Let There Be Light

There are two things a Christian will do to prove his holy book: Disregard the findings of science or re-interpret the scriptures to fit scientific data. Here’s a good example of how some God-believers will do everything to make his Bible scientific… and what does Thermodynamics got to do with it?

For this Christian, there isn’t any problem between Genesis 1:3 and Genesis 1:14 – Oh, if you are not familiar with these verses, they are all about light. A lot of people are baffled: What is this light on Genesis 1:3 and the lights (or luminaries) on Genesis 1:14? This light on Genesis 1:3, where does it came from? What’s the source?

Oh, and what does thermodynamics got to do with this?

According to Waltz Oremor, the light is energy because light means energy.

Say what now?

So…uh, the light in Genesis 1:3 is energy. Really huh?

Looking at this biblical problem, most Christian apologists will say that this “light” is well… light. It is not interpreted as “energy.” According to Christian apologist Norman Geisler, the light in Genesis 1:3 came from a different source, not just the Sun and the Moon (When Critics Ask p.2), but it is still considered as light. 

Ok… but uh, according to the Bible, God divided it from day and evening (see: Genesis 1:4-5) so are we still talking about “energy” here? 

Obviously, the Bible is talking about visible light.  So, how can you get day and night? When our planet rotates, the one facing the Sun is day and the other side of the planet is night and… wait? Facing the Sun? But according to the Bible, God created the Sun on the 4th day? 

So, where does thermodynamics comes in?

Waltz Oremor defined thermodynamics as (wait, does he called it as Law of Thermodynamics?) “energies that hold the infinite universe.” 

Let put a little light in this matter.

Thermodynamics is all about heat. That’s why we have the word “thermo” there – BOOO YAAA! Hahaha! Ok, going back, thermodynamics is about the relations between heat and other forms of energy (such as mechanical, electrical, or chemical energy), and, by extension, of the relationships between all forms of energy. Ok… let’s make simple: Thermodynamics deals with the transfer of energy from one place to another and from one form to another. The key concept is that heat is a form of energy corresponding to a definite amount of mechanical work.

It’s about energy transfer.

There are four laws that describe how thermodynamics work: 

o The zeroth law of thermodynamics. When two systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third system, the first two systems are in thermal equilibrium with each other. This property makes it meaningful to use thermometers as the “third system” and to define a temperature scale.

o The first law of thermodynamics, or the law of conservation of energy. The change in a system's internal energy is equal to the difference between heat added to the system from its surroundings and work done by the system on its surroundings.

o The second law of thermodynamics. Heat does not flow spontaneously from a colder region to a hotter region, or, equivalently, heat at a given temperature cannot be converted entirely into work. Consequently, the entropy of a closed system, or heat energy per unit temperature, increases over time toward some maximum value. Thus, all closed systems tend toward an equilibrium state in which entropy is at a maximum and no energy is available to do useful work. This asymmetry between forward and backward processes gives rise to what is known as the “arrow of time.”

o The third law of thermodynamics. The entropy of a perfect crystal of an element in its most stable form tends to zero as the temperature approaches absolute zero. This allows an absolute scale for entropy to be established that, from a statistical point of view, determines the degree of randomness or disorder in a system.

Thermodynamics is not about “holding the infinite universe.” It’s all about why your cup of coffee gets cold as time passes. 

And now for some biblical interpretation nonsense, let us make it clear…

1. The word “In the Beginning” in the Genesis narrative doesn’t imply that God created time. It only suggest that the universe has a beginning. 

2. Empty space? Guess again. Genesis 1:2 is clear …the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. It’s not empty because there is already water on it.

3. Matter, earth? Nope… heaven (gas) and earth (solid) were created, but not water (liquid) – all are matter by the way. 

4. Light first day… inner Earth energies (?) Nope. If you read the Bible, light was created from a fixed source outside of the Earth. 

5. Water (?) Nope, the Bible is quite clear that in the Creation narrative, God didn’t created water.

6. Sun (outer energies)? Nope. According to the Bible, the Sun was created as a luminary together with the moon and the stars. In ancient Hebrew belief, the Sun, the moon and the stars are just symbols of day and evening and they are not the source of light we have here on Earth.

7. Moon (lesser lights) satellite (?) Nope, the ancient Hebrews doesn’t have the idea of a moon being a natural satellite.  

The Bible is not a science textbook and those narratives were not written by scientists and physicists, so please don’t re-interpret it to fit your “cultish scientific wannabe” agenda.