The Biblical Explanation of Reality: Part Two –The First Day
BOOK III: The Enigmatic Mystery (Science & Religion) – Consideration #176
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Tuesday February 18, 2025
“The announcement Monday that researchers had discovered further evidence of the ‘Big Bang’ theory ‘isn’t going to make anyone who wasn’t a believer in God into one… But one thing the announcement does do is make it clear that the universe had a definite starting point — a creation — as described in the Book of Genesis,’ said Aviezer. ‘To deny this now is to deny scientific fact.’”
– David Shamah, New Big Bang evidence supports Biblical creation, says Orthodox physicist (March 19, 2014)
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
Like in modern physics, the key to understanding Biblical theology lies in understanding the nature of light. God’s universe, or reality, begins with light.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
Light actualizes the universe. In the Bible this “light” is both physical, or empirical, and rational, or spiritual. Again, like the Big Bang theory, the Bible says nothing about what existed prior to this event. Everything prior to “creation” was complete darkness or void. Our reality begins with this event. The physical universe and time begin with this event. This event begins with light.
“…it all has to do with the nature of light.”
Both science and Judeo-Christian tradition agree that the universe began with a sudden burst, or expansion, of light, or energy. Christians and Jews refer to this as the “Creation story;” scientists refer to this as the Big Bang. So, how does the Big Bang connect to this story? Like Einstein concluded, it all has to do with the nature of light. Light is pure energy, the opposite of physicality. Light has no mass and travels at 186,282 miles per second. The universe begins with an explosion of this pure energy, called light.
“…physicality, or actuality, is generated through non-physicality.”
Both science and the Judeo-Christian tradition agree that the universe, or empirical reality, was manifested from pure energy, or light; meaning physicality, or actuality, is generated through non-physicality. Science considers the empirical nature of this energy. The Judeo-Christian tradition considers both the physical and non-physical aspects of this light, or energy. However, both agree that the universe, or physical reality, begins with this sudden burst of energy; the “first day” of the universe begins with light.
CONSIDERATION #176 – The First Day
Science does not address why the universe was created. Neither does the Bible. Science recognizes, through evidence and reason, that the universe happened, but not why it happened; only that it appears to have happened in a particular way. The Bible explains what that particular way was, and how the universe came into existence. God spoke it into existence:
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
However, from a theological perspective this is more than simply a cosmic empirical event; it is the beginning of God’s rational plan. The Greek concept called The Logos becomes the template for a new Judeo-Christian theology introduced in the first Chapter of John.
“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 all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
– John 1:1-5
In the opening verse of his gospel, John directly identifies Jesus “as God” from the beginning of time. Jesus is the “word” that speaks the physical universe into existence. However, Jesus is also the “life” and “light,” or rationality, of all humanity. This light of creation, and rationality, overcomes the darkness, or the void, of non-being. The idea of Jesus as “one with God” in the beginning as part of creation is a bedrock theological principle of Christianity. It also establishes a foundation for the Holy Trinity. From a Christian perspective the New Testament actually begins in Genesis. On the first day.
Theologically, Jesus reflects the physical manifestations of the Holy Trinity. First, as the “word” that manifests all physical reality, or the universe, into existence. Second, as the rational awareness regarding empirical reality that is unique to human beings. Third, as the physical manifestation of God as the Messiah. In this theological scenario Jesus is the mechanism, or first cause, of all physical and rational reality. From this theological perspective, Jesus is the light.
POSTSCRIPT
Already, in the first book of Genesis, we begin to see the distinction between Western and Eastern perceptions of reality. The West embraces the concept of actuality, or light, as the source for understanding the nature of reality in both science and religion. Whereas the East embraces the concept of the void, or darkness, as the mechanism for experiencing the true nature of reality.
“Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.”– Tao Te Ching #1
As the Logos, light is described as “overcoming” the darkness, as well as maintaining an active resistance against it, suggesting a kind of battle between the darkness and the light. The light is actively opposing and holding back the darkness. However, Lao Tzu considers the reality prior to the physical universe to be “beyond words,” which are meaningless within the mystery of darkness. Consider this expanded translation and interpretation of the Tao Te Ching #1.
“Tao is beyond words and beyond understanding… Tao existed before words and names, before heaven and earth, before the ten thousand things. It is the unlimited father and mother of all limited things. Therefore, to see beyond boundaries to the subtle heart of things, dispense with names, with concepts, with expectations and ambitions and differences. Tao and its many manifestations arise from the same source: subtle wonder within mysterious darkness. This is the beginning of all understanding.”
– Lao Tzu (AZQuotes, Wind and Fly LTD, 2025)
The Eastern concept of Tao embraces the mystery of darkness as the mechanism for understanding reality; the point being to return to the unity of darkness in which there is no self. Western science and Christianity embrace the rationality of light as the mechanism for understanding and expanding reality; the point being to manifest a new reality and a new self as the means to reaching a new unity, or synthesis
The mystery of darkness is pursued through passive meditation; the mystery of light is pursued through active education. Experiencing darkness requires a complete loss of distinction, including self-identity. Experiencing the light requires an expansion of self through empirical and rational knowledge and understanding.
“It is the distinction that has traditionally distinguished Eastern and Western culture.”
Both Judeo-Christian tradition and science reflect a uniquely Western perspective regarding the nature of reality and its connection to an active energy called light. It is the distinction that has traditionally distinguished Eastern and Western culture. It is also a distinction, that if properly understood and balanced, could offer a solution to the Artificial Intelligence dilemma.
Next week we will consider scientific and Biblical evolution…
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