From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“Truth, then, can be said to be the firmness, the ‘that which is stable’, the sureness, the ‘that which is faithful’, the ‘that which continues’, the ‘that which endures’, the ‘that which is trustworthy’, the ‘that which is steadfast’, the ‘that which is honest’ and the ‘that which is certain’; the unseen ‘that which lies at the basis of and agrees with that which we are able to see’, hear, feel, smell, touch, know.  The truth is the manifested- the made to be able to be perceived-, the veritable- the certain, the actual, the genuine, the authentic-, essence of matter.”  Matter is what scientists will tell us is what makes up the universe of which we are part and which we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste and therebyoursenses know.

It is interesting to note that, for many years, there was a perceived conflict between science and religion- well, at least between science and the Bible.  Many scientists theorized that the universe had not been created, that it just “was”.  Further, they posited that the universe was a ‘steady-state’ universe which was not changing in any way.

Now, astrophysicists and “quantum mechanics” believe that the universe did indeed have a beginning.  Their theories even suggest that they can describe the essential characteristics of the universe at its beginnings.  Steven Weinberg, PhD, Nobel Prize winner in physics for 1979, in his book, “The First Three Minutes”, lays out, in somewhat layman’s terms, the current scientific thought about the beginnings of the universe.  He makes a very interesting assertion (statement of what he believes to be the truth) about the very first moments of the existence of the universe.  Dr. Weinberg states, “Finally, the universe was filled with light.”  He goes on to say that light was the very essence of the nature of the universe at its first fractions of a second of existence.”