God and Nature 2025 #1
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By Daniel King and Gabriel Swinney
The Bible makes a persistent case that both our physical and spiritual worlds are fallen and in need of redemption in the person of Jesus Christ. The emphasis of spiritual fallenness should be expected if the Bible is meant to be a foundational document for a developing religion. It is perhaps more surprising that the fallenness of the physical world is also a significant element of the Biblical narrative.
Almost everyone today, whether Christian or atheist, agrees that the world is, in some ways, broken. There is simply no question that our universe is finite; that is, it will have an end. Concerns over climate change and fossil fuel emissions, energy resources, air, soil, and water pollution, food shortages, pandemics, etc. seem to have taken root as ubiquitous realities of our current and future existence.
The Bible makes a persistent case that both our physical and spiritual worlds are fallen and in need of redemption in the person of Jesus Christ. The emphasis of spiritual fallenness should be expected if the Bible is meant to be a foundational document for a developing religion. It is perhaps more surprising that the fallenness of the physical world is also a significant element of the Biblical narrative.
Almost everyone today, whether Christian or atheist, agrees that the world is, in some ways, broken. There is simply no question that our universe is finite; that is, it will have an end. Concerns over climate change and fossil fuel emissions, energy resources, air, soil, and water pollution, food shortages, pandemics, etc. seem to have taken root as ubiquitous realities of our current and future existence.
...just as the Bible describes the downfall of the physical world, it also prescribes a redemptive catalyst in the Savior, Jesus Christ. |
This bleak outlook for our planet has become so well accepted that it permeates all facets of our society. In Britt Wray’s 2019 Ted Talk entitled “How climate change affects your mental health,” she emphasizes the need for proactive mental health strategies to help individuals—in particular, the younger generations—cope with living in an apparently doomed world. The topic of global impermanence has even made its way into Hollywood plot lines—in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises, for example, the idea of reducing the human population appears, at least in the view of some characters, as a logical strategy for prolonging our earthly existence.
Regardless of the specific global challenges of the age (during my [DK] childhood, it was acid rain and the ozone hole), modern science over the past two hundred years has given us a clear and indisputable understanding of the finiteness (mortality, if you will) of our planet, solar system, and universe by way of theoretical principles and experimental discoveries. In the 1850s, the Second Law of Thermodynamics established that the world is increasing in disorder. Two decades later, the Gibbs Free Energy Equation, used to evaluate the spontaneity of processes, established that we should expect the Gibbs energy to be decreasing. In addition to the theories and equations that point toward an eventual cooling and decaying of the world, scientists have also projected expiration dates for supplies of the world’s essential resources—and these are in the much more near future.
One study in Energy Policy by Shahriar Shafiee and Erkan Topal suggests that by 2042 coal will be the only fossil fuel remaining, and that coal supply will be depleted in the following century (1). Ten years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN was reporting that they estimate the earth’s essential fertile topsoil will be depleted by 2075 (2). And if these short-term issues are not convincing enough, due to the sun’s natural life cycle, the earth’s environmental conditions will be unsuitable for life in one billion years (3). An exact prediction for the ultimate demise of the world is certainly debatable among theorists, but one thing remains clear: the life-supporting resources of this world are not everlasting. Whether considering the tangible limitations of resources, environmental stress from overpopulation, or purely theoretical limitations, there is no ultimate remedy or salvation to be found in this physical world for this physical world. Our world is without hope from within and in need of an external redeemer.
However obvious our current dire state may be based on the scientific theories of the 19th century and the scientific data from the 20th and 21st, the argument concerning the fallenness of the earth was laid out quite plainly throughout the Bible thousands of years ago.
Biblical assertions for the fallen nature of the world first appear during the age of Adam and Eve; their lives were an example of how human sin affected not only the person committing the act but also their surrounding world. The cause-and-effect relationship between human fallenness and the flourishing of earth is consistently repeated in Biblical writings. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah addresses this relationship: “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore, earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left” (Isaiah 24:4-6, NIV).
This concept also arises in David’s writings as he describes the contrast between God’s eternal being and the earth’s finite composition (Psalm 102:25-27). The correlation between mankind and its inhabitance continues to appear throughout New Testament writings as well. In Romans 8, Paul reminds his audience that one of the prices of human sin is destruction and decay of the earth itself.
So, what can we do to relieve the deterioration of our world? The forces that are deemed a threat to our world by modern science appear to only be mediated through human intervention. An absolute resolution to these various environmental crises seems to be an unattainable reality for humankind to achieve without the aid of an external force. For creation itself hopes for (groans for) freedom from the bondage of corruption (Rom. 8:19-23) that is yet to come (Rev. 21:1-4). However, just as the Bible describes the downfall of the physical world, it also prescribes a redemptive catalyst in the Savior, Jesus Christ. The effect of Christ’s redemption for mankind is explained in Romans 5 as Paul describes how the death of a perfect man provided grace and forgiveness for all who believed in Him. Therefore, if the fallenness of the physical world is a consequence of the fallenness of mankind, and Christ’s death and resurrection served as the redemption for humanity, then it follows that Christ’s death and resurrection also serves as the redemptive measure for the physical world.
Acknowledgement of the overlap between the Bible’s ancient assertions of the earth’s fallenness and modern science’s contemporary assertions of a finite, decaying world may be a valuable avenue to faith for those who do not yet believe. As described in Mark 2, Jesus brings both physical and spiritual healing. In this particular instance, Jesus heals a paralytic man’s physical brokenness to inspire the onlookers to also believe in the spiritual redemption he offers. Perhaps as our society begins to groan for salvation from the world’s physical brokenness described and predicted in scripture, we may also be more open to the spiritual healing offered by Jesus and highlighted throughout the New Testament.
References
1. Shafiee, Shahriar, and Erkan Topal. "When will fossil fuel reserves be diminished?" Energy policy 37.1 (2009): 181-189.
2. Arsenault, Chris. "Only 60 years of farming left if soil degradation continues." Scientific American 5 (2014).
3. Coffey, Donavyn. “How long will Earth exist?” Live Science (2023). https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/how-long-will-earth-exist.
Daniel King earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Georgia and has been a professor at Taylor University for eighteen years. His research interests include characterizing plant cell wall proteins involved in crop disease, exercise metabolomics, and improving chemistry education practices.
Gabriel Swinney is an undergraduate senior studying Biochemistry, Neuroscience, and Psychology at Taylor University. Gabriel has contributed to research in the fields of protein purification and characterization, environmental chemistry, and psychological testing. He also serves at a hospital and in his church's children's ministry. He plans to attend medical school after graduation.
Regardless of the specific global challenges of the age (during my [DK] childhood, it was acid rain and the ozone hole), modern science over the past two hundred years has given us a clear and indisputable understanding of the finiteness (mortality, if you will) of our planet, solar system, and universe by way of theoretical principles and experimental discoveries. In the 1850s, the Second Law of Thermodynamics established that the world is increasing in disorder. Two decades later, the Gibbs Free Energy Equation, used to evaluate the spontaneity of processes, established that we should expect the Gibbs energy to be decreasing. In addition to the theories and equations that point toward an eventual cooling and decaying of the world, scientists have also projected expiration dates for supplies of the world’s essential resources—and these are in the much more near future.
One study in Energy Policy by Shahriar Shafiee and Erkan Topal suggests that by 2042 coal will be the only fossil fuel remaining, and that coal supply will be depleted in the following century (1). Ten years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN was reporting that they estimate the earth’s essential fertile topsoil will be depleted by 2075 (2). And if these short-term issues are not convincing enough, due to the sun’s natural life cycle, the earth’s environmental conditions will be unsuitable for life in one billion years (3). An exact prediction for the ultimate demise of the world is certainly debatable among theorists, but one thing remains clear: the life-supporting resources of this world are not everlasting. Whether considering the tangible limitations of resources, environmental stress from overpopulation, or purely theoretical limitations, there is no ultimate remedy or salvation to be found in this physical world for this physical world. Our world is without hope from within and in need of an external redeemer.
However obvious our current dire state may be based on the scientific theories of the 19th century and the scientific data from the 20th and 21st, the argument concerning the fallenness of the earth was laid out quite plainly throughout the Bible thousands of years ago.
Biblical assertions for the fallen nature of the world first appear during the age of Adam and Eve; their lives were an example of how human sin affected not only the person committing the act but also their surrounding world. The cause-and-effect relationship between human fallenness and the flourishing of earth is consistently repeated in Biblical writings. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah addresses this relationship: “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore, earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left” (Isaiah 24:4-6, NIV).
This concept also arises in David’s writings as he describes the contrast between God’s eternal being and the earth’s finite composition (Psalm 102:25-27). The correlation between mankind and its inhabitance continues to appear throughout New Testament writings as well. In Romans 8, Paul reminds his audience that one of the prices of human sin is destruction and decay of the earth itself.
So, what can we do to relieve the deterioration of our world? The forces that are deemed a threat to our world by modern science appear to only be mediated through human intervention. An absolute resolution to these various environmental crises seems to be an unattainable reality for humankind to achieve without the aid of an external force. For creation itself hopes for (groans for) freedom from the bondage of corruption (Rom. 8:19-23) that is yet to come (Rev. 21:1-4). However, just as the Bible describes the downfall of the physical world, it also prescribes a redemptive catalyst in the Savior, Jesus Christ. The effect of Christ’s redemption for mankind is explained in Romans 5 as Paul describes how the death of a perfect man provided grace and forgiveness for all who believed in Him. Therefore, if the fallenness of the physical world is a consequence of the fallenness of mankind, and Christ’s death and resurrection served as the redemption for humanity, then it follows that Christ’s death and resurrection also serves as the redemptive measure for the physical world.
Acknowledgement of the overlap between the Bible’s ancient assertions of the earth’s fallenness and modern science’s contemporary assertions of a finite, decaying world may be a valuable avenue to faith for those who do not yet believe. As described in Mark 2, Jesus brings both physical and spiritual healing. In this particular instance, Jesus heals a paralytic man’s physical brokenness to inspire the onlookers to also believe in the spiritual redemption he offers. Perhaps as our society begins to groan for salvation from the world’s physical brokenness described and predicted in scripture, we may also be more open to the spiritual healing offered by Jesus and highlighted throughout the New Testament.
References
1. Shafiee, Shahriar, and Erkan Topal. "When will fossil fuel reserves be diminished?" Energy policy 37.1 (2009): 181-189.
2. Arsenault, Chris. "Only 60 years of farming left if soil degradation continues." Scientific American 5 (2014).
3. Coffey, Donavyn. “How long will Earth exist?” Live Science (2023). https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/how-long-will-earth-exist.
Daniel King earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Georgia and has been a professor at Taylor University for eighteen years. His research interests include characterizing plant cell wall proteins involved in crop disease, exercise metabolomics, and improving chemistry education practices.
Gabriel Swinney is an undergraduate senior studying Biochemistry, Neuroscience, and Psychology at Taylor University. Gabriel has contributed to research in the fields of protein purification and characterization, environmental chemistry, and psychological testing. He also serves at a hospital and in his church's children's ministry. He plans to attend medical school after graduation.