God and Nature 2026 #1
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By Kenell Touryan
Insights from God’s Two Books
The first recorded words of God in Genesis are: “Let there be light.” Light and life are closely connected. The photosynthetic process used by plants converts light (plus water and carbon dioxide) into food, which is essential for our existence. Light also enables us to see the world around us.
The Physics of Light
Light is a transverse electromagnetic wave that can be seen by the typical human. The wave theory of light was first argued by Christiaan Huygens in 1678, while the foundation of the corpuscular (later called particle) theory of light was laid by Isaac Newton in 1704. Einstein identified light particles as discrete packets of energy in 1905, and Gilbert Lewis coined the term photon for them in 1926. Light was demonstrated to be a universal constant in all reference frames, with speed in vacuum of 299,792,458 meters/second, often approximated as 300km/second. Photons are now understood to be elementary particles belonging to the Boson family, with an electromagnetic spectrum from 700 to 400 nanometers, and the dual nature of light as both wave and particle has been demonstrated by many experiments.
Insights from God’s Two Books
The first recorded words of God in Genesis are: “Let there be light.” Light and life are closely connected. The photosynthetic process used by plants converts light (plus water and carbon dioxide) into food, which is essential for our existence. Light also enables us to see the world around us.
The Physics of Light
Light is a transverse electromagnetic wave that can be seen by the typical human. The wave theory of light was first argued by Christiaan Huygens in 1678, while the foundation of the corpuscular (later called particle) theory of light was laid by Isaac Newton in 1704. Einstein identified light particles as discrete packets of energy in 1905, and Gilbert Lewis coined the term photon for them in 1926. Light was demonstrated to be a universal constant in all reference frames, with speed in vacuum of 299,792,458 meters/second, often approximated as 300km/second. Photons are now understood to be elementary particles belonging to the Boson family, with an electromagnetic spectrum from 700 to 400 nanometers, and the dual nature of light as both wave and particle has been demonstrated by many experiments.
...Christ shines his light (truth) into our hearts and minds and reveals our deepest secrets... |
Jesus as Light of the World - an Aphorism
Jesus calls himself the Light of the World twice and is referred to as the light many more times in the New Testament. Christ called himself the Light of the World because he came to give us eternal life and open our eyes to distinguish good from evil. The Gospel of John says that Christ came as light into the world to remove darkness, and darkness is identified with evil. There are striking parallels between the characteristics of light discussed above and Jesus as the Light of the World:
- Just as light has a dual nature, so Jesus Christ is both God and man. Just as it is hard to describe light as consisting of waves and particles at the same time, so it is impossible to understand with a human mind how Christ can be both man and also God. (Mark 4:37-40).
- Just as photons represent the most fundamental particles in nature, the Boson family, Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God; all things were created by him, and he is before all things (Col. 1:15-17).
- Just as light is the absolute constant in nature, Jesus Christ is our ultimate standard, and our goal is to conform to his image (Eph. 4:13; Rom. 8:29).
- Just as light makes a difference between life and death, Jesus is our very source of life, both physical and spiritual. “He who has the son has life” (1 John 5:12).
- Just as the universe is filled with photons (from infrared to gamma rays), Jesus Christ fills the universe. “The Son…sustains all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:3, EHV), and in Acts 17:28 we read, “in him we live and move and have our being.”
- Just as light carries information by its frequency and amplitude, so Christ is God’s information/communication because he is identified in the Gospel of John as the Logos, God’s Word sent to us (John 1:1-5).
- Finally, just as visible light is a small part of the huge electromagnetic spectrum (700-400 nanometers), what we see of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ is but a poor reflection of what we will see face to face in heaven (1 Cor. 13:12). Also, in 1 Cor. 2:9, the Apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4, “‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’— the things God has prepared for those who love him.” We see with our eyes very little of the light around us. What if we insisted on basing our lives only on what we see? Imagine how little of the world we would be able to understand. In the same way, if we insist on living our lives based only on sight or what we can understand, imagine how limited our knowledge will be.
In summary, Christ shines his light (truth) into our hearts and minds and reveals our deepest secrets. In the Old Testament, King David invited God to reveal his inner thoughts in Psalm 139:23: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Now, because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we can invite him to search us also. If Christ lives in our hearts, we reflect his beauty, and we ourselves become the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
Note: Bible quotes are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
Kenell (Ken) Touryan retired from the National Renewable Energy laboratory in 2007 as chief technology analyst. He spent the next eight years as visiting professor at the American University of Armenia (an affiliate of UC Berkeley). He received his PhD in Mechanical and Aeronautical Sciences from Princeton University with a minor in Physics. His first 16 years were spent at Sandia National Laboratories as Manager of R&D projects in various defense and advanced energy systems. He has published some 95 papers in refereed journals, authored three books, and co-owns several patents.