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Holy Scriptures (Part II): Revelation in Creation

December 18, 2023
By Dr. Laws Rushing II

Is a transcendent God capable of revealing Himself to mankind? Some attempt to cast doubt, conjure the image of blind men touching and describing an elephant as analogous to the spiritual enterprise of experiencing God. One grabs the elephant’s leg and describes him as a tree, the others feel the elephant’s trunk and say it’s some type of hose. But is this metaphor applicable to a real knowledge of God?

The Bible says that God has revealed His will and personhood to us.  First, God has revealed Himself as Creator. There is a level of disclosure and meaning conveyed through the relationship of creation and Creator. The universe exhibits amazing complexity, order, and design. Physicists and scientists have been utterly shocked at how finely tuned the universe is for existence, human life, and flourishing. The fine tuning of the universe is so widespread that it even extends, not only to the current state of the universe but also from the very moments of its inception.

Former atheist and renowned physicist Frank Tipler admitted, “When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day I would be writing a book purporting to show that the central claims of Judeo-Christian theology are in fact true, that these claims are straightforward deductions of the laws of physics as we now understand them. I have been forced into these conclusions by the inexorable logic of my own special branch of physics.” (Tipler 1997)

The Holy Scriptures speak of our knowledge through creation. The Apostle Paul notably wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). The hallmarks of a designer are replete through creation from the razor’s edge of fundamental constants, the intricate data encoded in the sequence of DNA, or the most complex system in the known universe, the human brain.

Creation reveals God’s amazing power. The vast universe stretches some 93 billion light years in deep space. A single light year is 5.8 trillion miles across, so you do the math! No wonder the Psalmist declared, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalms 19:1). The Bible also from the very beginning speaks of the earth as not merely for survival but flourishment. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). We now live in a time in which mankind has for the most part fulfilled this ancient blessing from God through the enterprise of science and reason. God has placed within humans the capacity for learning and dominion because we are made in the “image of God.”

Thus, Science is predicated on order and not chaos. The inductive method of science requires the preponderance of evidence and the intelligibility of the universe. Both incredible facts point to a God who desires for us to know him, “Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).