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
