Why Do Leaves Flutter in the Breeze?

Do you know why leaves flutter in the breeze? We know by our sense of touch that the same breeze brushes against our skin. But what is it that touches our skin and makes the leaves flutter? The non-scientific answer is “the wind.” A scientific answer is “Wind is the movement of air caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun. It does not have much substance—you cannot see it or hold it—but you can feel its force.” “Differences in atmospheric pressure generate winds.”[1]

We cannot see the wind! We cannot feel the movement of the earth. We can not see the changes in atmospheric pressure. We cannot physically grasp the wind to look more closely at it and figure it out. We can see the effects of the wind – it flutters the leaves, it blows the rain, it makes tumbleweeds roll. We “believe” in the wind because we can see the effects of it. It is a “fundamental truth” in our heads.

A part of the definition of “truth” given by Merriam-Webster reads, “(3) often capitalized: a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality.”[2]

For some, reality is so related to their faith that scientific facts must be discarded when they do not correspond exactly to what they have decided their truth, through faith, is. The National Center for Science Education writes, “Young Earth Creationism (YEC)” “adopt(s) a method of Biblical interpretation which requires that the earth be no more than 10,000 years old, and that the six days of creation described in Genesis each lasted for 24 hours.”[3] This, of course conflicts with the scientific view that “Earth is estimated to be 4.54 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years.”[4] However, as a “belief” I guess it is not really all that different from the wind, if we don’t know the science or don’t believe in it.

This belief is directly related to the belief that the Bible is a literal rendering of God’s exact words given to Hebraic, Greek, and Aramaic speakers who wrote the Bible on God’s behalf. Since there are so many “versions” of what the original ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, and ancient Aramaic meant, this is not the majority Christian thought on how the Bible is to be received. As with Young Earth Creationism, the origins of the Bible remains open to interpretation. That is because there are so many versions.

Wycliffe Global Alliance records that, in 2022, the full Bible has been translated into 724 languages (roughly 9.7%) which gives access to 80% (5.9 billion), of the world’s population. At least some scripture reaches 3589 languages (49%) and 7.14 billion people (97% give or take) worldwide. [5]

I am sure the remainder of the worlds population have versions of the Quran, or the precepts of Buddha, or the writings of Confucius, or the sacred texts of Hinduism. Virtually everywhere people have access to one or more sets of literature about “faith/belief.”

But some consider “faith/belief” to be mythology or even fairy tales. Why? Because they have no “proof” that the basis of “faith/belief” exists. I will suggest however, that they believe in the wind and their proof is the resulting fluttering of leaves, the raindrops that fall at a 45 degree, and the damage done by tornados, hurricanes and typhoons.

People of faith can also point to their “proof.” The birth of children, and the offspring of every other part of creation that gives birth. The flowering of plants and trees. The processing by nature of chlorophyll into intricately veined leaves of trees and plants. Sunrises and sunsets. The stars on a dark, dark night. For us these things don’t exist without a creation story. The scientific creation story, The Big Bang Theory (not the hilarious tv show), does not disprove that there was a creator involved. It only proves how intricate our world really is.

As was stated above, ” The wind does not have much substance—you cannot see it or hold it—but you can feel its force.”[1] Babies, flowers, leaves can be held, smelled and even tasted. Sunrises, sunsets, babies, flowers, and leaves can be seen and awe inspiring.

“According to sociologists Ariela Keysar and Juhem Navarro-Rivera’s review of numerous global studies on atheism, there are 450 to 500 million positive atheists and agnostics worldwide (7% of the world’s population) with China alone accounting for 200 million of that demographic.” [6]

Can beliefs be “truth?” Why not? Remember Merriam-Webster says truth can be “a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality.”[2] It seems only 7% of our colleagues in this large wonderful world disagree, why are they right? I am going with my old friends George and Charles Merriam as well as Noah Webster on this.

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[1] National Geographic, Learn with us, Wind, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/wind

[2] “Truth”, Merriam-Webster since 1823, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truth

[3] National Center for Science Education, Young Earth Creationism, January 22, 2016, https://ncse.ngo/young-earth-creationism

[4] National Geographic, Age of Earth collection, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-age-earth

[5] Wycliffe Global Alliance, September 2022, https://www.wycliffe.net/resources/statistics/

[6] Wikipedia, List of countries by irreligion, This page was last edited on 9 November 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_irreligion#:~:text=According%20to%20sociologists%20Ariela%20Keysar,200%20million%20of%20that%20demographic.