The image above is of Barnard 72, known as the “Snake Nebula” because of the dark snake-like pattern it forms.  The shape comes from a concentration of dust and dark matter that blocks escaping visible light.  Most likely, these mysterious dark clouds are the birth place for new stars.

The newborn stars that emerge from these clouds point to a universe that is creating and maintaining itself.  Does such independence preclude the existence of a divine creator?  In his book The Hand of God, author Michael Reagan discusses one clergyman’s response to the idea that modern science could explain this process of creation:

“The view implied that God had created a world that could and did make itself.  This was a gift of love, the clergyman argued, allowing the creation to have independence rather than making it a divine puppet theater.”