< Home > < Index > < Book of Nature - Part One >
The Book of Nature- Part One -- What We Can Learn About God
From Nature  
by Warren Krug                (January-February, 2007)               
 
What would the reader think if he was told there is another revelation of God besides the
Holy Bible? Well, it's true, but we're not thinking about any "holy book" such as the Book of
Mormon or Koran that comes to us from another faith. We're talking about the book of
nature or what theologians refer to as the natural knowledge of God.

This revelation ought not to be so readily dismissed. We're told in Romans 1:18-20 (NIV),
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known
about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation
of the world God's invisible qualities---his eternal power and divine nature---have been
clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Simply put, this natural knowledge of God is so powerful that by merely looking at the
created world, people should realize there is a God. This knowledge should be enough for
them to amend their sinful ways and to begin searching for Him (“God did this so that men
would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each
one of us.” Acts 17:27). On Judgment Day, nobody will have a good excuse for unbelief.
However, as we know, the natural revelation is incomplete—it does not tell us nearly
everything we need to know about sin and salvation.

I. What We Can Learn About God From the Book of Nature

A. God is powerful.
 The LORD in His discourse with Job referred many times to His
power. “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’ ”? (Job
38:34-35)

1. Storms and Floods. We only have to think back to the devastation along the Gulf coast
after Hurricane Katrina to acknowledge the power of water when it comes in the form of
flooding. The best levees devised by engineers could not withstand the storm surge, and
up to 80% of New Orleans was flooded as well as many other cities near the coast. The
power of moving water can also be seen in the enormous amounts of electricity produced
by generators run by rivers, falls, and tides.
1

2. Lightning. A bolt of lightning can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's about five
times the temperature of the surface of the sun. Lightning is powerful enough to turn sand
into glass. Lightning strikes the earth on average 100 times a second, and for those
people who believe lightning can't hit the same place twice, think again. The Empire State
Building on average gets hit by lightning 100 times a year. Lightning can start forest fires,
split trees, and, unfortunately, kill people, but your odds of being hit by lightning during
your lifetime are only about 1 in 280,000.
2

3. The sun. Every second 5 million tons of pure energy are released by the sun. Compare
this to the energy of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima whose power was equivalent to only
about 13,000 tons of TNT. The temperature inside the sun reaches 27,000,000 degrees
Fahrenheit. We know about the ability of the sun's rays to burn skin, to be turned into
electricity by means of solar cells, and, of course, to maintain life on this planet.
3

B. God has an eye for beauty.
 When speaking to Job, God also saw fit to point some of
His most beautiful creatures, the stars (Job 38:31--32), “Can you bind the beautiful
Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their
seasons or lead the Bear with its cubs?”  The Pleiades, sometimes called the “Seven
Sisters”, is part of the constellation Taurus. Orion is a well-known constellation. “Bear”
here undoubtedly refers to the constellation Ursa Maior or Great Bear, part of which is the
group of stars called the Big Dipper.
4

1. The stars.  Is there anything more beautiful than the stars on a clear, dark night?
People ages ago saw pictures in the constellations. Stars today appear on our flag and the
flags of other countries, on Christmas trees, and even on football helmets. Paper stars that
glow in the dark are sometimes affixed to the ceilings of children's bedrooms to soothe and
comfort the youngsters and maybe help them fall to sleep. Our famous singers, actors and
athletes are called stars. Truly stars are near the top of God's beautiful creatures.

2. Flowers. There are about 250,000 different kinds of flowering plants. 5 Not all of their
flowers are particularly attractive, but certainly there are scores of attractive flowers that
most everyone loves to look at and admire. Flowers are a symbol of affection or
thoughtfulness and are associated with weddings, sicknesses, celebrations, funerals, and,
yes, even worship services. Flowers come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Many
businesses owe their existence to the growing, sale, and delivery of flowers.

3. Snowflakes. We know that all snowflakes are more or less symmetrical and all have six
arms but otherwise can look far different. Scientists think the arms which grow
independently respond in a similar way to the environmental conditions around them as
they form, thus giving them all a similar appearance.
6  Snowflakes make lovely ornaments
for Christmas trees or room decorations. Newly fallen snowflakes together make for a
beautiful winter scene. Can anyone sing “I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas?”  

C. God is a wise and benevolent Designer. “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce
vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,
according to their various kinds. And it was so...God made the wild animals according to
their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the
ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.’” (Genesis 1:11 & 25)

1. Reproduction. According to the "mainstream" theory on origins, it is just a long series of
happy accidents that every one of the vast array of living creatures has found a method of
reproducing itself. This is difficult to believe because the original of every species would
have died out without this capacity. But we know from the book of Genesis that the ability
to reproduce was built into every creature right from the beginning. Not only does every
creature reproduce other creatures just like themselves, but God sees to it that conditions
are favorable for the survival of the species. For instance, with rare exceptions, God has
given to the mothers of the higher animals the knowledge and desire to protect and care
for their offspring. Among mammals, the mothers' milk is perfectly suited just for that
particular species so that the babies grow up healthy and strong.

2. The solar system. Everything about our solar system is just right for the survival of life
on earth. The sun is the right color. If it were redder or bluer, photosynthesis in plants
would not be as effective. If the sun were larger, there would be too much high energy
radiation. If it were smaller, fewer species could survive on earth. If the earth were nearer
the sun, most water would boil away. If it were farther away, most of our water would freeze.
The earth's gravity, rotation period, tilt, magnetic field, crust thickness, water vapor and
ozone levels are among features that are just right for life on this planet.
7

3. Ice. Water, unlike most other substances, expands as it freezes. This makes ice less
dense than liquid water and thus able to float on the surface, even if it is in the form of a
giant iceberg. Moreover, this tendency to expand doesn't begin until the cooling water
reaches 39.2 degrees F. The result is that icy cold water will move to the surface of a lake
or the ocean and warmer water will sink. If the water surface does freeze, water below the
ice will remain above the freezing point and the fish are protected.
8 Had not God
designed water to act in this way, ice would sink to the bottom and pretty soon the entire
lake or ocean would be frozen and the fish would die.

Many more examples could be given from nature showing the power, wisdom, and
benevolence of our loving Creator. Only a fool (Psalm 14:1) can believe there is no God.  
It is truly unfortunate that there appears to be so many learned people with all their master
degrees and doctorates who would fit this description.  
LSI

References
1. http://www.nola.com/katrina/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/
3. http://www.solarviews.com/
4. http://www.astro.wisc.edu/
5. The World Book 2001
6. http://www.its.caltech.edu/
7. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/510.asp
8. http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v20/i1/water.asp

Go To Part Two: Why the Book of Nature isn’t Enough

Go To Part Three: Is There a Conflict Between Nature and the Bible?
< Home > < Index > < Book of Nature - Part One >