I wanted to do something with the mind that God had given me.

Some scientists cringe at the mention of the "G" word, and I can understand their sentiment. I grew up in a Southern Baptist family. In fact, my maternal grandfather was a Southern Baptist minister and former missionary to Nigeria, Africa. My aunt Joyce was born in Lagos, so I guess you could say that she's African-American. I've had my own bouts of cringing, especially with the super-religious who seem to be all belief and not much intelligence. But God loves all of his children, no matter what they possess or lack.

I also grew up in a New Age family. My late father was fascinated with Eastern mysticism. He might read from the Bible one day, but the next you might find him reading from Reincarnation of a Yoga, or the Bhagavad Gita. So, I guess you could say I lived in a very spiritual household. There were frequent discussions of spiritual things — God, ghosts, genies, psychic phenomena, past lives and things that could easily be described as magic.

But many of the miracles of science would look like magic to one who didn't understand how they worked, or had never seen them work. Understanding goes a long way in dispelling the blind worship of things as gods. Modern man takes his car, light bulbs and laptop computer for granted. Show any one of these to a primitive, though, and they might bow down in awe. Modern man seems to have become numbed to all this technology. He's used to it all. But add a little understanding, and the awe returns. Perhaps not quite worship, but at least a friendly appreciation of the beauty of nature and technology — how it all works together to build our reality.

Making Connections

As an engineering student, I studied a lot of science and mathematics. In electronics, of course, I studied a lot of circuits. One of those circuits was called the "tank." In technical terms, it was composed of a coil and a capacitor in parallel. In laymen's terms, it was simply a tuning circuit for radio frequencies. As I read about this wonderful device, I suddenly found myself filled with awe. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end, and I realized that I was surrounded by tank circuits — trillions of them! You see, each atom is both a coil and a capacitor — electrons orbiting the nucleus (coil) and two opposite charges separated by a distance (capacitor). Suddenly, I understood how matter could reflect light, and how we could see the objects in our line of sight. Suddenly, I understood much more about absorption and emission spectra — the ebb and flow of light energy all around us.

Religion is like that, too. Blind belief will only take you so far. It may be a comfort to some who need comfort in a harsh world. But add a little understanding and the awe magnifies greatly. When one starts to see the connections and relationships between science and religion, between spirit and the flesh, it all starts to make sense.

Skepticism: From Selfless Restraint to Self-indulgent Ridicule

Because I grew up in a family which discussed paranormal phenomena and reincarnation, I expected to see evidence of these things in my own life. Was this a perversion? Was I building my own, cozy little delusion? It might seem that way to the hardened skeptic. Some scientists feel this way, but please note, such disbelief is not a very scientific viewpoint. To dismiss such things without rigorous investigation, first, is tantamount to blind belief. Such individuals hide behind the shield of "skepticism" pretending that their ridicule is somehow justified. But that's not science.

Let me explain. There are two extremes of skepticism and likely a rainbow of states between those extremes. The skeptic frequently becomes defensive when this is pointed out, but that's only ego getting in the way. Ego does not like to be wrong, and is too easily bruised.

On one end of this scale of skepticism is a selfless restraint with a dash of doubt thrown in. Frankly, I think science can do without the doubt. Doubt is a bias, and a scientist should not be biased. Take out the bias, and one is left with merely selfless restraint. This is a state of non-judgment — of restraint from judging until the investigation appears to be complete. And only then does a scientist arrive at a relative, but imperfect truth. It is a working truth and these scientific truths serve us well. All of those relative truths are subject to change or outright repeal.

The other end of the scale of skepticism is a dark attitude we might call, "self-indulgent ridicule." It is full of unwarranted and unsubstantiated judgment. Do scientists really do this? More often than we'd like to think. When an idea requires one to change their view of the world, it provokes hostility. Again, that's ego talking. Ego does not like to be wrong.

Fear and Blindness

Let me give some examples. In North American anthropology, "Clovis first" was the rule for many years. Clovis, New Mexico was a site containing artifacts of early man (the "Clovis culture") in the Americas. For many decades, it was thought that the humans associated with the Clovis culture were the earliest in the Americas. The problem that developed is that "Clovis first" became dogma and some scientists were afraid to dig below the Clovis horizon (the stratum in an area's archaeological sequence equivalent to the Clovis culture date). Demanding quality work and exacting proof is a good thing, but creating a climate of fear where the perception is that careers are jeopardized is not the subject of science.

Prejudging is part of the essence of skepticism. Scientists prejudged myth as unworthy of investigation, so that it took an amateur to find Troy — the site of the mythical Trojan War. Bouyed by this discovery, other myths were found to be based on real people and events — the Mycenaean Greeks and the Minoan Cretes. Yet it took more than a century for scientists to get around to finding proof of Amazon warriors in the burial kurgans of Southern Russia.

If science is the new "religion," Atlantis is arguably the new "blasphemy." Too many researchers have "cried Atlantis" and been found lacking. Having Atlantis associated with Nazi propaganda and seances only makes matters worse. If anyone were to offer real proof of Atlantis, the serious scientist would likely turn a deaf ear to the subject. And yet we may very well have proof of an Atlantis-like event right when Plato says the lost island disappeared — approximately 9600 BCE, including one item that seems to prove an Atlantis-sized body of land subsided somewhere in the oceans of the world, 9620 BCE.

Miracle or Delusion?

One late afternoon in 1977, while driving from near downtown Los Angeles to Century City along Wilshire Boulevard, I encountered a miracle. One moment, I was deep in frustration from the thick, slow traffic and multiple instances of rude and reckless drivers cutting me off. After a series of six near collisions within the space of minutes, I suddenly realized my own culpability in my frustration. Suddenly, I found myself taking full and perfect responsibility for my current situation. And just as suddenly, I could have cared less about getting to my destination any faster. For all I cared, traffic could have ground to a halt and left me there, unmoving.

I felt incredibly at peace. And yes, I felt the hairs all over my body standing on end. The effect was so powerful, my scalp hurt, but I didn't mind. I felt somehow larger. In fact, I felt as though my shoulders were rubbing the tops of the skyscrapers along mid-Wilshire's Miracle Mile. And then another miracle happened.

I saw the mechanics of creation and understood them. How can I be sure? Let me tell you.

First, I pictured in my mind the desired condition — wide open spaces and smooth sailing all the way to my destination. There was no effort or sense of frustration over not having this. In fact, in my mind and body, I felt I had this new state as if it were the true reality, and already accomplished. Then, I let go this picture — this creation — as if I no longer needed to be concerned with it. In other words, like God on the seventh day, I rested from my creation.

The next moment, the car directly in front of me moved into the already crowded lane to the right. And the car in front of them moved into the packed lane to the left. Right and left, for as far as I could see, over two miles of cars evacuated the center lane in front of me. Within seconds, the sea of cars had parted, leaving snarling walls of traffic on either side for those two miles and more.

A miracle? Delusion? I suppose one would have to have been there to understand and appreciate what happened on this, one of the busiest streets in the world. Yes, it was a miracle in every sense of the word. This one incident gave me a far greater appreciation for the quote at the top of this page — that God created man in His own image. For too long, people have been skirting the real issue here — that we were created as baby gods, for that is the image of His children. The flesh is only temporary.

It has taken me more than thirty years to write about this experience and to share it with others on a broad scale. Is it worth sharing? I think so. The upcoming book, The Bible's Hidden Wisdom, God's Reason for Noah's Flood, reveals not only God's reason for destroying the world, but also reveals the target of the Flood and why that target needed to be eliminated. In a very real way, it had everything to do with what happened on Wilshire Boulevard in 1977. God's children are awakening. It has taken thousands of years to get here.

Humility and Sharing

It's amazing what a little knowledge can do, not just with science, but with spirituality, too. The physical world and the spiritual are connected, but separate. The physical is based on continuity and bound to relationships. The spiritual is discontinuous in nature. This is the nature of creation. With the humility of a scientist discovering the beauty and wonder of the physical, I have asked for, and received, a piece of the eternal and spiritual. It is only a piece, but I intend to share it with others. Perhaps they will return the favor and share their discoveries with me.

Rod Martin, Jr.
March 26, 2010
Bogo, Cebu, Philippines