Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in 1963 and grew up in a village south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu province. This subtropical zone is so famous for its food that it is known as the land of rice and fish. When I was a child, he used to ask me: “Why does nature give us so many tasty foods? Did they appear out of nowhere? What came first, the chicken or the egg? Since atheism predominates in China, I was taught evolution at school.
What can you tell us about your family?
My parents were atheists. My mother worked in the fields and my father was an architect and had a construction company. I am the oldest of five children. Unfortunately, two of my brothers died young, which caused me a lot of sadness and led me to ask myself: “Why do people die? Will I ever see my brothers again?
Why did you study physics?
Because I was fascinated by nature and I thought that physics would answer the questions I had asked myself since I was a child.
What kind of research do you do?
I investigate ways to accelerate charged particles to speeds close to the speed of light to study the structure of atoms. I am also investigating how to generate high-energy radiation with a frequency between that of microwaves and infrared rays. Although my work has practical applications, it is also useful for understanding how the universe began.
Why did you become interested in the Bible?
In 1998, a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my house and offered to answer my questions from the Bible. My wife, Huabi, who is also a scientist, joined the conversation. We had never seen a Bible, but we were surprised by the useful advice it contains. Little by little we realized that the Witnesses who visited us were happy and had an uncomplicated life because they applied the biblical advice in their lives. But what the Bible says about God made me wonder if the universe was created. I am a physicist and my job is to understand nature, so I decided to examine the facts more carefully.
I’m a physicist and my job is to understand nature, so I decided to examine the facts more carefully.
What facts did you examine?
To begin with, he knew that things cannot be kept organized or further organized unless an outside agent intervenes. This is the second law of thermodynamics. Since the universe and life on Earth are so well organized, I came to the conclusion that they cannot exist without an external agent, that is, a Creator. Furthermore, everything seems to indicate that the universe and the Earth were designed to support life.
What example of design have you seen in nature?
Almost all life on Earth depends on solar energy, which travels through space in the form of radiation of various wavelengths. The shortest length rays are gamma rays, which are deadly. They are followed by X-rays, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwaves and radio waves, which are the longest. It should be noted that our atmosphere blocks most of the rays that harm us, but allows the ones we need to pass through to the Earth’s surface.
Why does this surprise you?
I was impressed by the opening words of the creation account in the Bible and what is said about light: “God proceeded to say: ‘Let there come to be light.’ Then there came to be light.”* Although only a small portion of the rays that reach us from the Sun is visible light, we need that light to live. Plants need them to make our food, and we need them to see. It cannot be a coincidence that the atmosphere allows precisely those rays to pass unhindered. And even more surprising is the amount of ultraviolet rays it lets through.
What’s so surprising about that?
Well, we need a small amount of ultraviolet rays so that our skin can produce vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones and to protect us from cancer and other diseases. Now, the excess of these rays causes skin cancer and cataracts. Under optimal conditions, the atmosphere lets in just the right amount of ultraviolet rays. In my opinion, this is proof that someone designed the Earth to support life.
Little by little, Huabi and I became convinced that there is a Creator and that he inspired the Bible. We became Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2005, and now we teach other people what the Bible says.