On the struggle of good vs. evil from a physicist’s perspective

As a physicist, I see physics everywhere. The fundamental laws of physics enable this universe to function, so this is not surprising. Similarly, as an Orthodox Christian, I see God's miracles in every aspect of our natural world. When I reflect on spirituality and our Creator, I often find inspiration from physics to explain some of the moral issues that we must face as human beings.

Sadly, however, I also witness incessant efforts to remove God from our sphere of reality and, in this vacuum of ignorance and amorality, promote the anti-God (Satan). Recent examples abound of these efforts can be found here, here and here. In this spirit, I recently had an epiphany using physics to explain or at least analogize the most important choice we must all make: choosing good vs. evil.

Quantum particles such as electrons and protons which have spin (a quantum degree of freedom) precess in the presence of a magnetic field just as a spinning top, gyroscope or bicycle tire do, pivoting on an end of their axis of rotation in the presence of gravity.

The angle between the axis of rotation and the gravitational field (which points vertically down) can take on any value classically. The frequency of this precession is proportional to the applied external field. For spin &frac12 quantum particles (e.g. protons and elections) subjected to an externally-appliedmagnetic field, there is a similar precession about the field but in this case, there are only two choices: to be aligned with the externally-applied magnetic field (spin "up”) or anti-aligned with the field (spin "down”). Physicists often ascribe the "z” direction as the direction of the applied magnetic field. Then, there is total uncertainty or "freedom” to precess in the x- and y-directions. Both spin states ("up” or "down”) are separated in energy from one another. Without the presence of the magnetic field, the spins would all be indistinct and spin in random directions. This concept is the bedrock of modern nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR).

If we now consider the Holy Spirit as a "field,” humans, like spins, align or anti-align with this field. They thus have the freedom to align with God or go against Him. Our "spin” is our fundamental and irrevocable God-given freedom within our plane of existence but transcending this plane (i.e. outside of our 4 dimensional spacetime) is God's infinite space.

Satan chose to rebel and work against God and thus seek to destroy His greatest Creation: Man whom he is jealous of. Satan thus seeks to pull souls into his "orbit” and turn/align them against God. God has given us a very simple choice: Will we follow God or the anti-God (Satan)? In quantum mechanics, there is no other "in between” state for spin &frac12 particles in the presence of a magnetic field. They are either aligned with the field or aligned against the field. As creatures fashioned in part from the magic and miracle of quantum mechanics, we also have only two options: to be with God or against God. There is no intermediate state — no "compromise.” At a time where Satan's power is growing on Earth as we are shunning and censoring God, it is absolutely critical for us to understand the most important choice of our life. When we are born, we are all initially aligned with God through the blessing of the Holy Spirit that created our souls in the moment of conception. However, in the presence of Satan's cold deception and temptation, it is easy to fall into the lower energy/anti-aligned evil state/trap and, once in that state, it is very challenging to realign with God without God's help via forgiveness to bring us back into His Grace and thus aligned with His Will.

In Heaven, God will only admit souls that are willingly aligned with Him and thus follow and love Him as He loves us. Our lives are essentially a tribulation to resist the temptation to tumble into the cold-hearted amoral lower energy trap that Satan sets for all of us.

Though our four dimensional spacetime universe is but a sub-manifold within God's infinite creation space, it wouldn't surprising if the laws of physics in our world have some connection/intersection with God's more universal and transcendent laws (e.g. the law of gravitational attraction and love).

In this brief essay we have provided a physics-based analogy of the most important choice we will ever make that demonstrates that science and theology need not conflict with one another but can instead inspire one another. It also gives a visual interpretation of what we are fighting against in an era where the struggle of good vs. evil is ongoing and much of humanity is freezing into the cold, empty and unredeemable darkness.