*Location: Newton University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*

The answers too many of the world's great questions are varied and elusive. For example, is a day on Earth equal to or less than a day in God's life? Is God a spirit or an alien being from another universe? Is the universe a product of evolution, creation or both?

How does one measure time or understand the meaning and purpose of life. How do we reconcile the awkward conflict between archeological evidence and the time line cited in the Bible? Are we an experiment in God's petri dish or a breeding farm for some advanced alien culture?

Understanding the conflict between biblical and geological time may be as simple as developing a transformation matrix. For example, a thousand years on Earth may be the equivalent of a day or an hour to a supreme being. The Bible says that approximately 6,000 years ago God created our world in exactly seven days. How long is seven days to a supreme being?

Scholars explain the universe by using a combination of physics, astronomy, written records and archeology. Theologians and scientists explain the existence of biological life in terms of creation or natural evolution. Who is right and who is wrong and how long ago it all started may never be resolved. 12 billion, 10 million, one million or 6,000 years, it may not matter.

According to the Bible, God rebooted his creation once before after enduring the foolishness of mankind for almost 1600 years. We will never know why he destroyed most of the animals in the great deluge the Bible calls Noah's Flood, as they were surely innocent, but he did.

On the scientific side one might ask if all of the mass in the universe really could have been contained in a small singularity prior to the big bang or if it is really possible to exceed the speed of light.

Matthew Riley, a doctoral candidate and teaching assistant at Penn State University loved to tease his undergraduate students with the possible answers to these and other complex questions.

Matthew was a self-made man. He grew up in a small Amish community in south eastern Pennsylvania. Though a man of strong religious faith and high morals he came to view the 'plain' life as too limiting, a dead end that would prevent him from following his dreams. He wanted to travel, get an education and volunteer for archeological digs around the world.

His parents were devastated when he announced shortly after graduating high school in 2021 that he was going to forgo the "plain' life and live in the English world. His father expressed his disappointment verbally and by shunning his son except to express common courtesies like good morning and thank you.

Mathew's mother was stoic in public but in private expressed her disappointment compassionately - with the love of a mother. English or Amish, she was not going to abandon her relationship with her oldest son. She knew he would never be able to return to the plain life without testing his dreams. Her advice to her husband was to be patient. Their son must leave in order to return.

That summer, Matthew and his best friend from high school moved into a one room apartment in a Philadelphia suburb and signed up for the fall semester at Newton University. They used Pell Grants, Stafford loans, income from part time jobs and money his roommate's parents sent from time to time. Matthew's mother also secretly sent him money when she could.

Newton University is a small private school south east of Philadelphia that emphasized Christen theology and philosophy imbedded in a liberal Arts Curricula. Approximately 10 percent of the students were considering spending their lives serving God in some way. Many alumni had Father, Reverend or Sister in front of their names.

He earned his BA in liberal arts in 3 years by taking 10 credits each summer. Without taking a break he enrolled at Penn State University. His goal was a PHD in Philosophy with as many archeology electives he could fit into his course load.

*Location: Penn State University*

As a Pennsylvania resident, Penn State made sense financially and was close enough to home to allow him to visit his family from time to time. He soon realized the environment at Penn State was very different than at Newton College. The student body was huge, the courses a lot harder and the women, well there were thousands of them.

The woman at Newton were generally conservative and dating was frequently a group activity. Most Newton women were "kiss and Hug only" types who were saving their virginity for their future husband or God. Dates at Newton usually ended with a cold shower. Penn State was very liberal in comparison.

At Penn State he mostly stuck with a group on Friday and Saturday nights, but sometimes went on a real date. He was a handsome, well-muscled, 6' 2", twenty-three year old with dark hair and crystal blue eyes. He had never had a pimple in his life and his complexion was perfect. Like his father, he didn't have one hair on his chest.

Women found him attractive and he liked them a lot but he did not consume alcohol, use tobacco or drugs and believed that you should not have sex before marriage. His conservative Amish up bringing sat on his shoulder like a junk yard dog. This turned many women off.

On more than one occasion, he found himself in the middle of a passionate make out session with a woman who in the heat of the moment started to unbuckle his belt saying she wanted him. He panicked every time that happened. The woman was of course insulted and never talked to him again. Lessons learned, Matthew stuck to group pizza dates and his academic pursuits.

His third spring and summer at Penn State was like a vortex that swept him into a profound sequence of events that would change his life and the world around him forever.

It all started on a Tuesday morning in February. Ahead of schedule for once, he was enjoying casually walking across campus to the second period undergraduate Philosophy class he was teaching thinking how mild the winter had been so far. The winters seemed much harsher when he was a boy. He looked at the northern sky and then to the west. Should be a great day he thought.

As he entered the classroom he glanced at his watch, smiled at the class and turned off his cell phone. As soon as he got to his desk, he began unloading his briefcase with the speed and dexterity of a FedEx package sorter.

His short-sleeved shirt revealed well-muscled arms that flexed as he sorted through his material. His muscles were the result of years of hard work on his father's farm cleaning calf pens and bailing hay, not athletics. To his dismay, his briefcase contained everything except his notes for today's class. He had ten minutes to race back to his office and get them. So much for being ahead of schedule.

As he turned to leave he bumped into a young woman who had stopped to survey the seating arrangements. The impact knocked the books she was carrying onto the floor.

"I'm terribly sorry Miss. I wasn't paying attention. Let me get your books."

"It's alright, I shouldn't have been standing where I was."

They both dropped to their knees at the same time to pick up the books, lightly bumping heads on the way down. They were both embarrassed.

"My father used to say that if things don't improve, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me," she said with a smile as she rubbed her forehead.

Matthew sensed the class was staring at them. He quickly but...