Nature Speaks To Us, But Are We Listening?

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 people are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20 (67 AD)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4 1000 BC

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:7-10 2,000 BC

The Bible describes nature as a "general revelation"—a silent, universal witness that communicates God's glory, power, and character to humanity without using human words. Some scholars call this the two-book doctrine: the Bible directly communicates, and Nature is the Book of Nature. Dual Revelation: God reveals Himself through Special Revelation (Scripture/the Bible) and General Revelation (the natural world/creation). Because both books share a single divine author, true science and true theology cannot genuinely contradict each other. If it looks like a contradiction, we have failed to understand one or both. Apparent conflicts between science and faith do not come from the texts or creation itself, but from human mistakes in reading or interpreting either book.

If an apparent conflict exists between the Bible and Science (the study of the Record of Nature), it's often because someone hasn't studied all 66 Books of the Bible, hasn't consulted several Bible translations, or hasn't checked key Biblical Hebrew words. On the Science side, Science is so complex that most scientists earn a PhD in only one field, and even then work in a narrow subset of that field. That is, they fail to integrate their study across the many Sciences. Just as many fail to integrate their study across all 66 Books of the Bible and different translations.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well" Psalm 139:14 1000 BC (Fearfully: Comes from a Hebrew word meaning deep reverence, awe, or profound respect—not anxiety. It reflects the awe-inspiring way life is crafted.)

As time goes by, there are fewer apparent conflicts as our understanding of Nature increases and we gain better tools for understanding Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek.

This idea is not new: Early Church Fathers, like St. Augustine (354-430 AD) and Justin Martyr (100-165 AD), promoted reading creation and scripture as a unified framework of divine truth. St. Augustine viewed God as the first mover who sets all things in motion and acts as the ultimate cause of existence, as he understood the law of cause and effect. He also saw the nature of the physical universe. Justin Martyr viewed nature as God's creation, reflecting divine order and supporting natural law. We call this the Law of Physics today; he was ahead of his time (155 AD).

This speaking of Nature is one of the main reasons for this website. Physically going into nature is a great way for it to speak to you. Go to the mountains, the beach, a lake, a river, a stream, the desert, or anything far from cities. Look at the night sky there, away from city lights, and see the glory waiting for you. But remember to honor and glorify the One who made these things, not the things themselves.

A good Biblical Creation Model is testable. See Creation Models page

Examples of failure to integrate a study across the many sciences.

1) Scientists claim life originated by completely natural process; the Bible declares that God alone created life.

Abiogenesis researchers, also called origin-of-life scientists, have a PhD in biochemistry or molecular biology; they have studied cell biology and life chemistry. After years of study, he says he has a theory (also called a model) for how the first life on Earth originated. The theory states that Earth once had a primordial soup containing all the chemicals needed for life. Over a billion years, random chance formed simple life forms. Many today believe this theory. I ask the biochemists, " Have you tested your theory under the known conditions of the early Earth when life appeared"? No. If they did, they would find that the theory-model fails on all points. 1) Life started in Earth's early ocean; there was never any primordial soup. 2) Life appears as soon as the Earth's early ocean cooled enough to support life; there was NO billion years for life to start by random chance. 3) The first life form in the Earth's early ocean was blue-green algae, also called Cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic life form. Cyanobacteria are still found in the oceans; they are very, very complex. The first life form was not simple; it was complex. This origin-of-life theory fails on all three points. For the matter ALL origin-of-life theories, they fail when tested in real-world conditions. Moreover, each theory has less supporting evidence over time. A good theory should have more supporting evidence over time. Yet, origin-of-life scientists have less supporting evidence over time.

Examples of failure to integrate Bible studies.

2) Some Christians claim the Noah's flood covered the whole planet Earth with two of every animal on the Ark (barge). Scientists note that, at the time of the flood, there was not enough water on Earth to cover all of its landmass. Also, the ark is too small to hold two of every animal.

The science is sound, and the apparent conflict exists, as these Christians have failed to study what all the Books of the Bible say about the flood. Every book of the Bible is the Word of God; Genesis is no more inspired than Peter's letters. Another failure is not knowing that Biblical Hebrew has a very limited vocabulary; without names and places, it has only about 3,000 words. So many words have many definitions. In Biblical Hebrew, words like "world" and "earth" do not always mean the entire planet. "World" often means the world of that which is being described. Example:

1 Kings 10:24 "The whole world (or Earth in some translations)sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart."

Did the rules in the Americas come to Solomon? No. The "whole world " refers to the "world of King Solomon".

Likewise, the command to put two of every animal on the "earth" in the ark refers to Noah's earth, or world, not planet Earth. What was Noah's world? The Mesopotamian Valley around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Also, the Biblical Hebrew for animal is nephesh life); this is in reference to birds and mammals only. Noah was not commanded to collect any reptiles, amphibians, or insects.

A local flood in the Mesopotamian Valley is confirmed by the New Testament:

2 Peter 2:5 “ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others”.

This tells us the scope of the flood: "ancient world " and the place of "ungodly people". The Bible mentions Mesopotamia both before and after the flood. The flood was in Mesopotamia.

"flood on its ungodly people", where were the "ungodly people" in this ancient world? The Bible and history tell us that in the Mesopotamian Valley, people had not yet spread out. The flood was before human migration out of the Mesopotamian Valley. The Bible and the Record of Nature agree that human civilization started in the Mesopotamian Valley around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. When the Bible says the mountains were covered, it refers to flash floods caused by days of rain. Flash floods cover mountains with a wall of rushing water. In 1887, a large flood killed between 1,000,000 to 2,000,00 people in the Yellow River valley in China. The flash floods covered mountains without submerging them. Other recent scientific discoveries support the Flood; see the Flood page.

It is only human pride, emotions, and a lack of study of the whole Bible that leads some to make the error that the Bible teaches a planet-wide flood.

FYI: The Flood did not create the Grand Canyon or place seashells on mountaintops. The river carved the Grand Canyon over time. Seashells on mountaintops result from earthquakes and plate tectonics. Many other false claims about the flood exist.

Word Study:

Biblical Hebrew: earth, Strong's H776 - 'ereṣ

1. earth

   1. whole earth (as opposed to a part)

   2. earth (as opposed to heaven)

   3. earth (inhabitants)

2. land

   1. country, territory

   2. district, region

   3. tribal territory

   4. piece of ground

   5. land of Canaan, Israel

   6. inhabitants of land

   7. Sheol, land without return, (under) world

   8. city (-state)

3. ground, surface of the earth

   1. ground

   2. soil

4. (in phrases)

   1. people of the land

   2. space or distance of country (in measurements of distance)

   3. level or plain country

   4. land of the living

   5. end(s) of the earth

Biblical Hebrew: mountain Strong's H2022 - har

A hill, mountain, hill country, mount

Text says: Mountains of Ararat (NOT Mount Ararat) are the Mountains north of the Mesopotamian Valley, including the foothills.

Biblical Hebrew: Animal or Beast, Strong's H929 - bᵊhēmâ

1. cattle, livestock (of domestic animals)

2. wild beasts

Biblical Hebrew: Cover (as in mountains were covered) Strong's H3680 - kāsâ (does not mean submerged)

To cover, conceal, hide

1. (Qal) conceal, covered (participle)

2. (Niphal) to be covered

3. (Piel)

   1. to cover, clothe

   2. to cover, conceal

   3. to cover (for protection)

   4. to cover over, spread over

   5. to cover, overwhelm

4. (Pual)

   1. to be covered

   2. to be clothed

5. (Hithpael) to cover oneself, clothe oneself