Jim Valekis
The Bible has shown itself to be an amazingly flexible revelation. It could speak in the terms and symbols of the ancient people through whom and to whom it was written.
But it’s proven to be a document that somehow can “transcend” itself. It has the ability to speak about a whole lot more than the ancients to whom it was revealed understood. And I would like to contend that it has had an amazing adaptability to relevantly reflect later intellectual discoveries humanity would make.
It has shown an inspired ability to “evolve” in its flexibility as we have evolved into more sophisticated levels of thinking. And its writers have been geniuses in extrapolating those advances and using them in preaching its truths.
A very visible example of this is how it gave a whole new meaning to the concept of “Logos” that emerged in Greek thinking. As early as the 6th century BC thinkers were refining and probing the depth of the concept, in attempting to define some type of universal reasoning that seemed to be behind all existence. Jewish writer Philo began to use the term in Jewish philosophy shortly before the birth of Christ. But gospel writer John took the concept to whole new levels.
The “logos” wasn’t just something the Greeks had “invented” like they invented their myths. It was real. In fact, it was so real, that John actually said this:
John 1 King James Version
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Greek word translated “Word” was this very word “logos” the Greek thinkers had written about. John saw even more revelatory power in the concept than Philo. He was so bold as to add this in his gospel account:
14 And the Word was made flesh . . .
This Logos of the Greeks wasn’t just a “philosophical” concept the pagan Greeks had blown philosophical smoke about. It—rather he—was real. In fact, “He” was Jesus. The actual “Logos,” the living “Word” or “Logos” of God. This “Logos” wasn’t just something God “had” or “used” either. This “Logos” was “with” God and “was” God. This Logos became flesh (John 1:1,14), became the one we know as Jesus. And when he did, two revelations—the “Logos” of the Greeks and the “Messiah of the Hebrews—found an intersection in the revelation of the Son of God Himself.
It was almost as if they somehow anticipated each other.[1] As I posited in my first article in this series, could it be that the findings of modern day quantum physics and the Scriptures be doing the same thing today?
The Quantum God
The flexibility and revelatory power of the Scriptures have shown amazing flexibility to resonate with the best explanations of reality of the day. They did this in ancient times. And they did not stop doing so as we forged ahead into the post-classical period, the modern period, and even our contemporary period.
As the abilities of science take amazing leaps in understanding the inner workings of the “quantum” world from which this universe springs, the writings of the bible prove themselves to be amazing parables that dance as gracefully with these latest discoveries as they did with understandings of the generations before.
Moses saw a burning bush (Exodus 3:2). “The bush was on fire,” the passage says in the NIV[2] translation, but “it did not burn up.” God surely could have made it appear that way, or simply just “manifest” that way, in Moses’ presence. But what if God allowed Moses a special “sneak peek” at what all matter looks like in its quantum underpinnings? What if God “tripped a switch” and let Moses see all the quantum forces and electrons and particles and activity that scientists say fire our “visible” world? What if God, with the smile of a Cheshire cat, knew he was loading the Scriptures with concepts that “dance gracefully” with the quantum reality scientists say undergirds everything?
What if Jesus did the same thing at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36) when the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightening (verse 29), or as the cognate that forms the Greek word literally can be translated, “gleam-flinging”? What if he simply let those humans with him somehow see a lot more of the spectrum of light than is normally visible to the human eye? Light that is always there—but that our spiritually fogged (or “smogged”) “fallen” eyes, simply can no longer see?
What if that’s the way we all really “look” to God—way more vibrant—like all those Michaelangelo paintings looked when they were finally cleaned of years of candle wax grime?
A Few More “What IF’s”
What if when Jesus says “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” he’s using ancient language to describe a next dimension, indeed a “parallel universe” that indeed is “near”? But it’s just not visible to those of us limited to this dimension, because our eyes are simply not calibrated to see it (just like dogs can hear sounds we can’t). But what if it is there as realistically as quantum physicists say a “particle” of light is “there” as long as it has an observer to observe it? Those of us with unenhanced eyes of this dimension simply cannot see it, most of the time.
What if the author of Hebrews in chapter 1:10-12 is not just speaking poetically when he says:
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations (the quantum foundations?) of the earth (some 13.8 billion years ago via the Big Bang)? . . .The heavens are the works of your hands . . . they will all wear out like a garment . . . you will roll them up like a robe, like a garment they will be changed . . . ” (verses 10-12, emphasis mine).
Beautiful poetry, to be sure. But also interestingly thought-provoking in a world where the best minds speak of the universe as a “fabric” of time and space and explain gravity by saying greater-sized objects simply create greater “dips in the fabric” that cause smaller objects to “roll” toward them. Will there one day indeed be a big “crunch”? Or should scientists take this hint and consider there might be a big “roll” or “fold” instead, and see how that possibility theorizes out?
There are many more examples I hope to address in this series. And to test by positing them to an actual physicist, to see if I’m simply blowing smoke or at least on to a fun, and intriguing talking point.[3]
Here are some questions I’d like to posit.
Could it be that findings of modern-day science are things Christians need no longer fear and run away from, or worse yet, deny and pawn off as some “conspiracy theory” designed to destroy the relevance of the Bible (and frankly, make us sound fearful and uneducated so much of the time)?
Could it be that God is reinforcing, through modern science, the phenomenal truth of the ultimate entanglement—the faster than the speed of light communion of all Reality caused by the Spirit of the law of the “life” that the bible says specializes in such “communion,” or entanglement?
Could it be that this universe does indeed come across as “personal” (and hence worthy of receiving our prayers )because it is personal—it is the first incarnation of Jesus Christ (like theologian and author Jeff McSwain posits in his works[4])?
It appears to be generating life throughout its entire history because of its natural association with Jesus Christ as its container and generator. It does so by the grace-based law of the “Spirit of Life” (Romans 8:3). The universe is not only “incarnational.” It is “incar-natural.” It’s “natural” that this womb of existence seems to produce all sorts of generative events. There is an original sentient “Mother Nature” (or “Brother Nature”) that is simply firing it with life and increasing functionality by His very being.
Are we more like unborn babies who mistake the walls of the womb as its life force—until we realize it’s simply a part of a mother (or “Brother”) we can’t yet see? And don’t forget the fact that a generative “father” (er, Father) was involved as well. He was there all the time. We just had no way of seeing him in that state of being.
Do all of the church’s musings about law versus grace (naturalistic versus theistic) and the Trinitarian (or Entanglement) life of God (and all created Reality), have far more pertinence than we’ve ever realized?
And do the discoveries of the quantum world reinforce, rather than negate them?
I would like to submit it does.
In the spirit of the Virgin Mary, who chose to simply ask “How can this be” to something new and difficult to understand (Luke 1:34, CSB[5]), I’d like to see if we can ask the same questions of the findings of quantum physics.
We might discover, like “Logos” and “Messiah,” these two revelations do indeed have a resonance.
Again, like singer/armchair theologian Barbra Streisand once we might discover more to question, and more to believe.
Jim Valekis is the author of the soon to be released Kharis Publishing company title, “The Christian in the Cult: And How I Discovered Humanity in Christ”
[1] It was just like the ultimate development of the human eye. Light and darkness had existed before. But they finally made “sense” once the eye appeared on the scene.
[2] New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[3] Dr. Christopher S. Baird, Associate Professor of Physics, West Texas A&M University and author of The Top Fifty Science Questions With Surprising Answers
[4] https://www.jeffmcswain.org
[5] Christian Standard Bible (CSB)The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
