A Quantum of Evidence
The Christmas season is the season of lights. The star is on overlooking Palmer Lake, and every house, shop and street looks a little brighter these days.
I enjoy light anytime. Especially in the April to August timeframe, I most enjoy those longer summer days of light. I used to go fishing at 9PM on the summer solstice, just because I could. I called it midnight fishing, but I never really stayed out until midnight. Even then, that was past my bedtime. Oh, and yes, I caught fish.
But now is the season of light, and light has always been a part of Christmas, and the Bible is full of that evidence. Here are a couple of prophetic examples:
the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16 quoting Isaiah 9:2)
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60:1 – 3)
In fact, the scriptures say that God is light.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
So, based upon these and other scriptures, I began a personal quest to see that, if God is light, could we also say that the converse is true? In this season of light, can we say that light is God? In apologetics we get some interesting questions from interesting questioners. But, this was a question I recently examined for myself, and what I found out from my research is the subject of my presentation to you today.
This is my thesis. Since we know from the Bible that God is light, what is it about light that could tell us more about who God is and what He has done for us? Might there be some secrets of light that could fill in the mysterious nature of our great God? Could there be qualities of light that would illuminate more of the character qualities of God? And, in examining these questions, might we conclude that our God is closer, and more real that we have ever thought of before?
The answers will be worth the wait. We will delve into the Bible and what it says about God and light. Then we’ll look at what science says about light in the world. And the portion of my presentation that ventures into quantum physics will be barely noticeable as quantum physics. Trust me. Stay with me. I was enlightened. Hopefully you will be, too.
Now before we begin, I would admonish myself—and you—that in apologetics, especially when the apologetics questions relate to science and faith, we should always remember that natural law, laws relating to nature, natural existence, and especially including the nature of light, explains mechanisms; but God is not a mechanism. He wasn’t meant to be a naturalistic explanation. He is supernatural. He’s not meant to be an explanation at all. He is not meant to be a substitute for things of the world and universe. So we must conclude now that we cannot say that light is or is not God. God doesn’t explain light. But, God is light, and perhaps light can help explain God, or at least illuminate some of the character qualities of God.
And it is at this point in my apologetics class that I explain we have much still to uncover. Just because science can’t deal with God, doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist. In fact, science is doing all it can to prove the existence of God. So, when it comes to questions and research about science and faith, sometimes what it takes on the part of the researcher is a lot more faith than science. And since we come to God by grace through faith, I think this is likely the way God wants our discussions about Him to proceed anyway. So, have a little more faith and hang in there with me. God is still light, and the characteristics of light—with respect to God—are still very illuminating.
The Characteristics of Light in the Bible
Is the use of the word “light” in this context just a metaphor? There is no small amount of conversation and research available on this question. Is Balaam’s talking donkey in Numbers 22 or the talking serpent in Genesis just a metaphor? Well, what about light? If God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, and if Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), are we talking about another metaphor here? Or is it natural light? Or is it something else entirely?
Well, we know this. It might be a metaphor. Literary metaphor is used many times in scripture. Though Christ claims to be “the gate” to the sheep pen in John 10:6, that is a metaphor—a figure of speech as the gospel itself proclaims.
Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. (John 10:6-7)
Our Lord didn’t have hinges or latches for which we can be thankful. And still, getting back to our study of God and light, I don’t think we can rule out the fact that characteristics of light in the Bible could be a metaphor for something else.
But not all instances of the word “light” that we find in the Bible are metaphors. We know that there are at least two different kinds of light in the Bible. We could point this out in a couple of ways, and one is unmistakable.
Given that the writers of the Bible had no idea about the many forms of light that are not visible to human eyes, their appreciation of the extent to which God is light was mainly by way of comparing God to created (visible) light, showing that he was infinitely greater than any visible light. For example, in 1 Timothy God is spoken of as dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.
God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. (1 Timothy 6:15b-16a)
In Acts chapter 9, Paul knew from his experience on the Damascus Road of a light greater than that of the noonday sun when that light physically blinded him.
And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. (Acts 22:6, KJV)
Unmistakably, this “great light” is contrasted with the light of noonday. This light, then, is more than metaphor. And there are at least two different kinds of light in the Bible. One is this physical light that is certainly apparent at noonday. But what of the other kind that was so much brighter than noonday light?
In 1 John 1:5, the Greek word for “light” in this verse is not physical light. It is not the word for the light of a torch or lamp, or to enlighten (by giving light), or the light of the moon. It is a word meaning “radiance.” That Greek word is used five times in 1st John. We see it elsewhere in scripture as well. On the mount of transfiguration in Matthew 17, we see that same light radiating from our Lord Jesus Christ.
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:2)
Because God is light, it would make sense for light to radiate from our Lord, who said that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father (John 14:9). He would be the light source. Hopefully, for those of us who believe, that light would reflect off of you and me to a waiting world. But light radiates from God and His only Son Jesus Christ.
You see, there are at least two different kinds of light in the Bible. And then there is another kind of light: darkness. Bible writers regularly contrasted the light of fellowship with the God who is light, with walking without God in the darkness.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
In the case of light, God specifically uses light to be a witness to describe Himself. In effect, light is to be an object lesson God can use with man. When God points to light as an example of Himself, it is to make clear God’s own nature and power. Therefore, it is important to speak correctly about natural light. In Genesis, God spoke and light was. Isaiah later explains more fully:
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)
And there is still more about this other light in the Bible called darkness. We don’t have to look far in the Bible to find a connection between God and light. In Genesis 1:3, God calls forth light from primordial darkness and declares it good. Isn’t it interesting in this season of light, that in Jewish tradition this light in Genesis 1:3 is called the hidden light, the light of Messiah.
Echoing Genesis, John’s Gospel describes Jesus as word and light made flesh (John 1:1-14). “I am the light of the world,” Jesus declares. “He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Many biblical authors draw a sharp distinction between light and darkness. Biblically speaking, light stands for things that we find reassuring—truth, goodness, safety, life, and the sustaining divine presence. Darkness, on the other hand, is shorthand for spiritual blindness and the many things that scare us: sorrow, pain, sickness, and death.
The truth, however, is that all of us spend time in life’s darker seasons, not because God is punishing us or because we lack faith. Such seasons are just part of being human. Thankfully, biblical authors recognized that times of darkness can also be spiritually sacred. Many significant biblical events take place in the dark. Darkness fell across the earth when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:33). It was on a dark night that God showed Abraham the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5), and dark clouds covered Mt. Sinai when God’s presence descended upon it (Exod. 19:18).
No matter what season of life we are in, the God of Light is with us. Here is the testimony of faith:
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:11-12)
And while God made the greater and lesser lights in Genesis 1 to rule by day and by night, light was pre-existent with Him. Light was formed before these suns and moons and stars. In fact, light was pre-existent with God before the world came to be. Light is formed; darkness is created. Therefore, that which is created has a specific beginning where that which is formed has no created beginning. Light formed reflects God’s pre-existent, divine, eternal power.
So after all this research and examination, can we say, “Light is God?” Absolutely not, for light (in all its myriad forms) was formed over the world by God. There could be no light unless God was light! The radiance of God’s light has always existed, eons before he decided to share with us the sun, the moon, the stars, and all of the material light in our material universe. Let’s turn now to see what science has revealed about that universe.
God’s Light in the World
And God’s light shines on His creation. This is where Romans 1 comes in.
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. (Romans 1:20)
The created world testifies specifically to God’s eternal power and divine nature. Just as God created specific things, He created the way in which those things would continue to exist. If the continuing aspect of the natural world also gives testimony about God, then God created the natural world to ensure that specific testimony was present. To be clearly seen, God’s creation is illuminated by light. And, it’s because of light that we can know He is closer and more real than we have ever thought of before.
A now, we get to the fun part. Contemporary science has made several interesting discoveries about light. First, the speed of light can be measured; and second, light does not exist in a singular state. Rather, light exists simultaneously as both particle and wave.
These particles, the smallest of all fundamental parts (or packets) of light are called “photons.” Since God is light, what is there about these fundamental building blocks of light that might reveal something of the mysterious nature of our God?
Photons have never been seen. They exist in theory but the theory has been around a while. They are so small, that they have their own unit of measure: a quantum. Smaller than atoms or electrons, these are packets of light, and they exist in individual particles or in waves.
Consider the example of the electromagnetic spectrum. We see there a small narrow band of the spectrum that’s called “visible” light. The spectrum is not so much a measure of wavelength or frequency, but rather exists as a function of photon energy. In other words, the entire electromagnetic spectrum is about light—both visible and invisible light. And the spectrum is a depiction of photon strength or energy.
And why wouldn’t the entire spectrum be all about light? The entire electro-magnetic spectrum belongs to God—He created it. And He wove throughout creation’s tapestry a specific testimony about Himself. Photons run in and through the whole of creation, which includes you and me. Contemporary science has enough on its hands with a strand of DNA and the intelligence located there giving each cell of our bodies the evidence of an intelligent designer. To provide evidence that God might also be present in each photon that exists in the universe might totally blow the minds of our great scientists.
But here’s the best part about photons. Science has concluded that photons, which may exist in either particle or wave states, are stable. In other words, according to scientific theory, light never dies. And science has also concluded that photons have no mass. According to the general theory of relativity, contemporary science has concluded this about photons and light:
Photons and light move instantaneously; and light never dies.
Photons are always everywhere in the universe, past, present, or future.
For light and the photon packets that comprise light, time is no longer defined as we know it.
Now, does that sound like someone you know? Does that describe someone you know? Who else that you know never dies, and exists always everywhere in the universe where time is undefined?
I don’t know how you envisioned God when you were young—or what you think you see about Him now when He is mentioned at Church, or anywhere else. Could God use photons of light to constitute Himself, move instantaneously, and never die? Sure. He’s God. But these packets of light help me to wrap my brain around the notions of who God is and what He has done for us. He is more real to me, and closer than a quantum—however small that is.
After examining these questions, I will now see Him a little differently—from the most fundamental states of photon existence, to the passage in Revelation that tells us in heaven we will not need anything else.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Revelation 21:23 – 25)
You see, we can know more about God and His wider reality, and still He cannot be fully known. There are too many mysteries that remain. This is where we all need faith to follow the evidence to where it leads—even if it leads us to the foot of the cross. What we see now is like through a glass darkly. But sooner or later, we will see Him as He is. My sense is that when we see Him, light will be a big part of that vision.
Now that the winter solstice is here and the daylight is expended way too early for my liking, perhaps now you can join with me in looking at light a little differently as we approach this Christmas season together. Jesus is the light of the world, not just in a star over Palmer Lake, but also in you. You have the ability to reflect this light to a waiting world. Why not reflect light to someone this coming Christmas? I cannot think of a better gift.
Today and in this Christmas season of light, perhaps He has given us a quantum of evidence into His reality. If you want to know how in the world God can be in you, live through you, and reflect His light from you, perhaps we should appreciate photons a little more. No matter what size the photon may be, God is light and in Him is no photon too small.
Any time we recognize God’s reality in the midst of His creation, whether a photon does it for you or not, we become encouraged by the fact that He is real. And then, we are also encouraged by everything else we already know about Him: His promises, His precepts, His provision, His presence, and His providence over our lives. These things remind us that He is real in so many unmistakable ways. It’s overwhelming evidence to us that, by faith, proves to us who God is and what He has done for us.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1 – 5)
We certainly hope you understand THE light this Christmas and perhaps see lights a little differently as you pass them by in the next several weeks. I wish for you all a very Blessed Christmas season.