The Basis of Biblical Physics

Modern students of physics study the essence of nature: the properties of matter and time. I use the phrase biblical physics to distinguish what the Bible states about matter and earth-history from what scientists believe.  Biblical physics is not a biblical term. We infer Biblical physics when we interpret what the Bible states about earth and cosmic history with rules.

Rule 1: We should seek a simple, literal interpretation. The Bible clearly contains passages that are not literal. For example, “Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches.” Jesus did not look like a vine nor did his disciples sprout leaves. A contemporary listener would understand this as an analogy, a similarity between things that are otherwise dissimilar. A literal interpretation seeks to understand the words and grammar in the manner of a contemporary.

Rule 2: Our language, assumptions and culture can influence our interpretations. For example, biblical Hebrew did not have past, present or future verbs.  What happened was either continuing or completed.  The ancients could not imagine time as though it  were an independent thing.  Our time-oriented language and way of thinking influences how we interpret earth-history.  All ancient societies saw the earth as a place where everything changes and has changed.  In contrast, we think the universe is a place of changeless laws and constants.  It is important to remember that our scientific definitions, laws and constants are only a few centuries old. Understanding a text in its historical context requires that we interpret it in their language and culture.  We must not tailor the Bible to fit our scientific way of thinking.

Rule 3:  The Bible contains principles that are fundamental issues.  A fundamental is an essential element, an important principle that affects how we understand reality. Western schooling teaches us to interpret physical reality with ideas that originated with one of the pagan Greeks. We should seek fundamentals from the Bible, not the Greeks.

Rule 4: The basis for biblical physics must be what the entire Bible states about matter, time and earth-history - interpreted literally in their language and culture, not our science.  We must not focus on a single verse and exclude other passages that could contradict a pet interpretation.

NGC 1097Rule 5: If biblical physics is a valid interpretation, it should be supported by simple evidence.  Indeed biblical physics is supported by the simplest evidence. The Bible states that evidence for God's glory is available in the spreading heavens (shamayim raqiya). We see the past at many ranges (eras) all the way back to the creation era in the distant heavens. We see how billions of galaxies grew from the insides outward, from tiny naked objects to great growth spirals. This is an infrared photo of NGC 1097 by NASA's Spitzer telescope. Infrared allows us to see clearly the long, continuous star streams. NGC 1097 has two sibling galaxies that evidently were ejected from the core. The larger one is a small blue elliptical galaxy surrounded by pink star streams to the left of the main nucleus. Biblical physics allows us to believe the visible history of the universe because it is based on a different principle than Western science. In contrast, the scientific universe is 99% invisible to protect its first principle.

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Last edited March 2, 2010