The 20th century scientist, Albert Einstein, and the 21st century tech entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook/Meta, provide insight into the two most fundamental laws of our universe, helping us better understand what the Bible records in Creation as well as insight into the person of Jesus. We explore this by first summarizing Einstein’s and Zuckerberg’s achievements.
Einstein: Mass-Energy of 20th Century
We know Albert Einstein (1879-1955), a Jewish German, for developing the Theory of Relativity. Educated in Pre-World War 1 Germany and Switzerland, Einstein excelled in math and physics. Working in a Swiss patent office, he first published his Theory of Relativity in 1905 which predicted strange physical occurrences. Eddington verified Einstein’s theory in 1919 when he observed light bending around a star during an eclipse. This confirmation made Einstein world famous and granted him the 1921 Nobel prize.
The equation resulting from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (E= mc2) reveal that Mass and Energy are interchangeable. Mass can be lost for an enormous gain of energy. But though Mass-Energy can be interchanged, science has found no natural process which creates Mass-Energy. The First Law of Thermodynamics, (or the Law of Conservation of Mass-Energy), the most verified and observed law of physical science, states that mass-energy cannot be created. Energy can be transformed into different kinds of energy (kinetic, thermal, electrical etc) or into mass, but new mass-energy cannot be created. Energy can be propagated as waves, which is how the energy of the sun reaches the earth.
Zuckerberg: Information in 21st Century
Einstein shed light for us on the First Law. Zuckerberg’s success with Facebook shows the pervasiveness of its companion law – The Second Law of Thermodynamics. Born in 1984 and also of Jewish origin, Mark Zuckerberg’s success, as one of the most prominent of the 21st century billionaire Information Technology entrepreneurs illustrates the fundamental reality of a non-mass-energy element: information. Because information is not mass-energy and cannot be detected physically many do not think of information as real. Others assume that information arises simply after a long chain of lucky events. This remains the cornerstone of the Darwinian view of the universe promoted so strongly in modern culture.
It is beyond our scope here to probe the assumptions in this worldview but simply consider for a minute all the multi-billionaries like Mark Zuckerberg that have popped up in recent decades. They became billionaires because they recognized the reality of information and built clever information systems we all now use. Intelligence causes information, not luck. The success of Zuckerberg and others like him have created a whole new industry – information technology. The fact that few have accomplished what they have done should show that information does not arise simply by luck.
In fact, the Second Law of Thermodynamics reveals that the natural world simply left to natural energy reactions loses information. But then where does all the fantastically complex information that we see in the natural world harnessing mass-energy (DNA, proteins, photosynthesis, ATP synthase etc.) come from?
Mass-Energy & Information at Beginning
The Bible’s account of Creation gives an elegant answer. The Bible records creation occurring by God speaking. Speaking essentially involves information and energy transmitted by waves. Information carried by waves can be beautiful music, a set of instructions, or any message that someone wishes to send.
The Bible records that God ‘spoke’ and thus transmitted information and energy propagated as waves. This caused an ordering of mass and energy into the complex universe we see today. This occurred because the ‘Spirit of God’ hovered or vibrated over the mass. Vibration is both a form of energy and also constitutes the essence of sound. Read the record from this point-of-view.
Creation Account: The Creator Speaks
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:1-25
The Bible then recounts that God created mankind in the ‘image of God’ so that we could reflect the Creator. But our reflection remains limited in that we cannot command nature simply by speaking to it.
Jesus Likewise ‘Speaks’
But Jesus did do this, demonstrating an authority to speak beyond that of teaching and healing. He did this so we could understand him from the creation account where God spoke information and energy to setup the universe. We see how the Gospels record these events
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Luke 8:22-25
The word of Jesus commanded even the wind and the waves! No wonder the disciples were filled with fear.
… Creating Mass-Energy
On another occasion he showed similar power with thousands of people. This time he did not command wind and wave – but food.
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
John 6: 1-15
What did it mean?
In creating mass out of nothing Jesus exhibits the same command over mass-energy as God did at Creation. When the people saw that Jesus could multiply food simply by speaking they knew he was unique. But what did it mean? Jesus explained later on by clarifying the power of his words
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
John 6:63
And
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
John 6:57
Jesus claimed to embody in the flesh the tri-fold Creator (Father, Word, Spirit) that had spoken the cosmos into existence. He was Creator alive in human form. He demonstrated this by speaking his power over wind, wave and matter.
Considering with our Minds…
People today often understand the Bible Creation account as simply an ancient mythology from simple people. But this account aligns perfectly with our latest understanding of how information and energy propagates as waves. The elegant account remains uncomplicated when it repeats ‘God said …’ so simple non-scientific people understood it. But it also has real meaning to us in light of mass-energy and information understanding of 21st century.
Jews have led mankind’s progress to understand and apply the basic elements that make up reality (mass-energy & information), exemplified by Einstein & Zuckerberg.
Some fear this Jewish leadership and so spread an anti-semitic fear of Jews. But since these advances have blessed and enriched all people a better explanation for Jewish leadership comes from the promise of blessing to Abraham.
The Gospels present Jesus as the arche-type of the Jewish people (conclusion of this comes here). As such he also directed his focus on mass-energy and information. In doing so he proved his claim to be the same Agent who originally ‘spoke’ our world into existence. Later we will see how he uncannily mirrors Creation week events by what he does during his Passion week.
… and Hearts
Jesus’ disciples had a hard time understanding this. The Gospel records that right after feeding the 5000:
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Mark 6:45-56
Our Hard hearts
It says that the disciples did ‘not understand’. The reason for not understanding was not that they were not intelligent; it was not because they did not see what happened; not because they were bad disciples; nor was it because they did not believe in God. It says that their ‘hearts were hardened’. Our own hard hearts also keeps us from understanding spiritual truth.
This is the fundamental reason that people in his day divided themselves about Jesus. More than understanding intellectually is the need to remove obstinacy from our hearts.
This is why the preparing work of John was vital. He called people to repent by confessing their sin instead of hiding it. If Jesus’ disciples had hard hearts that needed repenting and confessing of sin, how much more you and me?
So what to do?
Confession to Soften Heart & Gain Understanding
I have found praying this confession in the Psalms to be helpful. Perhaps meditating or reciting this will work in your heart too.
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge…
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
Psalm 51: 1-4, 10-12
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
We need this repentance to understand what it means that, as the Living Word, Jesus reveals God in the flesh.
He also came to inaugurate the ‘Kingdom of God’, by definition a political exercise. This is another domain where Jews have led the way, exemplified by Karl Marx. We use him as our lens to look at the ‘Kingdom of God’ compared to Kingdoms of men – next.