Category Archives: The Bible and Science

Are You Grounded? The Bible and Science

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Humility

The etymologies of many words that are used in science have a Latin origin because that allows everyone to have a common point of reference.  I was asked what was the origin of the word Humility.  After a dictionary search the word humility comes from the Latin word humilitas, which can be translated, humble, to be grounded, or humus (of the earth).  If you do a search of Wikipedia and other on-line sources you will find numerous opinions from various religions and philosophers even a best selling author of a business book on what it is and how important humility is to success.  Of course there are the criticisms of it by people like Nietzsche and others.

Humus to me as a gardener is the remains of organic material.  But as I look at this whole idea I still don’t see that humility has to be equated with weakness or something unimportant.  A garden grows better when you put humus back into the soil and instead of being something to walk on you may need to realize that it is actually supporting your walk.

∞Jesus, help us to have humility so we can also heal the sick, walk on water, clear out Temple Courts, and take our cross and follow You.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humility

Lightning Then Thunder – The Bible and Science

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Job 37

3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. 4 After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice.  When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. (NIV) The underline is mine.

As a cloud is getting ready to discharge lightning it sends out a leader, which is like a path for the electrons to follow. (They are seen with special high-speed cameras.) The leaders actually “step” their way to the ground going several yards at a time.  When the leader touches the ground the electrons are released and we see a bolt of lightning.

From NOAA

From NOAA

As the energy goes through the air it is super-heated to as much as 50,000 degrees, which causes the air to expand very rapidly.  This causes the thunder that we associate with lightning.

In a respect, this is very much like God when He speaks to His people through prophecy.  God sends prophecy a little at a time until the moment arrives and what He has been speaking comes into being.  Jehovah started speaking about Jesus and His coming to redeem man in Genesis 3 and it was talked about or foreshadowed in the next sixty-five books until Jesus came in the Gospels.

∞Father, whether it is a whisper or bolt please speak to us and show us Your energy.

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/temperature.htm

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/science/science-overview.htm

Convection Currents – The Bible and Science

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Revelation 3:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot.

From my studies, I know that Jesus was describing the Church at Laodicea by comparing them to a hot-water spring that flowed into their city.  It arrived cooled off and just a bad temperature for drinking.  The statement that we should be either hot or cold can be a puzzling one since everyone thinks we should always be “hot” in our relationship with God.

In science the terms hot and cold are relative terms and derive much from the context that we are using them in, sunspots are hot enough to melt iron but appear dark because they are next to stuff that is two times their temperature. (see post-Hot and Cold and Why Hot and Cold)

Hot and cold in our physical world are important because they cause convection currents.  These are responsible for our weather, ocean currents, and the driving force of plate tectonics.  The “hot” material, either air, water, or magma, rises while the convection current“cold” material sinks to be heated thus creating a circular pattern.  When the temperature evens out nothing moves; this can/does happen on the Mississippi Gulf Coast around three in the afternoon.  The air and the water can have the same temperature and there is no lateral air movement, everything goes straight up.  Before and after this point there will be either a sea breeze or a land breeze because of uneven temperatures.

I think in natural cycles as well as spiritual cycles we will have our “cooler” times but watercyclesummarythey are necessary so we can be “heated” up again and rise to the work we have been called to do. (The water cycle in itself may not be a true convection current but energy is still gained and lost in the evaporation/rain process.)

∞Jesus, wither we are in a hot stage or a cold stage always let us always be found in you. Amen.

Water cycle pic is from: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html                     The Convection pic is from:  http://www2.vims.edu/bridge/DATA.cfm?Bridge_Location=archive0906.html                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot                                                            Eerdmans’ Handbook to the Bible © 1973 page 650 (spring of water)

Lightning 2 – The Bible and Science

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Job 37:11 He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.

The bolt of lightning is really just a stream of electrons that is jumping from the cloud to the ground or another cloud.  These electrons are “scrapped” off of atoms/particles because of the movement of ice, water, and air within the cloud.  This movement comes from the convection current caused by warm air rising and cold air falling in the cloud.  As the particles hit each other electrons charge the middle of the cloud while Lightning formationthe positive particles charge the top of the cloud.  But without movement, there would be no energy release.

We see the same principle at work with the power of God in our lives.  We know the power is available but until we start to “move” that energy will not be released.

∞Jesus, may we live the Great Commission and have your power as we go and preach your Word.

Graphics and referenced: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/science/science-overview.htm

Lightning – Consider God’s Wonders

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Job 37: 14 “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. 15 Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? (NIV)

Lightning in the Bible is a wonder of God that biblical man attributes as His weapon and an awesome act of God that is used to describe glorious things.  Elihu in this verse ask a question,” Do you know how He makes lightning flash?” Fast-forward to 2014 and you would imagine that we know the mechanism and principles of how such a common occurrence as lightning is controlled.  The truth is we have a better understanding of clouds and lightning than Elihu and Job but we do not understand completely how this wondrous and awesome act of God happens.

∞Father, help us to always consider Your wonders and to stay in awe of Your mighty works.

See Comparison of Jeremiah 10 and 51 for more on lightning.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/science/science-overview.htm   good graphics

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/myths.htm